How to Make Easy Raspberry Oatmeal Bars Recipe in 25 Minutes

These little raspberry oatmeal bars are a great choice for a quick snack or a nutritious breakfast if they are accompanied by a Greek yogurt or some almond milk.

Oatmeal is quite famous these days and can be consumed in a lot of ways, therefore making a few raspberry oatmeal bars is certainly a good idea. 

They remind me of a cake my mother used to bake when I was a kid. Only she cooked it with apples, and the crumbled topping was made with wheat flour.

Nowadays oats are praised worldwide both by nutritionists and bodybuilders, due to their high intake of vitamins and minerals. Despite that, they are of modest origin. 

Oats began their journey through history seen as weeds which grew amongst the other already domesticated crops. Only about 3000 years ago, Europeans began to cultivate this cereal.

People had solid reasons to avoid planting oats. They contain a higher amount of fat causing the harvest to go rancid quickly. Therefore, the cereals must be processed right after the harvesting is done. Although these fats are healthy and we now appreciate that, back then people were not very eager to deal with a crop which is not that easy to be stored. 

If you are interested in these facts, you should know that oats contain 21% saturated fat, 37% monounsaturated and 43% polyunsaturated.

Romans and Greeks considered oats to be noticeable inferior to wheat. Romans fed their horses with these cereals. They used to ridicule the Germanic tribes, known as “oat-eating barbarians”. If we think about it, Romans couldn’t subjugate the Scots. That’s probably due to the fact that the latter were eating porridge. Or some sort of oatmeal.

Even today most of the oats crops are used for feeding animals. In 2018, only 5% of the produced grains in US were used for human consumption while in Germany the quote goes as high as 30%. We may say that horses are the main beneficiaries of all the nutrients in oats.

Why Should I Eat Oats?

What Type of Oats Should I Choose?

You will find a large variety of oats out there, some of them are more processed, others more natural. Our raspberry oatmeal bars recipe requires rolled oats.  But try experimenting with others:

What about Raspberries?

Besides oats, one other key ingredient of the oatmeal crumble bars consists of raspberries, of course. You should know that these fruits are also highly nutritious and have been seen as a great food source for many centuries. Unlike the oats which were fed to the horses, raspberries were respected and consumed with pleasure. Their delicate flavor and divine taste can enchant anyone’s taste buds. Romans who despised the oats used to cultivate the berries, as the agriculturist Palladius wrote in the 4th century. If they would only had discovered the raspberry square recipe, oat crops would have had another fate.

In Britain, King Edward I was the first to ask for berries produce in the 14th century. Starting with that moment, the British gardens began to be filled with raspberry bushes. And people loved them so much that by the 18th century the entire Europe was cultivating berries.

They were brought to America by the colonists and in 1867 over forty assortments of raspberry plants could be found.

For a long time, these tiny berries were considered a luxury. Only the upper class enjoyed the delicate fruits. Despite that, artists in the Middle Ages used their juice for paintings and brightening the manuscripts.

Consuming raspberries is extremely beneficial for health because they are great antioxidants. They contain up to 50% more antioxidant compounds than strawberries. This characteristic may protect the body and increase the strength of the immune system.

A regular raspberry consumption is highly recommended. So why not achieve it by enjoying some oatmeal crumble bars? It is true that scientists advise to eat them raw but you can accompany your easy raspberry squares with raw fruits and coconut cream. How does that sound for you?

What Do I Need for Raspberry Oatmeal Bars?

Actually the raspberry square recipe is quite easy and doesn’t require many ingredients. You will only need flour, rolled oats, sugar, salt, butter, vanilla extract (or a vanilla pod) and raspberry jam.

If you don’t have jam, feel free to use fresh raspberries. Or frozen. Whatever you have in your kitchen. Just coat them with some flour or cornstarch and use as a filling.

In case you don’t like raspberries or raspberry jam, just pick another fruit. Anything you like will do it. A great alternative would be to prepare a quick jam out of fresh fruits, chia seeds and honey.

How to Make Easy Raspberry Oatmeal Crumb Bars?

The process is not at all complicated. The first step is to prepare the crumble out of flour, oats, butter, sugar, a pinch of salt and vanilla. The good news is that this is the crust as well as the topping. You don’t need to make two doughs or other fancy things.

Divide this mixture and transfer a part to the baking dish. You may even use your hands to press it on the bottom. Spread the jam or fresh fruits, and then top with the remaining crumble.

Take the dish to the oven and bake according to instructions. Keep in mind that the cake should be completely cold before cutting it. 

That is all! It’s just as easy as it seems. No special ingredients, no difficult cooking techniques, no large periods of time to spend in the kitchen.

How to Make Raspberry Bars with Almond Flour?

In case you want to ditch gluten from your raspberry oatmeal bars, you have the option of using almond flour. You can prepare the crust with flour and coconut oil. Topping will be made with some nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds), shredded coconut and coconut oil.

For the filling, you may still choose raspberry jam of fresh fruits.

How to Make Raspberry Chocolate Bars?

If you ask me, raspberries and chocolate make one of the best combinations in the world. So why not add some delicious chocolate to your raspberry oat bars?

The only thing you need to do is to add some chocolate chips over the jam. Or maybe you want to top the easy raspberry squares with chocolate. Either way, they will taste divine. 

How to Make Raspberry Linzer Bars?

They use practically the same raspberry square recipe as the classic oatmeal crumble bars. Only these ones taste a lot like linzer cookies as you will also add some slivered almonds.

So, you will have a crunchy almond flavored situation. If you want them to resemble linzer cookies, nicely arrange the crumble on top to create many raspberry jam squares.