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My Oat Bars Are So Good!
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!
Ingredient Notes
- 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 adds richness and helps to hold the oats together. Use unsalted butter, but 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 but you can also substitute with white granulated sugar.
- Maple syrup: Maple syrup adds a nice earthy sweetness. Honey will also work well if you prefer but it does make them a little more dry.
- Milk: I use 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.
My Best Starbucks Oat Bars 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.
- 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.
Recipe Help & FAQs
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.
More Bars Recipes:
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars
- Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- No Bake Cookie Dough Bars
- Honey Nut Cereal Bars
- Vegan Lemon Bars
- Pecan Date Bars
- Vegan Protein Bars
If you try this 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. I 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 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
This is a great recipe! I subbed honey for the syrup and threw some chocolate chips in there and my kids love them. I seen some comments about it being crumbly, but as long as you press the mixture down in the pan so it’s solid before baking they’ll turn out just fine! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing that tip, Kristi! So glad the recipe turned out great for you and that your kids love the bars!!
I’ve made this recipe once before and the taste is wonderful but it was definitely too crumbly. This time I just added 1 egg to the mixture and it turned out perfect. So delicious!
That’s amazing! I’m retesting this recipe right now, I think I’ll have to try that myself. Thanks so much for sharing, Kat!!
I substituted sweetened condensed milk for the almond milk. I thought the batter then tasted too salty so I doubled it and then did not double the salt which helped a lot.
So smart! Glad you were able to adjust the saltiness by doubling the recipe. And I love condensed milk as a substitute. Thanks for sharing!!
Not quite the same, mine came out a bit dryer but still really delicious. Perfect morning grab-and-go breakfast and super easy to make.
Yes, they’re so great for busy mornings! So happy you liked them, Zoe!!
Loved it! I can have now starbucks at home. Thanks!!
Yay, so glad you liked it!! Thank you!
These were pretty bland.
I appreciate the feedback, Brooke. So sorry it didn’t turn out how you had hoped. Others have had similar complaints, so I’m actually in the process of retesting this recipe.
These were way too crumbly, did not hold together at all. Will put into a bowl, pour milk over it and eat like granola, taste is good but bar-like texture is not.
Thanks so much for the feedback, Kelly. I really appreciate it! I’m in the process of retesting this recipe because a lot of other people have also been getting a dry and crumbly result.
These were super disappointing. I followed the recipe exactly. The top layer is nicely packed and the bottom falls apart into a crumbly mess.
Oh no! So sorry to hear that, Faith. I’m looking into retesting this recipe since others have had the same problem. I really appreciate the feedback!