• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop
  • Contact
OMG! Yummy
  • Recipes
  • Cookbook!
  • Sumac & Sunshine
  • Classes and Events
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Cookbook!
  • Classes and Events
  • Sumac & Sunshine
  • Shop
  • Contact
×
Home » Breakfast

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars

by Beth Lee · Published: Oct 26, 2023 · Modified: May 4, 2024

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Peanut butter banana oatmeal bars with optional yogurt glaze are the healthy tasty snack you're going to love. With an option for a pumpkin version as well, they'll be a great alternative to that giant candy jar around Halloween as well.

You might also like my olive oil granola recipe.

For ease of browsing, find all of my breakfast recipes in one place.

Piece of peanut butter banana oatmeal bar on teal plate with pan of bars in the upper right.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases. Your price is never affected.

Jump to:
  • Why you'll love this recipe
  • Ingredients you'll need
  • How to make this recipe
  • Expert Tips
  • Recipe FAQs for banana oat bars
  • How to serve these chewy oatmeal bars
  • Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars

Why you'll love this recipe

I first made these peanut butter banana oat bars way back in 2015 for my daughter's golf team, trying to offer them something tasty and satisfying that wasn't junk food. They loved these banana oatmeal bars and I've been tinkering with them ever since. Remember these are chewy bars, not crunchy ones. If you want crunch, make one of my granola recipes!

Here's what I love most about these banana oat bars:

  • They are easy to make! The original recipe that inspired these was called 4-ingredient oat bars and I had to laugh when I read the recipe because there were more than four ingredients but I think the point was that they were simple to prepare.
  • Ingredients are flexible! No dates? Try a different dried fruit. No date syrup? Use honey and you can go down the list like that for almost all the ingredients except for the oats.
  • The optional yogurt glaze topping is so refreshing and makes them even more substantial for breakfast or maybe a bit more dessert-like for those who crave a sweet.

Ingredients you'll need

Remember there is a lot of flexibility so read on for different options when you bake these peanut butter banana oatmeal bars.

Ingredient shot for banana oat bars.
  • Oatmeal: Specifically these are regular oats, no quick cooking or steel cut oats.
  • Bananas: Very ripe ones, just like you would use for banana bread.
  • Pecans: Despite the fact that these bake in the bars, I like to toast them first. Use other nuts, if you'd like, I just love the pecan flavor.
  • Mini chocolate chips: Optional but I love the tiny pop of sweetness and the way they taste with the banana flavor.
  • Medjool dates: Any type of date will work or other types of dried fruit - raisins, currants, cranberries or even dried apricots.
  • Peanut butter: Adds protein, flavor, moisture and fat. Other nut butters could work as well but I haven't tested them. Just be aware of the moisture level - some nut butters (even some peanut butters) are drier than others. Up the butter just a bit if the nut butter is pretty dry.
  • Date syrup or honey: I love the flavor of date syrup but if you don't have any, honey works here too!
  • Vanilla: Just a nice flavor addition.
  • Flaxseed meal: My way of adding more fiber and omega-3s to these bars. Could also use wheat germ or chia seeds.
  • Butter: It's just a little bit of melted butter for flavor. I added this the first time I made them mixed with the peanut butter. I've tried olive oil but really like how these come out with the butter added.
Close up of a glazed bar on a blue plate with the pan of bars on the side.

Tools to Use!

  • 8X8 baking pan
  • Mixing bowls
  • Small whisks
Shop Now!

How to make this recipe

You can do it all in one bowl, starting with the wet ingredients, then add the dry; or whisk together the wet and dry in separate bowls and then combine. But for me, less bowls to wash is always a good thing!

1. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas.

Mashed bananas in large red bowl.

2. Add butter, peanut butter, date syrup or honey and vanilla and mix well.

Email this recipe to me!

We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!

Mixing wet ingredients for banana oat bars in large red bowl with a red spoon.

3. Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

Adding dry ingredients to wet ingredients for the peanut butter banana oatmeal bars.
Ingredients combined in red bowl.

4. Place oatmeal mixture into an 8X8 square pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray or spread with olive oil or butter or lined with parchment.

Peanut butter banana oat bars being spread in a grey square baking pan with a red spatula.

5. Sprinkle with some cinnamon, if you want, for a little extra color and flavor. Bake at 350°F for 25 - 27 minutes. You should see just a little browning around the edges of the bars.

Baked banana oat bars in a grey pan at a slight angle.

6. Make optional yogurt glaze. Combine all glaze ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. This is not a glaze that hardens so apply when you eat the bar, not ahead of time.

Yogurt glaze for the peanut butter banana oatmeal bars in a red bowl next to the baked pan of bars.

Expert Tips

  1. Remember I mentioned that I toast the nuts before I add them? You can also toast the oatmeal for an extra punch of flavor. Not necessary but might be fun to try to note the difference.
  2. If you do use medjool dates, fresh ones can stick together so either separate them as you add them or put them in with the wet ingredients and whisk them apart.
  3. Any date or other dried fruit cut into small raisin-sized bites will work!
  4. Don't have a square baking pan? No reason this can't work in a round pie pan or rectangular loaf pan. Be creative!

Recipe FAQs for banana oat bars

Can I freeze peanut butter banana oatmeal bars?

Yes, you can freeze these bars. Cut them into individual portions, wrap well and then you can just grab one from the freezer when you want one!

Are these bars gluten-free?

As long as your oats are gluten-free, these bars should be free of gluten. Double check your chocolate chips, if using them, but most brands are also gluten-free.

What can I substitute for the butter to make these dairy-free?

I would either use an extra tablespoon of peanut butter or a tablespoon of olive oil. Then the bars will be dairy-free! (Note: if you use the yogurt topping, then they will not be dairy-free).

Banana oat bars in grey pan with a small spatual holding one.
These are the original banana oatmeal bars I cooked for my daughter's golf team in 2015. They were inspired by this 4-ingredient oat bar from the Kitchn.

How to serve these chewy oatmeal bars

  1. Grab an individual serving of these banana oat bars on-the-run.
  2. Serve for breakfast with the yogurt glaze and some fresh fruit on the side.
  3. Afternoon snack for yourself or the kids with a glass of milk, tea, or coffee.
  4. Make them extra seasonal in the fall by replacing one banana with ½ cup of pumpkin puree. Add a couple teaspoons of pumpkin spice to the mixture. You could even add some pumpkin spice or cinnamon to the yogurt glaze.
Pumpkin spice version of banana oat bars on a cooling rack with yogurt glaze on one piece.

Buy my cookbook now!

P.S. If you try this recipe, please leave a star rating and/or a review in the comment section below. I so appreciate your feedback! AND find more inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram. Signup for my email list, too!

Piece of peanut butter banana oatmeal bar on teal plate with pan of bars in the upper right.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars

Beth Lee
Peanut butter banana oatmeal bars with optional yogurt glaze are the healthy tasty snack you're going to love. With an option for a pumpkin version as well, they'll be a great alternative to that giant candy jar around Halloween as well.
5 from 2 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prevent your screen from going dark
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 27 minutes mins
Total Time 42 minutes mins
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 6
Calories 35 kcal

Ingredients
  

Bars

  • 2 medium bananas mashed
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon date syrup or honey
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups oats
  • ¼ cup mini chocolate chips
  • ¼ cup toasted chopped pecans
  • 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
  • ¼ cup chopped dates medjool or other
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • Optional dusting of cinnamon

