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If your mornings are hectic, this make ahead breakfast oat bars are a great option! This Starbucks copycat recipe is so easy to make at home, and every bite is extra delicious! If oat bars are your favorite Starbucks treat, you’ll love this healthier homemade version!
Ingredients & substitutions
- Quick oats: These quick-cooking oats, also called 1-minute oats, can literally be cooked in that little time, so they have a chewy, soft texture and are best for the recipe. Do not use rolled/old-fashioned oats or steel-cut oats. The bars have a hard time sticking together. If gluten-free, use GF certified oats.
- Butter: Butter adds richness and helps to hold the oats together. Use unsalted butter, if you use salted, decrease the amount of added salt. Any plant-based butter would work perfectly in this recipe too.
- Light brown sugar: The molasses in the brown sugar adds a wonderful rich flavor. You can use white granulated sugar if you are in a pinch.
- Maple syrup: Maple syrup adds a nice earthy sweetness. Honey will also work well if you prefer.
- Milk: We used unsweetened almond milk for these oat bars, but any plant-based or dairy milk will work well.
- Vanilla extract and salt: To sweeten and round out the flavor of the oat bars.
How to make Starbucks oat bars
- Melt the butter, brown sugar and maple syrup in small saucepan. You can also use the microwave to make it faster.
- Whisk together until smooth and and then whisk in the milk and vanilla extract.
- Pour the butter mixture into the oat mixture.
- Stir to combine.
- Press the mixture into a lined square baking pan.
- Bake until lightly golden and firm.
Tips for making the bars at home
- Line the baking dish with parchment. Allow the parchment to hang over the sides of the pan so that the baked oats are easy to remove to cool and slice.
- Allow the oats to cool. If you cut into the baked oats too soon, they won’t be set. Let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
- Add in some extras. Make these Starbucks oat bars exactly to your tastes by stirring in some chocolate chips, dried fruits or nuts to the oat mixture before baking. Or finish them with a drizzle of melted chocolate!
Frequently asked questions
These oat bars contain butter so they are not vegan. But when tested with plant-based butter, they work out perfectly so it’s the only change needed to make them vegan!
These breakfast oat bars are great for meal prep. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can enjoy them cold, at room temperature, or warm them through slightly.
Yes, these will freeze well for up to 2 months, so make a double batch. Freeze the bars solid on a baking sheet before transferring to a container or bag, or, wrap individually in parchment. Thaw in the fridge or at room temperature.
Skip the line at Starbucks and make your own oat bars at home quickly and easily for those busy weekday mornings or as a midday snack. Hearty and filling, they will keep everyone feeling satisfied!
More bars recipes to try:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- Honey Nut Cereal Bars
- Pecan Date Bars
- No Bake Samoa Bars
- Vegan Protein Bars
If you try this healthy-ish feel good Starbucks Oat Bars recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe. We would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots, share it on Instagram so we can repost on Stories!
Starbucks Oat Bars
Video
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups quick oats
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar packed
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F and line an 8×8 inch pan with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor, grind 2 cups of oats until super fine and flour-like. Add to a large bowl and stir in the remaining 1¾ cups oats and salt. Mix to combine.
- Melt the butter, brown sugar, and maple over medium heat in a small saucepan until the butter is completely melted and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in the almond milk and vanilla extract. Let cool slightly.
- Pour the butter mixture into the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan and press the oats into the pan evenly.
- Bake until slightly golden brown, rotating halfway through, 20 minutes. Let cool and then slice into bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Please refrain from using the term “healthy” when there is so much added sugar. This is an incorrect label for those of us actually looking for healthy snacks.
Thanks for the feedback, Kara! I’ve been working through old posts to remove the word “healthy” and hadn’t gotten to this one yet. I just removed all of mentions of it, thank you again!
Came out amazing love it. Added chopped pecans and dark chocolate chips just wow!!
Love those additions! Thanks, Nabeela!!
These were excellent! I used oat milk instead of almond milk and I don’t think it made a difference 🙂
That’s good to know, thanks so much for sharing! So glad you liked the recipe!!
Any idea how to increase to fit a 9×13 dish? I’m limited in my tools, but would love to make these. Thanks!
You can double the recipe to fit your dish!
Made these for my granddaughters as they love Starbucks oat bars. Followed recipe exactly and it turned out dry and crumbly. Will try making again with honey instead of syrup.
Sorry to hear they turned out dry for you. Thanks for letting me know you used honey instead of maple syrup, I wonder if that was the reason they weren’t as moist. I’d love to hear how they turn out using maple syrup instead!
Followed exact recipe. Better than Starbucks! Highly recommend.
