Apple Pie Oatmeal Bars are super easy to make and great to have on hand. Grab an apple oat bar as a yummy breakfast option or a midday snack!
Apple pie is without a doubt one of my favorite classic desserts. I also love oatmeal in baked goods. Whenever two of my favorites have a collaboration, like cake mix cookies or apple oatmeal bars, I can’t help but get excited! Needless to say, these Apple Pie Oatmeal Bars are the best of both worlds for pie and breakfast bar enthusiasts alike.
APPLE PIE OATMEAL BARS
Like this recipe? Pin it to your BREAKFAST board!
Follow Real Housemoms on Pinterest
Apple oat bars are satisfying, easy to make, and taste like your favorite dessert masquerading as breakfast! My kids love having apple pie bars with oatmeal available to grab as they head out the door for school. It’s a relief knowing that on days when we are running a little late in the morning, that they won’t be heading out the door hungry.
APPLE AND OAT BAR INGREDIENTS
Apples- You can choose from lots of different apples for this apple pie filling! My favorites are Granny Smith, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, or Jazz apples. Any of these varieties hold up great in a pie filling so if you happen to have a favorite, just go with it.
Butter- I always use unsalted butter when baking, but if all you have on hand is salted you can use it. I do recommend cutting out the added salt in the pie filling and oatmeal bar recipes to avoid the apple pie filling oatmeal bars being too salty.
Brown Sugar- Typically, I keep light brown sugar on hand which is what I use in this recipe. Dark brown sugar works the same, but the bars may have a stronger molasses flavor.
Oats- Old-fashioned rolled oats work best in this apple oat bar recipe. Definitely avoid steel-cut oats as they won’t provide the same texture as they are less processed.
HOW TO MAKE APPLE PIE OAT BARS
APPLE PIE FILLING:
- Combine all of the apple pie filling ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and place it over medium heat.
- Stir the ingredients and allow them to cook until the apples are softened and the sauce is thick.
- Remove from the heat and set aside.
OATMEAL BARS:
- First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Then grease a 9-inch x 13-inch baking pan or dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- After that, grab a mixing bowl and whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.
- Next, use a fork or pastry cutter to work the butter into the dry ingredients until they are well combined. It should have a crumbly texture and stick together when squeezed between your fingertips.
- Take half of the oat mixture and press it evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Now spread the apple pie mixture evenly over the bottom layer of the oat mixture.
- Lastly, use the remaining oat mixture to sprinkle an even layer over the top of the apple pie filling.
- Place the apple crisp bars with oats into the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
- Finally, remove from the oven and allow the bars to cool before cutting them into squares to serve.
TRY THESE OTHER EASY BREAKFAST RECIPES
- Spinach Egg and Cheese Breakfast Bites
- Ham and Cheese Stuffed Biscuits
- Granola Breakfast Cookies
- Apple Cider Muffins
- Air Fryer Donuts
- More BREAKFAST recipes…
TOOLS USED TO MAKE THIS APPLE OAT BARS RECIPE
Baking Dish: 9 x 13 baking dishes are a pretty standard requirement for lots of recipes. It never hurts to have more than one. I personally own a few!
Mixing Bowls: Stackable, storable, and easy to clean! These bowls are my favorite!
Pastry Cutter: This unique kitchen tool, also known as a dough blender, is worth the room it may take up in your kitchen drawer!
*This post originally posted on 08/17/2014.
Ingredients
Apple Pie Filling
- 2 cups apples cored, peeled, and chopped
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ¼ cup light brown sugar firmly packed
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Oatmeal Bars
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 cup brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into pieces
Instructions
Apple Pie Filling
- Combine the apples, butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, water, and salt in a medium saucepan and place it over medium heat.
- Stir and allow to cook until apples are softened and sauce is thick, about 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool whil you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Oatmeal Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Whisk together the flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Using a fork or pastry cutter, add in the butter and work until well combined. The mixture should have a crumbly texture and sticks together when pinched between your finger tips.
- Press half of the oat mixture into an even layer in the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Spread the apple pie mixture over the oat mixture and spread evenly in the pan.
- Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture evenly on top of the apples.
- Place into the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the baking dihs from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack in the pan. (If you can wait that long.) Then cut into 12 squares and serve. Store any leftovers in an air-tight container.
Nutrition
Michelle says
Overall, this recipe is okay. The bars taste okay, but came out thinner than expected. I barely had enough of the dough mixture to cover the bottom of a 9×13 pan. I would recommend doubling up on the recipe as others have recommended
Alexis says
So yummy! I ended up having to double the mount of apple mixture for it to coat an entire layer of the pan. It kinda crumbled, I def wouldn’t cut it all and expect it to stay in a bar shape. But it tastes great either way and I’ll have to make again so I can put some vanilla bean ice cream on top!
EP says
I must have done something wrong, but they did not stay like bars, the oat mixture was really dry since the butter was just cut in pieces, and the taste was really bad. I’m not sure why but won’t be making these agin. Which is a bummer cause they looked so good
Patricia says
Hi there I seen that there is butter written twice for this recipe
Katie says
Idk what I did wrong but everything fell apart they did not stay in bars but rather just crumbled apart
Mitzi says
Very tasty! I found the method of cutting butter into an oat mixture a unnecessarily difficult task. I find softening & mixing in to be more user friendly without compromising texture or flavor. Thank you for a delicious recipe! The hubs was delighted!
Olivia A Dale says
Hey there, I made this recipe last week, and I came back and decided to comment because I will be making these again. They are delicious! I did use salted butter because I think it makes any crumble taste better. Anyhow, thank you so much for a great recipe. Even my son, who claims to hate apples, loved these 🙂
Mindy says
I just made this, it is very very good!! This recipe will be a keeper
Aubrey Cota says
That’s so great! I’m glad to hear you liked them, thank you.