Quick microwave jam flapjacks are easy oat bars with a layer of jam that are made in minutes. Great for lunch boxes or an afternoon snack.
Being a good Scottish lass, flapjacks are a regular feature in my kitchen.
There's always a big tub of oats to use in all sorts of recipes.
However, I usually bake my oaty flapjacks in the oven or in my air fryer, but I wanted to see if they would be good in the microwave.
After a few experiments, I got them just right.
I hope you try these chewy oat bars.
They are made in minutes and taste great!
Jump to:
- 💭 Are microwave flapjacks different from regular flapjacks?
- 📋 Reasons you will love these
- 👩🏻🍳 What you need to make easy jam flapjacks
- 🥄 Which type of jam is best in a flapjack?
- 🍫 What else can you add to a basic flapjack recipe?
- 💭 Can you make gluten-free microwave flapjacks?
- ♨️ Making flapjacks in the microwave
- 🍲 Which dishes can be used for microwave baking?
- 🥘 Size of microwave dish
- 🌡️ Microwave power
- 🥄 Serving flapjacks
- 💭 Storing chewy flapjacks
- 👩🏻🍳 More sweet oat snacks
- ⭐ Sign up for a free recipe sent to your inbox every morning
- 👩🏻🍳 How to make Microwave Jam Flapjacks
- Step 3
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
At a glance - microwave jam flapjacks
⏲️ Ready in: 10 minutes
👪 Serves: 9
🍽 Calories: 283
🧾 Main ingredients: oats, plain flour (all-purpose flour), dairy-free butter, golden syrup (or maple syrup), brown sugar, jam
👩🏻🍳 Suitable for: Vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, egg-free, vegetarian
Summarise & save this recipe:
💭 Are microwave flapjacks different from regular flapjacks?
The recipe is pretty much the same.
Oats, brown sugar for that caramel flavour, golden syrup and butter.
However, I found the texture of microwave flapjacks was better if I added some flour, which isn't in a traditional Scottish flapjack recipe.
I'm not too upset at changing the recipe as they are so, so good.
📋 Reasons you will love these
And yes, they have to be chewy.
If they are crisp, then they are more of a cereal bar or a granola bar and nothing like a flapack.
I digress, here's why you will love this simple microwave bake.
- They are chewy - just as they should be
- Quick to make - made in minutes
- Super easy - a child could make them (and the microwave is a safer option)
- Simple ingredients - you don't need anything fancy
- Energy efficient - you will use less energy baking them in the microwave
- Taste amazing - they are just delicious
👩🏻🍳 What you need to make easy jam flapjacks
Here are the simple ingredients you need to make an easy jam flapjack.
- Butter - vegan butter or vegan spread (dairy-free margarine)
- Golden syrup - you can use maple syrup, but use golden syrup if you can as it has a wonderful toffee flavour (just don't use corn syrup)
- Oats - porridge oats or rolled oats
- Plain flour - (all-purpose flour) not a traditional ingredient in Scottish flapjacks, but it helps the texture with these microwave oat bars
- Brown sugar - golden brown sugar (demerara sugar), not dark brown sugar
- Salt - just a pinch
- Jam - any flavour
You will find the full recipe and method in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page.
Also, try my microwave blackcurrant & lemon flapjacks or microwave cinnamon apple flapjacks.
🥄 Which type of jam is best in a flapjack?
You can pretty much use any type of jam (or jelly if you are in the US).
Homemade or shop-bought jam.
Because this is a quick recipe, I just use whichever jar is open in the fridge.
Usually strawberry jam or raspberry jam.
However, if you want to try making some homemade jam, try my easy raspberry jam or mixed fruit jam that's made with frozen berries.
🍫 What else can you add to a basic flapjack recipe?
As I said the basic recipe is just oats, sugar, butter and golden syrup, but you can add fillings and toppings.
Flapjack fillings
You can mix these into the flapjack mixture.