So glad you liked it, Jasmine! Thank you!!
Can I substitute honey for maple syrup?
Yes, absolutely!
I followed the recipe to a tee. I was super disappointed at how they came out. So dry and crumbly. I often order these bars at Starbucks. Unfortunately they were nothing alike at all. Starbucks is way more buttery. They are tasty though and will get eaten.
Sorry they didn’t turn out how you had hoped, Lorraine. I appreciate the feedback.
After reading the comments, I added 2 eggs and 1/4 tsp salt and they came out soft and intact. Amazing! Also put in less maple syrup
Thanks for the feedback!
I’ve never tried the original sbux version but I LOVE this recipe. I added a dash of cinnamon and it was AMAZING!!! Thanks for the recipe ❣️
So glad you loved them!
Can I sub Almond milk for unsweetened Oat milk?
Yes, that will be just fine!
I’m not understanding something. Recipe calls for 7.5 cups of quick oats. Instructions say to grind 2 cups of the oats until super fine then add in the remaining 1 3/4 cups of oats. 2 cups plus 1 3/4 cups equal 3.75 cups. What happened to the other 3.75 cups?
Hi there, thanks for your comment! The recipe calls for 3 3/4 cups of quick oats. I think you may have accidentally set the scale of the recipes to “2x” which may be where you are seeing 7.5 cups of quick oats. Hope that sorts out any confusion.
These are fantastic!! At first they did crumble but once they set up and stored in fridge, stayed together perfectly! Thanks for sharing this recipe! I added cinnamon and raisins.
Thank you so much, Kelly!
How much does 2c quick oats end up being when ground down? I already have some gf oat flour and wanted to use that instead, but not too sure on the exact measurement I should be using.
Hi Modeeha, I am not sure either as the ratio would be different and I have not made these with oat flour. If I was to try it I would start with 1 and 1/4 cup of oat flour and then test from there.
Very crumbly, but quite tasty. I was hoping to be able to slice into bars. They just fell apart. Might be good to use like a granola topping over yogurt.
So sorry to hear that your bars didn’t stick together for you. Using it as granola is a great option! I am going to retest this and see what’s going on with them.
My first batch was too. Just reduce your cooking time by 3-4 minutes. They were perfect
Thanks for this feedback!
Made your recipe for the Oat Bars (copycat Starbucks) and I liked them but felt they needed something extra. So, I melted 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips with 1 tsp. oil in the micro-wave, stirring until chocolate was smooth. Then I covered the oat bars evenly with the chocolate. By the second day, the chocolate had hardened and the bars are tasting wonderfully, according to my husband!
Love that idea! So glad to hear that you and your husband are enjoying them.
Very crumbly! I even used 1/2 cup less oats. Thought they’d be chewy but more dry and falling apart. Glad I didnt put too much time into these or serve them to anyone else. Have to eat them with a spoon. Obviously others have had the same issue. My oven runs perfect temp as I keep a separate oven thermometer inside when cooking.
Sadly I had to eat mine out of a bowl with a spoon, they completely crumbled. I triple checked the heat and time and rotation halfway through. They taste great but they did not form a bar shape.
Hmm, did you omit any of the ingredients? So sorry to hear that!
I love these so much and so does the husband and kiddos! I double the batch and have made them so many times already they are becoming a morning must have for me!
Thanks so much, Pamela! Happy to hear that!
They weren’t my cup of tea, but I’m sure others will like it! They were too sweet for me, even with cutting 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I baked it for 18 minutes. It crumbled terribly. Other commenters said the same & the response was to bake it less or check the temp. Did that, still didn’t work for me.
So sorry to hear that! Cutting the sugar does impact the texture as the sugar, once cooled does help the bars stick together better.
Love! Thank you so much. I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand, luckily my substitutions worked great. I used coconut sugar, agave syrup, and a few drops of english toffee stevia to bump up the malt flavor that brown sugar would have. Delish.
These were delicious! I never knew Starbucks had oat bars. But I was searching to find an oat bar recipe and I stumbled upon this one and I’m glad I found it. It was so hard to wait for them to cool off lol.
LOl, it is hard to wait to eat them! So glad you liked them!
Just wanted to give you some positive feedback and thank you for your time taken to post this recipe. It’s what I really needed.
Thank you so much, Lavern! I really appreciate it!
Just wondering about this sentence…
(From the recipe). Bake until slightly golden brown, rotating halfway through, 20 minutes.
I would have worded that sentence this way, “Bake for a total of 20 minutes – Or until slightly golden brown. Rotate at the 10 minute mark.
