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Vegan Banana Oatmeal Bars topped with Caramelized Bananas and cinnamon crumb! They need just 1 Pan, are Glutenfree, refined sugar free, refined oil free! These Banana Bread oat bars come together quickly and are perfect on the go snack or breakfast!
These Banana Oatmeal Bars are the next best thing next to banana bread! I have a thing for roasting bananas. I discovered this technique when I made banana bread baked oatmeal and have started doing it for most of my banana flavored baked good recipes. Their natural sweetness intensifies and their flavor gets so much more vibrant!
What else is to love about Banana Oatmeal Bars? Well, they are made with oats and almond flour so gluten-free and there is no refined sugar added to the batter but we do add a splash of maple syrup some coconut sugar on top for that caramelized brown sugar cinnamon crumb topping that makes these so unique.
These bars are super moist and packed with flavor and exciting textures from add-ins like nuts, dates and seeds. Cinnamon and vanilla adds a pinch of cozy.
The bars can be obviously be served warm or cold – they will always be delish. I personally love them as a sweet breakfast treat or afternoon treat. Get your casserole dish and let’s make some oatmeal bars!
These banana bread oatmeal bars are moist and you’ll find that they crumble a bit more while they are still warm so let them cool down a bit.
If you want these to be sturdier for a portable treat, you can use all-purpose flour instead of almond flour if ok with gluten. Or line the pan with parchment.
MORE OATMEAL BREAKFAST OPTIONS
- Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal GF
- Peanut butter and jelly Baked Oatmeal. GF
- Samoa Cookie Overnight Oats with date caramel GF
- Mango turmeric overnight oats. GF
- Golden Steel cut Oats GF
- Savory Spiced Oats Hash GF
Vegan Banana Bread Oatmeal Bars with Cinnamon Crumb
Ingredients
- 2 very ripe bananas
- 1/4 cup maple syrup, use 3 tablespoons for less sweet
- 2 tablespoons almond butter
- 1 cup non-dairy milk, such as almond, oat or light coconut
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- ¼ cup almond flour, or a gf blend, or use all purpose flour if ok with gluten
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chopped nuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans or other
- 2 tablespoons shredded coconut, optional
- 2 teaspoons chia seeds
- 3-4 dates chopped
For the topping
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 ripe banana sliced, 2 mm thick slices
Instructions
- Grease 9x9 inch brownie pan or lasagna pan. Mash the bananas and maple syrup really well and spread evenly in the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350 deg Fahrenheit (180 Celsius). Add baking dish in oven to bake for 12 minutes or until the banana mixture is simmering really well. This helps to caramelize the banana and brings out even more sweetness from the bananas.
- Remove the dish from the oven then add almond butter and mix it in. Then add non dairy milk and vanilla and mix really well.
- Then add in the oats, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt,chopped nuts, chia seeds and dates. Mix well. (Alternatively, mix all the dry ingredients in another bowl and then add to the pan). Mix so that all the oats are moistened evenly then even it out with spatula.
- For the topping, mix coconut sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Slice the banana and place banana slices on top of the oat mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar all over.
- Put the dish back to bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top is set and the bananas are starting to caramelize.
- Remove dish from oven. Let it cool for 20 to 25 minutes. Then slice and remove the bars from dish.
- Store bars in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Video
Notes
Tips: These bars are very moist and obviously crumble even more when warm but they are incredibly delicious and moist If you want them to be sturdier, use all-purpose flour instead of almond flour or use a mix of 2 tablespoons tapioca starch and 2 tbsp gf flour. Or mix the batter in a separate bowl, lime baking dish with parchment, pour mixture and then bake.
- Nutfree : omit the nuts. Use 1 tbsp applesauce and 1 tbsp oil as a sub for the almond butter, or just 1 tbsp applesauce to keep it Oilfree. You can add in chopped seeds like sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds if you like as a sub for the nuts
- Oatmeal substitute: Don’t like oats? Use flattened rice flakes or a mix of rice flakes and quinoa flakes or rice flakes and wheat flakes (if ok with gluten)
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Ingredients:
- bananas, you want them really ripe for this recipe, we’ll mash some of them and roast them for maximum flavor, the rest go on top
- baking powder for a slight rise
- these are made with a blend of gluten-free oats and almond flour but you can use any flour if gluten is no concern of your
- the natural sweetness of the bananas is enhanced with some maple syrup
- almond butter for moisture , use cashew butter for variation or omit for Nutfree
- non-dairy milk helps bring the mix together
- for some crunch, chew and texture, I added a mix of chia seeds, dates, chopped nuts, and shredded coconut
- the top of the bars is caramelized with a mix of cinnamon and coconut sugar
Tips:
- Add in any nuts or dried fruit you like to these
-
These bars will still be crumbly when warm so for clean slices, I recommend letting them cool down.
- Nutfree : omit the nuts. Use 1 tbsp applesauce and 1 tbsp oil as a sub for the almond butter. You can add in chopped seeds like sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds if you like
Why will you love these Banana Bread Oat bars
- These bars are moist and delicious just like banana bread but pack a ton of nutrient punch. Oats, nuts, seeds and no flour or refined sugar!
- These banana oatmeal bars are refined oil free
- they need just 1 pan
- They can be made allergy friendly by omitting the nuts
- They are Glutenfree. Use certified gf oats if needed. Don’t like oats? Use flattened rice flakes or a mix of rice flakes and quinoa flakes.
How to make Gluten-free Banana Oatmeal Bars
Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (180 Celsius). Add baking dish in oven to bake for 12 minutes or until banana mixture is simmering really well. This helps to caramelize the banana really well and brings out even more sweetness from the bananas.
Remove the dish from the oven.
Then add almond butter and mix it in.
Then add milk and vanilla if using and mix that really well.
Then add in the oats, almond flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, chopped nuts, chia seeds, and dates. Mix well. (You can mix just the dry ingredients in a bowl first then mix into the banana mixture.)
Mix so that all the oats are moistened then even it out with a spatula.
For the topping, mix coconut sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Slice the banana and place banana slices on top of the oat mixture. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar all over.
Put the dish back to bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top is set and the bananas are starting to caramelize.
Storage:
I’ve just made these and oh my they are delicious!
I may have to put them in a locked cupboard in case I eat them all 😁
Yay!!
And I’m about to make them again to take to a family picnic tomorrow, thank you x
Nice!
Looking forward to making these! Can I use date sugar or maple sugar for the topping? And also, I’m trying to incorporate more flax in my diet, so can I add some ground flax in there somewhere? Thank you!
Yes use those. And yes add some flax in . 2-3 tbsp should work fine without affecting texture
Delicious. I didn’t have enough oats so I subbed with desiccated coconut, it worked great. I’d probably add less cinnamon or omit it completely but either way fantastic recipe. Thank you
Yay!! So glad you liked it.
OOps, I also added 1/4 c raisins.
Yum!