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.
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!
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!
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.
Stir in the almond butter until it is well-combined with the banana and a thick creamy substance results.
Mix in the rolled oats and chocolate chips and stir until everything is well-combined.
Transfer the bar mixture to the prepared baking pan and smooth it into an even layer.
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.
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:
- Healthy Carrot Cake Muffins
- 4-Ingredient Healthy Flourless Brownies
- 5-Ingredient Paleo Banana Bread Cookies
- Healthy Apple Muffins
- 4-Ingredient Healthy Samoa Cookies
And that’s it! Your gateway to a versatile healthy oatmeal bars recipe that is easy to customize and fun to make!
4-Ingredient Banana Oatmeal Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe bananas 1 ½ cups mashed
- ½ cup (120g) creamy almond butter*
- 2 cups (200g) rolled oats
- 1 cup (170g) chocolate chips
Optional Additions:
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2/3 cup (100g) chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- 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.
- Stir in the almond butter until it is well-combined with the banana and a thick creamy substance results.
- Mix in the rolled oats and chocolate chips and stir until everything is well-combined.
- Transfer the bar mixture to the prepared baking pan and smooth it into an even layer.
- 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Just made these. I used dried blueberries instead of chocolate chips. And once they were baked and cooled I put them in the dehydrator (or oven) at 195 for 3 hours. They set up like a nature valley crunchy bar.
Totally delish
I love the idea of making this recipe in a dehydrator – how brilliant! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Such an easy yet tasty recipe. I substituted raisins for the chocolate, delicious.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, Debbie! I’m thrilled you enjoy the bars 🙂
This was awesome! Just made them. I added white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips and walnuts. On the top I put a thin layer of honey. Oh my goodness…So good! Thank you for the recipe this is going in my favorite recipe box.
Ooh, all of that sounds amazing, Tonya! Thanks for sharing! xo
I like to follow a recipe exactly as written but I didn’t have almond butter. I decided to use Nutella. My son thought they were delicious so I guess it was a success! Thank you!
OMG, nutella sounds SO amazing! I’ll have to try this myself! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂
Super easy and quick!
Very yummy 🙂 I added coconut because I add coconut to everthing.
Ooh, yum! I have yet to add coconut to these bars but it’s definitely on my to do list! Thanks so much for sharing, Allison!
Can I sub applesauce for banana?
Hi Blaine! I haven’t tested applesauce myself in this recipe, but I think it would work! I would start with 1 cup of applesauce and if it seems like the mixture is too thick, I would add 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup more. Let me know how it turns out! xo
Trying these for the first time. I was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabeties. So overhauling my diet last 6 months with good results. Thanks for recipe and hardly any sugar!
My pleasure, Michelle! My heart goes out to you – I know it can be difficult to make dietary changes but it really does get easier over time and I’m thrilled you’re finding recipes that work for you! xo
Can I use frozen bananas in this recipe?
Hi Pamela! I haven’t tested the recipe using frozen bananas myself, but I believe it should work. Just be sure to thaw the bananas completely first 🙂 My one hesitation is frozen bananas that have been thawed tend to be a bit watery, so you may need to add more oats. If the mixture seems watery (instead of thick), I would add more oats until a thick and sticky dough forms. Hope this helps! xo
Just put them in the oven, I used sugar free caramel salted chips. Also, added vanilla cinnamon and sea salt. Will keep you know how they turned out.
YUM! Caramel chips sound amazing! Enjoy! xo
Hi! Sorry if I missed this question. I’ve made these twice and they are great ( once I added craisens) My question is could I use thawed frozen bananas? I have so many in my freezer.
Thanks ! Recipe is so easy and great for a snack . I like to keep in fridge and grab.
Hi Paige! I haven’t tried the recipe using bananas that were previously frozen but I imagine it will work. My only hesitation it they might be more liquidy than fresh ripe bananas so you may need to add a little extra oats. It’s possible you won’t have to make any changes, though! let me know how it goes! xo
I added unsweetened coconut flakes, cinnamon, walnuts, and chia seeds as the additional ingredients and the bars turned out well!
Sounds so tasty! Thank you for sharing! xo
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!
Ooh, I love the idea of adding in other goodies like blueberries and chia seeds. Sounds great! xo
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.
Aww love that! Thanks so much for sharing your feedback. The nut/seed blend you used sounds great!
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!
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
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 😉
I’m so happy to hear you and your grandson enjoy the bars! Thanks so much for sharing your experience xo
How would the nutritional facts change if I used peanut butter instead of almond butter?
Hi Kelsey! As long as the peanut butter is unsweetened, the nutrition facts wills stay the same 🙂