Healthy Flapjacks

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Homemade healthy flapjacks are the perfect way to start your day! They are full of flavor, easy to make, and are the best breakfast even on those busy mornings. Vegan, gluten-free, and can be a healthy snack option too!

I have always been a big flapjack and breakfast lover. However, usually they are packed with sugar and butter making them not so healthy. I wanted to create a healthier version that would be just as satisfying as a traditional flapjacks recipe. And guess what?! I finally did it, and that’s why I am sharing these healthy flapjacks with you today. 

They are flavorful and simple to make, requiring only 45 minutes from start to finish. These healthy breakfast flapjacks are vegan, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free. Once you try this delicious easy flapjack recipe, you will crave them all the time! 

These vegan flapjacks are totally kid-friendly and will keep your family full and energized for hours. If you love porridge oats and cereal bars, then you will definitely love these! They are great on their own but can also be paired with other breakfast favorites like this refreshing breakfast fruit salad!

👩🏽‍🍳 Why You’ll Love These Healthy Flapjacks

• Easy To Make: Anyone can whip up a batch of these healthy flapjacks, regardless of experience in the kitchen! The simple ingredients mix together and are added to a baking dish to cook for 15 minutes. Once they are done, all you have to do is let them cool and serve! 
• Full Of Nutrients: These low sugar flapjacks are packed full of nourishing nuts, seeds, and spices making them an excellent source for healthy fats, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.
• Kid-Friendly: My kids adore this recipe and it’s the perfect way to sneak in extra nutrition at the start of their day! These healthy flapjacks for kids make a tasty snack to throw in lunch boxes for toddlers, young children, or even older kids too!
• Perfect For Meal Prep: Since this recipe can be stored for 7 days, easily prepare a larger batch ahead of time and enjoy them as a wholesome breakfast all week long!
• Can Be Sugar Free: While these homemade flapjacks are already refined sugar free, you can omit the maple syrup for a completely sugar free option. Be sure to check your nut butter for added sugar, too.

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🥘 Ingredients

This healthy flapjack recipe with maple syrup calls for simple wholesome ingredients that combine to create a hearty breakfast or nourishing snack. For the full recipe and nutritional information, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• Nut Butter: Use any nut butter you’d like for this healthy oat flapjack recipe. Smooth peanut butter or almond butter are great options. The healthiest nut butter options contain just one ingredient, the nut itself.
• Maple Syrup: With just a little maple syrup you get a nice boost of flavor and sweetness.
• Coconut Oil: Coconut oil is full of fatty acids and can contribute to weight loss.
• Rolled Oats: Using rolled oats will give a hearty consistency for these low calorie flapjacks. Make sure they are certified gluten free if that is a priority for you.
• Ground Flaxseed: Flaxseeds are high in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids, making them a great addition to this healthier flapjacks recipe.
• Dates: By using chopped dates you not only get added nutrients, but also a touch of natural sweetness! I use medjool dates.
• Banana: Not only is mashed banana tasty, but it also is a great alternative to eggs and helps keep these oatmeal flapjacks together. For more sweetness, be sure to use ripe bananas
• Apple: Grated apple is a tasty way to add more fiber to these healthy flapjacks.
• Vanilla Extract, Spices & Salt: Vanilla extract, cinnamon and nutmeg add a warmth to these healthy seed flapjacks and pair really well with the other flavors. Salt ties everything together, enhancing all the flavors!
• Nuts & Seeds: A mix of crushed nuts and seeds work really well in this low fat flapjack recipe both for consistency, texture and flavor. I used pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and almonds.

🍲 Ingredient Substitutions

• Quick Oats: If you prefer a chewy texture you can try these low fat flapjacks with quick-cooking oats.
• Different Sweeteners: For an alternative to maple syrup, you can use agave syrup! It will add a similar sweetness to these bars. Date paste, honey, or coconut sugar would also work!
• Raisins: If you do not have any dates on hand, raisins or other dried fruit will be equally delicious. Raisin flapjacks work really well with the cinnamon and nutmeg!
• Butter Or Ghee: If you do not need this recipe to be vegan, you can use butter or ghee in place of the coconut oil.

🔪 How To Make Healthy Flapjacks

Making these healthy seeded flapjacks is easy and does not require any hard work! Here’s how to make this English flapjacks recipe:

Preheat The Oven & Combine Wet Ingredients: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the nut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, and coconut oil into a medium pot over medium/low heat. Stir until smooth and combined.

