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!
Banana Peanut Butter Oat Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas 1 ½ cups mashed
- ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract optional
- 2 cups rolled oats
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon optional
- 1 cup chocolate chips optional*
Instructions
- 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. Stir in the creamy 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.
Notes
Nutrition
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Healthy 7-ingredient peanut butter oat bars says 9 servings but nutrition info says for 6 servings.
Hi Joanne! Thanks so much for catching that! The 6 was a typo on my end so the nutrition facts are accurate now 🙂 xo
400 calories and 25 grams of sugar per bar is healthy?
You’re welcome to cut the bars smaller 😉 I make them that size because I want them to be substantial and I don’t follow a low-calorie diet. Rather than cutting 9 big bars, you could easily cut 12 medium-sized bars. You can also leave out the chocolate chips for lower sugar. If you did this, the bars would be 211 calories per bar with 8 grams of sugar (most of which comes from ripe bananas). Hope this is helpful.
How are these “sugar free” with 25 grams of sugar listed in the nutritional info?
Hi Lisa. They are refined sugar-free, as they are sweetened with ripe bananas and pure maple syrup. The chocolate chips are optional and you can use sugar-free chocolate chips if you’d like, which would lower the amount of sugar if that’s of concern to you. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, you can cut the bars smaller (or omit the chocolate chips) to reduce the amount of sugar.
Please don’t call these healthy. Seriously!!!! The calories, carbs, fat and saturated fat and sugar are ALL high and cutting the bars smaller does NOT make them healthy. You can fool some of the people some of the time….
Hi Joan,
Homemade baked goods made with mostly natural ingredients are far healthier than store-bought packaged goods that are made with white flour and refined sugar. Health is highly subjective and I subjectively do consider this recipe to be healthy.
I make these bars regularly using different types of nut and seed butters and my husband and I enjoy it on constant rotation. We are also active individuals. For people like us, there is absolutely zero harm in consuming a treat like this on a regular basis; however, for the unactive individual who doesn’t have the same caloric needs, I can see how this wouldn’t be the best option. As you can see in my blog post, I never mention that this is a suitable recipe for someone who is diabetic or for someone who is trying to lose weight. It is important to keep in mind that every person has unique nutritional needs.
To bring this full circle, if you don’t like a recipe you see on the internet, you don’t have to make it. And you don’t need to make it personal. No one is forcing anyone to do anything here. To assert that me sharing a recipe that is near and dear to my lifestyle is somehow fooling people is to assume that people are a lot less intelligent than they truly are. I trust that every single individual who comes to my website will eat what they want regardless of what they see here.
Let me know if you have any questions.
@Julia,that was a great response ! I can’t wait to try this recipe, my family will love it for sure
I appreciate the support, Nicki 🙂 I hope you and your family love the bars! We’re quite obsessed over here. xoxo
@Julia, I support that these are healthy! Using natural, God-given ingredients with lower sugar options is a win for me.
I am a big believer in consuming protein, fat and carbs in a healthy balance—this has it all.
I wouldn’t recommend these for my sister who needs to have a higher protein and lower carb intake to feel well, but that’s what she’s discovered is best for her body.
Also, I am thrilled to have found a treat I can make my small group of students who all have food allergies, and the protein will keep them from getting a sugar high!
Thank you for sharing!
Aww I love hearing that the recipe would work for your students! What a win! I really appreciate you sharing all of this as it provides more nuance to the conversation. I’m a true believer that anything can fit into the diet so long as there’s balance. I’m a big fan of maintaining a diet high in quality protein and fiber (veggies) and enjoying mindful treats as well. I recognize that nutrition is so personalized to each individual and we should all be taking care of our bodies accordingly. Plus, we only have one life to live so not hitting nutrition perfectly every time just adds joy to life, right? 😉 xoxox
These are pretty good. I made them to eat for breakfast this week. I only had a 1/2 cup of chocolate chips so I sprinkled them on top instead of mixing in to the dough. I think that was a mistake because they lost the fudgy aspect and were kind of dry. I don’t think a whole cup is necessary (that is a lot of sugar) but better to mix in than top for sure. One other thing – I added 1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut and it didn’t add much coconut flavor to make it worth the extra calories. Either next time I will toast it first or eliminate completely.
