Sometimes I really miss living in the country. When I was growing up, acquiring fresh blueberries was just a matter of walking outside and picking them from one of the bushes in our yard. Getting my blueberry fix these days takes a little more effort. For the past few summers, E and I have visited a local U-pick blueberry farm where we’d spend an hour or so in the sun and come home with a couple of gallons of blueberries, some to be eaten immediately and most to be frozen for later.
Well, this year “our” U-pick farm has gone out of business, and we haven’t succeeded in finding another. So we’ve had to make do with the next best thing: organically grown blueberries from the local natural foods store. When I saw them there a few days ago, I just had to pick up a pint; even though the cost was several times what I’d pay to pick my own, blueberries are such a part of summer to me that I couldn’t pass them up.
Besides, I really needed them to make these bars, which I’d been craving for a few weeks. You won’t believe how healthy they are: no refined flour, no white sugar, no added fat, no soy, and no gluten*. They’re not super-sweet, but they’re full of fresh fruity taste.
Blueberry-Oat Bars
If you prefer a sweeter bar, add more agave nectar, sugar, stevia, or your favorite sweetener to the blueberries as they are cooking. Or add a sugar glaze on top by mixing a little vegan powdered sugar with water until it’s the right consistency for drizzling.
Ingredients
- 1 pint blueberries
- 1/4 cup agave nectar
- 1/4 cup apple juice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with enough water or juice to form a smooth paste
- 3 cups oatmeal* (regular, not instant)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 ounces unsweetened applesauce
- 6 tablespoons (3/8 cup) agave nectar
- 6 tablespoons (3/8 cup) water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
*Use gluten-free oats to make these gluten-free.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Oil an 8×8-inch baking dish.
- In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries, agave nectar, and juice. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When it boils, stir in the vanilla and the cornstarch mixture. Continue to stir as the mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Put 1 1/2 cups of the oatmeal into a blender and grind it to a fine powder. Pour it into a medium-sized mixing bowl and add the remaining oatmeal, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Stir in the apple sauce, agave nectar, water, and vanilla, and mix well.
- Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing well to cover the bottom of the pan. Spoon the blueberry filling over the batter, and cover the blueberries with the remaining batter.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.
Preparation time: 5 minute(s) | Cooking time: 35 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 16
Nutrition Facts
Makes 16 bars. Each contains 117 Calories (kcal); 1g Total Fat; (7% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 26g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 81mg Sodium; 2g Fiber. Weight Watchers 2 Flex Points.
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{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
Susan, I'm dying to make the blueberry bars recipe but I don't have a blender, and my food processor is broken. Could I use oat flour for the ground-up oats?
Sure, Gracie, if you have oat flour, that will work perfectly. Hope you enjoy them!
I tried this recipe last night since I had some leftover blueberries and I must say….WOW!!! I followed the recipe word for word but I did not put any powdered sugar as I felt they were great as is. I realized this is a great idea for diabetics since there is no sugar (agave nectar is an approved sweetener by the Diabetic Association due to its low glycemic index) or white flour in this recipe. I have already referred a friend to your site as we both have diabetic parents and also we are always looking for a healthier vegan treat
Please keep up the wonderful work and I look forward to trying more of your recipes!!!
Even my "I hate anything healthy" family loved these! Thank you!
They were great! Thanks for the recipe.
I made these the other night and they were delicious. For seconds, my husband and I had them with some chocolate cherry soy icecream which was also quite yummy.
I made these and they were delicious. Unfortunately I am on my own a lot so I gave most of it to some friends who have a big family and they all loved it and asked for more. Will definietly make them again.
I made these and they were absolutely delicious!
I went out and bought a pint of blueberries specially for these bars. I'm so glad I did! These bars turned out fantastic. I ended up using a blueberry-flavoured applesauce and they are so tasty. Thank you!!
Susan, I love love love your blog and these were amazing! Thank you so much for your work.
These were truly delicious!
I too had some trouble with the top layer, but as they say, practice makes perfect, so I guess I'll just have to cook this more often
these bars are amazing. in fact, this website in general is simply amazing!! so fantastic to find alternative recipes for health junkies! these bars satisfy even those with the sweetest tooths' cravings! i (non-vegan but self-diagnosed health freak) teamed these yummy bars with natural yoghurt and fresh strawberries – much more than a bar, more like a slice of crumble! fantastic – thanks!!
