 |
If you’ve been following Sally’s Baking Addiction since the beginning, you may remember my peanut butter banana oatmeal bars. They are, without a doubt, my FAVORITE healthy snack recipe ever. I played around with the recipe a bit and added some chocolate.
Because everything is better with chocolate, no? 
It is the super ripe bananas that make these bars so incredibly soft. Super ripe bananas are super-brown and super-sweet. The natural sweetness of the ripe bananas also lessens the brown sugar needed in these bars, which is always a good thing in my book.
The more ripe your bananas are, the better these bars will taste. And the softer they will be, too.
The peanut butter packs a HUGE flavor punch and the oats give these bars a nice chewy texture. The chocolate chips and peanut butter chips bring it all together. And these bars are so easy to make. When it comes to healthy recipes, simple and quick are the most important to me.
I loathe long bake times, complicated recipes, and slaving away in the kitchen.
There’s none of that in these bars. Just mix everything up in 1 bowl and 20 minutes later you’ll be snacking away.
Makes 12-16 bars, depending how large you cut them. Bars stay fresh for up to one week in a covered container at room temperature or in the refrigerator. Vegan option: see note below. Gluten Free option: see note below.
Ingredients
- 2 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick oats)
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, loosely packed (or light brown sugar)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup almond milk (regular or soy milk would be fine)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg (or 1 "flax" egg - see note below for vegan option)
- 2 large very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 8x8 square (or 9x9 inch) baking pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Mix together oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add in the milk, vanilla, and egg. Mix together until evenly combined. Add mashed bananas, peanut butter, chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips. Stir well.
- Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for 20 minutes. Allow to cool and cut into bars.
Notes
*Note: these bars can easily be made vegan by using vegan chocolate chips + vegan putter butter chips and using a “flax egg” instead of a regular egg. Flax egg = mix 1 tbsp ground flax with 3 tbsp warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes while it “gels” up. Use the "flax gel" as a replacement for the egg.
*Note: make sure your oats are certified gluten free to ensure these bars will be gluten free.
Recipe Source: sallysbakingaddiction.com
© Sally’s Baking Addiction. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
Want to see more of my healthy recipes?
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars
Skinny Peanut Butter Swirl Brownies
Skinny Strawberry Banana Milkshakes
Caramel Apple Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Skinny Frozen Peanut Butter Pie
{ 69 comments… read them below or add one }
Great round-up of March recipes! I want to make all of them! And these bars look AH-MAZING. Peanut butter and banana are made for each other, and once you throw chocolate in the mix, it becomes absolute heaven
Thank you for the sweet compliment. I agree, I love peanut butter, chocolate, & banana together!
Oh these look amazing!!
thank you Donna! have a nice weekend
Oh, they look really lovely an yummy! I like such sweet and chewy things..
so do I! Thanks for stopping by.
I am always a fan of oatmeal bars. These look delectable!
thank you Angie! I love oatmeal bars too. They’re sO convenient!
So simple and delicious! These would make a perfect on the go breakfast.
i agree, i love having oatmeal bars on hand for quick and easy snacks or breakfasts! thanks for stopping by! your blog is adorable. Those Glazed Nut, Blueberry and Dark Chocolate Chewy Granola Bars look incredible!
Mmmm! Now I’m going to just HAVE to make these because I have two ripe bananas sitting on my counter. I love that there’s only 1/4 cup of sugar in the recipe. That definitely justifies making these as a breakfast “treat”. And that caramel apple version…it looks like heaven!
Valerie, thanks for stopping by! Both these and the caramel apple oatmeal bars definitely make me feel like I’m “cheating” on a healthy diet! They are both so good and so nutritious!
Simply Superb !
thanks Zee!
I really wish I could bake!.
of course, i DO have a wife…..
these are so easy to make though!
Do you have the calories for these?
kay, i’m sorry i don’t. you could plug the ingredients into a recipe calorie counter online if you want. there were 16 servings in the entire recipe.
YUM! These look amazing. I love every single ingredient. These are a must make!
thanks dorothy! and they are surprisingly HEALTHY!
Wow, are these good! Mine ended up very soft and sort of gooey, sort of in between a bar consistency and baked oatmeal consistency. I had 4 very small bananas that I used instead of 2 large, so I think maybe I used more banana than you did. I also didn’t have peanut butter chips, so I just used the chocolate chips (still only 1/2 cup).
Sally, do these freeze well?
