If you have a few ripe bananas on your counter, these Banana Oatmeal Bars are the perfect way to use them up. Made with wholesome, hearty oats and simple pantry ingredients, these soft and chewy bars are an easy breakfast, snack, or healthy treat. They're naturally satisfying, easy to customize, and perfect for meal prep or busy mornings.
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Why Make This Recipe
Oatmeal recipes are some of my absolute favorite recipes to bake anytime of year, but particularly when the weather starts to cool down. My Chocolate Oatmeal, Oatmeal Cake, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars, Iced Oatmeal Cookies and Apple Oatmeal Muffins are just a few of my favorite cozy and healthy oatmeal recipes from the blog. I am so excited to add these banana oatmeal bars to the blog.
- Simple pantry ingredients. You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make a batch of soft, chewy and wholesome oat banana bars.
- Easy alternative to banana bread. If being super quick and easy to make wasn’t reason enough, these banana oat bars make a great alternative to banana bread when you have a couple of spotty bananas laying around.
- You need an easy breakfast, snack or meal prep idea. Take a few minutes, mix the ingredients into a bowl, bake, cool, slice and enjoy this healthy treat all week long.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Make sure you have these simple ingredients ready to go before making this soft and chewy oatmeal banana bars. Here are my recommended substitutions to make these bars recipe if you need them.
- Old Fashioned Oats: Feel free to use rolled oats, old fashioned oats or quick cooking oats. Use gluten free oats if needed.
- Baking Powder: This provides leavening. This recipe hasn’t been tested with baking soda. Make sure the baking powder is in date.
- Bananas: Make sure the bananas are ripe, with lots of brown spots.
- Light Brown Sugar: This banana oatmeal bars recipe calls for light brown sugar, but maple sugar or maple syrup would also work well.
- Creamy Peanut Butter: Feel free to use any creamy peanut butter (no stir) you like. Natural peanut butter (the kind you have to stir) can also work as long as the peanut butter is every thoroughly mixed.
- Eggs: This recipe hasn’t been tested without eggs. If you want an easy substitute for the egg in this recipe, I suggest using ¼ cup applesauce.
- Milk: Feel free to use your preferred milk.
- Vanilla Extract: This provides a lovely background flavor for these chewy oatmeal bars.
- Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips: Feel free to use any chocolate chips or chunks of chocolate you like. Milk chocolate and dark chocolate would work really well. Feel free to omit if needed.
How To Make
Learn how to make banana oatmeal bars in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease and line the bottom and two long sides of a 9 x 9 (23 cm) pan. In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together until well combined. Set aside for now.
- In another mixing bowl, mash the banana until smooth and well combined. Whisk in the light brown sugar or maple syrup, peanut butter, egg, milk and vanilla extract until smooth and very well combined. Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips or any other mix-ins you would like to use.
3. Transfer the banana oatmeal batter into the prepared pan. Use a flexible spatula to smooth the dough evenly across the pan. Top with the reserved chocolate chips or other topping. Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the edges of bars are a light golden brown, slightly puffed up and the edges are slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool the banana oat bars in the hot pan until room temperature. This takes about 45 - 60 minutes. If needed, transfer the bars to the fridge to chill for an additional hour or until the bars hold together well. When the oatmeal bars have cooled long enough to transfer out of the pan without breaking, use the excess parchment paper on the long sides of the pan and gently lift the bars out of the pan and to cool on a cooling rack, then slice and enjoy.
How To Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Store: Place the oatmeal bars in an airtight container. Store at in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you would like to store the chewy banana oat bars for longer, I recommend freezing them.
- Freeze: Make sure the banana and oatmeal bars are completely cooled to room temperature. Place the bars in a ziplock bag and store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw the banana oat bars is to let them sit out at room temperature until thawed. Heat in the microwave for 20 - 30 seconds to get that “fresh from the oven” taste.
