How was your weekend? Hope it was sweet! I’m in the middle of a juice cleanse and it’s been completely amazing! I can’t wait to tell you guys all about it.
This past weekend I spent a lot of time in the kitchen developing recipes because I know I’ll be in Australia for the next few weeks and wanted to catch up on blogging. It’s amazing how much time I can spend myself when I’m cooking and baking; my heart feels content.
But damn, can we just talk about these bars?
Breakfast is looking sweet with that pretty chocolate drizzle. Am I right or what?
Of course they are a healthy version of sweet because you know I’m always looking out for your dietary needs and waistline.
Just kidding. I’m really only making recipes up that seem interesting; things that I like to eat, bake, and create! I’ve realized that my body loves natural foods — and these easy oatmeal bars are exactly that. No flour, eggs, dairy, or butter!
These vegan oatmeal breakfast bars are made with:
Gluten Free Oats (you get to make oat flour and it’s soooo easy)!
Ripe bananas.
Honey (or agave/maple syrup!).
A tiny tiny bit of unsweetened applesauce (no extra cals from oil).
Chocolate chips for a little bit of sweetness.
I adapted this recipe from my pumpkin chocolate chip oat bars except these taste like banana bread with awesome oatmeal texture. If you’ve ever put bananas in your morning oats, you know what I’m talking about.
You are going to love these oat breakfast bars – they’re great for when you’re on the go and can be frozen so that you can just heat them up for a quick bite! I’m sure kids would love these in their lunchbox or as an after school snack, too.
For me, they’re a great 3pm snack or a way to satisfy my sweet tooth in the evenings. 1 bar only has around 116 calories!
If you end up making these bars, be sure to tag me on Instagram or post a photo to my Facebook wall – I love seeing what you create!
Have a great week! xoxo
If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below and rate the recipe! You can also snap and picture and post it on Instagram using the hashtag #ambitiouskitchen. And of course be sure to follow Ambitious Kitchen on Instagram. xo!
More healthy bars to make:
Paleo Zucchini Banana Bread Bars
No Bake Superfood Brownie Energy Bars + video
Double Chocolate Banana Bread Oat Bars {vegan and gluten free}
Peanut Butter Cup Protein Bars + video!
Toasted Quinoa, Dried Fig & Dark Chocolate Nut Free Granola Bars
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Healthy Banana Bread Chocolate Chip Oat Breakfast Bars {vegan & gluten free}
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups gluten free oats
- 1/2 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3 medium ripe bananas
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (gluten free, if desired)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (or sub melted coconut oil or butter)
- 1/4 cup honey (agave nectar or maple syrup if vegan)
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips (vegan, if desired)
- For chocolate drizzle:
- 2 tablespoons chocolate chips (vegan, if desired)
- 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 9x9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To make oat flour: Place oats into blender or food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes until oatmeal resembles flour. You may need to stop blender and stir oats a couple of times to ensure that all oats have been blended.
- Transfer oat flour medium bowl; whisk in baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
- Place bananas, vanilla, applesauce, and honey into blender; blend 1-2 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add to oat flour mixture and mix until just combined.
- Gently fold in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly with rubber spatula.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs attached. Cool 10-15 minutes on wire rack.
- Prepare drizzle by adding 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high 30 seconds; stir well to combine then drizzle over the top of bars. Cut bars into 16 squares and enjoy!
How do you recommend storing these? Do they need to be refrigerated? I loved them straight out of the oven but they seem sticky while chewing them the next day (no refrigeration). Would love to continue enjoying them.
I recommend keeping them in an airtight container at room temp for 1-2 days, then transferring them to the fridge!
These are amazing! My two year old with wheat allergy loved them. Thank you thank you!!
So happy to hear that!
I think I reviewed this already, but it has been a long while. This is so delicious and almost decadent. I used 3 med-large extremely ripe bananas and an entire little snack-serving of apple sauce, which is slightly more than 1/4 cup. The oat flour is definitely worth it, I’ve tried other GF flour blends from the store but this to me was the best. And I slightly undercooked to keep it a bit gooey. This goes well for any crowd, I can’t wait to serve them this weekend for a potluck!
Amazing! Glad you love these!
Looks great and I can’t wait to make them. Do you know the oat flour equivalent to the2 1/4 cups oats before blended?
It should be pretty equal – you may just want to add a tablespoon or two!
How much oat flour would this recipe use if I wanted to sub that instead of grinding my own? Thanks.
Feel free to use 2 1/4 cups oat flour!
Divine. Just baked them and baking again… too good to be healthy. I used coconut oil.
Glad you love them!
These were so delicious and super easy to make. Turned out alot better than I expected. Will make again
So happy to hear that!
I’d like to add peanut butter for a little protein- can you recommend an amount?
This turned out amazing! I was surprised by how healthy it was but I’ve got to stop assuming “healthy” food implies “tasteless.” I only had 2 brown bananas on hand so I added extra apple sauce to compensate and it worked out great! I also used maple syrup instead of honey and the result was divine!! How good this tastes points me to the goodness of God! Thank you for the recipe!
16 servings! LOL – clearly not in a house with teens or those with poor self control ;p Incredibly good, hit the spot when I was craving a not WFPB/vegan banana snack cake I use to make.
These are delicious! They were super easy to make and satisfy my afternoon sweet tooth perfectly. Thanks for another great recipe!
So happy to hear that!
This recipe is so easy to make and is so delicious!
Glad you love them!
I have made these more times than I can count! They are a perfect grab and go snack or a healthy dessert! Wouldn’t change a thing about them!
So happy to hear that!
If I don’t want to use gluten free oats, can I just use regular oats or even flour?
Regular oats are fine!
Very good! I added one egg, because I eat them. And instead of drizzling the chocolate, I just sprinkled mini chocolate chips over the hot squares. Super moist and don’t taste “healthy”. Will be making again!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Thank you for posting this recipe. The treat turned out delcious and was simple to make. It gave me a way to use up my ripe bananas. Keep on performing the excellent work!
Perfect! So happy you liked them.
Breakfast is always exciting in our house, thanks to Monique’s numerous yummy HEALTHY recipes (a little drizzled chocolate leads to a lot of smiles!) Easy to make and very filling!
Love it! So happy to hear that 🙂
These are so delicious and so easy and quick to make! Definitely a healthier alternative to banana bread and just as moist. I only had a 9×11 pan, so used that and only cooked 10 min and they turned out perfect. Love all of your recipes!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This was delicious! I made it vegan and added inulin. It was so cakey and sweet.
I’m glad that worked out well!
They look and smell delicious!! Cooling off now! Excited to eat them 😊
Hope you love them!
Just what I was looking for! Turned out great thank you 😊
So happy to hear that!
I seriously loved these!! Thank you! Super yummy texture and flavor for a healthy bar. Used store-bought GF oat flour (instead of grinding my own), added a little extra cinnamon, and instead of the drizzle, I just sprinkled vegan dark chocolate chips over the top right when it came out of the oven and spread the chocolate with a knife when it melted (sort of like frosting). It was just quicker with the kids keeping me busy. Other than that, followed the recipe to a T. This will be entering the Saturday brunch rotation for sure.
Perfect! Great idea with the melted chocolate – yum 🙂
one of my most popular recipes!!
Do you think I can do a combination of oats + flour? I have quite a few gluten-free flour options (such as buckwheat flour). I kind of want of want something halfway between granola bar and banana bread. Or you know like the oatmeal cookie concept but in a bar
I have only made the recipe as is so I’m not sure what different flours may do or how they would change the recipe. Sorry! Please let me know if you try out a different substitution.