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Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

A tangy blueberry filling is sandwiched between two crispy layers of oat crumble in this easy breakfast, snack or dessert. Your obsession with Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Bars will begin as soon as you smell them baking!

The Best Blueberry Breakfast Bars

When the citrusy goodness of fresh lemon juice meets the sweet-tart tang of bursting blueberries, only amazing things can happen. These bars layer that unbeatable duo of flavors between a buttery oat crust that doubles as a crumble topping. Honey and brown sugar are used to sweeten the crumble, complementing the tartness of the filling like a dream.

Whether you’re looking for a grab-and-go breakfast or a healthy late-night dessert, these bars will quickly become your gold standard. They’re easy to make with basic ingredients and can be kept in the fridge for days! At our house, they’re always gone in a matter of hours.

Two side-by-side images of lemon blueberry oatmeal bars on a sheet of parchment paper

What You’ll Need

Grab the following ingredients and get ready for a sweet berry miracle. The full amounts are included in the recipe card below.

For the Crust & Crumble

  • Unsalted Butter: Melted.
  • White Whole Wheat Flour: This contains more fiber, protein and nutrients than regular all-purpose flour.
  • Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Stay away from instant oats and steel-cut oats. They each require different amounts of water and unique cook times, so it’s important to stick with rolled oats for this recipe.
  • Honey
  • Brown Sugar
  • Lemon Zest: Freshly grated.
  • Pinch of Salt: For flavor enhancement.

For the Lemon Blueberry Filling

  • Fresh Blueberries
  • Brown Sugar
  • Lemon Juice: Freshly squeezed.
  • White Whole Wheat Flour: This acts as a thickener.

Can I Use Frozen Berries?

Sure! Fresh ones are obviously ideal, but these bars still taste incredible when they’re made with frozen blueberries. Just be sure to thaw them out and dry them off thoroughly before you use them. Alternatively, you can use unthawed berries and increase the cook time by 10-15 minutes.

A close-up shot of a blueberry oatmeal breakfast bar on a wooden cutting board

How to Make Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

These healthy breakfast bars come together in a flash. We’re talking 5 minutes of prep time total!

Make the Crumble Mixture

  1. Prep for Baking: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of an 8×8-inch pan with parchment paper and grease the sides with cooking spray for easy removal of the finished bars.
  2. Combine Ingredients: Add the melted butter, white whole wheat flour, oats, honey, brown sugar, lemon zest and salt to a large bowl. Mix until everything is just combined (the mixture should be a little crumbly). Scoop out 1 cup of the mixture and set it aside for the topping.
  3. Add Crust to Pan: Add the remaining mixture to the prepared pan. Spread it out evenly, then use your fingers to press the crust into the bottom of the pan so it forms a neat layer.

Make the Filling & Assemble the Bars

  1. Make Filling: Add the blueberries, brown sugar, lemon juice and flour to a small bowl. Toss to combine.
  2. Add to Pan: Pour the blueberry mixture on top of the crust and spread it out evenly.
  3. Top With Remaining Crumble: Evenly sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top of the bars.
  4. Bake: Bake the bars for 50 minutes.
  5. Let Cool & Enjoy! Remove your bars from the pan and let them sit on a cooling rack for at least 10 minutes. After that, you’re free to cut and serve them.
An unbaked batch of blueberry bars before the topping has been added beside a second image that shows the finished bars

Tips for Success

Put these tips into action if you want to make flawless lemon blueberry bars.

  • Zest Before Juicing: It’s quite a challenge to zest a lemon after it has been juiced. Save time and skip the struggle by zesting your lemon beforehand.
  • Don’t Overpack the Flour: Remember to fill your measuring cup by the spoonful instead of scooping up the flour directly. If you have a food scale, utilize it to ensure accuracy.
  • Cool Before Cutting: Once your blueberry oat bars are out of the oven and on a cooling rack, let them sit undisturbed for at least 10 minutes. This way, you’ll be able to cut out the bars with ease.
Homemade lemon blueberry bars stacked on top of each other on top of a cutting board

Variation Ideas

In the mood to make a change to your berry crumble bars? Try one of these tempting alterations:

  • Spice Up the Topping: Add extra flavor to your brown sugar topping by dusting it with ground cinnamon before you bake the bars. Why not sprinkle on a pinch of nutmeg while you’re at it?
  • Use Another Berry: You can make these bars with raspberries, blackberries, cranberries—whatever you like! You could even combine multiple kinds of berries in the same batch.
  • Bigger is Better: My family won’t have leftover blueberry oatmeal bars unless we make a double batch, so doing so is kind of a no-brainer. If you decide to double the recipe, build your bars in a 9×13-inch baking dish instead of a square 8-inch one.

Serving Suggestions

If you’re enjoying your oat bars for dessert, I highly recommend topping each one with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or Coconut Whipped Cream. For breakfast, they pair wonderfully with plain Greek yogurt. If you’d like to serve them alongside another dish, whip up some Avocado Toast or Sweet Potato Hash With Eggs.

A close-up shot of a batch of lemon berry breakfast bars

How to Store and Reheat Extras

Fully cooled lemon blueberry bars can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours. If you happen to have any left after that, you can transfer them to the fridge and store them for 2 additional days. Note that the crumble will get less and less crispy as the bars sit.

