Vegan Raspberry Oatmeal Bars (Low Sugar!)
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These Raspberry Oatmeal Bars are made with a quick and easy homemade raspberry chia seed jam and no refined sugar. They’re topped with an oatmeal crumble topping and are sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
My family loves these Raspberry Crumble Bars, as do my friends! I’ve made these for multiple events and they’ve been loved by everyone – typically people have gone back for seconds or thirds! I hope you love them, too!
The raspberry bars use a 5-Minute Raspberry Chia Jam – but feel free to use store-bought raspberry jam if preferred (just know that there is typically very high sugar content in store-bought jam).
For another option that is similar in flavor to these bars, try one of my favorite cookies of all time – Vegan Thumbprint Cookies With Raspberry Chia Jam!
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
- Delicious – This recipe is delicious, without all of the added sugar that is typical in Raspberry Bars!
- Low Sugar – The base of the bars uses 1/4 cup of maple syrup, the homemade jam uses a tiny bit of maple syrup (and it’s an optional ingredient), and the crumble topping uses 1/4 cup of coconut sugar (the topping is optional).
- Crowd Pleaser – These bars are perfect for any holiday event (like Memorial Day, 4th of July, Mother’s Day, Valentine’s, or Christmas!) and they are sure to be loved by everyone!
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need the following ingredients to make these Healthy Raspberry Oatmeal Bars:
How to Make Raspberry Oatmeal Bars: STEP-BY-STEP
For the full recipe with the exact ingredients, scroll down to the printable recipe card below!
STEP 1:
In a large mixing bowl, mix oats, flour, salt, and baking powder until combined.
STEP 2:
In a small bowl, mix melted coconut oil, almond milk, maple syrup, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Pour wet ingredients into the oatmeal mixture and mix well, until a dough forms.
STEP 3:
Transfer the dough into an 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper and spread out evenly using your fingers to flatten and spread the dough to cover the whole bottom of the dish. Spread raspberry jam evenly over the dough.
STEP 4:
Make the (optional) crumble topping by combining all of the crumble ingredients in a medium bowl. Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top of the raspberry jam. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 18-20 minutes. Allow bars to cool and firm up a bit before slicing and then enjoy!
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Coconut oil – The recipe calls for 1 cup of coconut oil. When you heat this amount of coconut oil in the microwave, it will reduce to 1/2 cup which is what you want (1/2 cup of melted coconut oil).
- Lower sugar – You can omit the crumble topping if you want to reduce the sugar content of this recipe.
- Allow the bars to cool before cutting them – I know it’s SO hard to wait, but please try to wait for the bars to cool before cutting them. They have a soft texture, so they won’t cut well if you try to cut into them right after you take them out of the oven.
- Cut small slices – I recommend cutting these bars into small slices so that they’re easier to eat and can feed more people if bringing them to an event. The raspberry bars are on the softer side, so cutting them too big may make them a little difficult to eat.
Storage
- Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Additions & Substitutions
Additions:
- Chia Seeds: You can add some chia seeds to the base flour and oat mixture for some added nutrients!
Substitutions:
- Coconut Oil: Though I have not tried it this way so can’t guarantee the results 100%, you could try replacing the coconut oil with olive oil (1/2 cup) if needed.
- Oats: You can use any of the following: gluten-free oats, instant or quick oats, rolled oats, or old-fashioned oats.
- Flour: Though I have not tried it personally, you try can substituting the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, gluten-free flour, or almond flour, if needed. Let me know how it turns out in the comments if you try a different flour!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Swap the oats for gluten-free oats and replace the flour with 1:1 Gluten-Free Baking Flour.
Nope! You can use a store-bought jam if you prefer. Just note that these typically have a lot of added sugar.
Yes, expect them to be fairly soft. I recommend cutting them into small slices so that they’re easier to pick up with your hands. I also recommend waiting until the bars have cooled a fair amount before cutting into them.
Tools For This Recipe
- Baking Dish (preferably a non-toxic one like this)
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I hope you love these Raspberry Oatmeal Bars! If you make them, be sure to leave a rating below so I know how you liked them! Enjoy!
Vegan Raspberry Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup raspberry chia seed jam, (or use store-bought jam)
- 1 cup instant oats, or rolled oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup coconut oil, melted, which will come out to ½ cup
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened plain almond milk
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Oat Crumble Topping
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup instant oats, or rolled oats
- ½ cup coconut oil, melted, which will come out to ¼ cup
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix oats, flour, salt, and baking powder until combined.
- In a small bowl, mix melted coconut oil, almond milk, maple syrup, almond extract, and vanilla extract.
- Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well, until a dough forms.
- Transfer the dough onto the parchment paper and spread out evenly using your fingers to flatten and spread the dough to cover the whole bottom of the dish.
- Spread raspberry jam evenly over the dough.
- Make the (optional) crumble topping by combining all of the crumble ingredients in a medium bowl.
- Sprinkle the crumble mixture on top of the raspberry jam.
- Bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes. Allow bars to cool and firm up a bit before slicing and then enjoy!
These bars were the perfect sweet treat I was looking for! Made up the raspberry chia seed jam quick beforehand and used it right away. All of the different layers worked well together and the oat crumble topping made it seem extra fancy. My husband and toddler enjoyed them too! I had to freeze some so we wouldn’t eat them all in one day and now have more to snack on later. Definitely will be making them again!
Hi Heather! Yay! I am so happy to hear that you and your family enjoyed them! Great idea to freeze some for later. Thank you so much for taking the time to write a review. 🙂
These bars were the perfect sweet treat I was looking for! Made up the raspberry chia seed jam quick beforehand and used it right away. All of the different layers worked well together and the oat crumble topping made it seem extra fancy. My husband and toddler enjoyed them too! I had to freeze some so we wouldn’t eat them all in one day and now have more to snack on later. Definitely will be making them again!