7-Ingredient Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bars

Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bars are made with wholesome ingredients for a healthier dessert or light breakfast or snack. With plenty of ways to customize the recipe, you’ll want to put this easy treat on repeat! Flourless, egg-free, refined sugar-free, dairy-free and vegan!

Inspired by my 4-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Bars, which are made with almond butter, oats, ripe bananas, and chocolate chips, I wanted to make a peanut butter version for my fellow peanut butter lovers.

I also wanted these peanut butter oat bars to turn out thicker and slightly sweeter than my original recipe, so with a few simple tweaks, this new version was born.

As a baseline, we only need peanut butter, oats, ripe bananas, and chocolate chips to make this simple recipe. I also add some pure maple syrup, vanilla extract, sea salt and cinnamon to make them oh so addictive. 

I find this delicious recipe to be a great snack, especially after a workout to go alongside some protein; however I mostly employ it as a healthy dessert. It is a great way to use up overripe bananas and an even better way to get your peanut butter fix!

Plus, all of the basic ingredients can be found at any grocery store, and you may already have all of them on hand.

Let’s discuss the simple ingredients in detail, as they all play an important role.

Ingredients for Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bars:

Ripe Bananas: Mashed ripe bananas wear many hats in this recipe, as they provide moisture content, the majority of the natural sweetness, and also volume.

Be sure to use overripe bananas that have plenty of brown spots for the best result, as they provide more sweetness and more moisture over less ripe bananas.

Creamy Unsweetened Peanut Butter: The glue that holds everything together and also provides delicious peanut butter flavor.

Unsweetened creamy peanut butter takes the place of eggs and butter in a typical baked good recipe.

It provides stickiness to hold everything together and richness from the fat. I use natural peanut butter, but regular peanut butter and crunchy peanut butter works too.

Be sure your peanut butter is well-stirred if you’re using natural peanut butter to ensure it’s thick and sticky without a lot of oil.

You can use almond butter, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter (such as sun butter), or walnut butter as a replacement. Just be sure it is well-stirred and doesn’t have a lot of oil separation. 

Pure Maple Syrup: While I like adding a few tablespoons of pure maple syrup to increase the sweetness and make the oat bars more moist, this ingredient is entirely optional.

Leave out the pure maple syrup for a no sugar added dessert and a lower sugar option. If you love your desserts to be very sweet, add 1 to 3 tablespoons of brown sugar for a more decadent treat.

Rolled Oats: In addition to the sticky peanut butter, oats also help bind everything together into a cohesive bar.

You can use old-fashioned oats, instant oats, or quick oats. Any type of oats except for steel cut oats works here!

For a gluten-free option, be sure to use certified gluten-free oats. I use gluten-free sprouted oats in all of the recipes I make that call for oats. 

Chocolate Chips: Bringing extra sweetness and pockets of pure joy to these banana peanut butter bars, chocolate chips infuse these bars with fudgy chocolate flavor and add to the gooey texture.

You can skip them for a lower sugar option or use sugar-free chocolate chips.

Dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, cinnamon chips, and peanut butter chips work as well.

Pure Vanilla Extract (optional): A splash of vanilla extract brings warm flavor to the bars. Skip it if you don’t have it on hand.

Ground Cinnamon (optional): I enjoy adding cinnamon to the majority of my baked goods because it provides a subtle warm nuance that makes the treat taste so unique. This is an optional ingredient, but I recommend it for cinnamon lovers.

Sea Salt (mandatory): Salt levels up the flavor of each individual ingredient so that you’re left with a baked good that tastes rich with a unified theme. Be sure to include it unless you need to avoid salt for health reasons.

There are many ways you can customize these healthy peanut butter banana oatmeal bars! Here are some ideas.

Optional Additions:

• Mix in ⅔ cup of chopped raw walnuts or pecans to add nutty texture.
• Add ½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut if you’re a coconut lover.
• Enjoy dried fruit? Add ½ cup of raisins or dried cranberries. You can also replace the chocolate chips with dried fruit if you prefer.
• Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseeds, hemp seeds, or chia seeds for an infusion of omega-3 healthy fats.
• Mix in up to 3 tablespoons of protein powder. If you’d like to add even more protein powder, add some extra banana, non-dairy milk (or regular milk) to offset the addition of the dry ingredient.

Now that we have the basics healthy ingredients covered, let’s bake a batch of these tasty peanut butter bars.

How to Make Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bars:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 8” x 8” baking pan with parchment paper.

Mash the ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl until creamy. I use a fork to mash the bananas but a potato masher works great too.

Stir in the peanut butter, pure maple syrup and vanilla extract.

Transfer the oats, sea salt, and cinnamon (dry ingredients) to the large bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until a thick dough forms.

If adding, stir in the chocolate chips until they are well-incorporated throughout the dough.

Spread the banana peanut butter oat mixture into the prepared baking pan and use a rubber spatula to spread it into an even layer. If you’d like, sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top of the batter.

Place the baking dish on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the healthy banana oatmeal bars are golden brown around the edges and feel firm when gently poked.

Allow the bars to cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.

Store Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bars in an airtight container or a zip lock bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze these peanut butter oatmeal bars in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.

The next time you’re craving a peanut butter treat that’s infused with oatmeal and chocolate, whip up a batch of these healthy breakfast bars!

You can make a double batch in a 13” x 9” casserole dish if you’re serving more than 9 people, or if you want to have leftovers.

We often make this recipe or some rendition of it as a sort of weekly meal prep recipe because we like having a sweet treat on hand that happens to also be health-conscious without a lot of added sugar. You can even employ these healthy oatmeal bars as a quick breakfast or easy snack.

The combination of peanut butter, oats and chocolate chips just really delights the belly in the best way in these delicious banana bread bars.

Looking for another healthy snack recipe? Make my 5-Ingredient Healthy Granola Bars which are sweetened mostly with banana as well.

If you’re looking for more dessert recipes that are similar to this one, also try these reader favorites!:

More Healthy Desserts:

• 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies  
• Healthy Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake  
• 4-Ingredient Healthy Blueberry Breakfast Bars  
• Healthy 6-Ingredient Apple Oatmeal Cookies  
• Grain-Free Paleo Pumpkin Pie Bars  

Banana + peanut butter + oats + chocolate = ooh la la!

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