Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars

Name: Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 bananas (ripe); 1 1/4 cup rolled oats; 1/2 cup peanut butter; 4 tablespoons maple syrup; 1 egg; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 cup chocolate chips

These soft and chewy Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars are loaded with wholesome ingredients and are naturally sweetened with honey and bananas. They're packed with fiber and perfect for a quick breakfast or snack.

Three Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars stacked on top of each other on parchment paper with surrounding banana oat bars

Raise your hand if when it gets to the end of the week, you always end up with a bunch of ripe bananas sitting on your kitchen counter? I don't know about you but I absolutely hate wasting food! So instead of using them in a banana bread recipe, I decided to make some delicious peanut butter banana oatmeal bars!
There’s only nine wholesome ingredients in this bar recipe. They're almost as good as these chai spiced vegan oatmeal bars and unlike the packaged bars from the store, these bars don’t have any preservatives or junk in them.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Treat yourself to a batch of these homemade oatmeal banana peanut butter bars. You’ll love these bars because they’re made with wholesome, healthy ingredients and packed with potassium. These bars are perfect for breakfast, as a snack or you can have one as a post-workout recovery snack.

Soft-Baked Banana Oatmeal Bars on a baking rack with ingredients used laying next to the rack

Benefits of Oatmeal

Oats have numerous health benefits and have become a popular breakfast option for many people. Some may argue that eating oatmeal is just as bad as eating cereal in that it lacks nutritional value to be considered a healthy breakfast.

Oatmeal can provide many benefits including lowering cholesterol and improving blood sugar regulation. Also, since oats are high in fiber it helps keep you full between meals and provides plenty of whole grains, protein, antioxidants and more.

Equipment You’ll Need

Here is some equipment suggestions to help you make the

Baking Dish - 8x8 square, prepared with parchment paper
Mixing Bowl - to mix all of the ingredients in
Large Spoon - or spatula to mix all of the ingredients with
Measuring Equipment - teaspoon, tablespoon, 1 measuring cup

Banana Oatmeal Bars Ingredients in clear glass bowls with labels

Ingredients You’ll Need

There’s only nine wholesome ingredients in these oatmeal banana peanut butter bars. Here is what you need:

Bananas – Duh!! This recipe uses 3 ripe bananas. The good news is they are not required to be super ripe for this recipe. I used bananas that were soft and had some brown spots on them and they still worked just fine.
Rolled Oats – use rolled oats for oatmeal banana peanut butter bars. Instant oatmeal or steel cut oats will not work for this recipe. If you prefer, you can also use gluten-free oatmeal.
Peanut Butter – If you’re not a fan of peanut butter or are allergic or sensitive to it, another nut butter would probably work but I’ve only tested peanut butter.
Maple Syrup – this makes the perfect sweetener in the oat bars. You can substitute with honey, agave syrup or date syrup.
Egg – you only need 1 egg to help bind the ingredients all together
Baking Soda – only ½ teaspoon is used in these peanut butter banana oat bars
Vanilla - make sure to use real vanilla extract to help enhance all the flavors in the recipe, not imitation vanilla.
Cinnamon – Cinnamon and peanut butter is just a combo I love.
Chocolate Chips - and of course we can’t forget the chocolate chips! You can use semi-chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips.

Bananas cut in half and placed in a clear glass mixing bowl.

Mashed Bananas in a clear glass mixing bowl

How to Make the Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars

The great thing about these banana granola bars is everything is mixed all in one-bowl and then transferred to a baking dish to bake. In minutes, you can pop the pan and into the oven and then into your mouth!

Mash the bananas in a large bowl.
Stir in the rolled oats, peanut butter, maple syrup and egg until it is well combined.
Add in the baking soda, vanilla extract, ground cinnamon and sea salt.
Pour in the chocolate chips and mix it all together.
Transfer the batter into the parchment lined baking dish and bake the bars for 25 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick or knife is inserted in the middle and comes out clean.
Let cool for 10 - 15 minutes before cutting them into bars.

Banana Oatmeal Bars Ingredients in a clear glass mixing bowl

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars Ingredients mixed in a clear glass mixing bowl with a mixing utensil.

How to Store the Oat Bars

To store the peanut butter oatmeal bars, layer them between waxed paper in an airtight container. They can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 – 5 days. You can eat them straight from the fridge or let them sit at room temperature before serving.

Soft-Baked Banana Oatmeal Bars on baking rack with ingredients in the background

Substitutes and Variations

Here are a few substitutes and variations for the chocolate peanut butter oat bars in case you need or want to use alternative ingredients.

Nuts - Want to add in a little added protein, you can substitute the chocolate chips with some walnuts or pecans or whatever nuts you prefer. Or you can add ½ nuts and ½ chocolate chips and mix them together.
Chocolates - Adding chocolate chips to these bars is optional. You can also skip the chocolate chips all together or substitute them with raisins or chopped nuts. But let me say, once you try them with the chocolate chips, it’s hard to go back! You can use semi-chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips.
Nut Butters - If you’re not a fan of peanut butter or are allergic or sensitive to it, other nut butter would probably work although I’ve never tried it. You can try using almond butter, cashew butter or your favorite nut butter.
Dairy free milks - if you’re not a fan of almond milk, that’s okay because any type of milk works for this recipe. You can use cashew milk, oat milk, soy milk or regular plain dairy milk.

Banana Oatmeal Bars stacked on top of each other with parchment paper in between the bars and a clear glass of milk in the background

Recipe FAQ

Are these oatmeal bars gluten-free?

If you use gluten-free rolled oats, these banana oatmeal bars can be gluten-free.

Is eating oatmeal everyday good for you?

Are oat bars healthy?

Oats have numerous health benefits and have become a popular breakfast option for many people. The oat bars eaten in moderation can make the perfect breakfast, snack or post-workout recovery snack.

How do you ripen bananas quickly?

Using a lunch size paper bag, place the banana(s) in the paper bag and roll it closed. You can keep the banana(s) in the bag for 1 to 2 days. After day 2 you can remove the banana(s) from the bag and they should be nice and ripe with brown spots.

How do you know when the peanut butter banana oatmeal bars are fully baked?

You can use a toothpick or a knife and insert it in the middle of the pan to check to see if the bars are fully baked. If it comes out clean, then they are fully baked and ready to be removed from the oven.. If there is batter on the toothpick or knife, let the bars bake for about 5-10 more minutes.

More Recipes You May Like:

Blueberry Muffin Overnight Oats

Chai Spiced Vegan Oatmeal Bars

Healthy Banana Nut Bread

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Bars

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