Oh, thanks for the feedback, and I see how your wording works too. The way I worded it is the acceptable method according to the publisher style guide that I follow.
Seriously?? You came here to comment on the way a recipe is worded?? It makes perfect sense just the way it is-smh
I have made these twice and they taste yummy. My issue is that they are quite crumbly and fall apart as I cut them. Any advice? Thanks.
Hi Janine! So glad you like the oat bars. I am sorry to hear that they aren’t sticking together well for you. If they are falling apart, they may be getting slightly overcooked. Is it possible your oven runs hot? As in, the temperature may be a little bit off even though you set it at 325, but it’s really over that temp? Also, when are you gutting them? When they are cooled or still warm?
The bars turned out well but they turned out a little pasty. I added an extra 5 minutes of baking and they colour really didn’t change, which is not a big deal obviously. The are good enough to make again for sure but next time I’ll only put 1 cup of the oaks into the food processor. I cut them into 16 bars, so about 1/2 of the size of a Starbucks bar, which is a better size for me. At $3.95 a bar here in Canada and $7.15 for a grande soy milk 1/2 sweet vanilla latte (no longer a regular treat at these prices) these bars are, and will be, a welcome way to treat myself and save a whack load of hard-earned $$$
Hi Andre, glad you like the oat bars. I am sorry they turned on pasty. Maybe try increasing the oven temperature to 335°F next time and see if that helps. Maybe your oven runs a little cooler than mine type of thing. Let me know if that works!
Just made these and they turned out really good. I did add about a half cup of peanut butter and some walnuts to mine. They have a nice chewy texture but are a little oily…maybe not so much butter next time, what do you think? I also melted Hershey kisses on top bc I didn’t have chocolate chips. Really satisfying and filling.
Hi Nichole! I am so glad you enjoyed the oat bars! Love the idea of adding the PB and walnuts! I suspect that the natural oil in the peanut butter combined with the unsalted butter contributed to that oily mouthfeel. I would cut the butter to 1/4 a cup next time if you add the PB again.
Thank you so very much for this recipe!!!!
so very delicious and nutritious my wife
kids love it, especially with chocolate chips.
You’re so welcome! That’s great to hear!
SO good!! SO easy!! SO healthy-ish!! Thanks for this great recipe which I easily converted to a vegan format. I always have these ingredients on hand so I’ll be making them over and over, and that’s for sure 🙂
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you were able to make it work and enjoyed. Yay!!
I would like to know how you made the vegan.
Did you use vegan butter?
Thanks.
Not sure if my first reply went through so I’ll try again.
I used Becel vegan margarine 🙂 As well, I used oat milk, not almond milk, because that is what I had on hand.
Okay.
Thanks so much 🌹💞
Love! This recipe is a keeper. I only had low carb brown sugar and maple syrup substitute so I’ve made the recipe with those and it’s delicious. It’s my third time making them in as many weeks. So quick to make and so convenient to pack for lunches and snacks. A thousand thanks.
Thank you so much! I love that!
I used Becel vegan margarine 🙂 As well, I used oat milk, not almond milk (because that is what I had on hand).
I love your oat bar recipe! I’ve made them about 4 times in the last month. Can’t get enough. So tasty!
That is amazing! I love that!
I altered them a tad to make them “lactation oatmeal bars!” Oatmeal itself is a galactogogue, so I just added brewers yeast and flax seed to increase that! I also added some cinnamon and used sugar free maple flavored syrup. I have to make two batches at a tile because my littles like them too! Yum!
Glad you were able to make it work and that you all enjoyed!
Can I sub in 1% milk for the almond milk? Thanks
Yes!
Very, Very good. And very easy! Good for when lots of friends come over and need a healthy-ish snack
Thank you so much! This would be perfect!
These bars are certainly very delicious, but they really don’t have that drier texture or the slightly salty taste of the Starbucks ones. I found them yummy, pretty darn close to Starbucks, but chewier than I was hoping for. Thanks for sharing!!
Thank you! Because of the quick cooking oats, they result is a chewy soft texture. For a drier texture, it may help to bake it for a little longer.
Made these, and was a little disappointed. They were extremely dry, and not a lot of flavor. I’m not sure if it’s because it didn’t have eggs? Either way, won’t be making again.
It shouldn’t have turned out dry because the butter helps keep it moist. Do you think it could’ve been overcooked?
I didn’t care for these. They tasted bland and fell apart when I cut them. Maybe if I added chocolate chips.
They may have been slightly overcooked if they fell apart when being cut. Definitely customize these to your liking with add ins such as chocolate chips, dried fruits, or nuts.
