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These delicious and delightful Soft Baked Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars recipe with chocolate chips are the perfect energy breakfast or snack when you want something healthy, yet satisfying for those sweet tooth cravings.
Quick and easy recipe you’ll want to make over and over again!
What We Love These Soft Baked Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars
Made with natural, wholesome ingredients like peanut butter, oats, banana, almond milk, chocolate chips and applesauce, it’s no wonder these awesome bars are a home-run with the kids as well as the adults!
Ingredients You Need
- 2 large ripe bananas mashed (1 cup)
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter or any nut butter
- 1/4 cup organic brown sugar
. coconut sugar or monk fruit golden sugar - 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or 1 flax egg
- 1/2 cup almond milk any non-dairy will work
- 2 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned whole oats or quick oats can use Gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips , plus some for the top. We used non-dairy (add more chocolate chips if you want!)
. coconut 
or quick oats can use Gluten-free
How to Make Soft Baked Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars
- Preheat oven to 350°F Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the bars from the pan. Set aside.
- Using a mixer in a large bowl, beat together the mashed bananas, peanut butter, brown sugar and applesauce together, then add in the oats, baking powder salt, cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate chips and continue mixing together. Batter will be a little thick and pourable.
- Transfer mixture evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 25-28 minutes or until the center is set but still soft looking.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan at room temperature for 45-60 minutes. Chill bars in fridge and then slice them into bars. The bars are more difficult to cut if they aren’t chilled.
- Remove bars from the pan using the overhang on the sides then cut into bars. Bars will be soft and moist.
- Cover leftover bars tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 8-10 days.
Storing Bars
Cover leftover bars tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 8-10 days.
Freezer Options
Freezing Instructions: Place bars between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then you always have them on hand!
More Healthy Options for Our Soft Peanut Butter Bars
To make them healthy, we only used 1/4 cup of brown sugar, which makes them just sweet enough. However, there are other ways to make them even more healthy if desired!
Sugar options? Besides brown sugar, you could use golden monk fruit sugar like Health Garden Monk Fruit Sweetener, which is Non GMO, gluten free, keto-friendly and a 1:1 Sugar Substitute. Coconut sugar could also be used. Not sure about maple or agave syrup, but if you try it, let us know how it works out.
The applesauce, chocolate chips and ripe bananas also sweetens it up a bit, but if you want to add a little more sugar, maybe a tablespoon or two is more than enough for a sweeter tasting oatmeal bar.
The oats can be also be gluten-free
, if you want to go the GF route and we love organic oats
! Use old-fashioned or quick oats or a 1/2 & 1/2 mixture of both.
The chocolate chips can be mini or regular size, depending on how much chocolate you want. Of course, we used vegan chocolate chips to keep things 100% dairy free.
The unsweetened applesauce can be substituted with a flax egg, so there again, you have another option! Woohoo!
Other add-ins could be raisins
, dates
, nuts
, flax seeds
, or hemp hearts
.
Peanut butter could easily be switched out with any nut butter like tahini
or Justin’s vanilla almond butter
. (Just make sure the nut butter can be stirred easily.)
Why not make them different every time with what you have on hand when the mood strikes and come up with your own personal favorite? Plus, they are so easy to make, no excuses!
There’s really no down-side to these healthy & soft baked, moist oatmeal bars! Homemade healthy peanut butter banana oatmeal bars are the best!!
We love our healthy-ish indulgent snacks! If you do too, you’ll love these Classic No-Bake Cookies, these Best Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars and these unforgettable Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch Bars.
More Delish Treats!
- Vegan Sugar Cookie Party Bars
- Best Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
- Vegan Banana Oatmeal Cookies
- Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Bars
- Soft Vegan Sugar Cookies
Soft Baked Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe bananas mashed (1 cup)
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter or any nut butter
- 1/4 cup organic brown sugar coconut sugar or monkfruit golden sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or 1 flax egg
- 1/2 cup almond milk any non-dairy will work
- 2 and 1/2 cups old-fashioned whole oats or quick oats can use Gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips , plus some for the top. We used non-dairy (add more chocolate chips if you want!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the bars from the pan. Set aside.
- Using a mixer in a large bowl, beat together the mashed bananas, peanut butter, brown sugar and applesauce together, then add in the oats, baking powder salt, cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate chips and continue mixing together. Batter will be a little thick and pourable.
- Transfer mixture evenly into the prepared pan and bake for 25-28 minutes or until the center is set but still soft looking.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan at room temperature for 45-60 minutes. Chill bars in fridge and then slice them into bars. The bars are more difficult to cut if they aren’t chilled.
- Remove bars from the pan using the overhang on the sides then cut into bars. Bars will be soft and moist.
- Cover leftover bars tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 8-10 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Flax egg = mix 1 Tbsp ground flax with 3 Tbsp warm water and let it sit for 10 minutes while it “gels” up
- Pumpkin can be substituted for banana
Recipe from Sally’s Baking Addiction.
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