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4-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Bars

4-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Bars are so quick and easy to make and are a lovely snack, breakfast, or healthy dessert! Put them on repeat to enjoy throughout the week.

Stack of oatmeal bars sitting on parchment paper with oatmeal bars to the side

After growing completely obsessed with my 3-Ingredient Oatmeal Cookies, I felt I just had to revisit the recipe and turn it into bars.

The way I see it, these easy 4-ingredient banana oat bars are the perfect healthy snack on the go or breakfast.

Or if you’re like me and you love a sweet treat but try to minimize your intake of excess sugar, these healthy bars can double as dessert!

The texture on these oatmeal breakfast bars is soft and chewy. You could compare it to a thinner version of Banana Baked Oatmeal

If you’re looking for a granola bar texture, make my 5-Ingredient Healthy Granola Bars.

Let’s discuss the simple ingredients involved in these tasty oatmeal bars!

Healthy breakfast bars on a sheet of parchment paper

Ingredients for Banana Oatmeal Bars:

Ripe Bananas: The sweetener of these banana oatmeal bars! Be sure you use very ripe bananas that have plenty of brown spots for the best result. The riper the banana, the sweeter it will be, which will ensure these cookie bars turn out nice and tasty.

Almond Butter or Peanut Butter: Unsweetened almond butter or peanut butter is the glue that holds these bars together, eliminating the need for eggs or a leavening agent. It also adds delicious rich flavor! 

Rolled Oats: Rolled oats give that amazing unparalleled oaty flavor to the banana oatmeal bars with that lovely texture. I use gluten-free sprouted oats, but you can use regular oats if you aren’t concerned about the gluten content. While you can use quick oats, I find old fashioned rolled oats have the best texture.

If you want to try a grain-free version of these bars, you can swap the oats for any mixed nuts you enjoy, just like I did in my 3-Ingredient Nutty Banana Cookies

Chocolate Chips: Providing those scintillating pockets of delicious chocolatey goodness, chocolate chips make these bars so inviting! 

To keep the recipe vegan, use dairy-free vegan chocolate chips.

For a lower sugar treat, omit the chocolate chips altogether, or use sugar-free chocolate chips. 

Optional Additions:

You can add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and up to ⅔ cup chopped nuts (such as pecans or walnuts). 

If you love dried fruit, feel free to swap the chocolate chips for raisins or dried cranberries.

Let’s bake these healthy breakfast bars!

Slices of Oatmeal Bars on a sheet of parchment paper, ready to eat.

How to Make Banana Oatmeal Bars:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 9” baking pan with parchment paper (you can also use an 8” x 8” cake pan as well).

Mash the bananas in a bowl until most of the chunks are out and they’re nice and creamy.

Mashed banana in a mixing bowl

Stir in the almond butter until it is well-combined with the banana and a thick creamy substance results.

Mashed banana and almond butter mixed together in a mixing bowl

Mix in the rolled oats and chocolate chips and stir until everything is well-combined.

All of the ingredients for the breakfast oatmeal bars in a mixing bowl

Transfer the bar mixture to the prepared baking pan and smooth it into an even layer.

Oatmeal bar mixture in a parchment lined baking pan ready to go into the oven

Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 18 to 25 minutes, or until the edges of the bars are golden-brown and the bars appear set up.

Allow the oatmeal chocolate chip bars to cool completely before slicing and serving.

Finished oatmeal bars in a baking sheet fresh out of the oven

Because the bars are dairy-free, you can cover them in plastic wrap and store them on the counter for up to 2 days.

Store any leftover bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Freeze any remaining bars in a zip lock bag for up to 3 months.

More Banana-Sweetened Recipes:

And that’s it! Your gateway to a versatile healthy oatmeal bars recipe that is easy to customize and fun to make!

Healthy breakfast bars on a sheet of parchment paper

4-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Bars

Yield: 16 Servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Easy, healthy oatmeal bars made with 4 simple ingredients that are vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, and delicious for snack, breakfast, or dessert! Customize these bars to your heart's delight!

Ingredients

  • 3 ripe bananas (1 ½ cups) mashed
  • ½ cup creamy almond butter*
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup chocolate chips

Optional Additions:

  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Instructions

    1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9” x 9” baking pan with parchment paper (you can also use an 8” x 8” cake pan as well).

    2. Mash the bananas in a bowl until most of the chunks are out and they’re nice and creamy.

    Mashed banana in a mixing bowl

    3. Stir in the almond butter until it is well-combined with the banana and a thick creamy substance results.

    Mashed banana and almond butter mixed together in a mixing bowl

    4. Mix in the rolled oats and chocolate chips and stir until everything is well-combined.

    All of the ingredients for the breakfast oatmeal bars in a mixing bowl

    5. Transfer the bar mixture to the prepared baking pan and smooth it into an even layer.

    Oatmeal bar mixture in a parchment lined baking pan ready to go into the oven

    6. Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 18 to 25 minutes, or until the edges of the bars are golden-brown and the bars appear set up. Allow the bars to cool completely before slicing and serving.

    Finished oatmeal bars in a baking sheet fresh out of the oven

Notes

*Use peanut butter or sunflower seed butter in place of almond butter

Nutrition Information
Yield 16 Serving Size 1 Slice (of 16)
Amount Per Serving Calories 139Total Fat 6gCarbohydrates 16gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 4g

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Vegan oatmeal bars collage

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.

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Kate D.

Wednesday 7th of June 2023

These were delicious! I realized I ran out of chocolate chips after I already mixed the other ingredients in, so I added blueberries instead. Also added about two tablespoons of chia seeds for some added nutrition. Will definitely make again!

Tam

Friday 12th of May 2023

Just made these, couldn't wait for them to cool to dig in. YUM! Kroger used to have an organic "super foods" almond butter that came in squeeze packets. I found them when they went on clearance so unfortunately, they no longer carry them. The almond butter had chia, hemp, goji, & lucuma mixed in it. I decided to try using that for the almond butter in this recipe and it was not a disappointment. I stumbled upon this recipe when trying to find a copycat to the Kind breakfast protein bar in the peanut butter, banana, dark chocolate flavor, it's been hard to find them lately.

Julia

Sunday 14th of May 2023

Aww love that! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. The nut/seed blend you used sounds great!

Ruth

Monday 1st of May 2023

Just made these and they are yummy! I used almond butter that wasn't sweetened which I like but I want to make some for others who aren't as good with lower sugar bars, would simply using a peanut butter that has sugar in work? Thanks!

Julia

Tuesday 2nd of May 2023

Hi Ruth! I'm so thrilled you enjoy them! You can definitely swap out the almond butter for a sweetened peanut butter. Any well-stirred nut or seed butter will work :) xo

MommaT

Wednesday 29th of March 2023

I made these as a vegan bar ( dairy free chocolate chips), because of my grandson’s severe dairy allergy!! Good stuff. Most processed bars have some kind of milk product! So nice to have a really healthy alternative 😉

Julia

Monday 3rd of April 2023

I'm so happy to hear you and your grandson enjoy the bars! Thanks so much for sharing your experience xo

Kelsey

Saturday 25th of March 2023

How would the nutritional facts change if I used peanut butter instead of almond butter?

Julia

Tuesday 28th of March 2023

Hi Kelsey! As long as the peanut butter is unsweetened, the nutrition facts wills stay the same :)

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