My recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Bars is my absolute favorite, can’t-eat-just-one baked good. They’re seriously THE BEST! 
And, pretty much every time I bake a batch, they’re completely gone within 2-3 days with me doing 90% of the damage! 
I realize it would be much easier to just not make these delicious treats, so I don’t devour them in less than 72 hours, but not enjoying these goodies would also make me pretty sad. So, what to do? “Skinny” the recipe!
“Skinny” Oatmeal Raisin Bars
Makes 9 bars
Ingredients:
2 cups dry oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine ingredients until smooth.
3. Spread batter in prepared baking pan, and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until bars are cooked all the way through.
4. Let bars cool completely in pan before cutting.
Changes: The sweet brown sugar still dominates the bars, which makes me think that the 1/4 cup of sugar in the original recipe probably wasn’t needed at all, so I just nixed it. I reduced the amount of canola oil to 1/4 cup from 1/2 cup, which cut a number of calories from the recipe. I replaced 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup of wheat bran for some added fiber, protein, iron, and other nutritional goodies. I also added a tiny amount of vanilla extract for some added sweetness.
My Review: Flavor-wise, the “skinny” version of Oatmeal Raisin Bars is pretty close to the original, but not nearly as sweet. The texture of the “skinny” bars is a tad more chewy and dense compared to the original recipe. If you’re in the mood for a sweet treat, but not necessarily dessert, these “Skinny” Oatmeal Raisins Bars are perfect for satisfying that craving!
Spring it!
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Those look absolutely fantastic!!! I’ll bet they would disappear in a matter of a day here… but that’s ok! They’re healthy
AH! You know I love these bars and will def be trying the new skinny version
Anything oatmeal is good in my book
Yay, I love your recipes already (oh gosh, those delicious pumpkin oat muffins!), but skinnified? Sounds great to me!
Those look yummy
I’ll have to make those!
totally making these this week!
Yum! Those would disappear real quickly over here too. I love anything made with oats.
ooh! these sound like they’d disappear in a flash!
is there anything i could use instead of the wheat bran?? would oat bran work?
these look AMAZING!
Hmmm…. do you think Flax Seed Meal could work in place of the wheat bran in order to make these gluten free?
Hi Tina! I really enjoyed meeting you tonight! I posted that picture of you photographing your food in my blog, hope that’s okay
I love the skinny version! I actually prefer treats to be more chewy and dense.
These look great.
If you’re ever interested, I make “healthy” cookies all the time, and they’re really, really yummy. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup wholemeal flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 2.5 tsp ground cinnamon (I’ve also had good results adding a half teaspoon of mixed spice, too), 2 tsp baking powder, and 10-12 each of quartered prunes and dried apricots (you could sub in dates, raisins or other dried fruit, but the prunes and apricots plump out in the cookies and taste awesome 
. To the dry ingredients, add 1 lightly beaten egg, 4 Tablespoons pure maple syrup and enough applesauce (usually between 3/4 and 1 cup) until the mixture can be formed into cookie shapes on a baking tray. Bake at around 180 degrees celsius (350 fahrenheit?) for ten to fifteen minutes or until biscuits are firm and golden. Devour.
Awesome recipe! See, I’d be compelled to add chocolate chips and nuts and coconut and all manner of other things that would de-skinny-fy them… but I bet I could exercise SOME self control if I had to. Hehe. Thanks for the inspiration!
so making these this week, thanks TINA!!!
Great recipe, bookmarked it for a later date!
love the original recipe, so can’t wait to try this one! one question though, you recipe still calls for 1/2 c. packed brown sugar, but the paragraph below makes it look like, maybe, you wanted to that to be 1/4 c. in the “skinny” version. is that correct??
@lisa: Nope, 1/2 cup of brown sugar.
Yum, I love oatmeal bars, looks great Tina!
I’ll definitely trying these!
@gina (fitnessista): Yea, I think it would. Let me know how they come out of you try it!
Yum! I love your original oat bar recipe. I will have to try this version!
Shut up. Your Oatmeal Bars are the best recipe I have found in blogland to date. I freaking love them. You can see me rave about them on my blog when I’ve made them. I have even messed around the recipe adding things like PB2. Can’t wait to try the skinny version!! Thanks Tina.
Can’t wait to try these! Do you have an estimate on the nutritional stats?
Yum, these sound great. Can’t wait to make them.
@Amanda @ Cakes and Ale: No, sorry!
i just made these with dates instead of raisins, and 1/4c flax + 1/8c flour instead of the oat bran…they came out great!
Great alterations!
I don’t trust myself!
That’s why I don’t bake
I love “skinny” versions of goodies like this. I’ll definitely be trying your recipe soon
Thanks, Tina!
tina, what do you think I could substitute wheat bran with? anything? i have all the rest of the ingredients but that.
Tina – I made a batch of these on Saturday and they were absolutely delicious. I used oat bran instead of wheat bran, because that’s what I had. Next time, I may mix some Craisins in with the raisins. I also think they would be good with a bit of simple confectioners sugar icing drizzled on top. I may try to drop these as cookies instead of bars and see what happens. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for this recipe, I’ve already made these twice! Before I tried them, I was worried they might taste “overly healthy” but I’m now officially addicted
I made two batches of these this weekend…they are delicious and addicting.
These are sooooo tasty! I made them in muffin tins so they would be more portable, and they turned out great! I altered the baking time to 18 minutes, and they had a yummy crunchy top. I also substituted PB2 for the wheat bran… mmmmmmmmmmm. =D
These are so good! I actually like them better than the original version!
Hi Tina! I’m so glad I came across your blog as I am a former Bostonian! I live in Europe now and am often homesick, so reading your blog is very heartwarming!
:):) I love the idea of making a recipe’s ‘skinny’ version, as I am a cookie monster myself, it makes devouring a half batch that much more acceptable 
Looking forward to new recipes and trying out your old ones! Have a great summer! -Lena
I have them in the oven now and substituted the Oat Bran the Whey Protein powder to add more protein :0 Let you know how it comes out
Thanks so happy to find your site !
They came out GREAT !! Using the Whey Protein (22g) for 1/4 cup making the total bar 33g of protein ! Again i used the Whey Protein instead of Wheat Bran
i know i’m kind of late on the draw here, having only stumbled onto this recipe a few weeks ago, but i have to be honest: the bars i made from this recipe were dry and chalky! i was so disappointed! i read through your recipe again, and saw where you cut out some of the oil, but you didn’t replace it with anything. so i replaced the brown sugar with honey, and i added 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce. they came out super-moist and delicious! i just wanted to tell you that when baking, you can replace a portion (if not all) of the oil with applesauce, and still have moist, low-fat baked goods.
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