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Home » Brownies & Bars » Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars

Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars

Published: Feb 1, 2019 · Modified: Dec 14, 2021 by Allison · 96 Comments

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Buttery brown sugar Oatmeal Bars with a fruity jam filling. This simple recipe comes together in minutes, with the crust and topping made from the same mixture. Use your favorite flavor of jam. 

Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars

Hi, friends. Let’s cut right to the chase. Buttery brown sugar oatmeal cookie bars sandwiching a thick layer of jam. Are you in? Yep, me too.

There’s so much to love about this simple recipe. It comes together in just a few minutes, it can be enjoyed for breakfast or dessert, it can be served warm, chilled or room temp, and it can be made with any flavor of jam. Choose your favorite flavor of jam or preserves (I’m currently obsessed with Bonne Maman Four Fruits Preserves).

You might also like: Almond Jam Bars.

Jump to:
  • How to Make Oatmeal Bars
  • Recipe tip
  • Serving and storage
  • Related recipes
  • Recipe
Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars

This is a super simple recipe, with the crust and topping made from the same mixture. Here’s how to do it.

How to Make Oatmeal Bars

  1. Crust/topping mixture: Whisk melted butter, brown sugar and vanilla. Add flour, oats, salt, and baking soda. Stir it up until you have an oatmeal cookie dough.
  2. Press it in the pan: Dump a little more than half of the mixture into a 8×8 pan and flatten it into an even layer. Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
  3. Add the jam and topping: Top the warm crust with jam, spreading it all the way to the corners. Crumble the reserved oatmeal mixture over the jam and return to the oven for about 15 more minutes.
Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars
Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars

Recipe tip

Line your 8×8 baking pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving a little overhang on two opposite sides. Once the bars are cool you can lift them right out of the pan and cut them easily.

Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars

Serving and storage

After baking, allow the bars to cool, and you’ll be able to cut them into clean slices. I often serve these bars at room temperature or chilled so they’re firm enough to be held easily.

If you’d prefer to eat them warm, you can! They will be a bit less stable and need to be eaten with a fork or spoon (see photo below). When serving these warm I like to top them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It’s like eating a fruit crisp that is heavy on the topping, with jam instead of fruit. Swoon.

Store leftover tightly covered at room temperature or the refrigerator for 3 days.

Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars

What’s not to love about a dessert that can feed a crowd, travel well, and maybe also be served for breakfast (there are oats in there!). I mean, yes, technically this is a dessert, but if you wanted to cut yourself a square to nibble on along with your morning coffee I would pass zero judgment. I only ask that you invite me over to join you.

Try the Nutella, chocolate, or lemon version of these bars: Nutella Stuffed Oatmeal Cookie Bars, Oatmeal Fudge Bars, Lemon Crumb Bars

Related recipes

PEACH CRUMB BARS

BERRY CRUMBLE BARS

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MAPLE PECAN PIE BARS

WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

SPECIAL K BARS

Recipe

Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars

Jam Filled Oatmeal Bars

 Buttery brown sugar Oatmeal Bars with a fruity jam filling.
5 from 46 votes
Print Pin
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 242kcal
Author: Allison – Celebrating Sweets

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup old fashioned oats
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • ½ cup light brown sugar, packed (it should be soft and fresh)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • generous ¾ cup jam or preserves

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 pan with foil or parchment paper (leaving overhang on two sides for easy removal). Spray with nonstick spray.
  • In a medium bowl, combine, flour, oats, salt and baking soda.
  • In a large bowl, whisk butter, brown sugar and vanilla until well combined (this will take at least one full minute). Add dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until combined.
  • Pull out about ¾ cup (a little less than half) of the cookie dough and set that portion aside (it will be the topping). Dump the remaining dough into the prepared pan and press it down into a flat even layer. Bake for 10 minutes. 
  • Remove from the oven and carefully spread the jam on top of the cookie base. Take the reserved cookie dough and crumble it over the top of the jam layer. Return to the oven and bake for 14-16 more minutes, until the topping is light golden brown. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool. 
    These bars are soft when they are warm (they likely won't hold together). To firm them up they can be stored at cool temp or refrigerated.

Notes

I prefer a jam that has a balance of sweet and tart flavors. I’ve used Tart Cherry Jam as well as Bonne Maman Four Fruit Preserves.

Nutrition

Calories: 242kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 128mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 290IU | Vitamin C: 1.9mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.9mg

Nutritional Information is an estimate based on third-party calculations and may vary based on products used and serving sizes.

