Local Boulder brand Bobo’s boasts a completely Gluten Free, Vegan, and Certified Non-GMO catalog, with all recipes made from 100% whole grain oats. Bobo’s sells their Oat Bars, Oat Bites, Stuff’d Bites and more online and in grocery stores, and with their wide variety of flavors and types of snacks, you really can’t go wrong reaching for a Bobo’s snack. Sometimes, though, you may be looking to spice things up, so I have tried out five recipes that use Bobo’s Oat Bars and ranked them below. This post is sponsored by Bobo’s Oat Bars.
Bobo’s PBB Sandwich
The first recipe I tried was something I came up with by myself, which I will call a Bobo’s PBB (peanut butter banana) Sandwich. To make this recipe, you will need:
- 1 Bobo’s Dark Chocolate Almond Bar
- Peanut butter (sub any type of nut butter/alternate spread)
- 1 banana, sliced
- Honey for drizzling (optional, can also sub agave/maple syrup)
This recipe is incredibly easy to prepare: all you need to do is open up the Bobo’s bar, spread peanut butter on top, add a few banana slices, and drizzle with honey. I chose to microwave my creation for 30 seconds, which filled my kitchen with a heavenly banana pancake-esque smell. However, the heat also made the bar lose its structural integrity, so it was somewhat difficult to eat. It was, however, really yummy! I would recommend eating this with a drink to wash it down, though, as the oats combined with the peanut butter create a pretty dense combination.
This recipe is great for a quick breakfast or a snack, especially a pre-workout or after-school one. If you do heat it up, I’d recommend eating it with a fork. However, if eaten cold this can easily be taken on the go (just make sure to bring a napkin). Overall, I’d give this recipe a 7/10.
Bobo’s Tiramisu
Okay, this is about as knock-off as you can get. The idea of using Bobo’s Bars in place of the ladyfingers came to me in a whirl of inspiration, and I attempted to execute it with the same amount of passion. This creation is loosely based on this recipe for classic tiramisu, but I halved the ingredients since I wanted to make a smaller trial-and-error batch. For this recipe, you will need:
- 2 Bobo’s Original Oat Bars
- Instant or regular coffee/espresso
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 4 ounces of mascarpone cheese, or a non-dairy alternative (I used Kitehill’s Original Almond Milk Cream Cheese)
- Cocoa powder, for sprinkling
- 1 teaspoon of milk/alternative milk (this is optional—I just added a splash of vanilla soy milk to my cream because it was too thick)
After letting the dessert set in the fridge overnight, I was really excited to try it. Unfortunately, this creation turned out very poorly. The taste of the espresso was barely noticeable, and what you could taste was bitter. The Bobo’s bars didn’t work out as ladyfingers—the texture just didn’t taste right, and the bar’s thickness prevented the coffee from soaking in like it was supposed to. My cream didn’t turn out how I wanted it to either, but that may have been because it was cream cheese and doesn’t fluff up like mascarpone mixed with whipping cream does. I’m going to have to rate this recipe at the bottom of my list—a 1/10.
Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Bowl
The official Bobo’s recipe website shared a different recipe for this, one that contained oatmeal as the primary ingredient, but then I discovered that all of my oatmeal was expired and I had to improvise. Even minus a core ingredient, this bowl was a fantastic post-class meal. To make this bowl, you’ll need:
- 1 Bobo’s Lemon Poppyseed Bar
- 1 container of Silk Greek Style Vanilla Coconut Milk Yogurt
- Blueberries to taste, washed (I used about 2 handfuls)
- Cinnamon, for sprinkling
- Honey for drizzling (optional, can also sub agave/maple syrup)
Prep for this is super easy—really, the only extra step this required was washing the blueberries. Otherwise, it was just putting ingredients into a bowl and digging in. The not-quite-tart-not-quite-sweetness of the blueberries, the silky texture of the yogurt, and the chewy crumbles of Lemon Poppyseed made for a lovely, bright meal on an otherwise gray and rainy day. I’m going to rate this recipe an 8/10, and I am looking forward to trying it with oatmeal and other flavor combos!
Apple Crumble
Although this recipe requires a fair amount of prep and baking time, oh, is it worth it. To make this recipe, you’ll need:
For the crumble:
- 1 Bobo’s Original Oat Bar, crumbled
- 1 Honeycrisp apple, peeled, sliced, and cored
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup flour
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- A pinch of salt
For the apple pie spice:
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoons ground cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon clove (optional, I subbed this for the cardamom)
I improvised heavily with this recipe, starting with the fact that I cooked the apples and the crumble separately. I wanted the apples to be soft and juicy, but didn’t want to cook them in the oven, so after tossing them in this spice mixture (my measurements listed above), I threw them in a frying pan with about ½ cup of cold water and a tablespoon of butter. I let this simmer down while the crumble baked (about 25 minutes). My crumble was based off of this recipe—I just subbed the rolled oats for the Bobo’s Bars.
After both components of the dish were done, I topped a scoop of the apples with a generous serving of the crumble, and included a scoop of dairy-free vanilla ice cream to complete the dish. Let me tell you—this idea did not disappoint. I was worried that the crumble would be too soft, as the Bars were already cooked, however the texture and taste of the crumble was perfect. Crunchy, buttery, and oh-so-addicting. The apples also turned out really well; however if I were to make it again, I would probably adjust the spice ratio to use less cinnamon. This recipe gets a perfect 10/10 score.
As Is
While making these recipes was a fun (and delicious!) activity, I’ll always go back to the classic as-is Bobo’s bar. I definitely prefer some flavors as they are versus others, but with its crumb-free and on-the-go design, these healthy snacks are a great option for whenever and wherever. Generally, I’d give a plain Bobo’s bar (with some fluctuation per specific flavors) a 7/10. This Cranberry Orange flavor is a great pick-me-up with its bright citrus flavor!
There are a ton of other official Bobo’s recipes to give a try if you are interested, so roll up your sleeves, put on your (actual or metaphorical) chef’s hat, and get cooking! I hope these creations, both good and bad, have inspired you to try Bobo’s Bars in new, creative, and delicious ways.
