Oat bars have become a favourite for lots of people recently. Take a look at any supermarket shelf and you will see row upon row of these grab-and-go snacks.
In theory, they are a good option. Oats are full of fibre and protein, they help lower blood sugar and cholesterol.
Why not just buy them?
The trouble is many of the manufactured bars give the impression of being good for you and even a healthy option. But a quick look at the ingredients list could leave you with a sour taste in your mouth!
Amongst the expected ingredients of oats and honey you can also expect to see emulsifiers, stabilisers, flavourings and colourings – not for us thank you!
Even the ones that use only the best natural ingredients can be full of added sugar with only a tiny percentage of honey.
So, we have developed our own basic but fabulous recipe to make a batch of oat and honey bars that can be adapted by adding any other ingredients that you like.
If you like flapjacks, cereal bars or ‘breakfast-on-the-go’ bars, have a go at these and you will really taste the difference.
Not only that but you will notice the saving in your pocket too! These bars (basic recipe before any additions have been made) work out to roughly 19p each (or 65p/100g). That’s a massive saving on shop bought ones and you have the added benefit of knowing exactly what has gone into them and can create your own flavours.
Oat & Honey Bars Recipe
200g oats
50g jumbo oats
30g puffed brown rice (e.g. Rude Health) – this can be bought in supermarkets or health food shops.
(You can use a well known puffed rice cereal but these do have additives and sugars added)
75g unsalted butter
75g unsweetened peanut butter – we used Meridian Smooth Peanut Butter
(Meridian is made from just 100% whole roasted peanuts with no added salt or sugar and they don’t use palm oil either)
200g honey
plus any other ingredients you like!
Here are a few ideas:
any dried fruit: dates, raisins, cranberries, apricots etc. (50g portions)
chocolate chips – dark, milk or white
unsalted nuts
desiccated coconut
seeds – sunflower, pumpkin, chia,
You can also add:
cinnamon
mixed spice
ground ginger
crystallised ginger
With our basic recipe you can experiment with flavours to your hearts content!
How to make Oat & Honey Bars
These are very quick and easy to make!
Preheat your oven to 180°c/160° Fan/ Gas 6 and line an 20cm x 27cm tin with baking parchment.
Weigh out the oats, jumbo oats and puffed rice into a large bowl, along with any additional ingredients you are using (with the exception of any chocolate chips, which should be added later)
Measure the honey, butter and peanut butter into a saucepan and place over a low heat to gently melt, stirring together to combine.
Take off the heat then pour over the oat mixture. Stir everything together until well combined.
Turn the mixture into the lined tin and press down well. If you are using chocolate chips, leave the mixture to cool for 5 minutes before putting half the mixture into the tin. Level it out and press down then sprinkle over the chocolate chips. Put the rest of the mixture over the top and again level out and press down. This will prevent the chocolate from just melting into the oat mixture.
Bake for 18-20 minutes or until light golden brown.
Leave to cool for a few minutes but while still warm from the oven, cut into 14 bars (or less if you like them big!). Leave to cool a little more before moving them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
If you give these a go I would love to hear how they turned out…and any flavour combinations you are particularly pleased with!
Comment below or post a photo to our Facebook Page
Highly Recommended:
MasterClass Non-Stick Traybake / Brownie Tin 20cm x 27cm
This is the tin we use for our recipe. It is a very high quality, commercial grade pan that won’t warp or buckle in the heat of the oven. Perfect results every time.