Easy and delicious cranberry sauce oat bars with a soft, chewy and buttery crust, a tart yet sweet cranberry sauce filling, and a crumbly pecan and oat topping is the best mouthwatering way to use up any leftover cranberry sauce from a holiday dinner. Enjoy these cranberry squares for breakfast, dessert, or any time of the day as a snack.
One of the best parts of Thanksgiving is all the leftovers, and my favourite item to work with is leftover cranberry sauce. I love turning them into delicious baked treats like cranberry sauce swirl pound cake and cranberry sauce muffins with oat streusel topping. And these tasty cranberry sauce oat bars fit right in. They are basically date squares made with cranberry sauce. Pretty genius right? Except they taste so different, and so delicious.
Ingredients
So there are 3 layers to these bars, and here is what you will need for each layer:
- buttery crust - butter, brown sugar, rolled oats (not quick oats), all-purpose flour, vanilla extract, baking powder, and a pinch of salt.
- cranberry sauce - homemade cranberry sauce or canned cranberry sauce both work great. If your cranberry sauce is already very sweet, you may want to cut down on some of the sugar in this recipe.
- pecan oat topping - melted butter, brown sugar, rolled oats, crushed pecans, and ground cinnamon.
You will also need measuring cups and spoons, mixing bowls, hand mixer (or stand mixer), 9-inch square baking pan, and wire cooling rack.
How to Make The Best Leftover Cranberry Sauce Oat Bars
- Make the crust: In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream together butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add rolled oats, flour, vanilla, baking powder, and salt. Continue to mix until fully combined. The mixture will resemble crumbs.
- Start assembling the layers: Transfer the mixture into a 9-inch square baking pan, and firmly press it in to create an even layer on the bottom. Layer and spread cranberry sauce on top.
- Make the pecan oat topping: In a shallow saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in brown sugar, oats, pecans, and cinnamon. Stir until fully combined. Sprinkle and evenly distribute the topping on top of the layer of cranberry sauce.
- Bake: Bake for 30 to 35 minutes in a preheated 350 F oven until lightly browned. Place baking pan on a wire cooling rack to cool down and cut into 9 even squares.
- Serve: Make yourself a nice cup of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate and grab a cranberry sauce oat bar.
Storing Instructions
- How to store: Cranberry sauce oat bars will last for up to 2 days tightly wrapped or stored in an airtight container at room temperature, or up to one week in the refrigerator.
- How to freeze: Cranberry sauce oat bars freeze really well and can be stored tightly wrapped in plastic cling wrap or in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. If you have a lot of leftover cranberry sauce, I would make a few batches and freeze for a rainy day.
More Cranberry Recipes
- Cranberry Sauce Swirl Pound Cake
- Leftover Cranberry Sauce Muffins with Oat Streusel Topping
- Cranberry Scones with Orange Glaze
- Easy Make-Ahead Cranberry Sauce
- Cranberry Yogurt Muffins
- Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
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Recipe
Cranberry Sauce Oat Bars
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 9 (3-inch) squares
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Easy cranberry sauce oat bars with a buttery crust, cranberry sauce filling, and crumbly pecan oat topping is the best way to use leftover cranberry sauce.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup cranberry sauce
For the pecan oat topping:
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ⅓ cup pecans, finely crushed
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a large bowl, use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream together butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add 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-inch square baking pan, and firmly press it in to create an even layer on the bottom. Layer and spread cranberry sauce on top.
- Make the pecan oat topping: In a shallow saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in brown sugar, 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 cooling rack to cool down and cut into 9 even squares.
Notes
Cranberry sauce: For the best results, make these using leftover make ahead cranberry sauce. Other types of homemade or canned cranberry sauce work well but you may want to make some slight adjustments. For instance, if your cranberry sauce is very sweet, I would add less sugar into the recipe.
How to store: Cranberry sauce oat bars will last for up to 2 days tightly wrapped or stored in an airtight container at room temperature, or up to one week in the refrigerator.
How to freeze: Cranberry sauce oat bars freeze really well and can be stored tightly wrapped in plastic cling wrap or in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer. If you have a lot of leftover cranberry sauce, I would make a few batches and freeze for a rainy day.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Baked Goods
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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Marsha Bailey says
I was in charge of making cranberry sauce for Christmas dinner. The recipe I used was amazing but yielded far more cranberry sauce than we could use. Do I made this recipe with 1 cup of it. The recipe was easy to follow and the bars were fantastic...a big hit after dinner. This will now be one of my go to recipes.
Monica says
I posted a picture on Facebook and got a lot of positive feedback. I used the quick oats because that’s what I had and it worked out good. The bars are delicious and will make these every year with my leftover cranberry sauce.
Wendy says
Delicious and nutritious, thank you ! Great for using up that ever present leftover cranberry sauce in the fridge 😂. I left the pecans a bit more chunky, which looked really nice. Nice simple ingredients 👍👌😁
Jess says
Wondering why I can't use quick oats and what happens if I do?
Its all I have at the moment!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
You can use quick oats but it will have a different texture and they cook faster so the cook time might be less. It should taste the same though.
sandra says
This is so delicious! And such an easy recipe - and very forgiving. I didn't measure exactly (I had a tiny bit left of some ingredients and I just dumped it right in) and it still turned out delicious! So buttery and then you get some tart from the cranberry. I will definitely save and make again!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you so much!
Carrie Spencer says
Hi Sam. I am just taking these bars out of the oven- they look and smell delicious. I love to support Canadian content so I was excited to have found your site. That said, I have a few general comments that I think would help to make your recipes more accessible. Recipes that indicate the weights of the various ingredients sure make kitchen clean-up easier and so would encourage your audience to visit your site for recipes more often. Suggestions for substitutions for ingredients in your recipes, where possible (I stewed fresh rhubarb together with a few fresh cranberries for the filling since I didn't have leftover cranberry sauce this time of year) would be welcomed. Finally, the fact that the top and bottom of these cranberry bars require separate steps (the mixer for the bottom layer, the stove for the top layer) makes for a lot of steps (and dishes) for busy households. Otherwise, I love your site, it's layout and variety of recipes. I'll be back!
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Hi Carrie, thank so much for the feedback! So happy you liked the recipe!