Today, I’ve got a delicious new breakfast/snack recipe. My breakfast peanut butter banana bars are packed full of flavour and nutrients. Thanks to the oats, they’re also full of fibre so they’ll keep you full all morning.
Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day and a lot of mornings, I like to have something sweet. Rather then raid the pantry, I like to bake something more nutritious. These breakfast peanut butter banana bars are like a cross between an oat cookie and oat cake. They’re soft but can be eaten with your hands making them a great on the go option when you need a quick snack before activities or breakfast in the car!
These bars are also great to make ahead and then freeze. Just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds or take one out the night before and seal it in a container or bag. My kids even enjoy these which always makes me happy as they’re getting some fibre and good fats to start the day.
If you want some other make ahead breakfasts, try my banana cream pie overnight oats or my homemade fruit and nut granola which pairs amazingly with some fruit and yogurt.
Are These Breakfast Bars Gluten Free?
Yes, just make sure your oats are gluten free.
As a side note, if making anything gluten free for someone with an allergy, ensure you thoroughly wash any equipment, jars or utensils. Any contact with flour may trigger an allergy. I like to say any baking I do in my own home is gluten friendly as I am using flour often and cannot guarantee there’s been no cross contamination.
For more gluten free breakfast options, try my chocolate almond banana muffins or my simple strawberry overnight oats.
Benefits of Oats
- Oats are a great source of fibre, mostly soluble fibre which helps slow down digestion and keeps you feeling full longer. The type of soluble fibre also aids gut health by supporting healthy gut bacteria. This can help reduce inflammation and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
- While many people say oats have no protein and aren’t a good thing to eat due to this, we seem to be a very protein obsessed culture currently, this isn’t actually true. While oats aren’t a high source of protein, they do contain about 4g per serving and include a good balance of essential amino acids. This is still important as you do need all of the essential amino acids in your diet, not just some of them.
- Oats are also high in iron, an essential mineral that many people don’t get enough, especially women. Iron is essential for making hemoglobin which is how your body carries oxygen throughout your body.
- As well as iron, oats are also a good source of other trace minerals like manganese, copper and phosphorus. These all aid your body in various tasks like bone building, collagen forming, creating red blood cells, etc. These are just a few of the benefits of eating oats and a few of the reasons I love them so much. If you’d like more information, check out https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4325078/ or https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food-features/oats/.
How to Freeze the Bars
If you want to freeze the bars, follow these steps:
- Fully cool the bars and then slice it into pieces. I usually cut mine into 12.
- Place a paper towel on the bottom of an airtight container or bag.
- Put the slices on top of the paper towel in a single layer. If you need to layer them, put a small square of paper towel between the layers.
- Seal and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To eat, take amount you need out and let thaw at room temperature for 2 hours or heat in the microwave in 20 second increments. But be cautious if using the microwave when feeding children or toddlers, it can leave hot spots.
Baking Tips
- For best results, use room temperature ingredients! They will mix together much easier creating a smoother, more well incorporated batter.
- Whenever making any kind of baked good with banana, ensure the bananas are overripe, with brown spots or skin, or they won’t incorporate as well into your recipe. They also won’t bring as much flavour. If you don’t have any bananas at this stage of ripeness, often grocery stores will sell the overripe bananas for this purpose. This to me is a win win as it also helps reduce food waste!
- I create my recipes based off weights so I recommend measuring by weights if you own a scale . It’s actually so much easier and makes for much less cleanup. I wish I had baked by weight from the beginning, I could never go back now.
More Dessert for Breakfast Options
Today’s song is from an amazing artist gone much too young. One of my favourite songs, here’s Try a Little Tenderness by Otis Redding. Happy baking! **Disclaimer: Liv’s Little Muffins owns no rights to this song.
Don’t forget to leave a STAR REVIEW if you try my recipe! Follow me on Facebook or tag me on instagram @livslittlemuffins. Find more ideas on my Pinterest or Whisk.
Breakfast Peanut Butter Banana Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (220g) mashed banana
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 cup (60g) light brown sugar, packed
- 3/4 cup (165g) peanut butter
- 2 tbsp (22g) canola oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cup (360g) rolled oats
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (80g) semi sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed banana, or mash the banana in the bowl. Then add the egg, brown sugar, peanut butter, canola oil and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined, at least 1 minute.
- Add in the oats, baking soda and salt. Fold together until almost combined with a spatula. Then add the chocolate chips and fold until just combined.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for 24-28 minutes or until the centre is set and the edges are just starting to turn lightly golden in colour. Allow to fully cool before slicing. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days and enjoy!
