Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

These banana chocolate chip oatmeal bars are seriously so delicious, they’ve become a family favorite around here. They are naturally sweetened with overripe banana’s and pure maple syrup (or honey). Nutritious enough for breakfast and tasty enough for dessert, these bars are a wholesome treat your family and friends will love. They are super quick to whip up, making them perfect for potlucks or last minute dessert plans.

This post may contain affiliate links. An an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I’ll never share a link to anything that I don’t personally use and love. Read my full disclosure here.

Ingredients for Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

• Banana’s – you’ll want three, medium to large, overripe banana’s for this recipe. We buy our banana’s from Costco, usually six bunches at a time, then freeze them for later. Defrosted banana’s mash beautifully. Then, you don’t have to worry about the short shelf life of these tasty fruits.
• Oats – old fashioned or rolled oats. Quick oats would probably work as well, though I haven’t tested them myself.
• Whole wheat – all purpose could work, too, though we love the flavor the whole wheat gives to these bars.
• Yogurt – we make this ourself and put it in everything. It helps to soften the grains in your baking.
• Maple syrup – use pure maple syrup, there should not be any other ingredients in your syrup. Honey can also be used in the same amounts. Honey isn’t safe for babies under one, so we’ve been using maple syrup more often these days.
• Butter – This luscious fat, plus the banana’s, equals gooey bars that feel like a cookie bar. Grass fed butter is more nutritious, but it is more expensive. Coconut oil can be used instead if you’d prefer.
• Eggs – Originally, I made these bars without eggs. So, any of you with an egg allergy, know these banana chocolate chip oatmeal bars are just as delicious without eggs. For those who can have eggs, add it, it’s pretty darn tasty 😊
• Vanilla – do not use the imitation. Use pure vanilla extract, which is also super easy to make yourself!
• Cinnamon – am I alone in thinking cinnamon is a must when baking with banana’s?
• Baking soda
• Baking powder – aluminum free! I only recently learned this but most baking powders have aluminum in it… Guys we really don’t need to be feeding our kids metals.
• Salt – use a good quality mineral salt. We love Redmond’s Real Salt. It tastes amazing and is packed with minerals our bodies need for optimal health.
• Chocolate Chips – use whatever kind of chocolate you prefer. We love dark chocolate, and this kind only has two ingredients.

The process

Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 9×13 baking pan, I’m obsessed with these baking dishes. They are made with porcelain, so they are non toxic. As a bonus they are the most beautiful baking dishes I’ve ever had. Oh, and they are super easy to clean 😊

Now, combine all your dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Oats, whole wheat, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix that all up. If you haven’t mashed your banana’s yet, go ahead and do that now.

Then add your wet ingredients to the dry. Mashed banana’s, yogurt, maple syrup, melted butter, eggs and vanilla. Mix that all up until everything is fully combined and the batter is smooth. It should be thick. Fold in your chocolate chips.

Dump the batter into your greased baking dish and spread it out evenly. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the top is set. These are so good slightly underbaked. They may as well be a gooey cookie bar at that point. Let them cool for 10 minutes or so before serving.

These banana chocolate chip oatmeal bars make 24 2″ bars, each one is about 190 calories. They are such a wonderful snack, breakfast or even dessert. Chill any leftovers for later, though they haven’t lasted long enough in our home to enter the fridge yet 😅

Well, that’s that. I hope you all enjoy this recipe. If you give it a try, let me know what you think in the comments below.

Happy baking! 😊