Oatmeal Apricot Squares make a delicious snack or breakfast treat that the whole family will enjoy. Made with apricot and rolled oats, then topped with icing, every bite of these oatmeal squares is sweet and wonderful.
Apricot oatmeal bars are very easy to make and perfect for serving up as a portable snack when you’re in a hurry. They are healthier than you may expect thanks to the coconut oil and whole wheat flour, but these oat bars are still pretty dessert like.
What are apricot oat bars?
They are a simple and easy-to-make oatmeal cookie crust, pressed into a pan and then topped with your favorite apricot preserves or jam. Then more of the oat mixture is sprinkled on top before being baked. After that, a simple icing is added over the top to complete these little gems.
Why you will love Easy Apricot Snack Bars
- Minimal ingredients. To make this recipe, you only need a small handful of ingredients, and they are all inexpensive and easily locatable in your local grocery store. You may even have a few of them on hand already, making this recipe even more convenient.
- Healthy snack or dessert. This recipe is great for making a treat that is not only delicious but healthy too. Using coconut oil and wheat flour cut down on the fats and calories, making this a great treat to make when you are looking for a healthier option.
- Perfect for any occasion. These bars are just as great as a dessert to serve at parties and get-togethers, but it’s equally as delicious at home with the family too. Enjoy these bars for breakfast, lunch or mid-day snack!
Ingredients for Healthy Apricot Oatmeal Bars
Coconut oil: You will need ½ cup of coconut oil, room temperature, for this recipe. If desired you can use melted butter instead.
Brown sugar: Add in ½ cup of packed brown sugar to make this recipe nice and sweet.
Flour: You will need 1 cup of whole wheat flour for the base of this recipe, but all-purpose flour can be used if that is what you have available.
Baking soda: This is what helps the crust to puff up nicely as it bakes, use ¼ teaspoon of baking soda.
Salt: You will want to use ¼ teaspoon of salt to bring out the natural flavors in this recipe.
Oats: Use 1 ½ cups of rolled oats to get a wonderfully chewy texture in every square.
Apricots: You will want to use ¾ cup of purred apricot fruit, apricot preserve, or jam.
Icing
Butter: Use 1 TBSP of butter, melted, to make the icing rich and smooth.
Powder sugar: You need ½ cup of powder sugar to create a lovely sweet frosting.
Milk: Adding 1 TBSP of milk will help make the icing creamy and tasty!
How to make Healthy Oatmeal Apricot Bars
Prep
Get the oven preheating to 350 degrees. Then, spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray and set it aside.
Oat mixture
In a large bowl, combine the coconut oil, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt, and rolled oats.
Mix with a KitchenAid or handheld mixer until coarse crumbles form.
Assemble
Proceed to press 2 cups of the crumb oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared 9×13 pan.
Next, spoon the fruit puree over the top. Try and spread it around as evenly as possible, no need to be perfect here. Once the fruit touches the oat mixture, if you try and spread it too much, it mixes the two which you don’t want. You want it layered, so do your best to spread the fruit around as evenly as possible.
Then sprinkle the remaining oatmeal mixture over the top of the fruit.
Bake
Place in the preheated oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes, until the edges of oatmeal crust are beginning to brown. Let the bars cool completely before slicing.
Icing
In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, powdered sugar, and milk. Whisk until smooth, transfer to a plastic baggie and cut the corner to drizzle across cooled bars.
Serve
Cut into squares. Serve for an afternoon snack or with fruit for breakfast, enjoy!
Oatmeal Apricot Squares
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut oil {room temp}
- ½ cup brown sugar {packed}
- 1 cup whole-wheat flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- ¾ cup pureed fruit or jam {I obviously used apricots}
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
- Oat mixture: Combine coconut oil, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, salt and rolled oats. Mix with a Kitchenaid or hand mixer until coarse crumbles form.
- Assemble: Press 2 cups of the mixture into the bottom of the 9×13 pan.
- Spoon the fruit puree over the top. Try and spread it around as evenly as possible- no need to be perfect here. Once the fruit touches the oat mixture, if you try and spread it a lot it mixes the two, which you don’t want. You want it layered. So do your best to spread the fruit around as evenly as possible as you’re adding it to the pan.
- Spread the remaining oatmeal mixture over the top of the fruit.
- Bake: Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes, until edges of oatmeal crust are beginning to brown. Cool completely.
- Frosting: In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, powdered sugar, and milk. Whisk until smooth, transfer to a plastic baggie and cut the corner to drizzle across cooled bars.
- Cut into squares. Enjoy for an afternoon snack or with fruit for breakfast!
Notes
Nutrition
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Adapted from Fruit Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Can I make this apricots oatmeal bar recipe using other fruits?
If you don’t have the apricot puree, it would be fabulous with a fresh blueberry puree, strawberry, or even peach puree. Homemade jam would be great too, although it would increase the sugar content of the bars.
How long are apricot bars good for?
These bars can last about 3-5 days if kept stored in an airtight container at room temperature but they are best when kept stored in the fridge.
What are the best measuring cups?
I always have 4-5 sets of measuring cups on hand at any given time. Here are some characteristics of my favorites:
- Use stainless steel measuring cups. They hold up better, last longer and I can run them through the dishwasher a million times without any issues.
- Use measuring cups with no lip and at least a 3″ handle. Smaller, 1″ squat handles are just awkward. And the cups that have a lip are harder to level ingredients.
- Get nesting cups that can be separated.
- Go for a large set of cups with uncommon measurements! I have a big set with a 2 cup measuring cup, a 1 ½ cup measuring cup and even a ⅔ cup. I’m amazed at how often I use them!
Check out these other great oatmeal recipes
- OATMEAL CAKE RECIPE
- PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL BALLS
- APPLE CRISP WITH OATMEAL
- OATMEAL CARAMELITAS
- OATMEAL PEANUT BUTTER PROTEIN BALLS
- CHOCOLATE CHIP OATMEAL BREAD
- BAKED OATMEAL CUPS
- RASPBERRY OATMEAL BARS
- PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
- BLACKBERRY OATMEAL COOKIES
- OATMEAL WAFFLES
Oatmeal Apricot Squares are a fantastic and tasty snack or breakfast treat that your whole family is sure to love. Made with apricot jam and chewy oats, then topped with icing, these oatmeal squares are sweet and delightful.
Adriana says
These look so good! Do you think cherry puree would work? (either fresh or thawed from frozen)
Jessica says
I’ve never tried it, but I think it’d work!
Emy says
The flavor was good, but the bars fell apart into granola with chewy bites from the purée. I’ll just use it as a topping or eat it with a spoon. 😊