Enjoy these easy carrot cake oatmeal nut bars as a quick on-the-go breakfast, snack or healthy dessert made with zero refined sugar. Made with a blend of shredded carrots, oats and sweetened naturally with dates, these easy healthy carrot cake oatmeal bars capture the essence of carrot cake in portable and convenient gluten-free carrot cake snack bars.
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You are going to love these cozy and delicious carrot cake bars! They have been my go-to whenever I crave the flavors of carrot cake and want something wholesome and energizing.
They have the perfect balance of sweetness and nuttiness. Perfect for Easter brunch or a quick snack, and packed with over a cup of grated carrots!
Love these carrot oat bars? Try my other healthy bars and snacks like these Energy Snack Seed Bars, Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, Almond Cherry Pepita Granola Bars and 3-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies. Or my favorite Healthy Low Sugar Carrot Cake Recipe with vegan cream cheese frosting. Yum!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Cake-Like: These bars have a cake-like texture and classic carrot cake flavor in a perfect bite size healthy snack. Thick, chewy and almost fudgy delicious treat.
- Diet Friendly: Gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, vegan, sugar-free oatmeal breakfast bars. A quick breakfast made from wholesome ingredients.
- Quick to Make: Super easy to make all in the large bowl of your food processor! An on-the-go breakfast or perfect snack made with only a handful of ingredients.
- No Added Sugar: These carrot oatmeal bars are naturally sweetened with dates.
Recipe Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you'll need to make carrot cake oatmeal breakfast bars:
Recipe Notes:
- Cashews and Pecans: Adds texture and crunch to these carrot oatmeal breakfast bars. Swap or interchange the nuts with walnuts, chopped almonds, pistachios or pumpkin seeds.
- Quick cooking rolled oats (gluten free): These whole grains will give the bars a smoother texture. Swapping for old fashioned rolled oats will add more texture like in a batch of granola bars. Steel cut oats will add more chew.
- Ripe Bananas: Add sweetness and creaminess to these easy oatmeal bars.
- Fresh Carrot: Full of fresh flavor in a perfect breakfast. Fresh carrots can be substituted with grated parsnips in this easy recipe.
- Dates: Add natural sweetness. I like to use Medjool dates to bind the bars as they have a sweet, caramel flavor without the need for any added sugars like coconut sugar or brown sugar. Also, no need for room temperature eggs or flax egg for binding.
- Dash of Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Ginger: These warm spices add just the right amount of warming spices and carrot cake flavors.
See recipe card below for all ingredients and quantities.
Top Tip
Feel free to add in some fun mix-ins such as raisins, dried cranberries, or any other type of nuts that you prefer.
How to Make Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Nut Bars
- Step 1: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch baking pan with two sheets of parchment paper in a criss-cross pattern to cover bottom and sides of pan.
- Step 2: Add cashews, pecans, oats, mashed bananas, grated carrots, dates, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and sea salt to food processor.
- Step 3: Mix until combined and mixture sticks together easily. No need for a perfectly smooth batter when mixing - you want the bars to have some texture.
- Step 4: Pour mixture into prepared pan and press into an even layer. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until firm.
- Step 5: Cool completely in pan and cut into bars or squares.
Expert Tips
- Add-ins: Raisins or dried cranberries would make a great addition. Use other nuts like almonds, walnuts or pistachios. You can also swap in chia seeds or hemp seeds.
- More Texture: Mix all ingredients except carrots in the food processor, then pulse in the carrots at the end to have larger layers of carrots throughout the healthy carrot cake bars.
- More sweetness: add a drizzle of pure maple syrup to the top of the baked bars. Or add a layer of vegan cream cheese like in my delicious carrot cake recipe.
Common Questions
If you want to bump up the protein, feel free to add a scoop of your favorite protein powder. You can also add hemp hearts or chia seeds. You may need a mashed half banana extra to maintain a moist crumb.
Yes, you can make these breakfast bars nut free by swapping the chopped nuts with pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds, or a mixture of both.
Storage Tips
Refrigerator: The carrot cake breakfast bars can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for a week. If stacking the bars, make sure to separate each layer with a sheet of parchment paper.
Freezer: For longer storage, the bars can be frozen for up to 3 months. I recommend wrapping each bar or square individually with parchment paper, wax paper or plastic wrap for a quick grab-and-go snack.
More Gluten-Free Granola Bars
Recipe
Healthy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Nut Bars
Equipment
- 1 8-inch square baking dish lined with parchment paper
- 1 small food processor
- 1 box grater to grate carrots
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (194 grams) raw cashews
- 1 cup (129 grams) pecans halves
- 1¼ cup (101 grams) quick cooking rolled oats, certified gluten-free if needed
- 2 large (275 grams) bananas, mashed, (about 1 cup mashed)
- 1 large (170 grams) carrot, peeled and grated
- 4 (65 grams) dates, pitted and chopped
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch baking pan with two sheets of parchment paper in a criss-cross pattern to cover bottom and sides of pan.
- Add cashews, pecans, oats, mashed bananas, grated carrots, dates, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and sea salt to food processor.
- Mix until combined and mixture sticks together easily. No need for a perfectly smooth batter when mixing - you want the bars to have some texture.
- Pour mixture into prepared pan and press evenly.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes until firm and toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- Cool completely in pan and cut into bars or squares.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a week. If stacking the bars, separate each layer with a sheet of parchment paper. Freeze for up to 3 months. Wrap each bar or square individually for a quick grab-and-go snack.
- No need for a perfectly smooth batter when mixing. You want the bars to have some texture.
Paula
Hello,
This recipe sounds great and I would like to try it. My inly concern is that I really don't like bananas.
I am wondering if you can just leave out the bananas or substitute with something else?
Jacqui Wilson
Hi Paula, I haven't tried substituting the bananas, and since there are two bananas in this recipe I don't think you can just leave them out as they help with binding. You can try pumpkin purée, it might work. Just make sure it's not too watery - measure it out and let it sit in a bowl for a few minutes and use a paper towel to blot any water that collects. Mashed avocado may also work but it will change the color, and the flavor will be less sweet. Let me know if you try!