• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Vegan Richa
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • (new) Recipe Filters
    • Popular Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch / Dinner
    • Dessert
    • Indian
    • Instant Pot
    • Burgers
    • Pizza
    • Recipe Index
  • Videos
    • Instant Pot
    • Dessert
    • Holidays
    • Easy Vegan Meals
    • All Recipe Videos
  • CookBooks
    • Vegan Richa’s Instant Pot Cookbook(PREORDER NOW)
    • Vegan Richa’s Everyday Kitchen (Print & Digital)
    • Vegan Richa’s Indian Kitchen (Print & Digital)
  • Resources
    • How To Start A Food Blog
    • Resources for Food Bloggers
    • Vegan Subs & Resources
    • Our Vegan Journey and FAQs
    • Indian Pantry
    • Indian Dal / Lentil Names
  • Shop
  • About / Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Videos
  • CookBooks
  • Shop
  • About
  • NEW! Instant Pot Cookbook
    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » snack

    Banana Nut Snack Bars. Vegan Glutenfree Recipe

    Published: Jul 29, 2014 · Modified: Feb 14, 2022 by Richa 31 Comments

    Jump to Recipe   Print Recipe
    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!
    Stack of banana nut snack bars

    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.

    Banana nut snack bars on marble countertop

    How to Make Banana Nut Snack Bars

    These healthy banana oat bars come together really fast with the help of your food processor.

    1. Mash the bananas with all the spices and coconut oil.
    2. 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).
    3. Combine the two mixtures together.
    4. 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!
    Stack of banana nut snack bars

    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 on marble countertop

    Stack of banana nut snack bars
    Print Recipe
    No ratings yet

    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!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time30 mins
    Total Time40 mins
    Course: Snack
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: Banana Nut Bars, Banana Nut Oat Bars, Banana Nut Snack Bars
    Servings: 10 (4in x 1.5in) bars
    Calories: 189kcal
    Author: Vegan Richa

    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.

    Sharing is caring!

    Share on Pinterest Share on Facebook Share on WhatsApp Share on Twitter Share on Email
    « Smoky Lentil and Sweet Potato Tacos. Vegan Recipe
    Chickpea Chorizo, Quinoa Shells in Tomato sauce. Vegan Glutenfree Pasta Recipe »


    ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ If you Love the Recipe, Please consider rating it using stars in comments! It helps readers and helps more people find the recipe online! I love hearing from you all! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Comment and Rating Cancel reply

      If you Love the Recipe, Please consider rating it using stars in comments! It helps readers and helps more people find the recipe online and I love hearing from you all!

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Georgina

      May 08, 2021 at 3:48 pm

      These are so delicious and easy to make! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

      Reply
    2. Meredith Schiller

      May 08, 2021 at 4:27 am

      Hi Richa, do you think it is possible to leave out or substitute the coconut oil to make this oil free?

      Reply
    3. Maneesha

      March 03, 2020 at 12:30 pm

      So delish!! I made these after I made your most recent caramelized banana bars, and I love these both!! So healthy!

      Reply
    4. Susan Sparkes

      April 23, 2019 at 1:20 am

      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.

      Reply
      • Richa

        April 23, 2019 at 10:28 am

        thanks!

        Reply
    5. Rachel Page

      May 21, 2015 at 2:19 am

      I made this yesterday and the flavors are great but it’s more chewy biscuit than moist brownie.

      Reply
      • Richa

        May 21, 2015 at 8:36 am

        yes it is chewy depending on how long it is baked. to make it biscuity, add some balking powder.

        Reply
    6. Nadine

      April 05, 2015 at 8:12 pm

      Do you by chance have an option that uses quinoa rather than oats? Can quinoa (cooked or uncooked) be substituted?

      Reply
      • Richa

        April 05, 2015 at 9:57 pm

        you can use toasted or cooked quinoa. with cooked quinoa, store the bars in the refrigerator for upto 5 days.

        Reply
    7. Jennifer Houghton

      September 25, 2014 at 9:52 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Rachel

        November 30, 2014 at 8:12 pm

        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!

        Reply
    8. Nacha

      September 24, 2014 at 4:31 pm

      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 🙁 …

      Reply
      • Richa

        September 24, 2014 at 5:12 pm

        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.

