These Banana Nut Snack Bars are a quick and easy treat any time of day! This healthy snack bar recipe is gluten-free, vegan, refined oil-free, and refined sugar-free thanks to the sweetness from dried dates. Sweet and portable, they make the perfect grab-and-go breakfast, too!
One of my favorite snack food bars, banana nut bars from Odwalla, suddenly were out of stock everywhere for 2 months or so. And I started snacking on nuts on the road or everyday snack time. Too many nuts and me do not go well together. Breakouts and jiggly arms. Nuff said.
So I decided I needed to make some snack bars. So here is one of my favorite snack bar recipes.
Ingredients for Banana Nut Snack Bars:
- Bananas
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Nutmeg
- Oats
- Dates
- Walnuts
- Cashews
- Hemp Seeds
Substitutions for Banana Nut Snack Bars:
- To make these banana nut snack bars nut-free, replace the nuts with a combination of seeds.
- For more variation, add other dried fruit like cherries, apricots, strawberries, blueberries, etc.
- Make these snack bars with banana oil-free by omitting the coconut oil.
How to Make Banana Nut Snack Bars
These healthy banana oat bars come together really fast with the help of your food processor.
- Mash the bananas with all the spices and coconut oil.
- In your food processor, break up the oats, dates, walnuts, and hemp seeds (or add the chopped nuts and seeds later for a chunkier snack bar).
- Combine the two mixtures together.
- Then, press the banana snack bars onto a baking dish, bake for 30 minutes, and done!
Just make sure the snack bars cool completely before cutting, or else they will fall apart.
Make a big batch of these snack bars to keep handy! They store really well in the freezer, too!
More Food/Protein Bars and Snacks – all gluten-free
- No Bake Chocolate Almond Zesty Snack Bars, 2 Ways. Vegan Gluten Free
- No Bake Sunbutter Granola Bars
- Seedy Ginger Chocolate No Bake Granola Bars
Banana Nut Snack Bars
These Banana Nut Snack Bars are a quick and easy treat any time of day! This healthy snack bar recipe is gluten-free, vegan, refined oil-free, and refined sugar-free thanks to the sweetness from dried dates. Sweet and portable, they make the perfect grab-and-go breakfast, too!
Servings: 10 (4in x 1.5in) bars
Calories: 189kcal
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp cloves powder
- a generous pinch of nutmeg
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats use certified gluten-free if needed
- 3/4-1 cup dates depends on how sweet you like the bars
- 3/4 cup walnuts or use a combination of walnuts and cashews, or a combination of seeds to make nut-free
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a bowl, mash the bananas and mix in the vanilla, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and oil.
- In a food processor, add oats, dates, walnuts, and hemp seeds, and pulse to make a coarse mixture. You can keep it chunky by adding chopped nuts later.
- Add this to the banana mixture a cup at a time and mix. Add more oats, if needed.
- Press the mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet and bake for another 7 to 10 minutes, or until golden on the edges and dry to touch in the center. Let cool completely before slicing.Store in the refrigerator for up to a week or freeze for up to a month.
Notes
Use other dried fruit like cherries, apricots, strawberries, blueberries etc for variations.
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
Banana Nut Snack Bars
Amount Per Serving
Calories 189
Calories from Fat 90
% Daily Value*
Fat 10g15%
Saturated Fat 2g13%
Sodium 31mg1%
Potassium 170mg5%
Carbohydrates 21g7%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 6g12%
Vitamin A 25IU1%
Vitamin C 0.1mg0%
Calcium 30mg3%
Iron 1.7mg9%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in July 2014 and has been updated for accuracy and comprehensiveness.
Georgina
These are so delicious and easy to make! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Meredith Schiller
Hi Richa, do you think it is possible to leave out or substitute the coconut oil to make this oil free?
Maneesha
So delish!! I made these after I made your most recent caramelized banana bars, and I love these both!! So healthy!
