My homemade breakfast bars are loaded with good stuff like oats, peanut butter, raisins, nuts, and chocolate chips. They're perfect for busy mornings, but also great for snacking throughout the day! These bars are vegan and optionally gluten-free, so everyone can enjoy them.
I love a good grab-and-go breakfast for busy mornings! I have a lot of recipes that I end up using for just that purpose, like my vegan bran muffins, vegan banana bread, and vegan granola bars. But you know what? None of those recipes are specifically meant to be breakfast. They're all sweet snacks I sometimes have for breakfast. Emphasis on sweet.
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If you're looking for a quick and convenient breakfast that's just a tad on the sweet side, these breakfast bars are the way to go. They're full of wholesome, breakfasty ingredients like oats, peanut butter, and bananas! They're delicious, easy to throw together, and super customizable.
Tip: If you like these bars, give my morning glory breakfast cookies a try. They're also quite wholesome, with just a touch of sweetness.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Non-dairy milk. Any non-dairy milk you normally like to drink will work in this recipe. Refer to my guide to dairy-free milks if you need help picking one. If you don't normally buy non-dairy milk, feel free to substitute water.
- Ground flaxseeds. You'll be combining these with your non-dairy milk to make a flax egg, which is an excellent vegan egg substitute for baking.
- Banana. Use a banana that's ripe. Overripe is fine too, and will give you slightly sweeter bars. Just make sure it's not underripe — no green!
- Peanut butter. Got a peanut allergy? Almond butter or cashew butter will also work! Need to avoid nuts completely? Try tahini or sun butter!
- Maple syrup. You can swap this out with another liquid sweetener, like agave or coconut nectar, if you'd like.
- Vanilla extract.
- Rolled oats. Quick cooking oats should also work in this recipe, although the bars may end up a bit on the softer side.
- Cinnamon.
- Baking powder.
- Salt.
- Raisins. Got another type of dried fruit on hand? Use it! Cherries, cranberries, apricots, dates, and currants will all work.
- Walnuts. These can be replaced with other nuts like pecans, almonds, or peanuts. Or use sunflower seeds or pepitas to keep the bars nut-free.
- Mini chocolate chips. I used Enjoy Life brand chips, which are vegan and available at lots of grocery stores. Larger chips will work if you can't find mini ones.
How They're Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
Step 1: Start by preheating your oven to 350° and lining an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper. Use two sheets, laying them in opposite directions and leaving some overhang, which you'll use to pull the bars from the pan when they're ready.
Step 2: Make your flax egg. Stir non-dairy milk and flaxseeds together in a small container. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes, to gel.
Step 3: Place your banana into a large mixing bowl, then mash it up!
Step 4: Add your flax egg to the bowl with the banana, along with the peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir everything up well.
Step 5: Now add your oats to the bowl. Before you stir them in, sprinkle the cinnamon, baking powder, and salt on top. Now stir everything together.
Tip: You can taste-test the mixture at this point and make adjustments if you'd like. Add some sugar, extra cinnamon, salt, or any other flavorings you'd like to include.
Step 6: Add the raisins, walnuts, and chocolate chips to the mixture. Stir everything together.
Step 7: Press the mixture into your baking pan, flattening and smoothing out the top.
Tip: To get the top of your bars nice and flat, you can place a sheet of parchment paper over them, then press down using a book, small cutting board, or similar flat object.
Step 8: Pop the pan into the oven and bake your bars for about twenty minutes, or until the top feels set.
Let your breakfast bars cool completely on a cooling rack before using the parchment paper overhang to remove them from the pan. Cut them into squares and enjoy!
Shelf-Life & Storage
Homemade breakfast bars will stay fresh in an airtight container at room temperature for about three days, in the fridge for about five days, or in the freezer for about three months.
Frequently Asked Questions
They are if you use certified gluten-free oats.
Yep! Swap out the peanut butter with a seed butter, such as tahini or sun butter, and replace the walnuts with seeds, such as sesame seeds, pepitas, or sunflower seeds.
The top should feel set and appear very slightly browned. If it still feels or appears wet, give them a few more minutes in the oven.
You can leave out the maple syrup and replace the chocolate chips with additional nuts.
More Breakfast Recipes
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📖 Recipe
One-Bowl Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup unflavored and unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds
- 1 ripe banana
- ¼ cup creamy natural peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup raisins
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup mini vegan chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line the bottom of an 8 x 8 inch baking pan with two sheets of parchment paper, extending the sheets in opposite directions and leaving a bit of overhang, which you'll use later on to remove the bars from the pan.
- Stir the milk and flaxseeds together in a small bowl or container. Let the mixture sit for about five minutes, in order to give the seeds time to soak up the milk.
- While the flaxseed mixture sits, place the banana into a large bowl. Mash it well using a fork or potato masher.
- Stir the flax mixture, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla in with the banana.
- Add the oats to the bowl with the banana mixture, then sprinkle the cinnamon, banking powder, and salt over the oats. Stir the ingredients together until they're well combined.
- Stir the raisins, walnuts, and chocolate chips into the oat mixture.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking pan, flattening and smoothing out the top as much as you can.
- Place the pan into the oven and bake the bars until the top feels set, about 20 minutes.
- Place the baking pan on a cooling rack and let the bars cool completely.
- Once the bars are cool, use the excess parchment paper to carefully lift the bars from the pan. Cut them into squares.
- Serve the bars immediately, or seal them up and store them at room temperature for up to three days, in the fridge for up to five days, or in the freezer for up to three months.
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Hi Alissa,
These sound great. I can't have banana, what would you recommend for a replacement?
Nisi
Thank you, Nisi! I would try subbing 1/4 cup of canned pumpkin puree or applesauce. Taste-test the mixture before putting it in the baking pan - you might want to add some extra maple syrup or sugar, since neither of these options is as sweet as a banana. Enjoy!!