Gluten-Free Almond-Oatmeal Bake

Things don’t always turn out how you thought you would—but that’s not always a bad thing.

In this case, it was a very, very good thing. Here is the link to the Popsugar recipe I was looking at when I decided to make baked almond-oatmeal bars.

I may still go back and try these again following the recipe, but to see what I changed and added, take a look below for my own version of this delicious breakfast oatmeal “bar”.

**Disclaimer** I did stop measuring at some point during this recipe and eye-balled my ingredients, but the below measurements are pretty close to what I used.

Don’t always feel like you have to stick to exact measurements when baking. It can be fun, and rewarding, to just mix in a little more of this or a little more of that and see what you get! I would however be careful that key ingredients like baking soda are measured exactly so you don’t throw things off too much 🙂

Ingredients:

6 oz. almond butter
1 scoop Vega Vanilla protein powder (or protein powder of your choice)
1/4 cup honey
2 eggs
2 cups gluten free rolled oats (set some aside for topping)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 – 3/4 cup coconut flakes (set some aside for topping)
A handful of dark chocolate baking chips (about 1/4 cup)
- You can use any type of chocolate chip you like!

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a mixing bowl, add the almond butter, honey, and protein powder.
Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Add in the eggs and continue stirring until well combined.
Stir in the baking soda, rolled oats, coconut flakes, and chocolate chips.
Give everything a final stir. You should have a runny-batter consistency.
Pour your mixture into an 8 x 8, non-stick pan.
Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The sides and tops should be brown and a toothpick should come out clean from the center of your baked oatmeal.
Take the pan out of the oven and let it cool slightly before cutting into it and enjoying! These bars also taste great at room temperature.

A few key differences between my recipe and the Popsugar recipe:

I use a smaller pan (8×8 instead of 9 x 11) which gave me a more cake like texture and look than flatter, breakfast bars.
I used honey (and less of it) than the 1/2 cup maple syrup the recipe called for—but it’s what I had at home and it worked just as well.
I stirred everything by hand rather than using an electric mixer. This can affect the texture and consistency of your batter so again, another reason I ended up with fluffy, cake-like oatmeal 🙂

Don’t be afraid to experiment in the kitchen! It leads to learning new things, discovering new recipes, and finding out what works and what doesn’t.

If you try this recipe at home, leave a comment and let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear what tweaks and changes everyone makes!