Healthy Breakfast Bars - Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam - Easy

Healthy Breakfast Bars are made with a crispy yet chewy peanut butter oat mixture that sandwiches a layer of sweet strawberry jam. It's a combo that's classic for a reason - at least here in the States.

These Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Oat Bars are perfect for a quick breakfast or snack at the counter, or grabbing and taking on-the-go on a busy weekday.

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What Makes these Healthy Breakfast Bars?

• Organic GF rolled oats are the base of this recipe.  I like to buy mine from Thrive Market because they are inexpensive for quite a large quantity. (Get 40% off your first order + sometimes a free gift.) *Be sure you are using certified gluten-free oats if baking gluten free, as regular oats run the risk of cross contamination with wheat.

• Coconut oil is used instead of butter. I’ve tried several oat bar recipes in the past and the majority contain A LOT of butter – I’m talking 1-2 sticks for something that is supposed to taste like and be breakfast. That being said, I found those recipes to be literally sickening. Coconut oil is still comprised of saturated fats like butter and is not the be-all-end-all health replacement, but it’s great to switch the two back and forth in moderation. Coconut oil makes these bars feel light, unlike butter which leaves me with a heavier, greasy feeling.
• A combination of granulated sugar and pure maple syrup replaces light brown sugar. If you want to go the extra mile, you could try using organic cane sugar as well. Don’t get me wrong, I love brown sugar, but since I wanted to feel good about having these oat bars for breakfast, I really wanted to come up with a way to leave it out. Since light brown sugar is made out of a mixture of granulated sugar and molasses, adding granulated sugar and maple syrup is almost a 1:1 replacement. Only use pure maple syrup in this recipe, do not use the commercial junk marketed as maple syrup but in fact contains not even a drop of it.

• Natural strawberry jam. I chose to use Thrive Market's Organic Strawberry Fruit Spread. You can go as healthy as you want here by buying organic, no sugar added, or even making and/or using your own jam or compote from your own garden or a local farm.
• Natural peanut butter. I recommend using a more natural peanut butter that doesn't contain the typical additives such as molasses, however I don't recommend using completely natural peanut butter. Completely natural peanut butter tends to be very oily and needs to be stirred in order to incorporate the oils, this will result in incredibly oily oat bars. I used Member's Mark Natural No Stir Creamy Peanut Butter Spread.

Can You Taste the Coconut Oil?

There are two main types of coconut oil; refined and unrefined.

Unrefined coconut oil, as its name suggests, has been pressed straight from the coconut meat and subject to no further processing. On its own, it has a strong coconut scent and flavor which passes subtly into baked goods. Refined coconut oil does have further processing, such as degumming which can change texture and quality, neutralizing which reduces the risk of rancidity, bleaching through an activated clay filter, and deodorizing to remove the coconut scent and taste. It’s important to note that not all coconut oil products have been FDA approved. Be sure you trust the company you’re buying from and stick to organic when possible, especially if purchasing refined coconut oil as some of the refining processes can introduce chemicals such as lye.

It’s up to you which type of coconut oil you want to use. I have a large tub of organic unrefined coconut oil I got inexpensively from Sam’s Club so I stuck with that for this recipe. There is a subtle coconut smell and flavor, but I don’t actually mind it one bit. However, it may interfere if you switch up the jam flavor.

How to Make Healthy Breakfast Bars / Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Oat Bars:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grease all sides of a 8×8 square baking dish with some butter or organic non-stick spray. Set aside.
3. Add dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl (GF all purpose flour, rolled oats, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt.) Stir until evenly distributed.
4. Melt coconut oil in the microwave 20-30 seconds. Add maple syrup and melted coconut oil to the dry ingredients. Mix until ingredients start to form together. It should resemble sort of a crumble but stick together when pressed (see above photo; bottom row on the right.) If mixture is not sticking together, try stirring in another 1-2 tbsps. of maple syrup.
5. Set aside a little over ⅓ of the mixture.
6. Add peanut butter to the remaining ⅔ of the mixture. Stir until evenly incorporated.

7. Press peanut butter mixture into the bottom of your prepared baking dish. I prefer to do this with a silicone spatula. You want to press firmly so the oats create a flat, even bottom layer with no spaces for jam to spill through.

8. Spoon strawberry jam onto the bottom oat layer, making sure to leave ½ of an inch to an inch around all sides to prevent the jam from spilling down the sides of the pan.

9. Sprinkle the remaining ⅓ of the oat mixture evenly overtop of the jam layer, leaving no exposed areas.

10. Lightly press down with your hands or a silicone spatula so the top oat layer adheres to the jam. This will prevent excessive crumbliness. Tip: Be sure to press firmly, but not so firmly that you squish the jam down the sides.

11. Bake for 25-30 minutes until light golden in color. Tip: Since we are using coconut oil and not butter, the oats will stay a light golden color and won’t really brown.

12. Let cool completely in pan before cutting into squares. Important: Bars will crumble and jam will spill out if you cut the mixture while still warm.

13. Enjoy!

It's best to eat these Healthy Breakfast Bars within 2-3 days stored at room temperature. They last for up to a week in the fridge. Note: Natural jams with large pieces of fruit will spoil faster at room temperature, so its best to only make what you can eat within a few days unless you plan to store it in the fridge.

Healthy Breakfast Bars - Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam Oat Bar Notes:

• Use refined coconut oil for no coconut flavor/smell. I use organic unrefined because I like the subtle flavor.
• You may add in 1-2 tbsp. more pure maple syrup if your oat mixture isn’t sticking together enough. I haven’t needed to do this, but baking needs can differ depending on humidity, elevation, etc.
• The structure of these bars rely on coconut oil hardening at room temperature. If you make these during summer in a hot, humid house, the coconut oil will not be able to harden and the bars will be crumbly. Coconut oil becomes a liquid around 76 F. A simple trick you can do is to check your jar of coconut oil to see if it’s in a solid or liquid state. If it’s already liquid, then you will need to adjust your thermostat or plan on keeping these bars in the refrigerator.
• I don't recommend reducing the amount of granulated sugar in this recipe. This is because the combination of granulated sugar and pure maple syrup work together to replace light brown sugar. This mixture provides extra sweetness, but also forms a chewy structure for the oat bars. If you want to reduce sugar in this recipe, a good place to do it is with the jam. Simply buy a no sugar-added natural jam or make your own.

Did You Make These Healthy Breakfast Bars?