Triple Berry Almond Oat Bars
These triple berry almond oats bars are like eating fruit crisp in bar form. They are filled with berries, chia seeds, almonds, oats, and just a little bit of sugar. They are so delicious. I might be a little obsessed with them.
On the bottom there is a crust made with coconut oil, brown sugar, almond meal, oat flour, oats, a flax egg, and almond extract. It’s pretty amazing. There are a lot of substitutions you can make here – gluten-free, non-vegan, etc – so make sure to check out the note section in the recipe.
In the middle there is a fruit layer made with strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and chia seeds. AKA, triple berry chia seed jam. It’s super easy to make, tastes delicious, and is healthy! I’m sure you could easily swap out the sugar for some honey or maple syrup, but I haven’t tried it. Feel free to double the recipe so that you have leftovers to spread on toast, stir into oatmeal, or dollop onto yogurt.
The final layer is the remaining crust mixture in crumble form.
These triple berry almond oat bars are made with a bunch of wholesome, healthy ingredients. Yes, they have some sugar, but I’d say it’s a forgivable amount. We all deserve a sweet treat here and there, especially a balanced one such as this.
In my humble opinion they are healthy enough to eat for breakfast and delicious enough to eat for dessert.
I ate these chilled in the fridge. I ate them heated up. Both were pretty dern good. Enjoy!
Ingredients
For the chia seed jam filling:
- ½ cup strawberries, diced
- ½ cup raspberries
- ½ cup blueberries
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon chia seeds
- ¾ cup chopped almonds
For the crust and crumble:
- ¾ cup oat flour
- ½ cup almond meal
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- ½ cup coconut oil, solid state
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flax meal + 2.5 tablespoons water)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take two pieces of parchment paper and place them perpendicularly in an 8 x 8 baking pan. Leave some overhang so that the bars can easily be lifted out of the pan. Grease with butter or oil spray.
For the chia seed jam filling:
- Add the berries, lemon juice, and sugar to a saucepan and stir on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until it begins to bubble. The fruit should break apart and release liquid. Use the back of your spoon to press down on the blueberries and raspberries a little bit. Turn to medium-low, add the chia seeds, and continue to stir for an additional 10 minutes. It will thicken as you stir.
- Add the chopped almonds then set aside and allow to cool slightly.
For the crust and crumble:
- In a medium bowl, combine the oat flour, almond meal, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the coconut oil and brown sugar until they are fully combined. Stir in the almond extract and flax egg. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until combined.
To assemble:
- Press ¾ of the oat crust into the baking pan. Spread the chia seed jam over the crust then sprinkle the remaining oat mixture on top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting and serving. These taste awesome both warm and cold.
Notes:
- Use any berries you want for the jam. Peaches would also taste delicious! You can also just buy fruit preserves at the store if you don’t want to make the chia jam.
- You can sub all-purpose flour for both the oat flour and almond meal (1 ¼ cups total).
- Make your own oat flour by processing oats in a food processor or blender until it reaches flour consistency. Almond meal can be made the same way (by using almonds).
- Use gluten-free oats to make this recipe gluten free.
- To make a flax egg mix 1 tablespoon flax meal with 2 ½ tablespoons water and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Use a real egg in place of a flax egg if you aren’t vegan.
Your Bars
Bars, the dessert kind, are definitely a Minnesota thing. What’s your favorite kind?
