I admit it. This may be an addiction of sorts. I’ve been on a bit of an oats kick lately. Maybe it’s because after trying to stay on the low-carb, Keto thing for the last year or so, I really missed our morning oatmeal and other oat-laden goodies. Plus I’ve been reading more about the benefits of oats in the diet. At least they’re gluten-free, right? So carbs be damned, and bring on the granola and oatmeal, and these oatmeal bars! These are really like a hand-held form of a wholesome bowl of oatmeal with all the tasty toppings.
Inspired by son Connor’s favorite breakfast of oatmeal with flax meal, banana, and peanut butter, these bars are easy to throw together, completely adaptable to a variety of tastes, and make a great quick breakfast or snack when you’re on the go. They’re great for commuters to avoid that stop for a fast food fix when you didn’t have time for breakfast, and as an emergency snack for anyone who gets hungry mid-morning (or mid-afternoon, for that matter).
If you love oatmeal, but just don’t have time in the morning to enjoy a bowl before heading out, try making these in advance so you have something easy and quick for the morning rush. These bars make a delicious and simple on-the-go breakfast or snack. They don’t have a strong flavor of banana or peanut butter, and aren’t super sweet like most breakfast bars, as they’re low in sugar, but they have that mellow oatmeal goodness that is comforting and wholesome, with just hints of peanut butter and banana. In the morning, that’s usually what works best for me.
With healthful ingredients like rolled oats, flax, fruit and nut butter, these bars make a satisfying, yet portable meal. And since they’re just lightly sweetened with real maple syrup, I like to think that they’re better for us than most of the breakfast bars on the market, so we can feel good about grabbing one of these when we head out the door. These are soft and moist, and a bit cakey. Not a crunchy granola bar, so if that’s what you’re looking for, keep looking. They’re not that pretty, so please excuse the not so gorgeous photos. They’re also not like a cookie bar, so don’t expect them to taste like dessert, although, they could be, with additions of maybe some chocolate chips and a scoop of ice cream or something like that.
Just consider these bars for a breakfast-on-the-go sort of recipe, and if you try them, let me know what you think.
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Oatmeal Breakfast Bars with Banana & Peanut Butter
Description
If I didn’t have a raisin-hating hubby, I would definitely add raisins to these. You can amp up the flavor to your liking with add-ins like chocolate chips, coconut, peanuts, and the like. Or just add a spread of peanut butter and/or jelly to make them a little more like a treat.
If you don’t have oat flour on hand, you can easily make your own if you have a good high speed blender (I use a VitaMix with a separate blender blade that’s made for dry ingredients). Just blend the rolled oats until they become powdery like flour. Use slightly more–just over a cup–to yield one cup of flour. That’s it!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup oat flour (or an additional heaping cup of oats blended into flour)
- 3 Tablespoons flaxseed meal
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter powder (optional)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup mashed banana (about one large banana)
- 1 cup milk (almond milk or other milk of your choice)
- 1/3 cup pure, natural maple syrup (adjust to the level of sweetness you prefer)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans or other nut of your choice)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8 baking pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, mix Oat flour, flax meal, cinnamon, baking powder and salt with a whisk. Set aside.
- Place coconut oil and peanut butter in a pyrex type mixing bowl and microwave for 30 to 60 seconds or so until melted. Or melt in a small pan over low heat. Be careful not to let it burn. Then stir to combine.
- To the peanut butter mixture, add banana, milk, beaten egg, maple syrup and vanilla and whisk until well combined.
- Add oat flour mixture, oats, and nuts to the wet ingredients, stirring just until well combined.
- Add any additional add-ins such as chocolate chips or coconut flakes.
- Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25 to 40 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the center has set. Cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting into them, and let cool completely before slicing into bars.
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