Tried this recipe?Leave a comment and rating below!
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Comments

  1. Seesa

    September 27, 2021 at 5:39 pm

    5 stars
    Made this last night two batches. One with blueberry jam the other strawberry. Not only are these super quick and easy to make, they’re absolutely delicious!
    Will definitely make these again!

    Reply
    • Kelli

      October 24, 2021 at 8:06 am

      5 stars
      Huge hit and so easy. My new “go to” to take to parties

      Reply
      • Allison

        October 26, 2021 at 11:50 am

        I’m so glad! Thanks for stopping by. 🙂

  2. Trudi

    October 21, 2021 at 4:03 pm

    Hi. Have frozen these?

    Reply
    • Allison

      October 22, 2021 at 10:24 am

      I have not, but I would assume that you could freeze them.

      Reply
  3. Debbie

    October 22, 2021 at 1:05 am

    5 stars
    Love this so quick and easy

    Reply
  4. Sarah

    October 26, 2021 at 1:23 pm

    Could you sub olive oil for butter?

    Reply
    • Allison

      October 27, 2021 at 9:31 am

      Hi, Sarah. No, you cannot. The butter solidifies once it cools which helps to hold the bars to together. They will be too wet and messy if you use olive oil.

      Reply
      • Julie

        April 24, 2022 at 4:01 pm

        5 stars
        I’ve made these tons of times! I work for a jam company so I always have many jars of jam on hand. They are a huge hit with my coworkers! I’ve used blueberry, peach and cherry jams and all are delicious! I always make a double batch and bake in a 9×13 baking dish. I have made a tweak or two, mainly adding a little cinnamon and nutmeg to the dry ingredients. So delicious!

      • Allison

        May 02, 2022 at 8:10 am

        I’m glad you enjoyed them! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂

  5. Mike Sloan

    October 28, 2021 at 9:11 am

    5 stars
    So, I made this last night with peach preserves we put up this summer.

    Recently I bought some Jam Bars at the orchard we bought the peaches. They were great, but clearly came from a local bakery (not using the local produce). I wanted to try some myself.

    I stumbled on this recipe and though I would try. My gosh they were incredible – and were way better than the bakery model. With the relatively few ingredients, it was quick to assemble and quick to bake. I recommend letting them cool to get solid, eating them out of the oven is too messy!

    Loved the recipe.

    Reply
    • Allison

      October 29, 2021 at 9:42 am

      Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Beverly

    January 04, 2022 at 8:22 am

    Would quick oats be ok to use?

    Reply
    • Allison

      January 04, 2022 at 9:44 am

      I have only made the recipe as written so I can’t say for sure. Best of luck playing around with it. 🙂

      Reply
    • GmaDoob

      March 09, 2022 at 8:05 pm

      I made these last night with quick oats. They were good but think the old fashioned oats would have made them better…. These are wonderful bars!

      Reply
  7. Naseem

    January 17, 2022 at 11:48 pm

    Curious if you’ve ever tried these with Nutella and jam? I may do so myself and will report back!

    Reply
    • Allison

      January 19, 2022 at 11:58 am

      I have a Nutella version but it does not also include jam. Nutella Stuffed Oatmeal Cookie Bars

      Reply
  8. Allison Pierce

    March 03, 2022 at 12:59 pm

    5 stars
    These bars are simply delicious! I’ve made them several times and people love them. They are easy and come together quickly without even using a mixer. I agree about using a sweet/tart jam and may even try cutting the sugar slightly sometime. Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Allison

      March 05, 2022 at 6:12 am

      You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed them. 🙂

      Reply
  9. Lyndsay

    March 26, 2022 at 5:32 am

    5 stars
    These are so awesome! I had some Pineapple preserves in the fridge so I used that! So so good! Thanks for the perfect recipe!

    Reply
    • Allison

      March 29, 2022 at 8:00 pm

      You’re welcome. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.

      Reply
  10. Kerry

    April 12, 2022 at 9:17 am

    5 stars
    Fab recipe. Enjoyed by the whole family with a bit of ice cream or custard. Will be making these more often. I actually made these today and substituted the Jam with sugar free Jam and the sugar with sweetener and were just as delicious 😊

    Reply
    • Allison

      April 12, 2022 at 1:30 pm

      You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂

      Reply
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aboutHi, I'm Allison! I'm a busy wife and mom with a passion for cooking and baking. This is where you'll find my favorite homemade recipes, designed to help you make every day delicious! Read more....

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