Soft, cakey, and loaded with apple chunks, these apple quinoa breakfast bars are a great way to start the day! Made with quinoa, rolled oats, apples, cinnamon and peanut butter, these bars are gluten-free and loved by both kids and grown ups alike.
When it comes to quinoa, I usually think savory: salads, casseroles, and in general, a rice replacement. But quinoa is surprisingly great served sweet, as well!
Having a batch of these apple quinoa breakfast bars in the fridge definitely makes me happy! They are perfect for breakfast or served as a snack, and are made with wholesome ingredients to help fuel your body.
Reasons you'll ♡ apple quinoa breakfast bars
- they are gluten-free and free from refined sugars
- they are loaded with apple flavor thanks to both applesauce and chopped fresh apple
- they have 7 g protein per bar, which will help fuel your body through the morning
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Ingredient notes
- applesauce- acts as a natural sweetener and helps to keep the bars moist and held together. Look for unsweetened applesauce in the grocery store, or make a batch of Instant Pot applesauce.
- peanut butter- helps to add protein and flavor to the bars, as well as oil to keep them moist. Look for a drippy, natural peanut butter with no added oils or sugars.
- coconut oil- provides necessary moisture to the bars; I recommend using refined coconut oil as it has less of a potent flavor; you may swap for melted butter
- quinoa- I used standard white quinoa; using other types of quinoa will likely work but your bars will look different.
- rolled oats- use large flake/old fashioned oats and avoid quick oats or steel cut oats. If you are gluten-free, make sure your oats are certified gluten-free.
- apple- you can use your favorite apple; granny smith, ambrosia, fuji or honey crisp are all great choices. This is the perfect recipe to use up slightly soft apples.
- eggs- necessary to bind the bars; a flax egg may possibly work as an alternative, but I have not had a chance to try. Leave us a comment if you give it a try!
Recipe notes
Start with cooked and cooled quinoa
This recipe is unusual in that it uses quinoa, but you must start with cooked and cooled quinoa. You can cook the quinoa 1-2 hours ahead of preparing the bars, letting the quinoa cool in the fridge, or you could consider cooking it the day before. This is a great recipe to use up leftover quinoa as well!
Ways to cook the quinoa
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Quinoa roughly triples in size while it cooks, so you'll need at lease ½- ¾ cup uncooked quinoa to yield 1 ½ cups of cooked quinoa.
One bowl for easy prep
I am the queen of avoiding unnecessary dishes, so I'm pleased that this recipe requires a single bowl to mix the batter up. I recommend using a large glass measuring cup to melt the coconut oil, then mix in the rest of the wet ingredients. If the coconut oil solidifies at any point, simply pop the bowl back into the microwave and heat very gently until it melts again.
Mix in the dry ingredients: cooled quinoa, rolled oats, baking powder and cinnamon. Lastly, we fold in the chopped apples.
Baking the bars
To bake the bars, you'll want an 8 x 8 inch baking dish that is either greased with spray oil, or lined with parchment paper. Spread the batter evenly across the baking dish, and press 9 almonds into the top of the bars.
Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes; test with a toothpick to see if they are cooked all the way through in the middle. If any batter sticks to the toothpick, return to the oven. Cool completely before slicing.
Sweetness
It is important to note that these bars are not very sweet as written, as the sole source of sweetness is from the applesauce and the apple chunks. If you'd like to increase the sweetness, add in ¼ cup of maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar.
Variations
You could certainly use these quinoa bars as a base recipe and add your own unique twist on them. Here are some suggestions:
- add 1 cup of frozen cranberries for a 'cran-apple' flavor; increase the cook time if needed
- swap the apples for 1- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries (or any berry!)
- swap the apples for fresh pears
- swap the peanut butter for cashew, almond or any other nut butter
- add citrus zest
- add ¼ cup cocoa powder + ½ cup chocolate chips for a chocolate version
- swap the applesauce for pumpkin puree
Storage + serving
You can serve these bars cold, or warmed up in the microwave. Likewise, you can eat them plain, or treat them like baked oatmeal: load them up with greek yogurt, fresh fruit, and a drizzle of maple syrup!
- fridge- cool completely, then cut into bars. Cover the whole baking dish, or transfer to your favorite air tight meal prep container. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- freezer- cool completely, then cut into bars. These bars are softer with a slight crumble, so they are best stored in a container rather than a bag. Layer pieces of wax or parchment paper between slices so they don't stick together.
- thaw- leave the container in the fridge overnight; if you absolutely must have a breakfast bar fix, heat on low heat in the microwave until thawed and warmed through.
