Our Pineapple Oatmeal Bars are perfect for breakfast, snacks for the beach, or lunchbox snacks for school. They are gluten free, dairy free, vegan, and can be made lower in sugar as well.
I’m loving everything pineapple this summer.
It’s the perfect fruit for summer: bright tasting, sweet, and it’s like eating a slice of sunshine.
We haven’t really done a whole lot of pineapple recipes in the past, but we could all use a little more cheerfulness this summer and pineapple seemed like the perfect addition to achieve that.
Last week we posted a recipe for some refreshing dairy free Pineapple Popsicles. And this week we’re posting this recipe for allergy friendly Pineapple Oatmeal Bars!
Our pineapple snack bars are perfect for packable snacks for the beach or hiking, or packing to school for lunch or treats. They are also gluten free, dairy free, and peanut free, so they’re school safe, too.
These would also make a great make-ahead breakfast like baked oatmeal! Just warm up a piece or two in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds and top with some of your favorite non-dairy milk.
How to make pineapple oatmeal bars
Making these pineapple oatmeal bars is pretty simple. Originally, we were going to use canned pineapple slices that were drained and then pureed. But we made this recipe easier by removing those extra steps and just using canned crushed pineapple.
The steps are simple: mix together the ingredients, spread them in the prepared 9×13 pan, and bake!
Nothing fancy and they make the perfect summer snack (or even fall or winter if you love pineapple year round).
Tips for making our pineapple bars
This recipe is crazy easy, but here are a few pointers for the recipe if you want to make changes.
We use quick oats in this recipe since they cook up faster and absorb liquid easier, so don’t use regular old fashioned oats or these won’t turn out the same.
If you want to lower the amount if sugar in this snack bar recipe, swap the regular sugar in this recipe for granulated erythritol (like Swerve) to reduce the sugar.
I can’t have erythritol because of my IBS, so I used unbleached cane sugar for these. I love using the Zulka cane sugar in most of my baking since it’s natural and unbleached.
You could also try using something like baking Stevia as well, but they might be more dry if you use that, so maybe bake them a few minutes less if you use the Stevia in the Raw type of baking Stevia that’s kind of powdery.
These pineapple bars are also a bit thinner, so if you’d like these bars to be thicker, double the recipe and bake in the same 9×13-inch pan.
If you decide to double this recipe, you may just need to bake them slightly longer (perhaps another 5-10 minutes) to make sure that they cook all the way through since they’ll be thicker.
Check out our other allergy friendly summer recipes!
Gluten Free Pineapple Oatmeal Bars (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten free quick oats
- 3 Tablespoons ground golden flaxseed
- ⅓ cup natural cane sugar (or granulated sugar substitute)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canned crushed pineapple (undrained)
- ¼ cup mild tasting oil
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 2 Tablespoons rice milk (or other non-dairy milk)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch glass baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the oats, flaxseed meal, sugar, and salt.
- Stir into the oats the crushed pineapple, oil, coconut milk, and vanilla and stir together until completely combined.
- Spread the oat mixture into the bottom of the prepared 9×13 pan, it will be spread fairly thin since these snack bars are not very thick (less than 1/2-inch).
- Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before cutting. These snack bars are soft, but if you'd like these to be crispier on the edges, you can cut and separate the bars then put them back into the oven for a little bit (start with 10 minutes).
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie. She’s a food allergy mom and healthy living blogger based in Wyoming. Sarah is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Certified Health Coach, Revolution Running certified running coach, and an ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist