Banana Oat Protein Bars

Name: Banana Oat Protein Bars
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 155 min
Ingredients: 3 medium over ripe bananas, mashed; 2 large eggs; 1/2 cup of peanut butter; 1/3 cup of brown sugar; 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk; 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract; 2 1/4 cup of old fashioned oats; 1/3 cup of your favorite protein powder; 1 teaspoon of baking powder; 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon; 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg; 1/2 teaspoon of cloves; 1/2 teaspoon of salt; 1 cup of chocolate, roughly chopped or chips; sea salt (optional)

May 6, 2024

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Having a batch of healthy, filling breakfast bars ready to go can really save the day on those mornings where you are just barely making it out the door in time or the days you wake up with a craving for a huge stack of pancakes.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of pancakes… all kinds of sweet breakfasts for that matter, but in addition to being perfectly sweet these banana oat bars are also full of protein, fiber, calcium and antioxidants.

These banana oat protein bars are quite flavorful with the combination of bananas, peanut butter, chocolate and your favorite protein powder. They have a wonderfully chewy texture and hold their shape nicely, so once they are chilled and sliced up, you can toss them into your meal prep containers and take them on the road with you. No forks required.

Let’s get started…

Just like with many delicious recipes, we are going to start with over rip bananas.

Mash 3 medium over ripe bananas until they are smooth and add 2 large eggs, 1/2 cup of peanut butter, 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Whisk until everything is completely combined and then add 2 1/4 cups of old fashioned oats, 1/3 cup of protein powder, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of salt and mix until just combined.

Last, but not least, fold in 1 cup of roughly chopped chocolate or chocolate chips. Dark chocolate is the healthiest type of chocolate, but baking wise, any chocolate will work in these bars.

Mix until the chocolate is evenly distributed and then transfer the mixture into a greased and parchment lined 9″ square or 7″x11″ rectangular baking dish.

Bake the bars in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until the center is soft, but set.

Transfer the baking dish onto a cooling rack for about an hour and then transfer into the refrigerator and chill until firm.

Once the bars are chilled and firm, slice them into bars and if you are feeling fancy, drizzle some melty peanut butter over them and add a sprinkle of sea salt. Salt, peanut butter and chocolate is a trio made in heaven.

So, let’s talk about the protein amounts in these bars…

- - 3 medium bananas – about 5 grams of protein
  - 2 large eggs – about 12 grams of protein
  - 1/2 cup of peanut butter – about 33 grams of protein
  - 2 1/4 cups of old fashioned oats – about 60 grams of protein
  - 1/3 cup of protein powder – should be right around 30 grams

So everything totaled up will be right around 140 grams. I cut 10 bars out and they were slightly thicker than a store bought granola bar. If you did the same, each bar will have 14 grams of protein, which is a nice way to start your morning.

These bars are great. The banana flavor is there, but it is surrounded by flavors of peanut butter, chocolate and warm spices. I added just a little bit of brown sugar to help accentuate the natural sweetness of the overly ripe bananas, so although these bars carry some healthy benefits, they also satisfy any sweet cravings that may pop up around breakfast time.

If you are looking for a protein packed breakfast bar then I would love for you to give these banana oat protein bars a try. They have been making a weekly appearance in my kitchen and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

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