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Banana Breakfast Bars are an easy breakfast or snack we’ve been making for years. They’re a copycat of those breakfast bars you buy, but homemade so they’re better for you and cheaper too! These are one of my favorite banana breakfast recipes!
Years ago there was a brand that made Banana Breakfast Bars, sold in packages next to the granola bars. I was obsessed with them as simple snacks because they were soft and tasted like a banana muffin met an oatmeal cookie and they were better for breakfast than either of those. But they were so expensive and at the rate I was eating them…I decided to make my own.
These easy breakfast bars are soft and chewy, like a banana oatmeal cookie but in bar form – without all the extra junk. I drizzle them with a little peanut butter, just like the originals, and I freeze squares in sandwich bags for easy grab and go snacking (or for lunch boxes).
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How to make Banana Breakfast Bars
These bars are a cross between a granola bar and a banana bread/blondie. I actually combined my mom’s banana bread with my base blondie recipe to create something a little bit on the lighter side of both.
Instead of butter, I used oil instead. You can also use vegetable or coconut oil. Combined with 2 overripe bananas and an egg, you get a good bar base. A little brown sugar goes in as sweetener, and the binding is done with whole wheat flour and old fashioned oats.
All you have to do is mix and press them into the bars and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. Once cooled, you can mix some peanut butter with white chocolate chips for the drizzle (or just use peanut butter, but then it won’t harden).
Banana Breakfast Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 medium bananas, spotted ones that are a little past their prime
- ¼ cup vegetable or coconut oil
- ¼ cup (50g) packed brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup (62g) whole wheat flour
- 1 cup (80g) old fashioned oats
- ¼ cup (43g) white chocolate chips, optional
- 1 tablespoon (17g) peanut butter, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8×8” or 9×9” pan with nonstick cooking spray. (Line it with foil first for easy removal, if desired.)
- Place bananas in a large bowl. Mash them with a fork or potato masher until just small chunks remain. Stir in oil and brown sugar with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula. Add egg, vanilla, and salt, and stir until combined. Stir in baking soda. Add flour and oats and stir until mixed, some lumps will remain. Spread in prepared pan.
- Bake for 18-22 minutes until browned around the edges and not jiggly in the center. Cool completely. Slice into bars.
- Optional drizzle: melt white chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small microwave safe bowl (on 50% power in 30 second increments, stirring between each). Place melted chocolate in a small ziploc bag with the tip cut off and drizzle over bars.
- Enjoy within 2 days or freeze for up to one month. I like to freeze them and then reheat as needed, since they don’t last very long on the counter.
Notes
- By substituting butter for oil, I’ve made these a bit heart healthier. Vegetable oil is recognized as a healthier fat than butter by the American Heart Association.
- Using whole wheat flour makes these better than anything with white flour.
- The old fashioned oats give a nice texture.
- The bars you buy have a peanut butter drizzle, so I added that to these. You can skip, of course, or add some peanut butter chips or mini chocolate chips to the bars for extra flavor.
- They last about 2 days on the counter, or you can freeze them for a quick snack. That’s what I like to do, after my workout, with a cup of coffee and some apple slices. It gets me to lunch, where I’m not so hungry I eat the kitchen.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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just delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!!
Hi! Had a craving and made these tonight! Delicious ! Decided to experiment with a couple alternatives and to my surprise it turned out amazing!! Used date paste instead of brown sugar, coconut oil and added half almond flour to the 1/2 cup of flour ( gave it a nice nutty taste!) oh and since I’m a huge dark chocolate fan, I swapped it instead of white chocolate. Thanks for sharing this recipe! My craving was very satisfied!
Oh where do I begin?…. These bars ARE amazing! I just finished a batch, and it’s like midnight. They’re moist and not too sweet. The glaze on top adds an extra little umph. I had a lot of glaze left……so I just dumped the rest on top! Shhhh. I made these to have something quick to grab in the mornings but I can’t stop picking at them, and now I have heartburn 🙁 I don’t know if the bars caused that or the fact that I’m 37 weeks pregnant. Anyway, thanks for a great recipe, I will make these over and over again. Oh and my 2 year old loves them and she hates bananas 🙂
Oh gosh when I was pregnant EVERYTHING gave me heartburn even if it didn’t normally. It might be the bananas, weirdly enough. I’m so glad you like them!!
These look so tasty, and I can’t believe how healthy they are! I don’t do diets very well, so these are the best case scenario for healthy breakfast treats!
Exactly how I am!!
These banana bars look incredible, Dorothy!! I can’t give up on my breakfast either and making these lighter and healthier sounds perfect!
Thank you Kelly!
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