Hey Lizzie! These bars may be frozen for up to
3 months. It sounds like 4 small bananas may have been too much. Try 3 small bananas next time. Glad you made them!
By the way, I used the Weight Watchers calculator for these. My version (no peanut butter chips) was 4 points+ per bar if you cut them into 16 bars. The original version with peanut butter chips was 5 points+ per bar.
(These calculations were done using an Eggland’s Best egg and unsweetened almond milk).
Just made the peanut butter banana chocolate chip oatmeal bars! Very good! And they were easy to make!
so glad you enjoyed them Sue!
Hi,
I just made tonight and used a 8×8 pan and followed the recipe exactly. My question is….what is the consistency of these bars supposed to be like? Mine are about an inch and a half thick and a cake like, soft and crumbly consistency? Any feedback or tips?
Hi Nikki, the bars are similiar to baked oatmeal bars. The thickness of your bars seems about right. They are VERY soft. Allowing them to sit out for quite some time before cutting helps them firm up. I find they taste best the next day. These bars are very moist – are yours dry tasting? The crumbly nature of yours could be fixed by adding more peanut butter.
I made these for the second time recently. They are legitimately one of my favorite foods. Every bite tastes different. I love to microwave them for a few seconds and eat them with a dessert fork
Yum!
Lizzie, it is SO nice to hear that! They are practically made every week in my house. Seriously, so so good! I am working on some variations
raspberries and dark chocolate chips perhaps?
Ha! I love it! I made raspberry dark chocolate banana bread yesterday, so I am SURE that combo would be great in these bars too
Love them! So good even though I used all chocolate chips! Best granola bar using banana’s I’ve ever tried!
I agree with Hayley! In fact I wrote a post about them today, and linked back to your site
. You can see it here: http://berryhappybodies.com/2012/06/28/mini-granola-bars/
Ali recently posted..Mini Granola Bars
Thanks Ali!!!! Love your post about them.
Oh my, these bars sound delish! I will definitely be trying the vegan option.
Theresa recently posted..Mushroom Strudel
Thanks Theresa! I’ve had the vegan version of these bars and they are just as tasty.
Made two batches of these yesterday, and everyone loves them!! Hubby and the kids gobbled them right up, and the batch that got sent to my parents and grandmother is practically gone too! Used a combination of Peanut Butter & Co.’s Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter and The Bee’s Knees peanut butter, and they turned out amazing! Thanks for such an easy, healthy, and delicious treat! (Awesome way to use up those ripe bananas sitting on the counter!)
Yum! I love both versions of the pb you mentioned! Your bars sound like they were heavenly! Sooo glad you enjoyed them, Rachel.
I’ve made these about 4 times since having to give up wheat 2 months ago… they’ve been my regular breakfast every morning, microwaved to meltiness. I love these things. They freeze very nicely, too. I leave out the peanut butter chips and throw in some extra chocolate. Doubling the cinnamon works well too.
I’ve found it’s necessary to bake them for closer to 30 minutes to get the center to 165 degrees, which is necessary since they contain raw egg. This makes them pretty firm once they’ve cooled down. I like the texture perfectly well, but I might try using flax “eggs” next time so I can bake them less.
Great! Glad you liked them.
When I made these bars I followed your instructions exactly, but I used two big bananas and the dough was very moist after I added them. I baked them for 25 minutes and they had a gummy texture in the middle. Do you think I should just use less banana, add a little bit of flower, or just use less milk?
I plan on using your recipe in a baking demonstration that I’m doing at the Minnesota State Fair this month. And it would be GREAT if I could get the texture just right. But I was wondering if you would mind if I shared your recipe with the crowd.
Thanks!
Hi Mary – I would suggest using less banana if you are afraid your bars are too gummy. You may also lower the oven temp and bake for a longer amount of time. I wouldn’t touch the amount of flour or milk. If you use my recipe in a state fair, be sure to let me know how it pans out and if you could site the originator, that would be appreciated. Enjoy!
I feel like baking some of these right now! By the way, 350 refers to celcius or fahrenheit?
350F, thanks Hitomi!
I made these over this past weekend, and my husband and I liked them a lot. I did have to bake them for a little over 30 minutes, in 8×8 glass pan. I also did not add the chips because I didn’t have any and was still in my jammies!
They are very dense, not that it is a bad thing. They were really nice to have left over before work today because it felt substantial and heavy enough to be a meal, unlike those cereal and grain bars that leave me hungry shortly after.
