These peanut butter oat breakfast bars are an easy, healthy treat that can be prepped ahead of time for when you need breakfast on the go! The bars are loaded with mashed banana, peanut butter, and chocolate chips but you can customize them with your favorite fruit or nuts if you prefer!
You might also like this chocolate chip banana bread or this peanut butter biscotti!
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Ingredient Notes
These oatmeal breakfast bars only require a few ingredients and you can make a lot of simple swaps if necessary!
- Bananas - Brown bananas are the best! They are much softer and sweeter than unripe bananas and help provide the moisture needed for soft, delicious oatmeal bars. You can also substitute unsweetened applesauce if desired.
- Oats - For best texture you want to use old-fashioned oats! Quick or instant oats can be used in a pinch but will give a more cake-like consistency.
- Sugar - Instead of brown sugar you could swap out granulated sugar, honey, or maple syrup!
- Chocolate chips - If you like dark chocolate, I highly recommend the Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate baking chips. The flavor is amazing and the baking chips are slightly larger and flatter than normal chocolate chips and melt beautifully inside your oat bars. But you could also substitute your favorite dried fruit or nuts!
- Peanut butter - It's important to use the right kind of peanut butter in baked goods! And by that I mean, smooth processed peanut butter like Jif or Skippy! Varieties of peanut butter labeled "natural" or "minimally processed" are typically thinner and the oil separates more easily, making them less than ideal for baking.
- Milk - I use whole milk, but you can use your favorite plant-based milk (like oat milk)!
How to Make Oatmeal Bars
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, mash the banana then add in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla and whisk until fully combined. Then stir in the milk.
Gently fold in the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until combined.
Then stir in the chocolate chips.
Let the mixture sit for 15-20 minutes so that the oats can absorbs the moisture. This will give the oatmeal bars a better texture once baked!
Cut a parchment paper sling slightly smaller than the width of the cake pan and make sure it fits flatly in the bottom. Then lightly spray the bottom and sides of the pan with a vegetable oil based spray (I love Bakers Joy or Everbake). Place the parchment paper sling in the bottom of the pan and smooth it out so that it sticks to the pan spray (you can use metal binder clips to secure it to the pan). After baking you’ll be able to just slide the bars right out of the pan!
Pour the mixture into your lined pan and smooth into an even layer.
Bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes or until the center is fully set.
Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
Cut into bars and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
I highly recommend actually measuring out your mashed banana so that you don't end up with too much or too little. If you don't have enough banana, you can replace the rest with applesauce or sour cream!
Instead of chocolate chips you could also substitute dried fruit or nuts in these oatmeal breakfast bars! Some options include:
- Raisins
- Dried cranberries
- Pecans
- Walnuts
They also taste delicious topped with a drizzle of peanut butter or honey!
Recipe FAQ's
Store the breakfast bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days! You can serve them cold or warm!
It's important to use smooth, processed peanut butter in baked goods! Varieties of peanut butter labeled "natural" or "minimally processed" are typically thinner and the oil separates more easily, making them less than ideal for baking (they can leave your baked good super greasy). So just stick to the good stuff!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
More Breakfast Recipes You Might Like!
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Recipe Card
Peanut Butter Oat Breakfast Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup mashed banana, about 1 large banana
- ½ cup creamy peanut butter, Jif or Skippy
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup whole milk
- 2 ½ cups old-fashioned oats
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, mash the banana then add in the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla and whisk until fully combined. Then stir in the milk.
- Gently fold in the oats, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until combined.
- Then stir in the chocolate chips.
- Let the mixture sit for 15-20 minutes so that the oats can absorbs the moisture. This will give the oatmeal bars a better texture once baked!
- Cut a parchment paper sling slightly smaller than the width of the cake pan and make sure it fits flatly in the bottom. Then lightly spray the bottom and sides of the pan with a vegetable oil based spray. Place the parchment paper sling in the bottom of the pan and smooth it out so that it sticks to the pan spray (you can use metal binder clips to secure it to the pan).
- Pour the mixture into your lined pan and smooth into an even layer.
- Bake at 350°F for 25-35 minutes or until the center is fully set.
- Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.
- Cut into bars and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days! You can serve them cold or warm!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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