I have made these many times since discovering the recipe about three months ago, they are a huge hit around here with my 3.5- and 2-year-olds. My husband would probably like them too, but he's been too slow to partake and they all get eaten before he gets to them! They work well with raspberries in place of blueberries, or apples. Yesterday I made them with a no-cook pumpkin filling — 1 c pumpkin + 1/2 c applesauce + nutmeg — which I thought was great, but it was a little less popular with the kiddos…. I sub nutmeg for the cinnamon, and I'm going to try the lemon zest suggested by some people. I too found the filling a bit on the sweet side, so I tried using water instead of apple juice. Thanks for the great recipe!
These look delicious–I'm going to try them once I get some blueberries. Do you think you can post the sugar content for your recipes along with all the other nutritional information though? some recent studies show that sugar contributes much more to weight gain and aging than fat or anything else does, so I'm most concerned about the sugar content.
Thanks!
Susan, I agree with most of the ladies here that this recipe looks very simple and the bars look very nutritious and delicious.
I wanted to make this macrobiotic and would like to use Barley malt instead of Agave. Do you know what should be the proportion of Barley Malt that I should be using?
Thanks!
Deepti
My daughter and I made these yesterday for my diabetic DH. We all enjoyed it for a nice dessert. My 6 y/o DD especially LOVED it. Thank you
I just made this recipe and accidently left out most of the applesauce… and it was still delicious! I really love your blog, and every recipe I’ve made so far has been delicious. Thanks!
Thanks for this great dessert! It reminds me of blueberry cobbler. Susan, you haven’t failed me yet. Keep up the good work!
I made these back in 2008 when I discovered this site (which made it SO much easier to change from omnivore to low fat vegan — Thank you, Susan!). They tasted good, but I had to pick chunks of cornstarch out of the blueberries. How much water do you use to make the “smooth paste”?
Made these today – super easy and quick. Pretty tasty. I found the vanilla a bit overpowering, so I think next time I make these, I will reduce the amount. =)
I preferred these as a snack during exercise. Not too sweet, moist and packs well. I wrote about my experiences here: http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2010/08/23/blueberry-oat-bars/
These are awesome!!! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe.
I made this recipe and love it but my husband and daughter said they were not sweet enough! They are meat eaters, I am vegan. I love this website and have it listed on my favorites list.
I made these this week for my family, and WOW! They are delicious and really satisfying! I made a little powdered sugar glaze for the top. The blueberries oozing from the middle were so sweet and delicious.
This recipe is going in my regular rotation.
Thanks so, so much for your blog. All your work is greatly appreciated.
I made these for the family and we love them. (Of course, I added a little bit of extra agave nectar and sugar for taste). We eat them for breakfeast and dessert!
What other fruits besides blueberries will work well with this? One family member doesn’t like blueberries so I was thinking of trying pears. Would I cook the pears the same as the blueberries? Thanks!
Hi Susan! A burning question ;p I have heard that ‘true’ blueberries are much smaller and grown in a bog like cranberries than the boxes of slightly larger fruit touted as blueberries in the grocery store. Apparently, those are really Huckleberries. Is this true? If so, antioxidant value difference? Thanks!! Karen
I believe that’s false. From what I’ve read, huckleberry plants are not cultivated and sold and are only found in the wild. The blueberries that you find in stores are blueberries, though some berries found in the wild that people call blueberries are actually huckleberries.
Hi Susan, Great site. I’m planning on making these very soon! Can you substitute date molasses for the agave with good results? thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Date molasses has a stronger taste than agave, but if you like the flavor, go right ahead.
LOVE it! I posted about it on my blog (with full credit!) Thanks for another awesome, perfect recipe!
yummy
I made these recently but I used raspberries instead of blueberries and for the sweetener I used coconut nectar, have you tried that yet? I loved them. The fruit mixture is so good! Thanks for the recipe!
I haven’t seen coconut nectar, but I will be on the lookout for it now. Thanks for the suggestion!
These turned out really good! I was thinking of maybe adding a little lemon next time..what do you think? For some reason, I feel like that might be good. Then again, I never reeeally know what I’m doing in the kitchen so maybe that’s just a ridiculous thought, haha. Either way, I’ll definitely make these again!
These are in the oven now – after making the orange/chocolate fat-free bundt cake for dinner last night, we are on a fatfreevegan.com roll. We used blackberries and blueberries and didn’t quite have enough fruit paste to spread around so a just mashed up rasberries into the empty spots and then when we put the topping on we smashed alternating rows of rasberries/blackberries across the top in a checkerboard pattern and put one blueberry in the middle of each square – my family loves the extra fruit and we can’t wait for these to come out of the oven. Thanks so much for your recipes – who would have ever thought you can make such yummy treats without the butter or eggs!
