Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Bars (V, GF): a one bowl recipe for simply delicious banana breakfast bars packed with your favorites for a good morning! Vegan, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, One Bowl.
Remember how I told you a few posts ago that my mom sometimes begrudgingly subjects herself to punch bowls of oatmeal morning after morning? And remember how I told you how much she totally loathed them?
Well, the thing is… Erik and I have our own bowls of oatmeal every morning, too. Except they’re not punch bowl-sized. THANK. Goodness. Well, while I tend to enjoy the comforting semi-blandness of that morning oatmeal with a bit of mashed banana and a gentle topping of nut butter, seeds and perhaps a sassy topping of dried fruit, Erik begs to differ.
He’d very much rather enjoy this moist chocolate chip banana bread recipe in the morning.
Every morning, we have our bowls of oatmeal and I’m serious—looking at Erik eating his bowl is like looking at my mom eating her gigantor bowl. Cue the Greek tragedy music. Lol. But I keep telling him, it’s GOOD that it’s bland! That way, we can keep eating it and we won’t get sick of it (again, Erik begs to differ–how predictable). I mean, does he not remember when we used to “enjoy” cereal with water?? Alright, fine, they certainly weren’t the good morning breakfast cookies he loves so much…
Anywho, after the 5 millionth morning of seeing that dour face, I decided enough was enough! I was right in the middle of pouring oats into our breakfast bowls. I started to grab a few bananas from our fruit bowl (okay, who are we kidding, we totally don’t have a fruit bowl—it’s just a huge colander that we cannot find the space to store).
The second the first few oats hit the bottom of the bowl, I could feel Erik sigh from the office. No, really.
So I thought, to heck with it! Today’s the day we recipe test for breakfast! Oh yeah! So I mashed a banana, added a bit of this and a bit of that, some peanut butter for pizzazz, a scoop of dried fruit for delicious sweetness… and guess what??
I made breakfast bars!! Namely, I made these Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Bars. You like?
You should have seen Erik’s face when he realized his usual morning oatmeal doom wasn’t gonna happen. He popped his head out of the office, like, “UM, what’s that heavenly scent?? Whatcha doin’?? Why are you so jazzed this morning??”
And then it hit him: no morning oatmeal bowls! And better yet, a surprise for breakfast. And even better better yet, that surprise held a striking resemblance to one of his favorite foods: vegan chocolate chip cookies. 🙂 Is there really anything better than whipping up a spontaneous treat for the ones you love?
The second he bit into these (a little too fresh out of the oven, because waiting is sooo not his strong suit), he was in heaven. I, myself, was surprised that my AM kitchen shenanigans worked out, just like that! No tricky recipe testing, no ego-deflating-this-is-not-cooking-so-you-can’t-just-throw-whatever-you-want-in-the-pan-like-it’s-just-a-few-spices-also-no-offense-all-you-amazing-cooks-out-there. Just delicious morning yum!
I tried really hard to include as little oil and added sugar as possible, so ya know, we could throw in a BUNCH of chocolate chips! But if chocolate isn’t your style, please, sit on my couch and tell me what is. I’m fascinated! 😉 J/k! The beauty of these gluten free banana chocolate chip oatmeal breakfast bars is that you can swap the add-ins for whatever tickles you pink first thing in the morning.
Now, while I eagerly await to hear what you think of these, let me tell you all about them. My Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Bars are:
- soft, chewy, satisfying
- made in just one bowl
- super easy to whip up (just like this 5 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites Recipe)
- vegan, gluten free, dairy-free
- packed full of simple, whole ingredients to keep you going all day
- refined sugar-free
- made with just 1 tablespoon each of coconut oil and maple syrup
- plant-based and allergy-friendly
- deliciously customizable
- SO not a semi-bland bowl of oatmeal (YEAH!!! <– that’s Erik screaming in my ear–did you sense that?)
Are you ready to rock your morning breakfast routine? Like in the cool way, not the startling way. Dang it… I’ve got to get more slick. Anywho, I hope you love this recipe as much as my family does. I’m so happy to join ya in the kitchen, whipping up all the wonderful treats you truly deserve. Looking forward to hearing what you think. In the meantime, tell me:
What’s your favorite morning routine?
Sending you all my love and maybe even a dove, xo Demeter ❤
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- 1 medium banana, ripened
- ¼ cup natural, unsalted creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flax + 3 tablespoons water, whisked together, set for 15 minutes)
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups gluten free rolled oats
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup vegan chocolate chips
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup walnuts, finely chopped
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or greased foil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add peeled banana. Using a sturdy whisk or fork, mash until smooth. Add the remaining wet ingredients: peanut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, flax egg and vanilla. Whisk until well incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients: oats, baking powder and baking soda. Using a rubber spatula, stir and fold until well incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips, raisins and walnuts.
- Pour this mixture into the prepared pan. Using the rubber spatula, smooth into an even layer.
- Bake for 12-18 minutes, until just lightly golden around the edges. Mine took 15 minutes. Cool for about 1 hour. Slice into bars. Enjoy! Storing instructions below.
- More breakfast recipes (all V + GF): peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal breakfast bars, good morning breakfast cookies, double chocolate banana muffins.
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If you love these Gluten Free Banana Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Bars, you’ll really enjoy these recipes:
☀︎More Deliciously Gluten Free Vegan Breakfast Recipes
Double Chocolate Banana Muffins (V, GF, DF, One Bowl)
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Breakfast Bars (V, GF, Whole Grain, Healthy)
Good Morning Breakfast Cookies (V, GF, DF, Whole Grain, Healthy)
One Bowl Vegan Gluten Free Banana Nut Bread (V, GF, DF, Whole Grain)
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Fabulous!! I will be making these all of the time!!
Wonderful!! So happy that you enjoy them, Maggie! 🙂
Can I leave out the peanutbutter or sub it for anything else than nut- or seedbutter?
I definitely want to give this recipe a try!
The chocolate I do like is CACAO. Don’t keel over but I’m not very fond of the ordinary chocolate and still have a bar given to me at Xmas! I would really like pumpkin seeds and cashew or almond butter. Now would that go alright?
Hehe, I promise not to keel over! Chocolate is definitely not for everyone. 😉 Yes, the pumpkin seeds and cashew/almond butter should work just fine! You might even want to include some kind of dried fruit for the sweetness (as part of the add-ins). Enjoy!
These look amazing! May I ask what Vegan chocolate chips you used in this recipe? ????
Just made these, only added raisins, and used almond butter instead of peanut butter. I used a real egg so that I didn’t have to actually grind flax seed up (lazy! lol) These didn’t stick together the way I expected them to (fork!) but they’re really really good. I add a little cinnamon, too.