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These Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars are soft, chewy, and naturally sweetened with ripe bananas and a touch of maple syrup. Bonus: they come together in one bowl. Minimal cleanup = major win.
If this healthy breakfast looks delicious to you, also try our Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting, Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Oats, and these 2-Ingredient Banana Pancakes (put peanut butter on them!).
Why I Love These Peanut Butter Oat Bars
How long until I eat?: These will be cooked and cooled in a little over an hour.
Ingredients: Peanut butter, banana, oats, and maple syrup are the stars of this show. Oh, and chocolate chips!
Servings: Cut these into 12 servings. Feeding a crowd? Cut them into 24 servings.
Skill Level: This is a super easy recipe to anyone to follow!
Meal Prep Friendly? This is one of my favorites to prep. We eat them out of the fridge for up to two weeks.
Recipe Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Mashed Bananas: You’ll want to use ripe bananas, the same kind that you would when you make banana bread. Riper bananas have a higher sugar content, which makes these peanut butter banana bars a bit sweeter.
- Maple syrup: This is my go-to vegan sweetener. Be sure to use pure maple syrup (without all the extra ingredients).
- Peanut butter: Use natural peanut butter with only peanuts as an ingredient, instead of peanut butter that has added oil or sugar in it.
- Oats: Rolled oats, or old-fashioned oats, are rich in fiber and protein, plus packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
- Oat flour: Making oat flour is super easy! Simply add the oats to a blender or food processor and grind until the oats are a thick flour consistency.
How to Make Peanut Butter Bars
Step 1: Start by gathering your ingredients and preheating your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease an 8 by 8 inch baking pan with olive oil or cooking spray.
Step 2: In a large bowl mash the bananas with a fork and then add the maple syrup, peanut butter, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Stir it all together until it is combined.
Step 3: Next, add in the oats, oat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix together until everything is incorporated.
Step 4: Slowly add in the chocolate chips and (optional) shredded coconut. The batter will be very thick – that’s ok.
Step 5: Move the batter into the prepared baking dish and flatten the top as much as possible. This will help you cut the bars a little easier and keep them from being too crumbly.
Cook for 18-20 minutes. A butter knife or toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean, and the edges of the bars should be golden brown.
Step 6: Let the bars cool completely and then slice and enjoy! Read below for tips on storage.
Recipe Tips
- Store these bars in an airtight container in the fridge until they’re gone. We think they taste even better after a day in the fridge.
- If you prefer, you can line the baking pan with parchment paper instead of greasing it so you can easily remove the bars once they’re cooked.
- I’ve tried adding protein powder to these, but they were a bit crumbly and super dry – I don’t recommend doing this.
Banana Oatmeal Bar FAQs
I use creamy peanut butter, but you could use crunchy peanut butter or even other types of nut butter like almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter.
They’re packed with oats for fiber, peanut butter for healthy fats and protein, and no refined sugar – just ripe bananas and maple syrup to sweeten them.
You can make these bars without the chocolate chips to lower the calories, if you’d like.
Healthy Eating Plans
If you’re following one of these popular diet plans, here’s the info you need.
21 Day Fix Containers:
Because of the chocolate chips, these bars would count as a Treat Swap on the 21 Day Fix. If you skip the chocolate chips and coconut, count 1/3 Purple, 5 teaspoons, 1/3 Orange, and 1/4 Yellow per serving.
Weight Watchers Points:
For the recipe as written, excluding the optional coconut, each bar is 7 Weight Watchers Points on the 2024/2025 Plan.
More Oat-Based Recipes
If you tried this recipe for Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 2 large ripe bananas mashed
- ¼ cup real maple syrup
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup oats
- ½ cup oat flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
- ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 pan with olive oil or cooking spray.
- To a large bowl, add mashed banana, maple syrup, peanut butter, and vanilla extract. Mix well. 2 large ripe bananas ¼ cup real maple syrup 1 cup creamy peanut butter 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Add in the oats, oat flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until everything is incorporated. 1 cup oats ½ cup oat flour 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon pinch of salt
- Slowly add in the chocolate chips and (optional) shredded coconut. The batter will be very thick – that’s ok. ¼ cup mini chocolate chips ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- Move batter into the cooking pan and flatten the top as much as possible. This will help you cut the bars a little easier and keep them from being too crumbly. Cook for 18-20 minutes. A butter knife or toothpick inserted into the center of the pan should come out clean, and the edges of the bars should be golden brown.
- Cool completely and then slice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Make This Recipe?
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One of our favorites! These are always requested for beach trips!
Delicious! I added a little water to the batter because it looked a little dry to me.