Susan Sparkes
These were yum. Definite good replacement for something like Nakd bars in the UK. Much moister than a flapjack as fruit and oats, rather than oats and fruit, and banana as the binder instead of oil or butter type spread. Really yum. May have to make double next time and freeze half. Will be spreading the word amongst my cycling buddies as with hemp seeds in, these are high in protein. Also think some of them would add vegan protein powder. Their size means they are easy to carry in a jersey pocket for a healthier sugar boost on longer rides.
Richa
thanks!
Rachel Page
I made this yesterday and the flavors are great but it’s more chewy biscuit than moist brownie.
Richa
yes it is chewy depending on how long it is baked. to make it biscuity, add some balking powder.
Nadine
Do you by chance have an option that uses quinoa rather than oats? Can quinoa (cooked or uncooked) be substituted?
Richa
you can use toasted or cooked quinoa. with cooked quinoa, store the bars in the refrigerator for upto 5 days.
Jennifer Houghton
Just made these and they are delicious! What I love about your recipes, besides the tastiness and healthiness, is the flexibility – if I don’t have an ingredient it still works to sub another – this time I subbed flax seed for hemp seed.
Rachel
Hi Richa, thank you for all of your great recipes. I have this in the oven now and am looking forward to it! I am also looking forward to your cookbook!
Nacha
This is the easiest snack bars recipe i’ve found so far! I’ll try make them but my question is, how long do you think they’ll last in the freezer? D o you think i could replace the oats for, let’s say, chickpea or rice flour? Or will they make the batter too sticky? GF oats are just impossible to find where i live 🙁 …
Richa
Try it with rice flour. Make a smaller batch to see how it does and if you like the texture and taste. chickpea flour will make it taste beany and bitter.
Danielle Rose
I made these this morning and even though I don’t have the biggest sweet tooth ever, I wanted them to be a wee bit sweeter. I put a honey glaze (could perhaps do agave for vegan) on top and that helped a lot, but next time I think I will add some honey to the batter. Also, I also put 3/4 cup dates, rather than a full cup so increasing that in the future could help too! All in all, a great base recipe and I will experiment until I get it just the way I’d like. I’m thinking adding some shredded coconut would be divine too! Thanks!! 🙂
Anonymous
Looks amazing! Thank you for your gf options! =)
Lisa Whitson
Can you clarify where to use the 2 tsp coconut oil. Thanks!
Richa
add it to the mashed banana
Lisa Whitson
Thank you so much!!!! I have a batch in the oven now. I cannot wait to try them. They smell yummy.
Caitlin
banana and nuts are just the best combination. jumbo sized banana nut muffins were my favorite growing up- these are the perfect healthy alternative!
Corrin Radd
We made these for breakfast and loved them. Didn’t have hemp seeds so just added some ground flax.
Annie
I was an Odwalla bar FIEND for a long time, but I think I’ll take yours over theirs any day!
The Vegan 8
These look wonderful and sooo simple which I love! I really wish I liked bananas!!! 😫
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HappyForks.com
So perfect snack. Especially for people on diet who must eat something sweet but still healthy. There is also great idea for people who don’t have time to eat breakfast at home. They can buy only some yogurt or milk and nutritious breakfast is ready. Your recipe give us also vitamin B1 and B6, for more nutritional information you can chech HappyForks analyzer.
Sheetal Lamba
Hey Richa ..nice recipe!! I wanted to know if there is any alternate ingredient for oats. Oats doesn’t suit me. Thanks.
Richa
Hi sheetal,
You can add dried coconut flakes, more of the nuts and seeds and some flour of choice. Add enough so the mixture is stiff not too sticky mix. then press into a parchemnt lined sheet or pan and bake.
Richa
you can also add some rice krispies or other cereal
Sowmya Sundararajan
Beautiful clicks Richa
Casey M.
Oh, this looks so tasty! Are the hemp seeds just there for nutrition (as opposed to binding)? Could I do half flax seed, half hemp?
Thanks!
Richa
sure use any seeds or nuts. the banana binds everything.