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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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Mine are in the oven right now! I added an additional egg and threw in some dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and granola… Boy do they smell yummmmy!
Oh my gosh………these are SO good!! I came across your website for the first time a few days ago and the picture of these banana bars is what sucked me in! 🙂 I’ve had some bananas going bad and I wanted to make something other than regular banana bread. I found this recipe and tried it last night, and it was SO tasty! Wow! It was like dessert! I did half applesauce/half canola oil. The only other change I made is that I added in about 1/4 cup of finely pulsed spinach!! I know, I’m totally weird, but I seriously add spinach to almost anything because I can never taste it and I love the nutritional benefits. And I honestly will probably add more spinach to this next time because all the delicious sweetness will drown out any possible spinach taste. My husband loved these too. Will make again. I’m really excited to try your Zucchini Pie bars next!
Wow, spinach. That’s an awesome addition, great to know that works!
I’m always looking for great recipes to try! Like so many I’m also a firm believer in moderation. Over 10 years ago I was 100 pounds heavier but I was able to lose the weight and keep it off for several years now. The key to that is not dumping whole food groups and enjoying the foods I love. I also run marathons, that helps 🙂 I find people that cut things out of their diet entirely usually end up on a binge later but if you use moderation you’re not depriving yourself. So for this recipe, do you think I could use unsweetened applesauce instead of the coconut oil? I use UA quite a bit when I bake but with using bananas already I wasn’t sure.
I think you could do a 50/50. Since there is already the banana you will probably need a little oil at least. Vegetable oil can be used too!
These are delicious! I cut the sugar in half and added a good squeeze of honey. I also used vegetable oil, because that is what I had on hand. The kids loved them!
I’m glad you liked them and great substitutes!
These are VERY good. I doubled the recipe and used flax rather than eggs (my daughter is allergic). Also, the coconut oil went unnoticed by my husband who very much dislikes coconut! As for a quicker way to get the white chocolate chips on top without making the glaze, I sprinkled the chips on top when the bars were fresh out of the oven and mashed them down with the silicon spatula-easy, although not as pretty. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! And great tip about the white chocolate topping!
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