Even Better Than Starbucks Oat Bars
It’s true, these oat bars are Even Better Than Starbucks Oat Bars! Made with simple ingredients you can have a batch ready to enjoy in less than 30 minutes.
I have loved Starbuck Oat Bars for ever. They’re just SO delicious…oat-y, sweet and rich, but expensive when you end up buying one every time you grab a coffee. So I knew I had to find a recipe and make them at home, and that’s exactly what I did. I have tried and tested a few different oat bar recipes over the years, and I’ve finally ended up with a variation of them that we love! Now you can make these oat bars at home too.
These oat bars are made with the most simple ingredients, all of which you likely have in your pantry already. Quick oats, butter, brown sugar, vanilla and sweetened condensed milk…the combination is decadent!
They’re so simple to make too…with just a few minutes of prep, and 15 or so minutes of baking time, they’re ready to be cut into 25 bite-sized bars, or 15 bigger bars.
Delicious, chewy, and oat-y. These nut-free bars are perfect for lunch boxes, snacking and with your morning coffee or tea. Enjoy!
Oat Bar Recipe Tips:
- These bars are a little crumbly. Just make sure to get the oat mixture batter patted down into the pan really well before baking. Patted down and right into the corners of the pan.
- If you want to use less sugar, try using 1/3 cup of brown sugar.
- Make sure to use quick oats, not rolled oats!
- These oat bars freeze well.
Even Better Than Starbucks Oat Bars
It’s true, these oat bars are Even Better Than Starbucks Oat Bars! Made with simple ingredients you can have a batch ready to enjoy in less than 30 minutes!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 25 squares 1x
- Category: Snack
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups quick oats
- Take 1 1/2 cups of these oats and pulse them in a food processor for a few seconds (until they are like coarse meal.)
- Set aside the remaining 2 cups of quick oats.
- dash salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
- Line an 8×8 square baking tin with parchment paper. Set aside.
- As mentioned above, take 1 1/2 cups out of the 3 1/2 cups of quick oats and pulse them in a food processor for a few seconds, until they are like coarse meal.
- In a mixing bowl combine the ground oats with the remaining 2 cups of quick oats.
- Mix in a dash of salt, and set aside the oat mix.
- In a sauce pan over low heat, melt the butter.
- Then stir in the brown sugar and sweetened condensed milk. Stir until combined. Be careful not to boil the mixture, you just want everything combined, but not cooked.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.
- Add the sugar mixture to the oat mixture and mix well.
- Press the mixture into the parchment paper lined baking tin, making sure to spread the mixture evenly.
- Bake for 15 – 18 minutes. The edges should be slightly golden brown.
- Let the squares cool for about 10 minutes, then remove them from the pan and cut into 25 squares.
Keywords: oat bars, starbucks oat bars
More Delicious Recipes Made with Sweetened Condensed Milk:
Condensed Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chewy Date Oat Bars
S’more Magic Cookie Bars
Fudge Ice Pops
Date Granola Bars Coming Soon
Have a delicious day!
These look so yummy! So glad you joined us at Homestyle Gathering! Hope to see you again this Tuesday!
Thank you Julie! And thank you again so much for hosting!
Would a square glass pan be okay to use?
Hi Sara! I think it would work just fine!
Could you add protein powder to this recipe?
Hi Angie! I’m not really familiar with protein powder, but I’m sure you could?
Hey Angie!! I tried it with the Quest unflavoured protein powder. I used 1.5 cups of protein powder instead of the 1.5 cups of the ground up oats. They taste great, and it saves you pulling out the food processor too!
This sounds delicious — I have a big family, so can I just double the recipe into a 9X13 glass pan?
Hi Lorrane! Absolutely, this recipe is easily doubled. Enjoy!
I tried it and It was a little too delicious! I wanted to comment about how much I appreciate the detail of your posts. The tips and tricks you add answer all the questions that I had and helped me make it turn out just right
Thank you so much for sharing Lorrane…I love to know that I’ve made something helpful and delicious!
These literally are better than Starbucks! I became obsessed with these bars while pregnant with my second child, but it became an expensive craving. These are amazing, hands down not even going to try any other recipe. Not to mention a great benefit is that the oats are excellent for boosting your milk supply. Thank you!!
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Oh this makes me SO happy Shaneece!!
Theses are exact copies of Starbucks oat bars So in love. Thank you for this incredibly easy recipe.
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I’m so happy you enjoyed them Tabitha!
These are so delicious and better than Starbucks!! Do you think I could freeze them in ziplock bags so they are an easy grab in the mornings?
Hi Megan! I’m so glad you enjoyed them! And yes, you can absolutely freeze them.
Absolutely love these! I’ve tried many copycat Starbucks Oatbar recipes and you definitely nailed it. This is now my go to recipe! Thanks for figuring it out! ❤️❤️
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Oh I love that Paulette! I’m so happy you enjoy them!
Is there something else that you can use instead of the sweetened condensed milk?
Hi Caroline! Unfortunately I don’t think so, and I haven’t made them without it, so I’m not sure what I would even add instead.
Caroline,
You can make your own sweetened condensed milk out of canned coconut milk or even almond milk. I’m sure other milks as well. Just search the web for a recipe 😊
These are some of our favorite treats to make! Everyone who has tasted them, loves them. And so easy. Win-Win!
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I’m so happy you enjoy them Nancy!
Mine turned out really dry, I’m not sure why… thinking I will add more of the condensed milk? Tasted good but too dry for my liking.
Hi Marcedys! These cookies are more like a shortbread so they are more dry than a classic chocolate chip cookie.
I only have rolled oats on hand. Is it possible to use rolled oats instead? If so, how would you recommend I do so?
Hi Michelle! I really can only recommend quick oats for these bars…comparing the measurements between the two, they’re very different. If you used rolled oats, you won’t really have enough oats. BUT, if you’re comfortable you could start with the rolled oats (pulse them in the food processor as mentioned in the recipe), then if the ‘batter’ is too sticky, add more pulsed oats until the batter is able to stick together.
I tried this with molasses instead of sweetened condensed milk and they were delicious! But I prefer the sweetened condensed milk as molasses has a definite strong flavour, it’s just different I suppose 😊
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I’ve never tried Starbucks’ bars and now I don’t have to! These bars are delicious ! So easy and yummy. Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
Made a double batch, although they are delicious they did not ‘set’ they are very wet and not dry at all. What should I have done differently!
Hi Natalie, so sorry for the delayed response! The only reason I can think of is that they may have needed to bake a little longer. I haven’t had any problems with these bars setting when I see that the edges of the square are lightly browned. Hope that helps!
Do you store them on the counter or in the fridge?
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Hi Carrie! You can do either. I usually keep ours on the counter in an airtight container.
Can you use oat flour instead of grinding your own oats? I just want to save on time :p
Technically you can, but I don’t like to because it’s often too fine and the bars can end up quite dense.
I really like these and so do my kids. They age really well too and continue to stay soft even a two weeks later. The downside is they are very crumbly. I’m wondering what the calorie count is for a square.
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Hi Robin! I’m so happy you enjoyed them…they’re a favourite here too! I have updated the recipe to include nutritional information, so you can see it now.
I just made some for my kids for their lunchboxes. Will have to put them away otherwise there will he none left over for them! Great recipe, thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
These are really delicious. Would this be ok to put blitzed dried apricots in?
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Hi! Absolutely, I think that would be delicious!
nice blog
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I used sweetened condensed oat milk for this since my husband can’t handle dairy and it was very tasty!
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