Mix Dry Ingredients: In a separate large bowl mix together all of the rest of the ingredients: oats, flax, dates, bananas, apples, through seeds.

Combine Wet & Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredients to the pot and stir to combine.

Add Mix Into Prepared Tin: Pour the mixture into an 8×8 baking pan lined with parchment paper and press down so it’s even (you can use a sheet of parchment paper and a rolling pin or the back of a spoon to help in pressing it down in the square pan). The bars should be about ½ inch thick.

Bake: Bake nut and seed flapjack bars for 15 minutes in the preheated oven or until the top is golden brown.

Let Cool: Cool for at least 15 minutes on a wire rack or stovetop before slicing. Serve these healthy banana flapjacks warm. 

💭 Expert Tips

• Use Parchment Paper: While you can simply grease the square tin, using parchment or greaseproof paper will make it a lot easier to remove them out of the pan. 
• Let Cool Completely: Be sure to wait until the bars are entirely cool, which should be about 15 minutes. If you don’t let them sit they will fall apart as you cut them!
• Make Them Chewier: For chewy flapjacks, add 1/2 cup oat flour to the batter and/or pulse the batter in a food processor before adding it to the baking pan.

📖 Variations

• Fall Spices: Add extra cinnamon and nutmeg, along with pumpkin pie spice into this low calorie flapjack recipe mixture for the perfect fall flavors.
• Banana Flapjack: Replace the apple with 1 banana (so you’d use 2 bananas total for this recipe) to give it a very banana-bread type flavor!
• Chocolate Flapjack Recipe: Add in 1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips into the batter before baking. This is a really tasty option for chocolate lovers.
• Fruit Nut And Seed Flapjack Recipe: Mix in your favorite fruits, fresh or dried. Blueberries, chopped strawberries, dried cranberries, or raisins would all be lovely options. Feel free to add chia seeds or flaxseeds into the batter too for additional protein and healthy fats!
• Almond Flapjack Oatmeal Bars: Try these out with a different flavor. Swap out the vanilla extract for some almond extract, use almond butter, and crushed almonds instead of peanuts or other nuts!
• Coconut Flapjacks: Mix in coconut flakes for a boost of coconut flavor for this flapjack with nuts and seeds recipe!
• High Protein Flapjack: Although these already have protein from the nut butter, nuts, and seeds, you can boost the protein content even more with some vanilla protein powder. There are many great vegan options for protein powders on the market.
• Low Fat Flapjack Recipe with Honey: This recipe is vegan, so it uses maple syrup instead of honey. But you could easily substitute the maple syrup for honey to get a vegetarian flapjack.

🍽 Serving Suggestions

These healthy flapjacks are very filling and satisfying on their own, but also go great with a refreshing smoothie, like this kale apple smoothie or a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice. For a heartier breakfast, try them with this silken tofu scramble or roasted rosemary potatoes for the perfect balance of sweet and savory!

🙌 Dietary Adaptations

This simple recipe is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan. It is also refined sugar free! For completely sugar free flapjacks, omit the maple syrup and add more nut butter or coconut oil as a binder. If you have a nut allergy, you can substitute as needed with other options more suitable for you. These are great with sunflower butter!

🫙 Storage Directions

These oatmeal bars are super easy to store in either the fridge or freezer! Here’s how to store and keep these healthy flapjacks:

To Store In The Fridge: Once the flapjacks have adequately cooled, place them in an airtight container. Keep them in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. You can warm them up for 10-15 seconds in the microwave to enjoy them warm.

To Freeze: Let them cool completely. Then wrap each one up individually with some plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Then place the flapjacks in a freezer bag or airtight container. 

To Reheat: Take them out and thaw on the counter or in the fridge. Once thawed, eat them cold or heat in the microwave to warm them up.

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🥣 More Healthy Recipes For Breakfast!

• Healthiest Breakfast Cereals
• Vegan Breakfast Cookies
• Overnight Weetabix
• Croffles
• Homemade Cinnamon Toast Crunch
• Cottage Cheese With Fruit
• Healthy Vegan Apple Pancakes
• Keto Breakfast Casserole
• Vegan Baked Oatmeal
• Quinoa Oatmeal
• Vegan Sweet Potato Pancakes

📋 Recipe Card