Chocolate Chunk Banana Oatmeal Bars
These banana oatmeal bars are a delicious way to use up your ripe bananas. They’re simple, require minimal ingredients, and are a perfect addition to breakfast or snack time.
I’ve been making this recipe for almost a year now, and it’s one of my go-to banana recipes when I’m meal prepping for the week. I love having something sweet to grab in the morning before my actual breakfast, and these are always a satisfying treat.
These bars have all the flavors of banana bread, but are lower in sugar and higher in fiber. They’re a great make ahead option for busy weeks, and leave your house smelling like a bakery. I love to pair them with a side of fruit, eggs, or yogurt for a completely balanced meal.
This recipe is made with an oat flour and oatmeal base, offering whole-grains in every bite.
What’s in these Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Bars?
- spotty bananas: the browner, the better.
- coconut oil
- pure maple syrup
- rolled oats
- oat flour: I make my own by blending rolled oats until fine like flour!
- egg
- vanilla extract
- cinnamon
- salt
- lots of chocolate- chunks or chips
When making this recipe, be sure your coconut oil is softened and not fully melted!
- Mash the bananas and add them to a bowl with the maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, eggs and cinnamon. Whisk until smoothe
- Add in the oat flour, rolled oats, baking soda and chocolate chips. Mix well
- Transfer the batter to an 8 x 8 parchment lined baking pan.
- Bake on 350 F for about 20-25 minutes, until the top if firm to touch
How to get your bananas to ripen faster
If you grabbed bananas at the store that aren’t ripening quick enough, you can store them in a brown paper bag to speed up the ripening process.
If you want immediate ripened bananas, try these tricks with your yellow bananas:
- Microwave the bananas in 1 minute increments for 2-3 minutes, with their peel
- Place the bananas with their peel on a baking pan, and bake on 350 F for 15-20 minutes until brown
The texture of these chocolate chunk banana oatmeal bars is unbeatable. They’re light, moist, and have pools of melted chocolate in each bite. They’re a perfect gluten-free and nut-free treat to have on hand, and can even be frozen.
I can’t wait for you guys to try them!
More make-ahead snack recipes-
Apricot Cashew Energy Bites
Blueberry Crumble Bars
Banana Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies
Chocolate Chunk Banana Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 2 large spotty bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup softened coconut oil
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/3 cup oat flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chunks or chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, oil, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until smooth.
- Add in the oats, oat flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.
- Fold in the chocolate chunks, saving some to top with.
- Pour into a parchment lined 8 X 8 baking dish, top with remaining chocolate and bake on 350 for about 20-25 minutes, until the top starts to brown and its firm to touch.
- Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes, then slice into 9 bars.
- Keep stored on the counter for up to 4 days, or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Hi! I love all your recipes! I wanted to see if I could substitute the coconut oil for olive oil here? Thank you so much!
I think olive oil may work! I would cut back to 1/3 of a cup.
Love this recipe 🙂 Question– could you add cocoa powder to this for a double chocolate bar?
Hi Andi, I haven’t tried any substitutes, but my best guess would be to cut the oat flour to 1/4 cup and add in a 1/4 cup cocoa powder. You just inspired me to test a chocolate version though 🙂
PS I also substituted a “flax-egg” for the egg (1 T. flax, 2 T. water). The bars set up nicely. B/c of the flax, the color is darker throughout, so there’s less of that pretty contrast between the choc chips and the oat-y part. But, worth it to get some flax to my kids! (flax is so high in omega 3’s – my dad sang the praises of ground flax to anyone who would listen, lol! I listened! I also sneak it in my kids’ oatmeal – flax adds a mild nutty flavor and pairs well with oats, as in this recipe! 😉