Glaze

  • ¼ cup Greek yogurt
  • ½ teaspoon orange or lemon zest
  • 1 tablespoon orange or lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon powdered sugar
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease an 8X8 pan with baking spray, olive oil, or butter or line it with parchment leaving an overhang to pick up the bars after they are cooked and cooled.
  • In a medium bowl, mash the bananas.
    Mashed bananas in large red bowl.
  • Add butter, peanut butter, date syrup or honey and vanilla and mix well.
    Mixing wet ingredients for banana oat bars in large red bowl with a red spoon.
  • Add the oats, chips, nuts, dates, flaxseed meal and salt and mix well.
    Adding dry ingredients to wet ingredients for the peanut butter banana oatmeal bars.
  • Place oatmeal mixture into the prepared 8X8 square pan. Sprinkle with some cinnamon if you want for a little extra color and flavor.
    Peanut butter banana oat bars being spread in a grey square baking pan with a red spatula.
  • Bake at 350°F for 25 - 27 minutes. You should see just a little browning around the edges of the bars.
    Baked banana oat bars in a grey pan at a slight angle.
  • Make optional yogurt glaze. Combine all glaze ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use. This is not a glaze that hardens so apply when you eat the bar, not ahead of time.
    Yogurt glaze for the oat bars in a red bowl next to the baked pan of bars.

Notes

    1. Remember I mentioned that I toast the nuts before I add them? You can also toast the oatmeal for an extra punch of flavor. Not necessary but might be fun to try to note the difference.
    2. If you do use medjool dates, fresh ones can stick together so either separate them as you add them or put them in with the wet ingredients and whisk them apart.
    3. Any date or other dried fruit cut into small raisin-sized bites will work!
    4. Don't have a square baking pan? No reason this can't work in a round pie pan or rectangular loaf pan. Be creative!
  1.  
  1.  
  1.  

Nutrition

Calories: 35kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 0.4gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.04gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.03gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 0.4mgPotassium: 141mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 25IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 2mgIron: 0.1mg
Keyword banana, oatmeal, peanut butter
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

More Breakfast

  • Brown sugar apricot jam side-by-side with white sugar jam with text labeling each.
    Apricot Jam with Brown Sugar and Bourbon
  • Matzo granola in a small canning jar with a decorative string and a wooden spoon of granola on the side.
    Matzo Granola for Passover or Anytime!
  • Pumpkin banana muffins on a pumpkin shaped plate with a muffin tin of muffins next to it.
    Pumpkin Banana Muffins with Pecans
  • Close up of round challah with honey in the center and a piece with honey on top.
    Round Challah for Rosh Hashanah

Reader Interactions

5 from 2 votes (2 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Amazon
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Facebook
Beth Lee holding red chopsticks and eating rice out of blue bowl.

Hi, I'm Beth!

I'm a cookbook author, cooking teacher and preserved lemon lover. My family is a mix of Jewish, Hawaiian and Korean heritage. My virtual multicultural kitchen is always open. Let's cook together! 

Read More!

Popular

  • Pomegranate charoset in a blue bowl with oranges surrounding it and pistachios on top.
    Pomegranate Charoset (Haroset) for Passover and Year-round
  • Chocolate-filled hamantaschen on a red plate with a yellow bowl in the background with powdered sugar suggesting the Mexican wedding cookie flavors as well.
    Chocolate-filled Hamantaschen: or was that a Mexican wedding cookie?
  • Mandu dipping sauce on a tan plate with mandu all around and brown bowl with sauce in the center and a slate colored liner in the background.
    Mandu Dipping Sauce (Cho Jung)
  • Pomegranate sauce in a gravy boat with a spoon and the sliced turkey breast in the background.
    Pomegranate Gravy with Port and Rosemary

Buy My Cookbook

Photo of the cover of the essential Jewish baking cookbook by Beth Lee.

Footer

↑ back to top
Horizontal image showing logos of various media outlets that OMG! Yummy has been featured in.

About

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Recipes

  • Recipe Index
  • Jewish Recipes

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2025 Beth Lee/OMG! Yummy · All Rights Reserved

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Threads
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
 

Loading Comments...
 

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.