Chocolate Baked Protein Oatmeal Bars
on Sep 12, 2020, Updated Aug 29, 2024
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These vegan chocolate baked protein oatmeal bars are made with just 5 ingredients in 20 minutes. All you’ll need is banana, oats, cocoa, protein powder and chocolate chips!
About the Recipe
- Dietary Features: Vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, oil-free.
- Healthier snacking: well-balanced for a healthier, low-sugar snack and dessert option.
- Quick and Easy: you’ll need just 5 ingredients and 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- Protein Powder: Works best with a pea protein-based vegan protein powder such as Vega, NuZest, Orgain or Bob’s Red Mill. These have not been tested with whey protein powder and I don’t recommend using it as it has a different texture and acts differently in baking.
- Oats: Rolled oats, quick oats and old fashioned oats all work, be sure to use gluten-free certified if needed.
- Cocoa Powder: Regular baking cocoa powder or raw cacao powder both work here
- Chocolate Chips: Use dairy-free chocolate chips to keep them vegan, I like Camino and Enjoy Life
- Banana: Lightly spotty, just a little overripe banana works great.
- Sweetening Option: These are on the healthy side and not super sweet or decadent. For additional sweetness, add up to 2 tbsp maple syrup, coconut sugar or agave, or sweeten to taste with a sugar-free sweetener such as stevia or monk fruit.
This list is not complete. Please see the recipe card at the end of the post for the complete ingredient list with measurements and detailed instructions.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Before You Start: Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Step 1. Mash the banana into a smooth paste. I like to use an immersion blender for this but a fork will do trick too.
Step 2. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix into a thick dough.
Step 3. Spread the dough evenly into a square baking pan and bake for 15 minutes. You can pop some extra chocolate chips on top before baking if you like!
Step 4: Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then slice into bars and enjoy! Don’t skip letting them cool in the pan for 10 minutes. It helps them hold together well.
Storing
- Fridge: Let cool then store in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Let cool then store in a sealed container or freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheating & Thawing: If frozen, thaw at room temperature or in the fridge. Reheat in the oven or microwave if desired. They’re yummy warmed up and topped with almond or peanut butter!
More Baked Oatmeal
- Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars
- Vegan Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Easy Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Vegan Banana Oatmeal Bars
- Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal
Did you try this recipe? I’d love to hear about it! Scroll down to comment section below to leave your star rating and review.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chocolate Baked Protein Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups ripe mashed banana , 410 g, about 4 small
- 2 cups quick or rolled oats, 200 g
- 2 scoops chocolate or vanilla vegan protein powder, 60 g
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 15 g
- 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips, 85 g
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a 7-8 inch square baking pan with a light coating of non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Place the banana in a mixing bowl and use an immersion blender or fork to mash into a paste.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix everything up into a thick, doughy batter.
- Evenly spread the mixture into the pan and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing into 16 bars.
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published on February 11, 2017.
These look really good, but I have a friend who doesn’t like bananas in baked goods. Any suggestion on what I could swap it with while still keeping it vegan? Thanks so much!
I haven’t tested these with anything but banana. It provides the best binding, texture and sweetness. You could maybe try applesauce or pumpkin puree but I haven’t tested it! Thanks.
What to use if you don’t have protein powder?
Hi Nicola, this recipe is quite reliant on the protein powder unfortunately so I can’t say how they’d turn out without it. I have some other baked oatmeal bars that don’t use protein powder though if you take a browse through the breakfast and snack sections!
These are amazing! So delicious and moist. It was the perfect use of a chocolate protein powder that was hiding in the back of my pantry. I topped mine with a little unsweetened sunflower butter and it was the perfect post-workout treat!
These are the perfect snack bar!
Have made these more than once and they are by far one of my favorites! Definitely gonna be something I make weekly. My family loves them too and they are hard to please!
That’s awesome! I need to make these again 🙂 Glad you enjoyed them.
I made this recipe yesterday and have to say these are amazing! The banana flavor is not overbearing as it can be in some recipes. They are a delicious and healthy alternative to other sugary treats! Very satisfying. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your comment and feedback, Pamela! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed them.
Recently I started working out and it bummed to know that what I ate wasn’t helping me getting where I wanted. I’m always trying to find healthy snaks because when we want one and don’t know which to have that’s usually when we make more mistakes so this recipe will be perfect. It seems amazing and on top of all is vegan. Definetly going to try it out 😀
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