These healthy cranberry oatmeal squares are free from oil and refined sugar, making them the perfect snack or dessert.
I’ve gone and created another sweet recipe without chocolate. Non-chocoholics, rejoice! And chocoholics–well, I think you will like these cranberry oatmeal squares, too. I know I do!
This recipe is another veganized and healthi-fied version of an old family recipe that I found in our recipe box. The original recipe contained lots of white sugar and butter, as most dessert recipes from the 20th century did! I made a few tweaks–eliminated the butter entirely in favour of sunflower seed butter, sweetened it with coconut sugar and maple syrup, and used heart-healthy oats and oat flour in place of regular flour. These healthy cranberry oatmeal squares are for all of us granola-munching millennials who still wanna have fun. 😀
They’re nice for dessert, of course, but take a look at the ingredient list and tell me that they’re not equally breakfast-appropriate. I could see myself enjoying a cranberry oatmeal square with, say, a superfood hot chocolate or pumpkin spice latte for breakfast in the near future.
To make these squares, you’ll:
- Make a quick cranberry compote on the stove by warming together cranberries, maple syrup, and raisins.
- In a bowl, mix together a flax egg, almond milk, sunflower seed butter, coconut sugar, vanilla extract, rolled oats, oat flour, salt, and coconut.
- Line a 9×9-inch pan with parchment paper and press half of the dough into it. Spoon the cranberry compote over top, and crumble the remaining dough over top.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes, and let it cool completely before slicing into squares!
I hope you all love these squares. If you make them, leave a comment and rating below, and post a photo to Instagram with @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen.
Enjoy!
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Healthy Cranberry Oatmeal Squares
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 9–12 squares 1x
Description
Healthy cranberry oatmeal squares made with sunflower seed butter, coconut sugar, and maple syrup! A nice option for dessert, snack, or breakfast!
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup raisins
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax plus 2.5 tbsp water)
- 2 tbsp almond milk
- ½ cup sunflower seed butter (or any other nut or seed butter)
- ¾ cup coconut sugar
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup oat flour
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Instructions
- Place the cranberries, maple syrup, and raisins in a medium saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat until the mixture has thickened, 10-15 minutes. The cranberries will make popping sounds as they cook, which is normal.
- Meanwhile, whisk together the flax and water in a large bowl. Set aside for a couple of minutes to thicken. Add the almond milk, sunflower seed butter, coconut sugar, and vanilla and whisk to combine. Next, add the rolled oats, oat flour, sea salt, and coconut. Stir.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 8×8 or 9×9-inch square baking dish with parchment paper.
- With wet fingers, press half of the dough into the prepared baking dish. Spoon the cranberries over top and crumble the remaining dough over top.
- Bake for 30 minutes and let the square cool completely before slicing into 9-12 squares.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Vegan
Keywords: cranberry oatmeal square, healthy oatmeal square
Ramshazaf
look great! 👌🏼👌🏼
Allison
Thank you so much! 🙂
Harken's Headers
A good healthy alternative to what you buy in the store. Good looking recipe and it’s oil free which is a plus in my book.
Allison
Thank you so much! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Jennifer
This was super easy to make, very tasty and chewy, and most important – healthy, with just the right touch of sweet!
★★★★★
Luke
These bars are my favourite! The fact that they are oil-free makes them all the more desirable. My kids don’t usually like cranberries, but they gobbled up these bars.
★★★★★
Liz
These are so very tasty. Easy to follow too. And I felt great after eating them, which doesn’t usually happen after most desserts. Thanks Up Beet
★★★★★
Allison
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Liz! Thanks for coming back to leave a comment. 🙂
Rudy
Truly fabulous squares!
★★★★★