One other thing that I did differently is that I only have natural peanut butter, with no added sugar in it. The receipe did not say, but I assumed this was regular creamy peanut butter, which usually has sugar of some kind in it, so I added a bit of molasses to account for the missing sugar and add a nice, rich flavor. Very nice! This is a good recipe to make on Monday and have the rest of the week to grab and go.
Sheri, I am SO glad you wrote in with all these comments! I love your variation on the bars too. I actually have a bar similiar to this coming up where I used molasses in the recipe! And pumpkin.
The PB banana version is absolutely my favorite, so I’m glad you enjoyed them too! And yes, I used regular creamy peanut butter. Thank you Sheri!
Is the dark brown sugar essential to the taste, or could I use Splenda’s brown sugar as a substitute? I don’t believe that Splenda has a dark brown sugar, just the light brown.
you could use Splenda’s brown sugar as a replacement. However, I believe Splenda’s brown sugar measures are not cup for cup with browni sugar. You have to decrease the splenda brown sugar to half of what the recipe calls for. Thank you!
Sally, I am a recent discover-er of you and your truly, truly awesome baker self. I support your addiction!!
You inspired me to make these oatmeal bars with a twist I know you will love, Nutella instead of PB!! Delicious, delectable, [insert other d adjective]!! They were a dish best served cold a day or so after the original baking. I couldn’t wait and ate them hot!
Nutella banana oatmeal bars! Holy moly, you are brilliant!! Kasey, I may just have to steal your idea and make these myself!! I can only imagine how wonderful they taste. You are such a sweetheart for writing in and saying hi. I can’t wait to make these!
Made these today….very moist and delicious. I’m making more skinny peanut butter swirl brownies this week (like tomorrow!)
Love your recipes!!
I’m glad you liked these! They are a favorite oatmeal bar recipe of mine – cannot beat banana and chocolate and PEANUT BUTTER!
Oh, and also made your peanut butter oatmeal bars….Such good running fuel, at least that’s what I tell myself when I take an extra slice of one…you know, just the corner off one little square..haha!! The kids wanted to add some sprinkles, so of course we did.
Sara W. recently posted..Need Advice/Tips…Anything
Adding sprinkles! I love love love that idea Sara! Pure genius. I’m going to do that next time. And yes, these were great running fuel for me too!
I just made these and they are so delicious! So excited to have them as breakfast on the go. But I was wondering, what is the best way to store them? Should they be kept at room temperature or put in the fridge? Thanks!
Joanna recently posted..cinnamon toffee cheesecake dip for apples.
Hi Joanna! So glad you made these! I love them.
I kept mine out at room temperature but they didn’t last more than 2 days in my kitchen. I’d store them in teh fridge after that for the best taste/texture!
Oh wow, love your website, there are so many yummy recipes that I have to try. Thank you for sharing Sally
Thank you Tanya! So glad you stopped over to say hi!
Sally, your blog is fantastic! So glad I stumbled across it today. There are so many inspiring recipes that I can’t wait to try!
Hey Courtney!! So glad you found my blog. Let me know which recipes you make! If you start with these, you are in good shape – I adore these healthy oatmeal bars!
You may be the perfect woman, Sally! Just sayin’….
Do you realise how hard it was to wait for these gorgeous bars to cool in the tin?! I’ve been searching for a recipe like this to use up my bananas, is healthy – but has alot of flavour and richness behind it. THIS is the recipe and it worked a treat. The sides are crunchy which makes them even more dreamy. Great recipe, thanks a ton!
Hi BeckieBee! I am in love with these oatmeal bars. I haven’t made them in a couple months. You’ve reminded me to get on that soon! SO glad you loved them too! Thanks for reporting back.
Made these bars today and they are SCRUMPTIOUS! Seriously gooey bites of heaven. I’m in love
Thanks Amanda! I’m so glad you like them!
I made these yesterday and they are delicious! I did make a substitution…. I used cashew butter because I don’t care for peanut butter. And I omitted the peanut butter chips and doubled the chocolate chips. I put several in the fridge and froze the rest. I just had one for breakfast…. yummy! Thanks for this terrific recipe!
I’ll have to try cashew butter sometime, Sandy. I make these quite often with different variations, but never cashew butter. Thanks for reporting back!
I LOVED these bars!! They are perfect for a mom who needs to make something healthy, has leftover bananas, doesn’t have time to warm butter (and in such occasions as needs to always ends up melting it), and MUST HAVE CHOCOLATE. Thanks for this recipe. Delicious!
So glad you liked them Jen! These are one of my very favorites.
{ 18 trackbacks }