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These healthy, soft blueberry banana oat bars are a delicious gluten-free snack or breakfast on the go. This healthy recipe make your house smell amazing!
I’m so excited about this recipe for Blueberry Banana Oat Bars. I’ve been wanting to add some new healthy “treat” snacks to my children’s lunchbox rotation because I’ve been stuck on muffins for a while.
Store-bought granola bars, even the organic ones, are so full of sugar and other unnecessary ingredients and preservatives. They also tend to be expensive and over-packaged.
These oat bars are simple to make and they cost a fraction of what you’d pay for granola bars at the grocery store (see price comparison here). The flavor of these bars is so delicious. They don’t last long in my house!
These blueberry banana oat bars are soft and fruity. Let them cool completely before cutting into bars, or else they may fall apart a bit. Store at room temperature, or freeze for later.
Try my blueberry chia seed muffins for another delicious, fruity snack.
Blueberry Banana Oat Bars
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana mashed
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup milk dairy or non-dairy
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 cups rolled oats
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts optional
- 1 cup blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 inch glass pan.
- Mash the banana in a large bowl. Add the applesauce, eggs, milk, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine.
- In a separate bowl, stir together the oats, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until combined.
- Fold in the blueberries and walnuts. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish.
- Bake for 35 minutes and cool on a rack before cutting into bars.
Nutrition Estimate
If you like these bars, you may also enjoy my Pumpkin Cranberry Oat Bars. You’ll want to check out my favorite homemade Larabar recipes, too. It’s amazing how much money we can save by making things ourselves!
Ben says
So I have no applesauce….
Annemarie says
Ben, you can substitute a mashed banana or melted coconut oil/butter. Good luck!
Ellen says
I used all mashed banana instead of the apple sauce and they came out really well! Such a delicious healthy snack. Love the chewy texture and punch of the blueberries. Thanks for posting!!
Annemarie says
I’m so glad you liked them, Ellen. I love banana, so I’m sure I would like your variation. I’ll have to try it next time.
Amber says
Have you ever tried to make these with soaked oats? I’ve just recently started experimenting with soaking grains and I thought it might work well with this recipe (which we LOVE in my house!)
Annemarie says
I’m so glad you like it! We do soak our oats for oatmeal, but I haven’t tried this recipe with soaked oats. Great idea – I will next time.
AmyI says
My 5 year old (and now my 2 year old) eats packaged granola bars every morning, because lets face it, I can’t get up early enough before kindergarten to get real food into him. I would love to make a homemade healthier, cheaper bar. So, I was pleasantly surprised to find your recipe! However, I was quickly dissapointed because my son is severely allergice to egg. Do you have any ideas on what I could replace it with that would still work? I am so bad in the kitchen…In muffiins I replace egg with applesauce, but I don’t think that would work here. Any ideas would be appreciated!!
Annemarie says
Food allergies can be so challenging. You can make a substitute “flax egg” for baking. To make a flax egg, add one tablespoon flax meal to 3 tablespoons water. Stir together and let it sit for a few minutes. It will take on the consistency of an egg white. Good luck and let me know if it works for you!
Erin says
Chia seeds work well as an egg substitute too although i Havent tried it in this recipe yet. Plus they are great for you! Use one tablespoon ground chia seeds to three tablespoons water for each egg.
Annemarie says
Thanks for the tip, Erin!
Celiac Kiddo says
These look fantastic! I will be making these asap, but might sub (less healthy) chocolate chips for blueberries so my picky chocoholic preschooler will eat them 🙂 Thanks f
-Dana
Real Food, Real Deals says
Good luck! You can’t lose with chocolate chips.
Margaux says
Thanks for stopping by and linking up to Snacktime Saturday. For some reason I always thought snack bars like this were a lot of work but this looks great. My kiddo would definitely be into these!
Kitchen Ninja says
I’m adding these to my to-do list!
Leah at Crunchy Farm Baby says
These look fabulous and super healthy! Thanks for linking up to Snacktime Saturday!
Jessica: Hesitantly Healthy says
These look tasty!!
