If you are looking for an easy way to use those fresh strawberries, these gluten free strawberry oatmeal bars make a delicious breakfast or snack. They are full of fresh fruit and your whole family will love this recipe!
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Our farmer's market is full of fresh local strawberries right now. They are big, juicy organic strawberries that burst with flavor when you bite into them.
The strawberries in these oatmeal bars are definitely the hero of this snack, and these are healthy enough so your kids can even have two if they want 🙂
One bite of these fruity oatmeal cookie bars, and you will be hooked! (If you are a huge strawberry fan like me, check out my favorite gluten free strawberry recipes!)
Why these gluten free strawberry oatmeal bars are so good:
- You only need a few simple ingredients to make them.
- These are customizable. You can easily make them dairy-free, low glycemic, and use any fruit you have on hand!
- They are freezable so you can have them any time!
Why you must use certified gluten free oats?
One important note for using oats when you are on a gluten free diet. Make sure the oats you use are certified gluten free. Cross-contamination is a huge issue for oats, and I don't want anyone to get sick!!
Oats themselves are gluten free, but they are often grown next to wheat, and they cross-contaminate in silos. Here are some great certified gluten free oats brands to try.
Recipe step by step directions:
Step 1: Add the crust-dry ingredients to a bowl. Whisk them to blend them all together.
Step 2: Mix the wet ingredients into a crust dough.
Step 3: Press half of the crust mixture into a greased 8x8 pan and press it down to compact it.
Step 4: Layer the fresh strawberries on top of the crust. Again, feel free to use the fruits you have on hand if you don't have fresh strawberries.
Add a few layers of juicy strawberries so the flavor really bursts through.
Step 5: Sprinkle the remaining crust mixture on top of the strawberries. Bake at 350º F for 25-30 minutes until the strawberries are softened and the bars solidify.
Step 6: Remove the gluten free strawberry oatmeal bars from the oven and allow them to cool before slicing them.
Variations:
This oatmeal bar recipe works with lots of different fruits! Here are some ideas:
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Strawberry Rhubarb
- Peaches/nectarines
Storage:
Store these bars in an air-tight container in your refrigerator.
Tips and Recipe FAQ:
Fresh strawberries will last a day or two on your counter. More like one day if they are from your Farmer's Market. If you don't finish the strawberries the first day, I highly recommend storing or freezing them in your refrigerator.
You can use frozen strawberries in this strawberry bars recipe, but you will need to prep them so your gluten-free strawberry bars don't turn out super mushy. Thaw the strawberries and pour out a little of the juice before adding the oatmeal layer.
You can easily make this recipe dairy-free by using dairy-free butter.
If you want to make this recipe lower glycemic, you can swap the brown sugar out and use coconut sugar instead.
These bars should keep fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
And, if you bought too many strawberries, give these Gluten Free Strawberry Muffins recipes a try too!
More recipes with gluten free oats:
- Gluten Free Chocolate Steel Cut Oats (yes, you can have chocolate for breakfast!)
- Simple and delicious, these Grab and Go Gluten Free Oatmeal Breakfast Bars are perfect for a busy morning.
- If you are into big cookies, this Giant Gluten Free Oatmeal Pizookie Cookie is hard to resist.
- Another delicious breakfast recipe, this How to Make Overnight Oats tutorial is great for meal prep.
Reader raves:
Amazingly delicious, great with berries or peaches!"
Nikka H., Pinterest user
📖 Recipe
Simple Gluten Free Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ cup gluten free rolled oats * see note
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup gluten free flour blend * see note
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 cups fresh strawberries sliced
- ½ cup sliced almonds optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F.
- Spray a 7x7 pan with coconut oil.
- In a large bowl, add all dry ingredients. Mix well.
- Add the melted butter and mix. Press ½ of the mixed crust to the bottom of the pan.
- Add a layer of fresh strawberries.
- Top with remaining crust and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Video
Notes
- It is critical to use certified gluten free oats if you are Celiac. Cross-contamination runs high in regular oats.
- I have tested this recipe with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF and Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 GF blend. That doesn't mean others will not work, I just have not tested other flours.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, substitute the butter for vegan butter.
- Several have asked about using frozen strawberries. These have a lot of liquid. I recommend thawing them and draining off the extra liquid before using frozen strawberries.
- These bars will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
SPECIAL NOTE
Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.
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jordyn
Is there a way to make these bars stay together and not be so crumbly? They are delicious, but I have to eat it out of the pan with a spoon because they don't hold together.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Jordyn, what gluten free flour blend are you using?
Mary Toteve
Has anyone substituted honey for the sugar? I'm unable to have any brown, granulated, cane or confectioners sugars. I'm going for it and see how it turns out!
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Mary, These bars are moist due to the strawberries so you will want to go easy if you use a liquid sweetener. If you try honey, please come back and let us know how it turned out. Have you tried date or coconut sugar?
Gaby
I just made this recipe following the recipe exactly. The taste is fantastic but it had the consistency of a crisp—too soft to cut into squares. Any idea what could’ve gone wrong?
Thanks
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Gaby, I am not sure but my first question is what gluten free flour blend did you use? Some are starch heavy.
McKynna
Hello! I'm wondering - the almonds are optional. Do I just add them in with the rest of the dry ingredients?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi McKynna, I usually sprinkle sliced almonds over the top before baking. Enjoy :-).
Amanda R.
I made this with regular flour as we're not gluten-free, it just looked like a great recipe. They are fantastic! Definitely making again.
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked it and that you could make it the way you like 🙂
Felicia
Do you refrigerate the leftovers? Made tonight and they were great.
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Felicia, The leftovers should keep 2-3 days...you can also freeze them.
Kaye
Have you tried dates instead of the brown sugar? We use dates a lot in granola and oatmeal. Just wondering how they would hold up in something this?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Kaye, I haven't but it sounds like a great idea. If you try dates in this recipe, please come back and let us know how they turn out.
Angela
These are amazingly delicious! I made 2 dishes to ensure I had some to bring back home from a get-together, but just barely had any to bring back! My only question would be if anyone else has needed to make these as a dairy free option? My daughter needs both dairy and gluten free. I used a dairy free "butter", but since it was mostly oils, the crust didn't want to hold together as well as I would have liked. I'm hoping there might be someone with a suggestion as to what else can be used or done, if anything, to help.
Thanks in advance!
Sandi Gaertner
I am so glad you liked this recipe Angela. Thank you so much for stopping back to tell me, you made my day. As for a dairy free version, I would use coconut oil, but less. I haven't tested this recipe with it, but I would maybe start with 1/2 the amount of oil and see how the texture is. Please let us know how it goes :-).