These peanut butter banana oatmeal bars are the kind of simple, dependable recipe you make again and again. Made with pantry staples and baked in one pan, they’re perfect for breakfast, snacks, or packing into lunchboxes. Soft, hearty, and lightly sweet, they’re a fun and fuss-free way to use up ripe bananas.
I patiently waited a couple of extra days for the bananas to get super ripe and sweet, but I could easily have used some frozen bananas from my stash in the deep freeze! Glad I have some tucked away! I'll be making these again and again!
These bars are naturally dairy-free and made without added sugar, relying on ripe bananas for sweetness. Oatmeal gives them a hearty texture and makes them satisfying, whether you use old-fashioned oats or quick oats. The peanut butter adds great flavor and helps make these bars filling enough for breakfast or a sturdy snack.
They’re also very easy to make. Everything comes together in one bowl using simple pantry ingredients. You’ll need basic measuring tools, a fork to mash the bananas, and a loaf pan for baking. From start to oven, it takes about 10 minutes, and they bake for roughly half an hour.
What a great thing to pack in a lunch box or take to work for a morning pick-me-up at break time! Delicious with a cup of coffee or tea!
These bars are made without added sugar, relying on ripe bananas and honey for sweetness. They’re naturally dairy-free and can be made gluten-free by using certified gluten-free oats.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease a loaf pan, and/or line it with parchment paper to help lift the bars out of the pan after they're baked. I used a nine-by-five-inch loaf pan.
Mash the bananas in a medium bowl with a fork, leaving them a bit chunky.
Add the peanut butter, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and honey. You can use natural peanut butter for this recipe, but I used my favorite, Jif Creamy Peanut Butter. 💖I haven't tried chunky peanut butter, but I bet it would work fine!
Next, stir in the oatmeal and about one-third of the chocolate chips.
Put the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top, then sprinkle on the remaining chocolate chips and bake your peanut butter banana oatmeal bars for about 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. A toothpick or cake tester should come out clean when you poke the pan near the middle.
The fragrance when they're baking will make your mouth water and make you hungry! Let the bars cool in the pan, then cut them into eight luscious bars! I used a bench cutter, pressing straight down and up to make tidy cuts.
Just look at these beauties! Our daughters and granddaughters are crazy about them, and I bet your family will love them, too. If you enjoy easy, make-ahead breakfast bakes like these bars, you might also like my Raisin Bran muffins — another simple recipe that works well for busy mornings.
You can use any kind of nut butter, such as cashew or almond butter; omit the chocolate chips, or swap them for butterscotch or white baking chips. You can add cinnamon if you like, or dried cranberries or cherries! Melt some peanut butter in the microwave and drizzle it over the top if you feel fancy!
It's so quick and easy to whip up a batch; have fun trying some substitutions! Here's a great little post on how you can ripen bananas more quickly in an hour or a couple of days, depending on how desperately you're craving these amazing bars!
This recipe makes only eight bars, each about 2.5 inches square, so it isn't a big batch. Normally, you can keep them on the counter for three or four days and be just fine. They'll keep well in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 weeks.
These little beauts freeze amazingly well, too. Stack them with waxed or parchment paper between the layers, and keep them in an air-tight freezer container for up to three months.
A healthy, super easy gluten-free, peanut butter banana oatmeal bar
Have I put you in the mood to bake? I hope so! I bet your family will like these too.
⭐ Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
⭐ Peanut Butter Cheerio Bars- this one is a no-bake recipe!
Be sure to let me know how this recipe turned out for you, just drop a note in the comments.
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can these be made in a small glass pan instead of a loaf pan?
Hey thanks for reaching out! Of course! The thing to keep in mind if you use a larger pan, the bars will be a little flatter so you will need to watch the baking time and reduce it a bit! Enjoy!
The recipe calls for oatmeal, but the photo is of oats. Which should be used?
That is oatmeal in the photo. 😉 In the post I write "you can use either old-fashioned oatmeal or quick oatmeal!" Oats looks completely different than oatmeal in their unprocessed state. We used to grow oats on the farm and fed the whole grain to our horse.
Hi! I’m baking these now in the Ninja Foodie, wish me luck! Also, do you happen to know calories for the bars? Can’t wait to try!!!
Oh wow! Do let me know how you like them. The recipe maker program calculated each bar to have 197 calories if the pan is cut in 8 pieces.