M’s Expert Tips
- The banana and oats matters for the best banana oatmeal bars. Use ripe bananas that you would normally use to bake banana bread. Ripe bananas have lots of brown spots and are sweeter, mash more easily and add more flavor to the oatmeal bars. The best oats to use are old fashioned or rolled oats. However, I have made this recipe with quick oats and they worked as well.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature: This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in deliciously banana oatmeal bars.
- Use a metal pan. This recipe was made in an 9 x 9 aluminum pan. To make this in a glass pan, decrease the oven temperature to 325 F (160 C) and bake for 5 - 10 minutes longer.
- Look for the signs bars are done. Use the baking time as a guide rather than a strict rule. Signs a these thick and chewy oatmeal bars are finished baking is a light golden brown color across the top and baked edges that have slightly pulled away from the edge of the pan. A toothpick inserted in the middle should come out mostly clean.
- Add your favorite mix-ins. I love adding chocolate chips to my banana oat bars. If you prefer, use another type of sweet baking chip like peanut butter or cinnamon. You can also add nuts or even small pieces of dried fruit. Keep the mix-ins to 1 cup total.
FAQs
Banana oatmeal bars are soft-baked bars made with ripe bananas, oats, and simple pantry ingredients. They're a wholesome option for breakfast, snacking, or meal prep and can be customized with your favorite mix-ins.
Yes! These bars are made with nourishing ingredients like bananas and oats, making them a satisfying breakfast or snack. Their nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients and sweeteners you use.
Yes! Simply use certified gluten-free oats and check that your remaining ingredients are gluten-free. To make these bars dairy free substitute any dairy ingredients with your favorite plant-based alternatives if needed.
Dry bars are often caused by too much flour or oats, or by overbaking. Measure carefully and remove the bars from the oven as soon as the center is set. If the bars seem too soft, they may need a little more baking time or additional cooling time. They continue to firm up as they cool.
This recipe can be made in a 9 inch circular cake or springform pan or the recipe can be doubled and made in a 9 x 13 inch pan with no changes to the baking temperature or time.
Other Banana Recipes to Try
If you try this Banana Oatmeal Bars recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! - M
Banana Oatmeal Bars Recipe
Equipment
- 1 - 2 mixing bowls
- 1 whisk
- 1 sheet parchment paper
- 1 9 x 9 (23 cm) pan aluminum pan preferred, see notes for glass
Ingredients
- 3 cups (270 g) rolled, old fashioned or quick cooking oats
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mashed banana about 3 medium bananas
- ½ cup (125 g) peanut butter
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar or maple syrup
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ½ cup (120 ml) milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (170 g) chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Lightly grease and line the bottom and two long sides of a 9 x 9 (23 cm) pan.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the flour, oats, baking powder, cinnamon and salt together until well combined. Set aside for now.3 cups (270 g) rolled, old fashioned or quick cooking oats, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon , 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- In another mixing bowl, mash the banana until smooth and well combined. Whisk in the light brown sugar or maple syrup, peanut butter, egg, milk and vanilla extract until smooth and very well combined.1 cup mashed banana, ½ cup (125 g) peanut butter, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar or maple syrup , 1 large egg, room temperature, ½ cup (120 ml) milk , 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips or any other mix-ins you would like to use.Transfer the banana oatmeal batter into the prepared pan. Use a flexible spatula to smooth the dough evenly across the pan. Top with the reserved chocolate chips or other topping.1 cup (170 g) chocolate chips, optional
- Bake for about 25 - 30 minutes or until the edges of bars are a light golden brown, slightly puffed up and the edges are slightly pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool the banana oat bars in the hot pan until room temperature. This takes about 45 - 60 minutes. If needed, transfer the bars to the fridge to chill for an additional hour or until the bars hold together well.
- When the oatmeal bars have cooled long enough to transfer out of the pan without breaking, use the excess parchment paper on the long sides of the pan and gently lift the bars out of the pan and to cool on a cooling rack, then slice and enjoy.
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