Strawberry Breakfast Bars made with just four wholesome ingredients! Mashed bananas, almond butter, oats, and fresh strawberries are all you need! No added sweetener, and easy to customize.
I make some form of these strawberry breakfast bars on a regular basis.
It all started with my 4-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Bars and my Healthy Blueberry Breakfast Bars.
The end result is a soft and chewy bar that honors the sweet tooth without consuming excess sugar.
With four simple ingredients, we’re left with a chewy, perfectly sweet treat that is so inviting to the taste buds! Pair it with some form of lean protein for a balanced meal.
The way I see it, wholesome baked goods like this are perfect for enjoying before or after a workout to replenish glycogen.
I make the bars without any added sweetener, but the level of sweetness can easily be adjusted.
With plenty of opportunity to customize this recipe, you’ll end up with your preferred level of sweetness and texture. Be sure to read through the Optional Additions section below!
If you prefer sweet treats, you can make my Strawberry Oatmeal Bars which include a strawberry filling and a shortbread crust.
Let’s discuss the basic ingredients for this easy strawberry oat bars recipe. The great news is you can find the full ingredients list at any grocery store.
Ingredients For Strawberry Banana Breakfast Bars:
Ripe Bananas: The majority of the sweetness in this easy baked oatmeal recipe comes from ripe bananas.
Be sure to use bananas that have plenty of brown spots for the best results. Underripe bananas won’t provide the same moisture content and sweetness as perfectly ripe bananas.
Unsweetened Almond Butter: You will be able to taste the almond butter. If you don’t love the flavor of almond butter, adding 1 to 3 tablespoons of any kind of sweetener will help mask the flavor.
Peanut butter, cashew butter, and sunflower seed butter work as a replacement for almond butter as long as you enjoy the flavor.
Oats: One of the main actors here! Replacing all purpose flour with whole grains, we use quick oats or rolled oats to make these healthy breakfast bars.
I prefer quick oats (or instant oats) over rolled oats (or old-fashioned oats) because the texture is less noticeable.
To make the bars gluten-free, be sure to use certified gluten-free oats. I like using gluten-free sprouted oats.
Sea Salt: Don’t skip the salt! A dash of salt helps level up the strawberry and banana flavors and makes the bars taste sweeter without the need for excess sugar.
Fresh Strawberries: The other star of the show, we use fresh juicy strawberries to achieve little bursts of berry goodness throughout the bars.
I think ripe fresh sweet strawberries generate the best result due to their sweetness and texture, but frozen strawberries will work in a pinch too.
Looking to customize this recipe? There are all sorts of different ways of changing it up. Here are some options.
Optional Additions:
- For sweeter bars, add 1 to 4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, cane sugar, brown sugar, or coconut sugar.
- If you have vanilla extract on hand, add 1 teaspoon.
- For a nutty crunch, add ½ to ⅔ cup of raw chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Mix in 1.5 to 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon if you’re like me and you love cinnamon in your baked goods.
- Love chocolate? Add in ½ cup to ⅔ cup of chocolate chips.
- For fluffier, cake-like bars, add 1 well beaten egg to the wet mixture. If you do so, you will need to bake the bars for slightly longer.
- Mix 1 tablespoon of lemon zest and one tablespoon of lemon juice to the strawberry bars for some citrus flavor.
- You can use an 8-inch pan instead of a 9-inch pan for thicker bars.
Now that we’re familiar with the main ingredients, let’s bake some breakfast bars.
How to Make Strawberry Banana Breakfast Bars:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9” x 9” baking pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl until creamy.
Add the almond butter (and pure maple syrup and pure vanilla extract if adding) to the mashed bananas and mix until well combined.
Note: If your almond butter is cold or has been sitting in the refrigerator, microwave it for 30 to 60 seconds or until it is very easy to stir.
Add the dry ingredients (oats and sea salt) to the mixing bowl and mix until a thick, sticky dough forms.
Stir the chopped strawberries to the large bowl.
Transfer the oatmeal strawberry mixture to the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer. If you’d like, press extra chopped strawberries into the top of the dough.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the bars appear set up.
Allow the bars to cool to room temperature before slicing with a sharp knife and serving. If the bars are sliced while they are still warm, the slices don’t come out as cleanly but the bars still taste great.
Store breakfast bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. You can also freeze the breakfast bars in a large zip lock freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
To reheat bars from the refrigerator, place a bar on a plate and microwave for 10-15 seconds, or until warm. For frozen bars, reheat in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds.
The next time you’re craving a healthy snack, these gluten-free strawberry oatmeal bars are a delicious way of celebrating strawberry season. The chewy texture and strawberry flavor makes these healthy strawberry oatmeal bars a dreamy treat for the entire family.
Enjoy them with a smear of peanut butter or almond butter on top with some strawberry preserves or strawberry jam for a delicious snack.
If you enjoy oatmeal recipes like this one, also try out these reader favorites.
More Recipes With Oats:
- Applesauce Oatmeal Cookies
- 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Healthy Oatmeal Carrot Cake Muffins
- 5-Ingredient Sweet Potato Oatmeal Cookies
- Oatmeal Protein Pancakes
Enjoy this strawberry oatmeal breakfast bars recipe on a weekly basis!
Strawberry Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
- 3 large (225g) ripe bananas mashed (1 cup)
- 1 cup (240g) unsweetened almond butter
- 2 cups (180g) rolled oats
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup (100g) fresh strawberries chopped
!Optional Additions:
- 2 to 4 Tbsp (30-60ml) pure maple syrup for sweeter bars*
- 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon optional
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9” x 9” baking pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
- Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl until creamy. Add the almond butter (and pure maple syrup and pure vanilla extract if adding) to the mashed bananas and mix until well combined. Note: If your almond butter is cold or has been sitting in the refrigerator, microwave it for 30 to 60 seconds or until it is very easy to stir.
- Add the dry ingredients (oats and sea salt) to the mixing bowl and mix until a thick, sticky dough forms.
- Stir the chopped strawberries to the large bowl.
- Transfer the oatmeal strawberry mixture to the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer. If you’d like, press extra chopped strawberries into the top of the dough.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the bars appear set up.
- Allow the bars to cool to room temperature before slicing with a sharp knife and serving. If the bars are sliced while they are still warm, the slices don’t come out as cleanly but the bars still taste great.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can you do this recipe and make it in a 9×13 pan?
Hi Jim! Yes, absolutely! I’d recommend doubling the recipe to make it in a 9 x 13 pan. Hope you enjoy!