Find my favorite freezer containers here!
More snack options
- Healthy Apple Almond Butter Snack Cookies
- 7 Healthy Steel Cut Oats Recipes
- 28 Healthy Breakfast Meal Prep Ideas
- Creamy Greek Yogurt Fruit Dips (3 ways)
- 36+ Healthy Snack Recipes
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Apple Quinoa Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup apple sauce unsweetened; see note 1
- ¼ cup peanut butter all-natural and drippy
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup coconut oil refined has the best flavor
- 2 eggs
- 1.5 cups quinoa cooked & cooled; see note 2
- 1.5 cups rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 apple peeled and chopped into ½ inch chunks
- 9 almonds
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350°F. Spray a 8x8 inch baking dish with oil and set aside.
- In a large bowl, stir together the apple sauce, peanut butter, vanilla, cinnamon, coconut oil and eggs. If the coconut oil solidifies, pop the bowl into the microwave and warm on 20 second increments until it melts back in.
- Mix in the cooked quinoa, rolled oats and baking powder until completely incorporated. Fold in the apple last.
- Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish, spreading it to each corner and pressing down gently. Press 9 almonds into the top of the bars.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool completely before slicing and storing.
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Tips:
- fridge– cool completely, then cut into bars. Cover the whole baking dish, or transfer to your favorite air tight meal prep container. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- freezer– cool completely, then cut into bars. These bars are softer with a slight crumble, so they are best stored in a container rather than a bag. Layer pieces of wax or parchment paper between slices so they don’t stick together.
- thaw– leave the container in the fridge overnight; if you absolutely must have a breakfast bar fix, heat on low heat in the microwave until thawed and warmed through.
- add 1 cup of frozen cranberries for a ‘cran-apple’ flavor; increase the cook time if needed
- swap the apples for 1- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries (or any berry!)
- swap the apples for fresh pears
- swap the peanut butter for cashew, almond or any other nut butter
- add citrus zest
- add ¼ cup cocoa powder + ½ cup chocolate chips for a chocolate version
- swap the applesauce for pumpkin puree
Video
Nutrition Information
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Malin says
I tried this recipe a few days ago, I swapped the eggs with chiaseed-eggs and the apple with a pear. Mine was really dry and didnt taste like much, maybe I did something wrong ?
Except this one I loved all of your recipes I tried so far.
Greetings, Malin
Denise Bustard says
Hi Malin! Well, you did change a pretty fundamental ingredient in this recipe- the eggs. I'm going to guess that was the issue here, as eggs provide moisture as well as structure to the bars. Sorry they didn't turn out 🙁
Dana says
Do you use 1.5 cups of uncooked quinoa and put all of it in once it cooks up? Or, only use 1.5 cups of the quinoa once it’s cooked?
Denise says
1.5 cups of cooked quinoa!
Hillary says
Hi Denise, I was wondering how much baking powder you added in the 4th step as it is not mentioned in the ingredient list.
Denise says
Hi Hillary! It's 1/2 teaspoon, right under the rolled oats. Hope you enjoy!
Jessica says
Hi Denise,
For the past do you use old fashion oats or the quick oats?
Denise says
Old fashioned!
Erica says
Do you think these could be baked as muffins? Just a thought.
Denise says
It's possible? I haven't tried. Let know if you give it a try 🙂
Carmen says
Hi Denise, I just baked my first batch of these bars and I can tell you they are amazing. I love anything with apple in it and also the crunchiness/texture the quinoa gives. I plan on keeping some for this week and freezing the rest. What is the best way to freeze them?
Denise says
I'm so happy you liked them, Carmen! You could either freeze in a block (ie not portioning them), or you could freeze in ziplock bags in portions. I might wrap in plastic as well for longer term storage.
Carmen says
Thanks! I portioned them before freezing. One thing I did a few mornings this week: I heat a bar in the microwave, break it in big crumbs and have it with a bowl of greek yogurt, some seeds and nuts. Delicious!
Denise says
That's a great idea! Thanks for reporting back 🙂
cakespy says
My ideal type of breakfast. These look awesome!! Love the apple for flavor and moisture. <3
Jeannie says
How big do you make each bar?
Denise says
Hi Jeannie! I just cut the pan into 12 portions...I'm not sure what the exact dimensions were 🙂
Emma says
These look amazing! Love quinoa! Can I switch up coconut oil for unsalted butter? Thanks! Emma
Denise says
Hi Emma, I haven't tried with butter but I feel pretty confident that it would work 🙂