It’s the day after your big Thanksgiving dinner and you have a TON of leftovers. So what do you do with all that leftover cranberry sauce? Simple. Just whip up a batch of leftover cranberry sauce oat bars and enjoy them for breakfast, dessert, or any time of the day as a snack!
These cranberry sauce oat bars are basically date squares made with cranberry sauce. Pretty genius right? Except somehow they taste so different, but in a very good way! These oat bars are made by layering 3 amazing layers of heaven that are just meant to go together.
So let’s talk about these layers.
- a soft, chewy and buttery crust
- tart yet sweet cranberry sauce
- crumbly pecan and oat topping
Yup, mouth watering is currently in full swing over here.
How to Make Cranberry Sauce Oat Bars
It might also be quite surprising how easy it is to make these. All you do is gather your ingredients for the crust in one bowl and mix together. Then transfer over to your baking pan and make your first layer. Next, spread cranberry sauce on top. Finally, combine the ingredients for the topping together in one dish and sprinkle on top. Pop the baking pan in the oven, and that’s it. 30 minutes later you will have 9 perfect cranberry sauce oat bars to snack on.
So pour yourself a nice cup of tea or coffee, grab a cranberry sauce oat bar, and enjoy! Also, I challenge you to just have one. Maybe you have more will power than me because I always end up going for seconds or thirds. This stuff never lasts more than 2 days in our house…
Easy Make-Ahead Cranberry Sauce
For the best results, make these cranberry sauce oat bars using my easy homemade cranberry sauce.
How to Store Leftover Oat Bars
These cranberry sauce oat bars will last for up to 2 days tightly wrapped or stored in an air tight container at room temperature, or up to a week in the fridge. They also freeze really well and can be stored for up to 3 months in the freezer. So if you have a LOT of cranberry sauce, make a few batches of these and freeze for a rainy day!
Cranberry Sauce Oat Bars
Prep Time: 20 minutes- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: 9 bars 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Got some leftover cranberry sauce from your holiday dinner? Revive them into delicious leftover cranberry sauce oat bars, perfect for breakfast or dessert!
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup + 3 tablespoons butter, divided
- 1 cup brown sugar, divided
- 2 cups rolled oats, divided
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup cranberry sauce
- 1/3 cup pecans, finely crushed
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a large bowl, use a mixer to cream 3/4 cup of butter with 3/4 cup of brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add 1 and 1/2 cups of rolled oats, flour, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Continue to mix until fully combined. The mixture will resemble crumbs.
- Transfer the mixture into a 9 x 9 inch baking pan, and firmly press it in to create an even layer on the bottom. Layer and spread cranberry sauce on top.
- In a medium saucepan, melt remaining 3 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup oats, pecans, and cinnamon. Stir until fully combined. Sprinkle and evenly distribute the topping on top of the layer of cranberry sauce.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until lightly browned. Place on a wire rack to cool down and cut into 9 even squares.
Notes
- For the best results, make these cranberry sauce oat bars using my easy homemade cranberry sauce.
- If your cranberry sauce is already very sweet, you may want to cut down on some of the sugar in this recipe.
- Store any leftovers tightly wrapped or in an air tight container for up to 2 days at room temperature, up to a week in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
Oh this is such a great idea for using cranberry sauce! I always have leftovers so this is a great way to use that up!
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Thanks! It is my favourite way to use up that cranberry sauce!
Oh my these look so divine! I love cranberry baked goods and this is just perfect for this time of year!
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Thank you! Let me know if you try it!
I couldn’t decide whether to make my own sauce or not this year and now I have seen this I think I absolutely need to! I cannot wait to try these with my morning cup of tea!
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You totally need to! Although, you could use leftover store-bought sauce too.
Love these oat bars! Not only they’re perfect for breakfast or snacks, but they also make my Thanksgiving last longer.
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Thank you! So glad you like them!
This oat bar recipe is indeed totally genius!! I can only imagine how the bitter and tangy notes of the ranberry sauce work great there! I am based in Sweden so i have access to lingonberries instead. I’m curious to try with the berries from my side of the pond 😀
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Oh yeah you could totally make this with other berries! Just cook them into a sauce and add to the oat bars. Let me know how it goes!
What a great idea for using leftover cranberry sauce. Although it would be worth making cranberry sauce just for these. They look delicious and I can’t wait to make them. Thanks for sharing.
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Thanks! Yes, you are so right, I would totally make cranberry sauce just to make more of this 🙂
These are great for breakfast! They taste great and are healthy too. A brilliant way to use any left over cranberry sauce.
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They sure are! So glad you liked the recipe 🙂
I love new and creative ways to use up leftovers and this would be my kind of breakfast to grab and go! Thanks for sharing!
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These are the best! My favourite grab and go too 😀
These sound amazing! I’ll pick up some cranberries when I go to town and make a batch! Thanks for the yummy idea!
Thanks!! Let me know how you like it! 😀