These Strawberry Oatmeal Bars are healthy strawberry slices made with a crispy oat layer topped with cooked strawberry jam and oat crumble. Bonus, these strawberry oat bars are also vegan, egg-free, and gluten-free.
Strawberry Oatmeal Bars, called Strawberry Slices in New Zealand, are crunchy bars made with oatmeal and fresh strawberries. They are a healthy family breakfast or kid snack made with wholegrain rolled oats and fresh strawberries.
Plus, these strawberry fruit bars are allergy-friendly, 100% egg-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free! So let me share with you how to make these healthy breakfast bars and use all your fresh strawberries!
Ingredients and Substitutions
And there are a few ingredients for the bar filling – the strawberry jam. But don’t worry, the recipe is pretty simple.
- Rolled Oats – it means the larger kind of oats. This contains more fiber than quick oats, so it’s my favorite option. However, quick oats or instant oats work well here.
- Oat Flour – it’s basically old-fashioned rolled oats pulsed into flour in your high-speed blender. You can swap this with almond flour or all-purpose flour.
- Maple Syrup or any liquid sweetener you love, including agave syrup and coconut nectar
- Vanilla Extract – for flavor.
- Melted Coconut Oil or melted plant-based butter.
- Cinnamon for flavor.
Jam Layer Ingredients
For the jam layer, you need:
- Fresh Strawberries – or frozen strawberries slices, thaw overnight in the fridge or at least 3 hours before using in the recipe.
- Maple Syrup or brown sugar
- Lemon Juice for tanginess.
- Vanilla – for flavor.
- Cornstarch or corn flour
How To Make Strawberry Slices
A strawberry slice is a three-layer slice made of one oat layer – some of this batter is then used for the third top layer of the strawberry bar.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8-inch x 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper with coconut oil. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients for the bottom layer together. Start stirring with a spoon, then squeeze the batter with your hand to bring all the ingredients together. It should be slightly dry but hold together when squeezed. If not, add a bit more maple syrup or 1 tablespoon of water to bring it together.
- Set aside 1/2 cup of the mixture in a bowl – you will use this layer in the recipe.
- Press the remaining batter into the prepared baking dish. Press firmly with a spatula until no holes can be seen. Refrigerate while making the fruit jam.
- The next step consists of cleaning the fresh strawberries under tap water in a sieve. Then hull the strawberries by cutting out the green part. Finally, place the strawberries on the side on a chopping board and lice, as seen in the picture below.
- Place the sliced strawberries in a saucepan, along with the remaining ingredients for the filling: cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, and maple syrup.
- Bring saucepan over medium-high heat and cook, occasionally stirring, until it forms bubbles in the pan and the liquid thickens and looks like a shiny jam. Remove the saucepan from the heat and set it aside.
- Now remove the baking dish from the fridge and spread the strawberry jam evenly on top of the bar. Crumble up the remaining 1/2 cup oat mixture on top of the bar.
- Bake the strawberry oat bars on the center rack of the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the strawberry jam is bubbly and the top of the slice is golden brown.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Pull out the bar from the baking dish using the hanging part of parchment paper on the side of the dish.
- Release on a chopping board and cut into 16 bars.
Storage
Store the strawberry oatmeal bars in the fridge in a sealed container for up to 4 days. To freeze, place the bars in an airtight box or bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the strawberry bars at room temperature.
Serving
These strawberry slices are delicious on their own as a healthy breakfast or kid snack for a school lunchbox. We also love this recipe served with some of the toppings below:
- A scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream
- Dust of powdered sugar
- Drizzle some extra maple syrup
- Dairy-free whipped Cream like my Vegan Whipped Cream
- Almond Butter
Allergy Swaps
- Corn-Free – You can replace corn flour with 2 tablespoons of chia seeds or tapioca flour.
- Oat Flour Swap – You can use the same amount of all-purpose flour or a gluten-free all-purpose flour blend.
- Maple Syrup Replacement – Any liquid sweetener works. Brown sugar can be used for the strawberry filling but not for the crumble mixture.
- Strawberry Alternatives – The same amount of blueberries, raspberries, or mixed berries work well in this recipe.
More Strawberry Breakfast Recipes
If you like healthy breakfast recipes with strawberries, try these other ones:
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Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
Bottom And Top Layer
- 1 ½ cup Homemade Oat Flour - or all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cup Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats - or quick oats
- ⅓ cup Maple Syrup
- ⅓ cup Melted Coconut Oil
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Strawberry Filling
- 2 ½ cups Fresh Strawberry Slices - 500g unhulled/400 g hulled
- 3 tablespoons Maple Syrup - or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 1 tablespoon Corn Flour - or cornstarch or chia seeds
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350°F (180°C). Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Slightly oil the paper with coconut oil, set it aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine all the bottom and top crust ingredients: oat flour, rolled oat, salt, cinnamon, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir to bring ingredients together and when it starts to be difficult to stir, squeeze the ingredients together by hands. The batter should be slightly dry and crumbly but hold together when squeezed.
- Set aside 1/2 cup of the oat mixture in a bowl – you will use this for the top layer later in the recipe.
- Spread the remaining oat mixture all over the prepared pan and press with a spatula firmly to pack the ingredients into an even layer with no hole.
- Place the baking pan in the fridge.
Strawberry layer
- Meanwhile, hull, cut the strawberries into slices of 1/4 inches and place them in a saucepan with lemon juice, cornflour, vanilla extract, and maple syrup.
- Cook over medium heat, occasionally stirring, until the mixture is thick like jam and bubbles form in the pan – about 2 minutes.
- Pour the strawberry jam over the oat bars and spread evenly using a spatula.
- Use the 1/2 cup oat mixture you set aside to crumble on top of the jam.
Bake
- Bake the bar in the center rack of the oven for 20-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the jam is bubbly.
- Cool them down completely on a wire rack before slicing.
Storage
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze and thaw them at room temperature.
Could you use frozen organic strawberries? Thanks 🙂
Yes, it works!!
i think you have a typo
you say make syrup twice when mixing the initial ingredients
Thanks for spotting my mistake, I am updating the post.