For a healthy pre- or post- workout snack, try these homemade energy bars with peanut butter, banana, and oats! Similar to granola bars, they’re easy to make with only 5 ingredients, and they’re high in protein, fiber, and healthy carbs to give you that boost of energy you need.
The other day, I had a cooking catastrophe in an attempt to make healthy “cookies.”
Well, catastrophe may be kind of a strong word. Because out of it was born these super tasty, super healthy peanut butter and banana energy bars with only 5 ingredients! Here’s the story.
I got it in my head that I wanted to be “healthy” even though I was craving a cookie something fierce.
So, I tried making those two-ingredient “cookies” you always see on Pinterest… you know, the ones made only from mashed bananas and oats?
I am telling you right now: bananas and oats do not a cookie make.
If you want a cookie, do NOT attempt this, whatever you do. To future Elizabeth: when you want cookies, just make them! With BUTTER. And FLOUR.
Like these spicy ginger date cookies. Or these orange chai spice cookies.
But, like I said before, I did learn something from the experience! While my two-ingredient experiment did not taste anything like the cookies I was craving, they didn’t taste bad.
They actually had a fluffy, banana bread-ish texture even though it had no flour (since bananas firm up when they bake and act as a binding agent). They were moist, just like banana bread, and somewhat sweet, from the natural sugars in the banana.
And then my food blogger brain got to thinking: this would make a great energy bar!
With some modifications, of course. This is Bowl of DELICIOUS, after all, not Bowl of “Eh, not bad.” And these bars are definitely delicious.
But I DID whip up these delicious and healthy breakfast cookies as well, packed with dried fruit and oats. Yum.
What makes these peanut butter and banana oat bars healthy?
These granola bars have only 5 healthy, natural ingredients: bananas, peanut butter, oats, nuts/seeds, and honey.
Throw a little cinnamon/vanilla/other spices in there too, if you’re feeling crazy.
Maybe even some chocolate chips! YUM.
They are packed full of carbs, healthy fats, and protein, with nothing acidic or too flavorful to cause indigestion while working out, and they will keep you full and satisfied for a long time.
They are the PERFECT pre-hike/pre-run/pre-workout snack. WAY better than a Power Bar, for sure!
How to make peanut butter, oat, and banana energy bars
They are so easy to make. Just mix some the ingredients with a mixer (I use my KitchenAid mixer), spread in a baking dish, and bake.
- First, mix mashed banana, oats, peanut butter, sliced almonds, and some honey (and vanilla extract and cinnamon for extra credit) with a standing or hand mixer. The dough will be quite thick.
- Line a baking dish with parchment paper and spread the dough in as evenly as possible
- Bake and slice!
One important note: make sure you allow to cool completely before you cut into it, otherwise it may fall apart.
Tips and Tricks
- For ripe bananas whenever you want them, store very ripe extras in your freezer. When you want to use them, just microwave for one minute, peel, and you have perfectly soft, ripe bananas for baking.
- For a peanut butter substitute– you can substitute almond butter or another nut butter. I sometimes make my own peanut butter– it’s SO EASY.
- Instead of sliced almonds– you can use any combination of nuts and/or seeds you want. Pecans, peanuts, or other nuts, in addition to seeds such as sunflower, flax, or pumpkin seeds can be used as well.
- For a nut-free version, you can easily substitute the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter, and the sliced almonds with sunflower and pumpkin seeds.
Use whatever you have in your pantry to make it easy!
What do these energy bars taste like?
These energy bars are kind of like granola bars, but have a bread-ier, fluffier texture to them. They aren’t as crunchy as your traditional granola bars.
In fact, they taste very much like a dense banana bread.
They are moist, they bind together well, and they are sweet and salty from the peanut butter and honey. They stay good at room temperature for a week, they are inexpensive to make, and are freezable.
And best of all, they give you a huge boost of energy from all-natural, real ingredients. They are perfect not only for before working out, but for a snack at work, for a breakfast on the go, or for road trips with hungry kids.
Or road trips with hungry adults.
Speaking of road trips, here is the real reason why I made these! Zach and I are driving to Maine tomorrow and are planning on bringing these energy bars for snacking on for the four hour drive.
We’re also going snowshoeing! These energy bars will be great to bring with us on our trek in the wilderness.
If we get stranded, at least we will have snacks.
Other recipes with bananas and oats
- DIY no bake chewy granola bars
- How to make your own instant oatmeal packets
- Cardamom coconut granola
- Healthy Banana Bread made with olive oil
- Blueberry, banana, and oat muffins
Check out all my appetizer and snack recipes here.
Did you make this peanut butter and banana energy bars recipe? Please click the stars below to comment and Rate this Recipe
5 Ingredient Peanut Butter and Banana Energy Bars
Equipment
- Hand mixer
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananas
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup, for a vegan version
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup sliced almonds or other nut/seed combination
Instructions
- Add oats (2 cups) and almonds (1 cup) and mix until combined.