- Raisins
- Sultanas
- Dried fruit (various)
- Cranberries
- Fresh blueberries
- Fresh raspberries
- Chocolate chips
- Seeds
Jam layer alternatives
Instead of a layer of jam in the middle of the flapjacks, here are a few more ideas, of course, this isn't traditional.
- Chocolate spread - look out for dairy-free versions
- Biscoff spread - lovely stuff
- Peanut butter - smooth or crunchy
- Almond butter - or other nut butters
- Christmas mincemeat - the fruity filling (recommended by a reader
Flapjack toppings
It's not usual to add a topping to a classic Scottish flapjack, but heck why not?
- Dark chocolate - melted and spread as a full topping or drizzled
- Vegan white chocolate - melted and spread over the flapjacks before they are cut
- Sprinkles - sprinkle over any melted chocolate topping
Stay classic or go wild!
💭 Can you make gluten-free microwave flapjacks?
Yes, it is super easy to make these chewy golden syrup flapjacks gluten-free.
Just use gluten-free oats and whizz some of the oats into a flour too.
♨️ Making flapjacks in the microwave
It's super easy to make chewy flapjacks in the microwave, if you have one of course.
Melt the vegan butter and golden syrup in the microwave, then mix into the dry ingredients.
Once the mixture is layered up and pressed firmly into a microwavable dish, it just needs a few minutes of baking, with a rest part way through.
🍲 Which dishes can be used for microwave baking?
It's important to use the right dishes in a microwave.
Glass and ceramic dishes are usually microwave-safe and some airtight containers are suitable too.
You could use any of these.
Just check the bottom for the microwave-safe sign or symbol.
🥘 Size of microwave dish
The dishes I usually use to make these oaty bars are a square glass Pyrex dish or a small ceramic dish.
They are both microwave-safe.
The square glass dish is 20cm x 20 cm (about 8 inches x 8 inches) and the small ceramic dish is 23cm x 16 cm (9 inches x 6 inches).
It's quite a forgiving recipe, you can use a dish a little bigger (flapjacks will be thinner) or smaller (thicker flapjacks).
🌡️ Microwave power
Microwaves come in all shapes and sizes, each with a different power.
Mine is 800 watts.
If yours is a higher wattage, you may want to take the flapjacks out a minute or so early.
If your microwave is less powerful, the flapjacks may need an extra minute or two.
🥄 Serving flapjacks
Flapjacks are pretty much ready to eat as they are once they have cooled down.
They are perfect to add to lunchboxes for kids and adults and they are great with a cuppa.
I have on occasion served them with some fresh berries and whipped cream or crumbled into vegan Greek yoghurt.
If you want to try more flapjack recipes, try my blueberry and lemon flapjacks or my banana, coconut and choc chip flapjacks.
💭 Storing chewy flapjacks
Once cool and sliced into bars, the flapjacks can be stored in a baking tin for a few days or in an airtight container in the fridge.
I've never frozen them, so I won't recommend that.
👩🏻🍳 More sweet oat snacks
Looking for more recipes like these microwave jam flapjacks? Try these:
- Vegan Peanut Butter Squares with Chocolate & Oats - no-bake
- Vegan Raspberry Almond Bars - No-Bake Recipe
- Apricot & Coconut Flapjacks (no-bake oat bars)
- Scottish Biscoff Tiffin (vegan)
- Vegan Biscoff Oat Bars (homemade no-bake)
- Air Fryer Golden Syrup Flapjacks
- Vegan Microwave Apple Crumble for One
- Mini Vegan Oat Pancakes with Cinnamon
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👩🏻🍳 How to make Microwave Jam Flapjacks
These step-by-step photos will show you how to make these quick and easy snacks. The printable recipe follows these photos and tips.
Step 1
- Butter your microwave dish, so the flapjacks don't stick and set aside.
- Add your vegan butter or spread and golden syrup to a microwaveable bowl and microwave until melted.
Step 2
- Add the flour, oats, brown sugar and salt to a large mixing bowl.
