These banana oat breakfast bars are flourless and sweetened with maple syrup. They have simple ingredients, mix in one bowl and take less than 30 minutes from start to finish. With a soft and chewy texture and a hint of sweetness, you will enjoy this quick and easy gluten free and dairy free breakfast for kids and adults.
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I’m always looking for easy wholesome breakfast options. Small batch banana muffins, breakfast cookies and peanut butter oat banana bread are popular in my kitchen. My girls are keeping me extra busy these days! These banana oat bars hold their shape and are easy to eat for an on-the-go breakfast.
With low sugar and no dairy or gluten, these banana oat bars are a great option for people with dietary restrictions.
Are these granola bars or a breakfast cake? I debated this and think you can call them whatever you want! The oats bring a hearty, moist and chewy texture. The bananas and maple syrup hold the bars together and give a touch of sweetness. Please remember, these baked breakfast bars are going to taste more healthy and less sweet.
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💗 why you need this breakfast bar recipe
Perfect for meal prep! The breakfast bars can be baked at the beginning of the week and provide a filling breakfast for the rest of the week.
Easy and relatively quick to make ~ 5 minutes of prep and 20ish minutes to bake. You can have a warm breakfast on the table quickly!
🍌 ingredient notes
In my opinion, this recipe is perfect without sugar. One of my sugar bugs said she would like them a tad sweeter. So I give you an option to sprinkle a tablespoon or two of sugar over the top before baking. You could also use milk chocolate chips or dried fruit as a topping which will add sweetness.
Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.
Bananas ~ using extra ripe black spotty bananas will give you the sweetest banana flavor. I did test the recipe with just ripe bananas and that works too.
Oats ~ this recipe uses a combination of old-fashioned and quick oats. The old-fashioned rolled oats bring extra chewiness and structure. While the quick oats add softness to the breakfast bars. Use certified gluten free oats, if you need a true gluten free breakfast.
Maple syrup ~ pure maple syrup is what we need for these banana oat breakfast bars. Please avoid pancake syrup as it is an artificial syrup typically made with corn syrup.
Chocolate chips ~ my testers loved these breakfast bars with a few mini semisweet chocolate chips. If you need a dairy free option, use dairy free chips. The chocolate chips can be substituted with dried fruit or nuts. If using full size chocolate chips, I recommend chopping them into smaller pieces.
🥣 how to make these quick and easy breakfast bars
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Add the eggs, maple syrup and vanilla and mix until combined.
Add the kosher salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder and mix to combine. Now add the quick oats and old-fashioned rolled oats and stir until fully combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with the mini chocolate chips. If a sweeter cake is desired, sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar over the top of the chocolate chips. (I used sugar on half of this batch).
Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
15 minutes of baking should yield a softer, breakfast bar with a moist texture. 20 minutes a more firm, less moist bar.
Allow to cool on a wire rack. Then slice, serve and enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 what to serve with banana breakfast cake
Fresh fruit ~ always a winning combo at my house! We love raspberries, strawberries, apple slices or nectarines.
Vanilla yogurt ~ or your favorite flavor.
Eggs ~ to add a little savory; fried, scrambled or poached are some of our faves.
Coffee ~ this is a given for Mr. two sugar bugs and I. If coffee isn’t your thing, tea or hot cocoa or a glass of milk are also great choices.
🫙 how to store
Banana oat breakfast bars should be stored in the refrigerator for up to five days. I like to portion into bars or squares and individually wrap them for a quick grab and go option.
You can also freeze this banana breakfast cake recipe for up to three months. Allow to defrost and warm to your liking before serving. I place mine in our Breville countertop oven and reheat at 350°F for about 3-5 minutes.
Remember to snap a picture and tag me @twosugarbugs on Instagram if you make these Simple Banana Oat Breakfast Bars. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!
📖 recipe
Simple Banana Oat Breakfast Bars
recipe created and tested by:
I highly recommend using weight (metric) measurements when available for more accuracy and the best results.
Please note
When using 2x or 3x ingredients, the grams in parenthesis DO NOT adjust, you will have to manually do that.
Ingredients
- 2 medium bananas mashed (~190-200g)
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup (85g)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ½ cups quick oats (159g)
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats (45g)
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips (45g)
- 1-2 tablespoons granulated sugar optional (12-25g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
- Mash the bananas (2 medium 7-8 inch/180-190g) in a large bowl. Add the eggs (2 large), maple syrup (¼ cup/85g) and vanilla (1 teaspoon) and mix until combined.
- Add the kosher salt (¼ teaspoon), cinnamon (1 teaspoon), nutmeg (¼ teaspoon) and baking powder (1 teaspoon) and mix to combine.
- Now add the quick oats (1 ½ cups/159g) and old-fashioned rolled oats (½ cup/45g) and stir until fully combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and top with the mini chocolate chips (¼ cup/45g). If a sweeter cake is desired, sprinkle 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar (12-25g) over the top of the chocolate chips.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes* or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack. Then slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information is based on third-party calculations, is an estimate only and may not be entirely accurate. Actual nutritional values will vary based on brands used and portion sizes.
Sally says
These breakfast bars saved me over the busy Thanksgiving weekend. My family enjoyed being able to grab one and eat in the craziness of guests and entertaining. Thank you for a healthy way to start our days.