- Turn out onto a parchment covered baking dish (about 9x9 inches). Press and flatten with a spatula until evenly distributed.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, or until golden brown on edges.
- Allow to cool completely before cutting bars.
- Store at room temperature for a week or freeze for up to 6 months in an airtight container or wrapped individually in plastic wrap.
Notes
- Variations: Add chocolate chips, other spices like nutmeg, or other extracts like almond.
- For a nut-free version, use sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter and use sunflower seeds and/or pumpkin seeds instead of almonds.
- If you're gluten-sensitive, make sure to buy gluten-free oats.
- If your peanut butter is salt-free, I recommend adding 1/4 teaspoon or so of kosher salt to the mix.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Lia
My daughter LOVED these before I even put them in the oven! lol. I used Raw honey and Natural Peanut butter and substituted the sugary peanut butter for some chocolate chips. I used crushed up cashews and I admit, I HATE nuts in my baking, but this was SCRUMBDILIUMPTIOUS!
Elizabeth
I’m so glad you and your daughter liked this! LOVE the idea of using cashews.
Helene
Hi, I’ve enjoyed reading all the comments and the recipe sounds delicious…
I’m an insulin-dependent diabetic so I’m always searching for things that are reasonable in the amounts of sugar and this is certainly that way.
I’m excited about making them in the near future.
Thanks for sharing.
Elizabeth
I hope you like them! :-)
john
ever try putting just max 1/4 teaspoon of dried peppermint leaf to this recipe? sounds nuts (no pun intended), yes it does but having a few before staring the days work takes the edge of the hunger. great recipe but seriously think about making 2 batches the first to eat the second to freeze and keep for the next time there is too much to do in a day.
Elizabeth
Thanks- great ideas!
Krizelle Olegario
how many grams does the carbohydrates,protiens and fats contain in this receipe?
Elizabeth
Here’s my response copied from a comment above. I need to add this to the actual recipe! :-)
I use a super handy online calculator to figure out calories and nutrition facts that might be helpful for you: https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php Looks like there are 273 calories per bar with 15.8 grams of fat (24% DV), 27.9 grams of carbs (9% DV), and 9.2 grams of protein. Hope that helps!
Sarah
What kind of oatmeal should I use? I usually have rolled oats on hand, but currently only have quick 1 minute oats.
Elizabeth
I think either kind will work! I usually use rolled but quick should be fine :-)
Mike
Have these in the oven now and almost done(I think). Should the top of the whole mixture be kind of solid like the edges, or should it still be soft when taking out of the oven???
Elizabeth
It can still be a little soft but not too soft- like banana bread kind of! It will harden a bit as it cools. Hope that helps!
Susan Walters-Dietsch
I’m wondering what size pan you used for these bars. Thank you.
Elizabeth
My pan was an odd, non-standard size, but something equivalent to an 8×8 in. square pan should work perfectly! Thanks- I’ll add that note to the recipe card above :-)
Kumud
Your recipe sounds great. Will have to try it . I use paste of dates in my recipe and a teaspoon of honey so it cuts down on sugar and adds fiber and natural sugar in the bars that I make.
Elizabeth
Great suggestion- I love using dates for natural sweetness. Hope you like it!
Susan
Won’t work if you can’t have sugar, syrup, or honey. What about using Stevia? And by the way you can make a multitude of cookies with the bananas and oatmeal by adding Stevia, nuts, a little salt and various extracts. I have made flavors from banana walnut to coconut almond dusted with cocoa powder to mint chocolate to orange pecan. Just be creative!! They freeze well so you don’t eat them all in one sitting.
Elizabeth
Awesome suggestion, thanks!
Susan
Forgot to mention with the cookies that recipe I started with called for scooping and dropping on baking sheet. I go extra step to flatten with fork much like you would with peanut butter cookies. They will not rise or get any larger but they are more “cookie” like.
Amy
Congrats on your new baby! I made these today, and they were so good! The only change I made was I used 1 cup of powdered peanut butter reconstituted with 3/4 cup almond milk to shave a few calories. I used pecans. Made them into 24 breakfast “cookies” at about 100 calories each. Baked them on parchment for 13 minutes. Thank you for the great recipe!
Elizabeth
Thanks so much and glad you liked them!
Nelle
Is the parchment paper absolutely necessary or can I just grease pan or use foil?
Elizabeth
I think you can just grease the pan and it should be fine. I don’t usually use foil for things like this so I’m not sure if it would work. I mostly just use parchment paper so I don’t have to wash the baking dish :-) Hope you like the recipe!
Colleen Fleming
This is not a vegan recipe if it has honey in it. That tag should be removed.
Elizabeth
Thanks for putting this on my radar, Colleen! Not being a vegan myself, I always forget that honey is so controversial. From my understanding, some vegans eat it, and some do not (even though by definition it is technically not vegan since it comes from animals). I edited the recipe to include a note for vegan-friendly substitutions. Thanks again!
