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
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This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
Love this recipe – use it every time there are spare bananas and I want a sweet treat. I’ve added dried cherries and apricots, adjusted chocolate chips, included coconut flakes, walnuts/cinnamon, and every time it hits the spot!
Wondering what we could adjust to make it carrot cakey? Like a cup of shredded carrots and a teaspoon of cinnamon?
My husband is allergic to nuts – can I replace the nut butter with eggs? If so, in what quantities would you recommend?
Hi Gabbi! I haven’t tested the recipe using eggs in place of nut butter, but my guess is two things would happen – 1) the bars would taste less rich because you’re losing quite a bit of fat in the replacement, and 2) the texture of the bars may be dry for the same reason (loss of fat). For this reason, I’m not sure that this recipe is a great candidate.. I think it would work by using two eggs instead of the nut butter, but I imagine the result may not be incredible. Nevertheless, let me know if you try it! xo
I’m not sure how there’s only 3g of sugar in one of these. I added the ingredients into MyFitnessPal and it came out to 12g.
Hi there! I calculated the nutrition facts without the chocolate chips 🙂 When I calculate the recipe with chocolate chips, I get 12 grams per slice too. You can use sugar-free chocolate chips or omit the chocolate chips for lower sugar. Happy baking!!
These were absolutely delicious! I love how simple and easy it was using the bananas I had and needed to do something with! I added chia and ground flax seeds and used mini chocolate chips. Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
I love the idea of adding flax and chia seeds! Definitely gives a big boost of nutrients to the bars – so genius. I’m thrilled you enjoy them and thank you for sharing your experience! xo
I made these and I used peanut butter instead of almond butter. They seemed to be very soft and mushy. I cooked them for 25 mins. Do you think the bananas were to ripe? After mashing the bananas they were very creamy. I am wondering if I should have added 1/2 cup of peanut butter as it only said .25 for 8. Please let me know what I can do to make these right. I also have them in the fridge so they can hopefully harden up some.
Hi Tracy! I just want to be sure I understand what happened – did you halve the recipe to make a smaller batch?
If so, did you stick with 1.5 bananas (which is about 3/4 cup of mashed bananas), or did you still use 3 bananas and measure it out to 1.5 cups?
If you used 1.5 bananas, that is the correct amount for a half batch. The bars are supposed to be soft (not hard like granola bars), but they shouldn’t be overly soggy. Let me know what you did in terms of the amount of banana, and I can try to help troubleshoot from there.
They taste pretty good but it’s of course not very healthy.
Hi. You indicate this recipe has no added sweetener and is refined sugar-free. You add chocolate chips. Might I ask how this is sugar free, please?
Hi Theresa! My apologies for not being more specific in the post – There are a lot of options when it comes to chocolate chips – there are now paleo-friendly chocolate chips that are sweetened with unrefined sweeteners, as well as keto-friendly sugar-free chocolate chips. I sometimes forget that this isn’t immediately obvious and forget to mention it in some of my recipes.
Some folks also omit the chocolate chips altogether if they are concerned about the total calories of the bars. I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Can you tell me what the Saturated fat is please I’m trying to find some recipes for high cholesterol.
Hi Coleen! I just edited the nutrition facts in the recipe card to add saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. Each bar contains 3 grams of saturated fat (when cut into 16 bars) and 0 cholesterol. Enjoy!
I’m wondering if I could use hemp hearts instead of the oats or at least for a portion of it.
Thanks
Hi Lois! I haven’t tested the recipe replacing any of the oats with hemp hearts, but I think it could be done! If it were me, I would use 1 2/3 cups of oats and 1/3 cup of hemp hearts. Let me know how it turns out! xo
Just made them and they look just like the photo. I added some agave nectar just because. Turned out great! It will make a great quick breakfast for the kids. They have a thick cake like consistency because I used mostly quick oats with partial old fashioned oats.
Thanks so much for sharing, Mary Ann! This is super helpful to others who want to try adding a liquid sweetener to bump up the sweetness. Much appreciated! xo
These are delish ! I made them as per your recipe for my first batch (very good!) but because I used almond butter and a little almond extract, I tried a batch made with drained frozen sour cherries…awesome. These can be made in so many ways and I love the recipe for that reason…Thank you for a great recipe ! Might add a little cocoa powder next time !
Ooh, I love the idea of adding cherries! How brilliant! Thanks so much for sharing, Wendy! xo
These are incredible. I used Hazelnut Butter! And absolutely love them! My new go to for sure! Thank you so much for sharing !!!
Ooh, hazelnut butter sounds incredible! I’ll have to give that a try too. Thanks for the sweet note, Autumn 🙂
I have made these multiple times – they are my weekly go-to for a quick breakfast bite. Guests also love them. Those guests who have to head out for early flights (2.5 hours to the airport) usually get these bars and coffee or tea to go for the drive.
I use GF oats. I don’t know if they are drier than regular oats but I wanted something less crumbly and a little more moist. So I used 2 bananas and added 1/2 cup of homemade apples puree (in essence and apple sauce with no added sugar). This worked out great! So if you are using a GF oat I suggest this substitution!
Thanks so much for your feedback, Holly! Adding the homemade apple puree is super useful information for those who are looking to try the recipe – much appreciated! I’m betting store-bought applesauce would work too. I’m so happy to hear you and your guests have been enjoying the bars! I appreciate you taking the time to swing back around to share your experience! xo
These are delicious, they are filling, and satisfying, I made them with peanut butter, going to use almond butter and coconut with chopped almonds with a drizzle of chocolate over top next time.
I’m thrilled to hear you enjoy them, Bet! I put them on repeat in my own household. Your next version sounds delicious! Enjoy!
I love these bars! So simple and delicious. I added a combined cup of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and walnuts and then did a little more than a cup of the oats. They taste better the second day, I have found!
YUM! I love the added seeds and nuts – sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing, Alexia! xo