Made these today exactly as written and they are delicious! Two thumbs up from my 10 year old son and the hubby too. Next time I may substitute honey for the maple syrup to experiment.
That’s amazing! Love that you all enjoyed it!
I just made this Starbucks Oat bars and I absolutely love them. it tastes so delicious. This breakfast choice is best for me right now as I work at the hospital and sometimes don’t get to eat breakfast. Thanks Yumna!
That’s amazing! Yay!! You’re so welcome!
I’m quite impressed how these turned out actually. I added oatmeal I had that included some cinnamon, apples, pumpkin seeds and flax seeds to the regular oatmeal and put it in the blender to make it more fine. Turned out great!
Yay! That’s a fun way to switch it up.
Hello! Would these work with GF oats, which is what I use for oatmeal?
Yes, it will work!
These were amazingly delicious. I had previously made the peanut butter granola bars for my son’s lunchbox & he loves them. I began making these Starbucks ones for my mom because she’s allergic toto nuts & peanut butter. The first batch I made, I mixed in chocolate chips. They turned out devine. This time I didn’t have honey so I substituted it with date syrup & OMG! THEY WERE AMAZING. Thanks for for easy to make nutritious recipes
Thank you so much! So glad you all enjoyed it!
Looks delicious! Was wondering if the nutritional value was per serving or for the whole thing?
Hi there, per serving.
It was so good! I added chocolate chips and sprinkled MILO on top!
Thank you! Love the sound of that!
Is it possible to add additional flavouring to these? like cranberries, hazelnuts and chocolate chips??
Yes! Make these Starbucks oat bars exactly to your tastes by stirring in some chocolate chips, dried fruits or nuts to the oat mixture before baking. Or finish them with a drizzle of melted chocolate!
These are outstanding! They taste exactly like the Starbucks oat bars. They were so quick and easy to make too. We cut them, wrapped individually and froze them. When I make them again, I will double the recipe! Thank you! My family loves your recipes ❤️
Thank you so much!! That’s so great to hear!
I just made them, they taste absolutely fantastic! I hope my son likes them.
Yay!! Hope he does too!
Can the butter be replaced with anything other than coconut oil or plant-based butter.
I have not tried it with any other substitute.
Just made these during my WFH lunch break. I hope my family likes them… and if they don’t, too bad, more for me!
Glad you at least enjoyed them! Hope your family does too!
Hello! I would like to make these using oat flour. How much oat flour do I need (instead of blending oats)? thank you!
I would use 2 cups of oat flour and 1¾ cups oats.
Would it be ok to sub in unsweetened apple sauce for the maple syrup or would that change the consistency too much? Can’t wait to make these for my family!
You could try that! I think it would just reduce the sweetness, and it shouldn’t affect the consistency too much.
Hi! Your recipe looks delicious! Do you think I could substitute regular milk for the almond milk?
Thank you! Yes, you can make that substitute.
Made these yesterday 🤤 So good!
Yay! Love that!!
Could you use rolled oats instead?
Yes! You can use rolled oats, but make sure to grind them in a food processor first.
Hi Yumna! This looks like a great recipe – but I just want to clarify. Is the total bake time 20 minutes, rotating half way through, or 40 minutes, rotating at 20 minutes?
I’d really like to print your recipes – but do you think it would be possible to list /show the equipment used with links ABOVE the recipe itself? The extra space it takes up causes the recipe to require part of a 2nd page, therefore wasting paper.
Thanks!
Thank you! The total bake time in 20 minutes, and you will rotate it at the 10 minute mark. If you scroll to the recipe card, there’s a printer icon. When you click on it, I have it formatted in a way to print on 1-2 pages maximum with no images, no large font or anything that takes up too much ink. Can you try that? It should work fine.
I love this recipe! I’ve made it twice already this week. 🙂
Do you think it would work with honey, agave nectar, or molasses?
Thank you! Yay!! Yes, I think it would work.
I made this today, seriously was amazing and so easy. Let’s just say I am no longer buying granola bars.
Thank you so much! Homemade for the win!
What texture should these have to be done? Toothpick test? Just not jiggly? My oven is finicky so I have to adjust time for almost every recipe 🙂
They result is a chewy soft texture!
I made them this morning, after I saw the recipe on IG yesterday. Super easy, very tasty. Next time I might add chocolate chips. Thank you for another great recipe!
Yay!! Love the idea with the chocolate chips. You’re so welcome!
Just made these and turned out great using Honey, but will try Maple Syrup next batch to try getting it to more authentic oat bar taste. Thanks for sharing!
That’s amazing! Let me know what you think once you get to try it with the maple syrup too!