P.S. Using a potato masher for the bananas was key!
Hi Erica! Thanks so much for sharing your experience! 🙂 I suspect the dryness could have come from adding the shredded coconut as well. As odd as it sounds, I’ve found coconut to be fairly absorbent, so when I’ve added coconut to cookies/bars/cakes/muffins, I always add more liquid to offset the addition. That said, I’m thrilled to hear you made the recipe and that you’d be interested in repeating the experience. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your feedback! xo
I can’t wait to try these. As a lifelong diabetic who hates synthetic sweetener and overly sugary baked goods as well as watching my saturated fat intake, i know how to adjust a recipe to suit my needs. Cut the maple syrup in half and use dark chocolate chips and any number of nut butters. My favorite is homemade almond butter. Healthy doesn’t mean low cal. And to get healthy fats you get some saturated fat. I never understand the comments that are unwarranted attacks.
Hi Molly! Thanks so much for your input here! I always assume people who need to make changes to recipes to fit any dietary restrictions will do so but it’s so refreshing to hear from someone who does so – I appreciate you weighing in! I’m always open to constructive criticism and useful information but when the conversation turns overly dogmatic it can take the fun out of what should be just a tasty recipe. Thanks again for taking the time to comment and for providing your balanced view on nutrition! xoxox
I forgot to say thank you for sharing the recipe!
Good morning! I’ve got these squares in the oven. This is the second time I’ve made them…just used tahini as my grandaughter is allergic to peanuts but it tastes great and even better after they sat in the fridge!
Thanks for these healthy treats!
Aww my pleasure! I’m so thrilled to hear the recipe worked great with tahini! I love tahini in baked goods, so I’ll have to try the same thing soon. Thanks so much for sharing, Donna! xo
I tasted these when I was visiting my aunt last week. Got the recipe from her and just took them out of the oven! Love them so much. I’m trying to find recipes that are gluten free and yummy and found this one! Thank you. 😊
Aww I’m so happy to hear that, Felicia! Thrilled to hear your aunt found my recipe and passed it on to you for your enjoyment. Much love to you and your family! xo
Haven’t tried yet but Can’t wait to try these. Looking for something high calorie and nutritious I can grab in the morning.i need to put on weight and would like to do it in a healthy way.
I hope you love them, Jessica! I definitely support using this recipe as a healthier treat for increasing calories. xoxo
These were absolutely perfect!
I made these with my 3 year old, he was able to do it with ease and really enjoyed it. We didn’t add chocolate chips but they definitely didn’t need it, as long as the bananas are ripe they are sweet enough!
Recipe needed no adjustments, cooked in 25 minutes and set perfectly.
They’ve made a perfect after school snack for my 2!
Thanks so much for sharing, Chloe! I’m so happy to hear you and your kiddo enjoy the bars. I appreciate you sharing your experience! xo
I just made these because I wanted to use up some bananas and hazelnut butter. Of course I didn’t have enough of either so I replaced them with Greek yogurt 😂 but they turned out great still, just a bit tangy. I really don’t love the gummy baked oatmeal that uses milk, so these are perfect. I’ll definitely make them again! Also they would be sweet enough without the chocolate chips so I’ll try that next time.
P. S. I’m laughing at the almond moms in your comments, who knew a recipe could be such a divisive issue 😂
Awww I’m happy the bars turned out alright in spite of not having enough bananas and hazelnut butter! Greek yogurt was an ingenious idea! I actually want to try that at some point in the future 🙂 Glad you got a good chuckle out of the comments section…the internet is a beautifully strange place 😉