These blueberry oat bars make a delicious addition to the morning coffee break, midday lunch box, or afternoon snack time. The whole grain oats, spelt flour, and blueberries provide a boost of fiber, too!

We have been getting blueberries in our weekly farm share. I feel quite lucky as they are one of my top three favorite fruits, and I pretty much love all fruit. While I usually just eat them on top of granola or muesli, this summer I’ve also made a couple of blueberry peach breakfast crisps and a batch of blueberry muffins. I’ve been meaning to also make this berry clafoutis, but haven’t done that yet–maybe next week.

With school around the corner, I decided it would be fun to create a blueberry recipe featuring something tasty and portable that could be eaten during or after school. Enter these blueberry oat bars. They are simple to make, packed with whole grains and fresh fruit, and, most importantly, delicious!

Ingredients Needed for Blueberry Oat Bars

Here is a list of what you need to make this recipe, along with subsitution suggestions.

Dry Ingredients

Old-fashioned oats – Fiber-rich oats are the star of the show here, along with the blueberries. Be sure to use old-fashioned and not steel cut or instant. Look for certified gluten-free if needed.

Spelt flour – I love spelt flour and use it in many of my recipes. It’s a type of whole-grain wheat flour that is often sold as sprouted spelt. It is more expensive than regular flour and can be harder to find in the store. If you don’t have spelt flour, simply substitute your go-to flour, whether whole wheat pastry flour, all-purpose flour, or gluten-free all-purpose flour.

Almond flour – I added almond flour, also known as almond meal, for the flavor, fiber, and heart-healthy fat that it brings. It adds a little something extra to this recipe and keeps the bars from being too grainy. However, if you are allergic to nuts, you can simply skip this and substitute equal parts oats and regular flour instead (1/4 cup of each).

Sugar and brown sugar – A bit of sugar is needed for sweetness. I used brown sugar for the oat mixture and added regular sugar for the berry mixture. I also made one batch with maple syrup in the berries. It all worked well.

Cardamom – If you have been following me for a while, you know that this is my go-to spice for sweet snacks and pastries! Cinnamon and ginger would also be wonderful alternatives for this recipe!

Corn starch – Corn starch helps thicken the juices released by the berries while cooking, preventing the bars from becoming soggy and creating a bit of a gel-like consistency. If you don’t have corn starch, you could use arrowroot powder or potato starch.

Refrigerated Ingredients

Butter – Butter keeps these bars together and makes them delicious. It also adds some extra fat to the recipe, making it more satisfying, and along with the protein and fiber in the whole grains and almond flour, helps your blood sugar stay more even-keeled.

Blueberries – I used fresh blueberries for this recipe, but you could also use frozen wild blueberries. Simply thaw them a bit first. If you are feeling adventurous, try using two types of berries or choosing a different berry altogether!

Lemon juice – The first time I made this, I used a clementine because I didn’t have a lemon! They were delicious and didn’t seem to be missing anything. So if you don’t have a lemon on hand, try another citrus or just leave it out.

Raspberries – Optional, but I felt the fresh raspberries added a beautiful pop of color and another burst of flavor to this snack.

Equipment Needed

In addition to an oven, of course, you will need an 8×8 pan and parchment paper to make this recipe as written. You could experiment with using a differently sized pan, but I haven’t tested it.

A Balanced Snack Option

These bars are a balanced snack option, providing fat, fiber, and protein, along with simple carbs. They also provide fruit! You can up the fruit serving by topping with fresh raspberries. To increase the protein, add a glass of milk or a latte, or try drizzling with almond or peanut butter. Another option for nut lovers is to mix in chopped nuts with the crumble topping.

Simple Blueberry Oat Bars {Whole Grain}

These blueberry oat bars will add a dose of fresh summer berries and flavor to your next snack break. Perfect for lunch boxes and morning coffee, too! The whole grain oats, spelt flour, almond flour, and blueberries all provide a boost of fiber to your day.

No spelt flour? No problem. You could substitute whole wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour.

Nut-free? Skip the almond flour.

Slice into 8-12 "bars" or 16 smaller squares

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Servings: 12

Course: Fika, Snack

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 ¼ cup old-fashioned oats
• ⅔ cup spelt flour (or whole wheat pastry flour, ap flour, or gluten-free ap flour)
• ½ cup almond flour (or sub ¼ cup oats and ¼ cup spelt flour if nut-free)
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cardamom (or cinnamon or ginger)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 ¾ cups blueberries (fresh or thawed frozen; can use up to 2 cups, but will start to weigh down on crust a bit)
• 1 teaspoon corn starch (or arrowroot powder)
• 1 tablespoon sugar (or brown sugar or maple syrup)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (about 1/2 a lemon) (or squeeze clementine or orange)
• ½ cup raspberries optional, for garnish!

Equipment

• 1 8×8 pan

Method

 

1. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper so that parchment hangs over edges.
2. Preheat oven to 350℉.
3. In a large bowl, combine oats, spelt, almond flour, brown sugar, cardamom, and salt. Stir in the melted butter.
4. In another bowl, toss together blueberries, cornstarch, sugar, and lemon juice.
5. Transfer most of the oat mixture onto the parchment paper-lined pan. (Reserve about 1/2 cup for the topping.) Spread the mixture evenly into the pan and press down firmly with your palms to compact.
6. Spread the blueberry mixture onto the top of the pan. Then distribute the remaining oat mixture on top. Press down a bit to make sure it sticks to the blueberries.
7. Bake in the oven for 38-45 minutes, or until blueberries are almost bursting and the topping is a golden brown.
8. Let cool before slicing. Top with raspberries if desired. Store at room temperature for up to a day or in the fridge for up to 4 days.