Name: Orange Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups gluten free oats, separated; 1/2 cup loosely packed medjool dated, chopped (about 5 large dates); 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/2 cup silken tofu; 1/4 cup pure maple syrup; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 mandarin orange, zested and peeled; 1/4 cup raisins

Orange Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

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Orange oatmeal breakfast bars are easy to make and perfect for breakfast or a quick snack. Made with whole ingredients and will fill you up without the sugar crash later on.

A note on some of the ingredients

Gluten free oats: Oats can be a tricky ingredient especially if you have celiac disease. Not everyone can tolerate them and because oats and wheat can be grown close to each other it can be tough to find oats that are gluten free. I got our gluten free oats at Costco. As oats are a main ingredient in these bars, there are no substitutions.

Medjool dates: Any type of dates can be used in this recipe, I just always happen to have medjool dates on hand. Pit and roughly chopped the dates before soaking them in hot water. The longer they soak for the better they will blend.

Silken tofu: Silken tofu helps to act as a binder and adds protein to these bars. I prefer silken tofu in baking (as opposed to firm) because it blends so smoothly. Save any leftover tofu in water in the fridge and change the water daily. The tofu will keep for an extra few days. Any remaining tofu can be saved and used in smoothies.

Mandarin orange: I chose a mandarin orange because that is what is currently in season and the easiest to find in the grocery store. Any small orange will do. If all you can find are large oranges I would use 1/3 to 1/2 of a regular orange depending on the size.

How the orange oatmeal breakfast bars are made

Begin by preheating the oven to 350°F and line an 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper. This will make the bars much easier to remove once they are baked.

Pit and roughly chop the dates and add them to a heat proof bowl or measuring cup. Cover the dates with 1 cup of boiled water. The longer the dates sit the softer they will get and the easier they will blend. When it comes time to blend the dates, don’t drain them! Add the dates and the water they’ve been soaking in to the rest of the ingredients.

a glass measuring cup with chopped dates soaking in hot water

In a blender, add 2 cups of the gluten free oats and blend until they have turned into a coarse flour.

Add the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to a medium mixing bowl. Zest the orange into the dry ingredients and mix.

a metal mixing bowl with coarse oat flour, orange zest, cinnamon, baking powder & soda and salt

You can reuse the same blender that the oats were in by just giving it a quick rinse or add the wet ingredients to the large cup of a Ninja blender. Add in the peeled orange, tofu, maple syrup, vanilla, dates and the water that the dates were soaking in. Blend well.

a blender cup with dates, silken tofu, maple syrup, vanilla and a mandarin orange

Pour the blended wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well. At this point add in the raisins and an additional 1/2 cup of oats. The batter will be slightly runny. Pour it into the prepared pan and bake for approximately 30 minutes. Let the bars cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then move them (using the parchment paper to lift them out of the pan) to a cooling rack. It is best to let the bars rest for a few hours or even over night before slicing into them.

Not a fan of orange and raisins? To change the flavour of the bars replace the orange with 1/4 cup of natural peanut butter, add 1/4 cup of cocoa powder to the dry ingredients and replace the raisins with chocolate chips!

Enjoy!