Lj
Getting tired of making banana bread with leftover ‘naners SOoooo I thought I’d try these out!
Is it possible to over/under cook them? My oven tends to run on the hotter side :-/
I’d prefer them chewy but not sure how that would affect taste, solidity, shelf life, etc.
Elizabeth
Hi! So sorry for the delayed response- I have a good excuse… I just had a baby a week and a half ago :-) I think it would be hard to overcook them because the bananas make them pretty moist. When I make them, they have a very dense cake-like consistency. Try cutting the time a bit since your oven runs hot and if it looks like they are browning really fast, you can cover them with foil. Hope that helps!
Colleen Fleming
I wonder if agave nectar would work as a good honey substitute to make it truly vegan.
Elizabeth
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work! Good suggestion, thanks :-)
Jaime
Congratulations on your baby!!!
Also, these bars are awesome! Thank you
Elizabeth
Thanks so much! Glad you liked the recipe :-)
Josie
What size pan did you use to bake these bars?
Elizabeth
Hm I’m not sure of the exact dimensions! But it was on the smaller side. An 8×8 square pan or something like it would work perfectly.
Alison
These are great! I needed a new pre-workout snack and these are perfect. I like that they are not too sweet (I used just a bit of honey and may cut it out entirely next time)–adding some dried cranberries and golden raisins was just enough. Thanks for sharing!
Elizabeth
Yay, so glad you liked them! Love the additions you made.
Stefanie Marriott
These things are AHmazing!! I have tinkered with them a few times and this is what I’ve come up with. I’ve discovered you really can’t go wrong. Thanks Elizabeth!!!
3 very ripe bananas
Up to 2 cups Peanut Butter (I prefer a strong PB taste)
¼ cup honey (or agave or maple syrup. Don’t overdo esp if using dates. Balance with types of berries. i.e. Less with sweet berries, more with cranberries)
1 teaspoon cinnamon & cardamom
1 slosh vanilla extract
1+ cups oats (start with 1 cup, add all other ingredients. If still too moist at end, then can add up to 1 more cup oats)
1 cup nuts & seeds (pecans, walnuts, chia, flax, hemp, etc)
1 cup berries (blueberry, raspberry, cranberry whole, cut strawberry – I usually use frozen)
Sliced dates
Chocolate chips sometimes =)
Elizabeth
So glad you liked them, and thanks so much for all these awesome suggestions! I LOVE the idea of adding berries to them!
Jenn Butler
I was actually going to ask about using other nuts/seeds to reduce the calories. If you used flax would you use the whole seed and not the ground? I have ground flax, chia, and hemp to use:)
Elizabeth
I think ground or whole flax seeds would work fine! Just not too much if you use ground, since it might make the bars a bit too crumbly (like adding too much flour to a recipe).
Stefanie
I used whole seeds. Flax, chia and a little hemp. Plus I use crunchy peanut butter, I like the nuttiness of it all.
plasterer bristol
These sound super delicious. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.
Simon
Itsok
It’s not exactly the best tasting thing ever, in my opinion. I added some chocolate to make it somewhat enjoyable. It definitely fills you up and is a little bit healthier than eating a doughnut for breakfast. I won’t be making this again, though… I’m sure many people will enjoy it, it’s just not for me.
Elizabeth
Yes, it’s kind of like a powerbar- some people like them, some people don’t, but they definitely fill you up and give you a burst of energy when you need it! Thanks for the review :-)
Dawson
I’m going to try these with some Vegan Vanilla Protein Powder (the brand is Kaizen)! I have only a few things in my pantry and I didn’t want to buy a whole pack of flour so these will be perfect for a broke college dude who doesn’t like the campus cafeteria haha. Thanks!
Elizabeth
Hope you like them, and hope you enjoy your school year!
Jill
Made these for my boyfriend and he thought they were terrible, not great texture and fall appart easily, if you want a great recipe for low sugar and easy granola bars the minimalist baker has a no bake one that is AMAZING. Pretty disappointed by the results and ended up throwing them out after they sat uneaten
Elizabeth
Jill- I’m sorry these did not come out good for you! They definitely have more of an “energy bar” taste than a “granola bar” taste, and I have to admit: I only like these as a snack sometimes. I have to be in the mood for them, just like with power bars, especially since they aren’t very sweet. But for me, they are perfect when I want a boost of energy from food and don’t want something too sweet. Are you talking about these granola bars from minimalist baker? http://minimalistbaker.com/healthy-5-ingredient-granola-bars/ I HAVE to try those- thanks for the suggestion! They definitely look sweeter than mine- with the addition of dates as both a sweetener and a binder. They look like they have more crunch as well, since the oats aren’t baked and they use almonds in them. As for the texture of the energy bars- it’s possible your oven runs hot and they became overcooked (which would cause them to fall apart easily). Anyway… better luck next time!