I like to warm up my oatmeal bars in the toaster oven before I enjoy them, but you can serve them at room temperature if preferred. I don’t recommend reheating them in the microwave as it would further soften the crust and topping.

Can I Freeze These?

Yes! Place the cooled oat bars into a freezer-safe container and store them for up to 3 months, placing a piece of parchment paper between layers if stacking is needed. Thaw them out in the fridge before you reheat them. The freezing process will make the crumble a lot less crispy, but the bars will still be divine!

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Homemade lemon blueberry bars stacked on top of each other on top of a cutting board

Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Bars

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 3 reviews
  • Author: Krista
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 50 minutes
  • Total Time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 14 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

Description

A tangy blueberry filling is sandwiched between two crispy layers of oat crumble in this easy breakfast, snack or dessert. Your obsession with Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Bars will begin as soon as you smell them baking!


Ingredients

Scale

For the Crust & Crumble

  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 cups regular oats (not the instant kind)
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
  • pinch of salt

For the Lemon Blueberry Filling

  • 2 cups of fresh blueberries
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon white whole wheat flour

Instructions

Make the Crumble Mixture

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Line the bottom of an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray for easy removal.
  3. To make the crust & crumble, to a large bowl add melted butter, white whole wheat flour, regular oats, honey, brown sugar, lemon zest and salt. Mix until just combined, mixture should be a little crumbly. Scoop out 1 cup of the mixture and set aside, that will be your crumble.
  4. Add the remaining mixture to the prepared pan. Spread the mixture out and using your fingers press into the bottom of the pan so the crust is in an even layer.

Make the Filling & Assemble the Bars

  1. To a small bowl add blueberries, brown sugar, lemon juice, and white whole wheat flour. Toss to combine.
  2. Add the blueberry mixture on top of the crust and spread out evenly.
  3. Evenly sprinkle the crumble mixture over the top of the bars.
  4. (optional: dust the top of crumble with cinnamon)
  5. Bake the bars for 50 minutes. Remove the bars from the pan and let sit for 10 minutes. Cut and serve.

Notes

  • Makes 12-16 bars.
  • Recipe adapted from Averie Cooks.
  • To Store: Keep cooled bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 24 hours, then transfer them to the fridge for up to 2 additional days. Note that the crumble will get less crispy as the bars sit.
  • To Reheat: I like to warm up my oatmeal bars in the toaster oven before I enjoy them, but you can serve them at room temperature if preferred. I don’t recommend reheating them in the microwave as it would further soften the crust and topping.
  • To Freeze: Place cooled bars into a freezer-safe container and store for up to 3 months, placing a piece of parchment paper between layers if stacking is needed. Thaw in the fridge before reheating/enjoying. The freezing process will make the crumble a lot less crispy, but the bars will still be divine!

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bar (based on 16 bars)
  • Calories: 174
  • Sugar: 17 g
  • Sodium: 4 mg
  • Fat: 5 g
  • Saturated Fat: 3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 31 g
  • Fiber: 3 g
  • Protein: 3 g
  • Cholesterol: 11 mg

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19 comments on “Lemon Blueberry Oatmeal Bars”

  1. Used a frozen berry mix (Trader Joe’s) otherwise unchanged. Tastes amazing and held together nicely. If you’re portioning into 16 bars might not be so neat, but I cut into 12 and it’s perfect!






  2. THis looks like a great recipe and I’d like to try it this weekend. Quick question: what would you think if I made the crumble mixture a day ahead but added a few Tbsp of whey or yogurt and let it soak? I typically do this with flour and oats to break down the phytic acid making it more digestible. I was thinking with the lemon flavors it wouldn’t affect it too much. Thoughts?

    1. Hmm… I’m not sure. I have never done that before so I’m not sure how it would turn out. But if you’ve done this in the past I’d give it a go and then let us know how it turns out.

  3. Avatar photo
    Spideykitchen

    Hi there! This is the first time I’ve tried making such bars. And mine really just crumble, they don’t hold together. I used maple syrup instead of honey. Could that be the reason why?

    1. That might be the reason, honey is a little thicker. You could add a little water, a tablespoon at a time to thicken it up some more. (kinda like you do pie crust) Did you pat the crust down?

  4. I just made these…awesome recipe… I cut the sugar in half and substituted 1/3 of butter with flaxseed meal and used whole grain oat flour…delish!

  5. Hey! I was wondering if you have ever put these in the freezer to make them last longer? If so, how should I pack and store?
    Thank you 🙂

    1. I haven’t yet, but I’m sure you could try it. Usually I put them in an air tight container so they last longer. 🙂

      1. Would you need to keep these refrigerated to keep better? If I made a full batch for a family of 2 I’m afraid of them going bad before they get eaten 🙁






  6. Avatar photo
    Carol Borchardt

    These look awesome! So healthy, too! I have a houseguest right now and these will be perfect to make and have around.

  7. Avatar photo
    heather @french press

    we are BIG fans of fruit and grain bars. they work for pretty much any time of day, and blueberry lemon is such a springy combo 🙂 delicious