Description
These soft and delicious, nut-free banana oatmeal bars are a great breakfast option for busy mornings. Easy to make, nut-free and topped with chocolate for a treat!
Ingredients
- 2.5 cups (275 g) rolled oats
- 2 tbsp (14 g) ground flax
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup (30 g) unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup (240 mL) almond milk or other plant-based milk of choice
- 2 medium-sized ripe bananas (220 g), mashed
- 5 medjool dates (68 g without pits), finely chopped, optional (see notes)
- 1–2 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp stevia or stevia drops, optional, to taste
- 1/2 cup dairy-free chocolate chips for topping, optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Add the oats, flax, coconut, salt and cinnamon to a bowl and stir to combine.
- Mash the banana in a bowl using a fork or immersion blender until it forms a thick, chunky paste.
- Add the almond milk, vanilla, banana and dates to the oat mixture and stir into a thick batter.
- Taste the batter and if you feel like you want it a little sweeter, add 1-2 tbsp maple syrup or sweeten to taste with stevia.
- Line an approximately 7-8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper or give it a light spritz of non-stick cooking spray. Add the oat mixture to the pan and flatten out until even.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- If adding the chocolate topping, melt the chocolate chips stovetop in a double boiler or in the microwave in 15-seconds increments, stirring often. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the bars using a spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Let cool before slicing into 16 squares or 8 large bars.
- Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1-week or freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
It’s not necessary to use additional sweetener, especially if you plan on topping these with chocolate. If you’re not using a chocolate topping, taste the batter add your choice of sweetener to taste, if you’d like to sweeten it up a bit. The bars aren’t super sweet on their own but dates and banana do add sweetness throughout.
The medjool dates are optional but add a really nice, caramel flavor to the bars. They can be replaced with raisins or another add-in of choice, such as chocolate chips, nuts or seeds.
The coconut can be omitted or replaced with hemp seeds.