I’ve been recently shedding my self-perpetuated reputation as a non-baker. In fact, there were a few gluten-free experiments in the last few weeks that deserved some serious air fist-pumps of accomplishment—one of the best being these healthy oatmeal bars.
Since my mixing bowls need a little direction when it comes to the sweet stuff, I always have my eyes peeled for great recipes that can serve as my gluten-free GPS. And these pumpkin peanut butter oatmeal bars from my friend Erin have been on my mind since the holidays. So when a bunch of sad, browned bananas made the move to Brooklyn, I decided to give her recipe a try, swapping in some mashed ‘nanas for the pumpkin puree.
I’ll admit that choosing this as my first blog recipe in an unfamiliar space was a little intimidating. A baked good would have given me mild anxiety anyway. But in an unknown oven? And with a whole new world of light from my unwieldy floor-to-ceiling windows? I wasn’t sure whether the bars or the images of them would be a complete disaster.
It took a little tweaking on both fronts. My oven appears to run low, and my new source of natural light is very HIGH. (Fellow food photog nerds, I had to lower my ISO by 1000 from the brightest day at my old apartment…which is glorious, but will also take some getting used to.) Despite these factors, the bars turned out deliciously dense, moist and oat-y—kind of reminiscent of a healthy monkey bar. I.e. the kind of monkey bar you wouldn’t feel guilty about eating at 8am.
I decided to give the peanut butter banana batter a whirl in some mini muffin tins as well. For whatever reason, packing these little bites always seems easier than wrapping up a crumbly bar for brown bag purposes. They turned out excellent as well with roughly the same cook time, and I have been very grateful to them as on-the-go breakfasts, now that I have to commute across a bridge for most of my meetings.
Once it’s pumpkin puree season again, I’ll definitely be trying out Erin’s original recipe. But this banana version might just become my year-round gluten-free go-to while I work on earning other baking merit badges.
I hope you’ll bear with me on the photography front as it might take me just as long to learn to wrangle my new lighting situation as it did to get comfortable with gluten-free flour combinations. It’s a whole new world over here in Brooklyn!!!
From one healthy hedonist, to another,
Xoxo
Phoebe
p.s. For more banana-themed breakfasts and baked goods, check out these muffins and this overnight oatmeal!
Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Bars + Bites (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed over-ripe mashed banana from about 2 ½ bananas
- 1 cup almond milk I used vanilla
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- ½ cup gluten-free oat flour see note
- 1 ¼ teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped dark chocolate or chips preferably 70 percent cacao
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 inch baking pan or 2 mini muffin tins (I did one dozen mini muffins and made a half portion of bars in a loaf pan).
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the banana, almond milk, maple syrup, peanut butter and egg; whisk until smooth.
- In a second medium bowl, stir together the oats, oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt until well combined.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until just incorporated. Stir in the chocolate. Transfer to the prepared pan(s). If using the muffin tins, add a scant tablespoon to each cup.
- Bake in the oven until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool in the pan.
- I like these best served warm. Otherwise, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week of easy breakfasts and snacking.
Notes
Nutrition
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe - I'd love to see it!
YUMMMM!! I can’t wait to try your version!
thank YOU for giving this gf baker a helping hand! so oaty and delish!
these look yummmy! thank you 🙂
thanks as always for your sweet comments dixya! xo
Oh these sound like the greatest little snack, Phoebe! My kids love “banana boats” filled with peanut butter so I know these would be such a hit with them. I’ve had such fun looking around your beautiful blog. You are so much fun!
Thank you Emily!! Your photographs are beautiful! I hope you’ll try this one on the kiddos 🙂 xo
We saw (and shared) those cuties on Twitter, they are SOOOO good! We love the PB & Banana combo in desserts, so you realize how much we LOVED that one!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
xoxoxo
thank you so much for all the love!
these do sound delicious, but if you don’t need to make these gluten free…can you use whole wheat flour instead of oat flour? do you have a suggested substitute for the maple syrup?
I don’t see why not! you might need a little less since they have different densities. You can sub honey or regular table sugar for the maple syrup. For the granular sugar, you might need a little more than called for. Let us know how it goes!
Loved your recipe but since I can’t eat peanuts I tried it out with almonds instead. Needless to say it tasted heavenly.
yay Lauren! That’s so great to hear. Thank you for trying and reporting back. I’ll have to give it a go with almond butter myself.
My mother is OBSESSED with all things banana. Pinning these so I can make them for her the next time I visit. Thanks for sharing! 😀
Thanks for stopping by Kelsey! I’m am with your mother. I hope she loves these bars 🙂
My mother is OBSESSED with all things banana. Pinning these so I can make them for her the next time I visit. Thanks for sharing! 😀
Oats and bananas are basically my favourite combo ever. These looks amazing! Can’t wait to try them! Love your blog
http://whenhealthymettasty.com
Thanks Caroline!
My daughter loves bananas and I am on a constant look out for healthy and delicious banana recipes! (A way to use up some of those that started to brown and I tucked away in the freezer) Looking forward to trying this soon.
wonderful!