Real Food, Real Deals says
Thanks, Jessica! These are delicious.
Teresa says
Thanks! I made these last night and just enjoyed one (okay, two) for my morning snack. I left out the applesauce by accident and they were still quite moist. My rolled oats stash was lower than I thought so mine were half steel-cut. And I used a wonderful local amber honey instead of maple syrup, since I had a big jar staring at me. When you make that many changes does it still count as “your” recipe? LOL. Nonetheless I am thoroughly enjoying them!
Real Food, Real Deals says
I’m so glad you like them! It’s a very flexible recipe as you’ve discovered. I love the idea of steel cut oats – I’ll try that next time.
Lisa says
Do you think this would work with frozen blueberries?
Real Food, Real Deals says
Yes, this will definitely work with frozen berries.
Kristina says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I love chewy bars and yummy blueberries. I made this a few times. The first time I only had honey and used that instead of the maple syrup – didn’t like it too much. Next time I used the maple syrup and it was delicious. This last time I omitted the applesauce (I had a really large banana) and added 1T of coconut oil and it was absolutely perfect. I know adding the coconut oil adds to the fat content, but I have a deep love for coconut oil. Thanks again!
As a side note, I also froze some of them and they were fine defrosting on the counter or heating up in the microwave.
Real Food, Real Deals says
I’m so glad you liked them! I love coconut oil too, and the maple syrup really makes a difference.
Leah says
Awesome recipe! How do you store these?
Real Food, Real Deals says
Thanks! I cut the batch into bars and then store them in an airtight container for up to two days. Because they are moist, they will get moldy by the third or fourth day. I usually freeze half the batch and take them out as I need them.
Leah says
Thanks!:) Very good to know! When you take them out of the freezer, how do you thaw them? I figure for lunches they’ll thaw in time, but say if I want a quick snack immediately. Just microwave it?
Sorry for all the questions, I’m very new to making “real” food!! 🙂
Real Food, Real Deals says
I’m happy to have your questions! I leave it out on the counter to thaw, and it’s good to go within about 30 minutes. I don’t have a microwave, but I’m guessing you’d be fine to zap it for a short time (try 10 seconds at at time).
totalrandomness86 says
Hey, thank you so much for this recipe. My husband always comes back from work at 5 pm all famished. Not wanting to spend time in the kitchen again in between meals (I cook fresh lunch and dinner everyday), I resort to the easiest option of packed or processed snack. now this looks it might work. do you have some savory vegetarian options as well that can be an evening snack?
Real Food, Real Deals says
Thanks! Check out my macaroni and cheese muffins for a savory snack: https://realfoodrealdeals.com/2012/05/01/macaroni-and-cheese-muffins/. You can make a whole batch ahead of time and then freeze them.
Real Food, Real Deals says
Thanks – I agree about the grab and go snacks! It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut. I’m enjoying your lunch series this week.
biggsis says
This looks like a great recipe. Always great to have some variety with the homemade grab and go snacks! Thanks for sharing : )
Shari Furey-Schrembeck says
Do you think you could add more applesauce and take out the egg? I am always looking for good vegan options.
Real Food, Real Deals says
I think it would taste great with 1 cup of applesauce and no eggs. Alternately, you could try flax eggs (1 tablespoon flaxseed meal plus 3 tablespoons water per egg).
Real Food, Real Deals says
I’m not sure about the calories, but yes, you do taste the banana. I recommend you try leaving out the banana and adding another 1/4 cup applesauce or milk. You may want to increase the maple syrup a bit for sweetness.
Vickie says
Any ideas of how many calories in each bar and do they taste bananaee?? I don’t like the taste or smell of ripe bananas that is why I am asking???
katelyn says
Do you think honey instead of maple syrup would give a similar result?
Real Food, Real Deals says
Yes, I think honey would work very well in this recipe. Let me know how it comes out if you do try it!
Anna says
I just made this with honey instead of maple syrup and it tasted great!
Real Food, Real Deals says
Great! Thanks for letting me know. I’m glad you liked it.
justafrugalfoodie says
I *LOVE* the addition of Maple Syrup! Genius!!