Banana Bars (WFPB, vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, nut-free)
These quick and light plant-based banana bars are an easy snack or breakfast. They are lightly sweet, wholesome, no oil and low-fat.
When you have ripe bananas, try something new with them! It’s easy to whip this up quickly when you wake up. Then, do your workout or get ready for the day while it bakes, and serve it to your family fresh from the oven. They also keep well as snacks or leftovers.
Alternatively, this is an ideal recipe to make with your kids for an afternoon snack or evening treat (or to prepare for breakfast the next day). They can peel bananas, measure and pour, sprinkle in nuts and chocolate chips, for example. If you want help making cooking with kids easier, I have all kinds of tips in my cookbook–Plant-Based Cooking for Kids!
Banana Bars are versatile. We’ve packed them in a container for hiking snacks (not in a bag-they are kind of fragile and would get smashed). My kids like to treat them like baked oatmeal and put a square or two in a bowl and splash some soy milk or almond milk on top, and eat with a spoon. I tend to chip away at them one sliver at a time when I might as well have just cut off a whole square or two. Do you do that?
(Also-does your family have that person who doesn’t want nuts on theirs? In this case, it was my husband, who doesn’t eat fatty foods like nuts in the mornings per being inspired by the Medical Medium so I left some without nuts so he could have some for breakfast).
What Makes These Healthy?
- They are low in added sugar (only 1/4 cup for the whole pan), being mostly sweetened with banana.
- Banana Bars are whole-grain with in-tact oats AND whole wheat or oat flour. For gluten-free, I have used this Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free flour which I love. It has no added gums and is higher in protein than just starches. It’s made with mostly all whole foods.
- These bars contain omega-3 fatty acids from the flax seed and walnuts (use seeds if you need nut-free).
You can also add some protein powder to make them more balanced. I add about 1/4 cup and can’t even taste it or detect a texture change. The protein powder I’ve used is this vegan vanilla protein powder from Just Ingredients.
More Banana Recipes
I have so many banana recipes! Don’t miss these!
Banana Bread Breakfast Cookies (flourless, fruit-sweetened)
Banana Bars
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 cup plant milk (I use soy)
- 2 TBSP ground flax seed (or one egg)
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (or any type of sugar)
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup whole wheat flour OR gluten free all-purpose OR oat flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup protein powder (optional--I love using Just Ingredients Vegan Vanilla)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (or sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds for nut-free)
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips (optional), plus additional for on top
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- If you're making oat flour, blend the oats in the blender until fine and pour into a mixing bowl. Put the bananas, milk, apple cider vinegar, ground flax seed and maple syrup (or sugar) into a blender, and blend until smooth.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour the blended banana mixture in and stir until just combined.
- Pour into a greased or parchment-lined 13x9 inch pan. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips or nuts if you'd like.
- Bake for 30 minutes, until firm to the touch in the middle. Let cool before cutting so they are less crumbly.
- My kids really enjoy these bars in a bowl with milk and a spoon.
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Hi Faith,
These banana bars sound like the perfect answer to overripe bananas—simple, nourishing, and kid-friendly! I love that they’re oil-free and low in added sugar but still feel like a treat. Your tip about eating them like baked oatmeal with a splash of almond milk is genius, and I’m definitely trying that. Also, I appreciate the flexibility to keep part of the batch nut-free—makes it super accommodating for the whole family. Looking forward to making a batch for my own post-workout breakfast.
Hello Faith,
I’ve been making these quick and easy bars on the regular. They are very tasty and healthy. I’ve been tossing in a chopped apple and subbing in raisins for the chocolate chips.
Love keeping these individually wrapped in the freezer for a quick grab and go dessert snack that is guilt free. Thank you for the recipe.