- Mix well.
Step 3
- Pour the melted mixture into the oaty mixture and give them a good stir until well combined.
- Spoon just over half of the flapjack mixture into your buttered dish and press down with the back of a spoon until well compacted and with an even surface.
- Add dollops of jam and spread out across the flapjack base.
Step 4
- Crumble the rest of the flapjack mixture evenly across the jam layer and use the back of a spoon to press flat into an even layer.
- Bake in the microwave.
- Leave to cool, then cut and serve.
- Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Microwave Jam Flapjacks - Quick and Easy Recipe
Ingredients
- 150 g butter (vegan butter or margarine)
- 70 g golden syrup (or maple syrup)
- 200 g oats (porridge oats or rolled oats)
- 100 g plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 120 g brown sugar (soft brown sugar or demerara sugar)
- 1 pinch salt
- 3 tablespoons jam
Instructions
- Butter your microwave dish (see notes) so the flapjacks don't stick and set aside.
- Add your vegan butter or spread and golden syrup to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for about 1 minute, maybe less until melted.
- Add the flour, oats, brown sugar and salt to a large mixing bowl and mix well.
- Pour the melted butter and syrup into the oaty mixture and mix until well combined.
- Spoon just over half of the flapjack mixture into your buttered dish and press down with the back of a spoon until well compacted and with an even surface.
- Add the dollops of jam and spread out across the flapjack base.
- Crumble the rest of the flapjack mixture evenly across the jam layer and use the back of a spoon to press flat into an even layer.
- Bake in the microwave for 4 minutes, leave to sit for 2 minutes then bake for another 3 minutes (see notes about microwaves).
- Leave to cool, then cut and serve.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Use a microwave-safe dish - ceramic, glass or plastic.
- The square glass dish I use is 20cm x 20 cm (about 8 inches x 8 inches) and the small ceramic dish is 23cm x 16 cm (9 inches x 6 inches). A bit bigger or smaller is fine.
- Microwaves come in all shapes and sizes, each with a different power. Mine is 800 watts. If yours is a higher wattage, you may want to take the flapjacks out a minute or so early. If your microwave is less powerful, the flapjacks may need an extra minute or two.
- You can cut them into smaller pieces if you are worried about calories.
- Keep them in a cake tin or in an airtight contaimer in the fridge for a few days.
Jill says
Oh jaqs they look so good snd very quick to make too. Perfect for my daughter who is in student digs.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh yes, if you have a microwave then this is the perfect recipe. I hope she enjoys them.
Kim says
Runs straight to the kitchen to make them. Waiting for them.to cool.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Haha that was quick! Hope you enjoy them Kim.
Dorothy says
Oh I love a quick microwave recipe. These look great.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh do try them Dorothy, they are really good and super easy.
Janet says
These are yummy. I used peanut butter instead of jam and cooked them a little longer as my bowl was smaller so they were thicker. Another keeper recipe, thanks Jacqueline ☺️
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Oh brilliant and good idea Janet. I am so pleased you enjoyed them.
Kate says
For oven cooking any idea of the times? Thanks for the recipe! Kate
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I've not tried these ones in the oven but probably about 20-25 minutes, just keep an eye on them.
Helen says
Simple, fast and delicious,
Has to be a treat as it's high calorie per slice, but what a wonderful treat!
Thank you,
A great recipe
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Yes definitely a treat, but so good. I am glad you enjoyed them Helen.
Hannah says
Hmmmm, thought this would be great! But the jam burnt 🙃 Will stick to oven flapjacks 😂
Jacqueline Meldrum says
How strange, I have made this so many times and no burnt jam. I am thinking your microwave is more powerful so less time to bake, although the jam should be covered with flapjack so no chance of burning.
Andy says
Jam burnt, recommend to reduce the time on the recipe by half.
Jacqueline Meldrum says
Sounds like your microwave is more powerful than mine. I did mention this in the notes in the post. Definitely reduce the time if your microwave is more powerful.