        Reply
    9. Danielle Rose

      September 08, 2014 at 1:47 am

      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!! 🙂

      Reply
    10. Anonymous

      August 04, 2014 at 2:07 pm

      Looks amazing! Thank you for your gf options! =)

      Reply
    11. Lisa Whitson

      August 01, 2014 at 1:26 am

      Can you clarify where to use the 2 tsp coconut oil. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Richa

        August 01, 2014 at 1:33 am

        add it to the mashed banana

        Reply
      • Lisa Whitson

        August 01, 2014 at 2:55 am

        Thank you so much!!!! I have a batch in the oven now. I cannot wait to try them. They smell yummy.

        Reply
    12. Caitlin

      July 31, 2014 at 5:51 pm

      banana and nuts are just the best combination. jumbo sized banana nut muffins were my favorite growing up- these are the perfect healthy alternative!

      Reply
    13. Corrin Radd

      July 31, 2014 at 5:45 pm

      We made these for breakfast and loved them. Didn’t have hemp seeds so just added some ground flax.

      Reply
    14. Annie

      July 31, 2014 at 4:05 pm

      I was an Odwalla bar FIEND for a long time, but I think I’ll take yours over theirs any day!

      Reply
    15. The Vegan 8

      July 31, 2014 at 7:45 am

      These look wonderful and sooo simple which I love! I really wish I liked bananas!!! 😫

      Reply
    16. Shilpa Jadhav

      July 31, 2014 at 7:05 am

      We r conducting cooking contest and We are extending our cooking #contest till 2nd of August. Submit your entries quickly…. Hurry up
      Chance to #Win free #vouchers. Visit our page https://on.fb.me/1qzAOzs

      Reply
    17. HappyForks.com

      July 29, 2014 at 7:25 pm

      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.

      Reply
    18. Sheetal Lamba

      July 29, 2014 at 12:10 pm

      Hey Richa ..nice recipe!! I wanted to know if there is any alternate ingredient for oats. Oats doesn’t suit me. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Richa

        July 29, 2014 at 4:01 pm

        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.

        Reply
      • Richa

        July 29, 2014 at 4:03 pm

        you can also add some rice krispies or other cereal

        Reply
    19. Sowmya Sundararajan

      July 29, 2014 at 7:44 am

      Beautiful clicks Richa

      Reply
    20. Casey M.

      July 29, 2014 at 5:29 am

      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!

      Reply
      • Richa

        July 29, 2014 at 6:31 am

        sure use any seeds or nuts. the banana binds everything.

        Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi, I'm Richa! I create flavorful plant based recipes that are inspired by my Indian upbringing, including many gluten-free, soy-free, and oil-free options.

    More about me →

    Amazon // Barnes & Noble // BAM! // Chapter Indigo // International
    vegan richa cookbook flavor companion
    My exclusive 16 Spice Set
    Vegan Richa's Everyday Kitchen Cookbook Now Available everywhere where Books are Sold | VeganRicha.com
    Amazon // Barnes & Noble // BAM! // Chapter Indigo // International

    FOLLOW US

    • Bloglovin
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Vegan Richa 's Indian Kitchen Cookbook

    Amazon || Barnes & Noble || BAM! || IndieBound || Details & International

    Popular

    • 18 Best Vegan Recipes of 2022
    • Vegan Tofu Nuggets
    • Best Easy Vegan Recipes of 2021
    • Restaurant Style Aloo Gobi

    Amazon || Barnes & Noble || BAM! || Indigo || Book Depository

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms Of Use
    • Copyright and Disclaimers

    Resources

    • Indian dals/lentils names
    • Indian pantry
    • Our vegan journey
    • Vegan Substitutes

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Twitter

    Contact

    • Recipe Index
    • My Favorite Things
    • Advertise, Work With Me

    Cookbooks

    • Vegan Richa’s Indian kitchen cookbook
    • Vegan Richa’s Everyday kitchen cookbook 
    • Vegan Richa’s Instant Pot Book

    All content on this blog is owned by Vegan Richa LLC.  Links on some posts are affiliate links for e.g. we are participant in Amazon services LLC Associates program. Vegan Richa is monetized in part through the use of such affiliate links. More Details

    Copyright © 2021 Vegan Richa