I made these last week using fresh from the farm strawberries. They were delicious. My husband has requested I make these again. This week we are trying the blueberries.
I use babyfood in these in place of the applesauce — any sweet kind on hand — WE LOVE THESE BARS!!!
Hi Susan!
I absolutely loved this blueberry bars. I fixed them for a family gathering and my aunt asked me to make them again. I was wondering if you use the same amount of stevia as you would agave nectar in the recipe…
Thanks
I’m so glad you liked them! If you use stevia, you’ll need a lot less because it’s so concentrated. I would just add it to taste. Good luck!
Dear Susan
I live in England and love your site! Applesauce isnt very each to get over here. Do you know what I could use instead?
Thanks
Louisa
If you can get vegan yogurt, vanilla or plain could replace the applesauce.
Hi Susan,
recipe looks yummy!! Wondering if I could use rasberries instead of blueberries?
Sure! I just used cherries, and they came out great!
These look delicious! I was looking for a treat to bring to friends of mine who are gluten free and sugar free – this looks perfect! I never have juice in the house, though. What would be a good substitute for the apple juice?
The apple juice just adds sweetness and moisture, so you could replace it with water with a little agave nectar or other sweetener. Hope you enjoy!
I just baked them last night, and they were very tasty! Although I did have some trouble with the batter…. this could have been because i only had quick oats on hand. And I guess i put more than half on the bottom, because i did not have a full layer on top (the blueberry’s were popping thru). The end result was tasty, but a bid glopy…..perhaps from my quick oats.
Susan, i’m allergic to the cornstarch is there anything i can replace it?
Potato starch should work just as well.
This recipe is amazing. I made the bars today and even my 2 year old loved it. I used frozen blueberries and frozen mango chunks from Trader Joe’s; I didn’t have fresh blueberries. My whole family including me is enjoying it.
Thank you!
Could you use chia seeds as a different sort of thickener instead of the corn starch?
I haven’t tried it, but my sense is that it wouldn’t hold together as well.
Has anyone tried these with frozen blueberries? Should I thaw them first? And if I use frozen do you think I need to compensate by adding more cornstarch? Thank you!
Yes, measure them first and then thaw them. If it looks like the blueberry mixture won’t be thick enough you can add more corn starch, but it may not be necessary.
Thanks! I made these as suggested, though I honestly didn’t wait for them to thaw before I cooked them. Extra corn starch was unnecessary. They turned out beautifully and were REALLY yummy!
Definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you!
Love the blueberry oat bars (and many other recipes from your site). I have been trying to veganize and ‘healthy-up’ the classic fruit and oat bar recipes from other sites, but with minimal success. I am trying to use up the last of my home-made blackberry and blueberry jams from last year prior to this season, so I used that as the filling. Thanks for the great site!
Great recipe!!!
Can someone answer one question? Agave nectar is not a powder is it? I don’t have any, by what fluid sweetener may I replace it?
Thank you for answering!
Agave nectar is a liquid. If you can’t find it, the best substitute would be maple syrup.
what can be used in place of agave. I dont use that stuff. date syrup? dates? and how much?
thanks
You can use an equal amount of date syrup or any liquid sweetener. A half cup of chopped dates would probably work in the filling.
These bars look delicious! I’ll be trying them with fresh, Quebec blueberries. My daughter (a new vegan but life-long vegetarian) and I (long-time veggie) have tried and Pinned many of your recipes. It’s always fun to add something new to our list of favorites.
I have noticed that you often list oatmeal as one of the ingredients. I believe you mean oats, right (rolled, steel-cut or quick)? I know, picky, picky! It’s an occupational hazard for an editor!
Sounds delicious and may just work for this vegan, flour-free, gluten-free, sugar-free house. BUT has anyone tried this with no added sweetners of any kind? Blueberries and juice are sweet enough on their own perhaps to make this work without agave.
These taste and smell wonderful! I use real maple syrup instead of agave and frozen berries. They turned out so well!!
Dear Susan-
Your website is absolutely amazing. I’ve tried several recipes and I LOVE all of them. These bars are DELICIOUS. For years I have struggled with weight, food and eating a healthy diet. Your website has shown me you can eat delicious and healthy foods at the same time! Please.. please… please continue the great work!!!
Your new friend,
Lindsey
Just made these today!! I was very pleased with the results, and they were super easy to make!! They had a nice texture and they were just sweet enough without being too sweet. Thanks for the great recipe!!
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