A healthy banana oatmeal bar recipe that is easy to make and is moist, has no refined sugar, and can be easily made into muffins! There banana oatmeal bars are made with gluten free oats, one very ripe banana, and topped with mini chocolate chips to make for the perfect sweet bar.
One of my favorite things in life is having overripe bananas. It’s like they are begging for me to bake with them. I have been trying to come up with fun and creative ways to use them in recipes and everyone already has a basic banana bread recipe, am I right? I have a few myself to be honest… So I wanted to spice up the usual banana bread recipe and turn them into bars. Especially these that are gluten and dairy free!
If you love banana bread, but want to make sure it is a little bit healthier, this nutritious recipe is for you! It is literally meant for mornings when you wake up and want something easy for breakfast and remember that you prepared these bars to have with coffee! Or, if you’re a big snacker like me, top a slice with smooth almond butter and you’re set when the munchies hit. I highly suggest heating a square or two up and putting them into a bowl of yogurt… SO GOOD!
These banana oatmeal bars are made with healthier ingredients like gluten free oats and applesauce to replace white flour and canola oil.
Ingredients in healthy banana oatmeal bars
This recipe is healthier than traditional banana bread or morning breakfast bars because of the nutrient value in the ingredients.
gluten free oats – this recipe calls for oats over white flour for more nutrients.
ripe bananas – super ripe bananas are key for making this recipe perfectly sweet. With a touch of coconut sugar, we create the perfect balance of sweetness.
coconut sugar – coconut sugar retains quite a bit of the nutrients found in the coconut palm. These include minerals like iron, zinc, calcium and potassium.
almond butter – the nut butter in this recipe is a great source of healthy fat. You can always sub almond butter for another type of nut like peanut butter or even tahini.
applesauce – I love to use applesauce in place of canola oil or another type of oil in general. I love that applesauce adds a little extra sweetness.
and chocolate chips for some extra love 🙂
How to make healthy banana oatmeal bars
This recipe is seriously easy to make. If you have ten minutes and one mixing bowl, you can create the most delicious healthy banana oatmeal bars.
You’ll start by mashing the ripe bananas in your bowl.
One of the best tips I have for this recipe and for any banana bread recipe in general is to use a potato masher for when you want to mash your bananas up! It seriously makes them so mushy and perfect for banana bread, and is a lot easier to do than if you were doing it with a fork.
Once mashed, add in your almond butter and applesauce and mix well.
Once smooth, add in the coconut sugar and oats and mix to create your batter. Pour in your chocolate chips too and mix!
Pour your batter into a lined 8×8 brownie dish, smooth out the top, sprinkle extra chocolate chips, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
Let them cool, cut into squares, and enjoy!
Banana Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients:
- 2 cups gluten free oats
- 1 ripe banana
- 1/3 cup and 1 tbsp almond butter
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips (feel free to add more!)
Instructions:
- You’ll start by mashing the ripe bananas in your bowl.
- One of the best tips I have for this recipe and for any banana bread recipe in general is to use a potato masher for when you want to mash your bananas up! It seriously makes them so mushy and perfect for banana bread, and is a lot easier to do than if you were doing it with a fork.
- Once mashed, add in your almond butter and applesauce and mix well.
- Once smooth, add in the coconut sugar and oats and mix to create your batter. Pour in your chocolate chips too and mix!
- Pour your batter into a lined 8×8 brownie dish, smooth out the top, sprinkle extra chocolate chips, and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.
- Let them cool, cut into squares, and enjoy!
Calories
115.21
Fat (grams)
3.10
Sat. Fat (grams)
1.07
Carbs (grams)
20.91
Fiber (grams)
2.11
Net carbs
18.80
Sugar (grams)
10.03
Protein (grams)
2.38
Sodium (milligrams)
1.69
Cholesterol (grams)
0.00
These are yummy. I’ve just made them and will definitely be making them again. My only warning if you try these is that the calories quoted weren’t accurate. I worked them out to be 212 per slice – still worth it though.