Starbucks Oat Bars
Updated Apr 28, 2026
Simple to make, these filling and healthy-ish oat bars are great to grab for breakfast or a snack. Make them ahead and skip the Starbucks line!
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Starbucks Oat Bars at Home!
Have you tried the Starbucks Oat Bars? I tried them, loved them, and hated the ingredients. So I decided to make a homemade version of the popular Starbucks oat bars and I think that my version is actually better! They’re chewy, slightly sweet and buttery and easy to make vegan by swapping the butter for a plant-based version.
If your mornings are hectic, these make ahead breakfast oat bars are a great option! This Starbucks copycat recipe is so easy to make at home, and you’ll love having them to grab on-the-go! If oat bars are your favorite Starbucks treat, you’ll love this healthier homemade version!
Happy Baking!
– Yumna
Starbucks Oat Bars Ingredients
- 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 or the bars will have a hard time sticking together. If gluten-free, use GF certified oats.
- Butter: Butter helps to hold the oats together since I don’t use eggs for the recipe. Use unsalted butter, and feel free to swap with plant-based butter to make the recipe dairy-free.
- Sweeteners: I use light brown sugar, maple syrup and a little vanilla extract not only for sweetening and flavoring the oat bars but also binding them.
- Milk: I use unsweetened almond milk for these oat bars, but any plant-based or dairy milk will work well.
How to Make Starbucks Oat Bars
Recipe Tips
- 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 completely before you remove them from the pan and slice them.
- Press the mixture firmly before baking. This ensures that they hold well together without crumbling after baking. It’s important to note that these will crumble lightly still because we’re not using any eggs in the oat bars.
- Don’t over bake. Watch the edges of the pan and the top of the oat bars. When the edges start to pull away from the pan and the edges look firm, it’s time to pull them out of the oven. They should be done at 15 minutes.
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 the 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, 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely in the pan and then slice into 16 bars.
Equipment
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Comments
I’ve been looking for a tasty oat bar recipe for years, thanks for posting this.
5 star bars… love the flavour and so easy to make. I am on my 4th batch, altering a pinch each time for perfection. I did find them a bit crumbly the first time but solved that by adding another 3/4 C of oats; coarsely ground; also helps reduce the sweetness. A dash of molasses adds more depth of flavour and a tablespoon of ground flax to add more binding; not that I need to but I am experimenting. I think making sure the sugar is melted and even bring the mixture to a slow boil before removing from heat. I make my own brown sugar with cane sugar so the process of melting takes a little longer.
Better than Starbucks!
That makes me so happy to hear! I love that you’ve made them four times already and found little tweaks that worked well for you along the way. The extra oats, molasses, and flax all sound like great additions. Thank you so much for sharing, and I’m thrilled you think they’re even better than Starbucks!
Very crumbly. Mouth feel was very gummy. Tossing this recipe. I’ll stick to my own oatmeal cookie recipe, using eggs. I think the eggs help bind the oats and make the bars lighter.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy this one. I’ve made them many times and they do hold up well together if you make sure to combine everything together and press very firmly into the baking dish. The eggs would definitely help to bind it better, but for a vegan recipe, it works really well without the eggs.
Can I use the flavored instant oatmeal packets? I have a TON that my kiddos are not eating.
Hi Gwen, I haven’t tested this, but you could definitely try it! I will say that flavored instant oatmeal packets have added sugar and flavoring, which might make the bars too sweet and could change the texture. But if you try it, let me know how it goes!
I want to say that I loved them, but I did not, too much crumb and none intact bars (birds loved them). I even tried making them a second time and this time not using the food processor and I used honey instead of maple syrup and it was closer. Definitely storing them in the fridge did help the second batch to have a less crumb, also thinner did help. Maybe if I make them a third time I might use corn syrup, not sure, open to suggestions.
Bummer, I’m sorry to hear that. Did you make sure to use quick oats, not rolled/old-fashioned oats or steel cut oats? This recipe works best with quick oats, otherwise the bars will have a hard time sticking together. And when you press the mixture into the baking dish, make sure you press it in firmly and evenly so it holds together in the oven. Lastly, make sure you let them cool in the dish completely before removing and cutting. I hope that helps!
A little crumbly even after pressing into pan & allowing to fully cool before cutting, but was able to get a few intact bars and they are delicious! Great flavor.
So glad you liked them, Elizabeth!! Thanks!
I love them! I add sometimes a bit of vegan vanilla protein powder for more protein, which still tastes great, but for the really sinful version I leave it out. 🙂 Absolutely no need to go to Starbucks anymore, these oat bars are even more awesome!
Yay!! So happy you love them, Pascale! Thank you so much!!
Made it vegan by substituting the butter 1:1 for coconut oil and using 1/4 cup less oats, still turned out amazing !
Yay! So happy you liked it and were able to make it vegan!! Thanks, Angela!
These are perfect! I wonder if some people’s turned out dry because they didn’t grind the oats into a flour first? I also almost made the mistake of only using 1/4 cup of brown sugar. I sprinkled fresh frozen blueberries on the top before I put the dish in the oven to get a little extra fiber.
So happy you liked them, Jennifer!! Thanks so much!
I tried your recipe and everyone with whom I shared loved the bars! I used coconut sugar instead of brown sugar and followed your recipe to every word. Initially, the bars were indeed a little crumbly but after they cooled down completely, they were firm and held together. The only improvisation – I grilled on high at the end for a minute to make the top layer crusty brown!! Thanks for your simple and wonderful recipe, I have already shared it with my colleagues 🙂
Love that!! So happy they were a hit and that you enjoyed them, AJ. Thanks so much!
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