Banana Oatmeal Bars

Try these quick, easy, soft-baked banana oatmeal bars to enjoy a delicious snack, breakfast, or even a healthy treat!

Do you have some brown bananas on your counter top that you’re wondering what to do with?  If you do, I have a great, easy recipe.  If you don’t, you need to save a few and let them get spotty.  Do it.

These banana oat bars taste just like banana bread in a bar form.  And making them could  not be easier.  You have six simple ingredients that you mix together, press into a baking dish and bake.

12 minutes later you have chewy, moist bars that are great for breakfast, snacking, or even dessert.

These bars are vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, and have no added sugar. You won’t believe that all the sweetness comes from the bananas and dates.  They are perfectly sweet without any added sugar or sweeteners.

I made these on a whim when I was nursing Luke and he had multiple protein intolerances and I had some spotty bananas I wanted to use. We loved them so much they were quickly elevated to regular recipe status.  Being forced to take the wheat out of my diet at that time forced me to branch out in the kitchen and there were some delicious results!

Everyone in my family loves vegan banana bread, and I like to bake some whenever I have some overripe bananas. However, sometimes I want to make something with the natural sweetness of bananas and dates and no added sugar, the chewiness of oats, and the crunchiness of rice cereal. That’s when I go for these healthy banana oatmeal bars using all wholesome ingredients.

Whether you’re looking for quick breakfast granola bars, a post-workout snack, or a healthy snack with no added sugar, these banana oatmeal bars are a great option.

Recipe Ingredients for Banana Oatmeal Bars

This healthy breakfast bars recipe is a quick mix-and-bake recipe with all simple ingredients. Here’s a list of everything you need:

Dates

As we’re not adding sugar to this recipe, we will add 1 cup of finely chopped dates to give it natural sweetness. Although dates are a high-calorie ingredient, they offer ample nutrition. They are rich in fiber, magnesium, potassium, iron, and Vitamin B6.

The high fiber content in dates is beneficial for relieving constipation and keeping sugar levels from spiking. Dates also have antioxidants, like flavonoids, carotenoids, and phenolic acid, that reduce inflammation and prevent certain cancers and Alzheimer’s disease. These antioxidants are also excellent for heart and brain health and lower the risk of heart disease.

With so many benefits, this tiny little fruit has a lot to offer!

Bananas

To add a bit more sweetness to the banana oat bars, we will add 3 spotty bananas. I say spotty because we want them to be overripe so you can easily mash them and have maximum sweetness. And to get the perfect mashed bananas, use a potato masher to get them all creamy.

Bananas are rich in potassium and vitamin C, with dietary antioxidants that reduce the risk of heart disease and degenerative illnesses. The fiber in bananas is helpful for weight loss as it makes you feel fuller all day and fiber is important for controlling blood sugar.

Brown Crispy Rice Cereal

For a nice and chewy texture of the banana oatmeal snack bars, we will add 1½ cups of brown crispy rice cereal. It is a unsweetened gluten-free cereal that adds a unique crunch to the banana oatmeal bars.

Oats

We want these healthy bars to be soft and chewy; therefore, a cup of oats is a great way. I have used both old-fashioned oats and quick oats for these snack bars. Both work well so use whatever you have on hand.

Oat Flour

We will add ½ cup of oat flour to the mixture as a healthy alternative to all-purpose flour. Besides, oat flour is the best way to give banana oatmeal bars a chewy and not crumbly texture. If you don’t have oat flour on hand, simply add 1/2 cup rolled oats to your blender and blend until you have flour.

Avocado Oil

We also need 2 tablespoons of avocado oil. It contains healthy fats, high in oleic acid and vitamin E. You can also use melted coconut oil as an alternative. Adding fat to this recipe makes it more balanced.

Banana Oatmeal Bars Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2

Line an 8×8 square baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.

Step 3

Start by mashing your banana in a large bowl. Then add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix well.

Step 4

Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and press the mixture down well with the back of a wooden spoon or a spatula.

Step 5

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes or until the top gets golden brown.

Step 6

Allow cooling before slicing into 9 squares. These can also be cut into granola bar shapes if you prefer. Enjoy!

Tips and Tricks

Here are some tried and tested tips and tricks to make these banana oatmeal bars even more tasty and flavorful.

• Add some raisins, walnuts, or white, milk, and dark chocolate chips to the mixture and make these oatmeal bars a kids’ favorite.
• While the dates and bananas do an excellent job holding the oatmeal bars together, you can add some creamy peanut butter to make delicious peanut butter banana oatmeal bars. If you prefer to add more crunch, use crunchy peanut butter.
• If you’re not a fan of natural peanut butter, use almond butter or cashew butter instead.
• Store the baked oatmeal bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 – 4 days.

If you like this recipe, try my chocolate baked oats, high-protein overnight oats, and gluten-free peanut butter blossoms.

If you make this Banana Oatmeal Bars recipe, or any of my healthy recipes, please leave a star rating and comment. It’s so helpful for other readers to see which recipes are tried and true, and it’s an easy way for you to help my blog get seen by more people. I really appreciate you!

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Banana oat bars {vegan, gluten-free, nut-free}

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3.7 from 3 reviews

• Author: Healthy Happy Mama
• Total Time: 22 minutes
• Yield: 9 bars 1x
• Diet: Vegan

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Description

These bars are vegan, nut free and GF!  Great for a healthy snack!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup dates, finely chopped
• 3 (very ripe) bananas, mashed
• 1 1/2 cups brown crispy rice cereal
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (get certified GF to keep it GF)
• 1/2 cup oat flour
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil, or baking oil of choice
• Optional add-ins*: raisins, chocolate chips, walnuts

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 8×8 square baking dish with parchment paper.  Set aside.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. Transfer the mixture into a baking dish and using the back of a wooden spoon or a spatula, press the mixture down well.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes, or until the top is just starting to get golden brown.
5. Allow to cool before slicing into 9 squares.  These can also be cut into granola bar shapes if you prefer.  I like these best stored in the refrigerator.  Enjoy!

 

Notes

1. I didn’t try any of these add-ins, but I think they’d be delicious.
2. If you don’t have oat flour, just blend some oats in your blender until it is a fine flour.

 

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 12 minutes
• Category: Snacks
• Method: oven
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 bar
• Calories: 211
• Sugar: 16 grams
• Sodium: 1.3mg
• Fat: 3.9 grams
• Carbohydrates: 35 grams
• Fiber: 4 grams
• Protein: 3.3 grams