Vegan Banana Bread Bars (Gluten Free)
Jul 23, 2019 • Updated Jun 20, 2023
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healthy vegan banana bread bars… to go!
I think we can all agree that banana bread is one of the best desserts out there. Something about it is so comforting–it reminds me of a cozy sunday morning and is probably my go-to dessert of choice if I see it on the menu when I’m out. One of the most popular recipes on my blog to date is still my Healthy Vegan Banana Bread, and it has been remade by you all over 50 times, with all 5-star reviews! Thank you. In return I’m sharing these Healthy Vegan Banana Bread Bars with you.
This recipe, as many recipes do on this blog, came together by accident. I was trying to come up with a blondie recipe, but as you know, I like to keep things oil free on this blog, so I opted for bananas to maintain moisture in the bars. Bananas: I’m sorry I underestimated you and your flavour. Often, you can’t taste them in recipes if you’re using a small amount, but it was a little too banana-ey to be a blondie. Not to worry, an actual blondie recipe is in the works as you read this, but for now, please enjoy these Healthy Vegan Banana Bread Bars.
The main difference between the bars and the banana bread, are that these are a little richer, denser, and far more portable. Like my original banana bread recipe, these bars are made with ingredients like oat and almond flour, bananas, coconut sugar and pecans or walnuts.
the details
- This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar free and oil free!
- Make this in advance, store them in the fridge or freezer, and pack these bars as a snack for busy days.
- Feel free to switch up the mix-ins, and swap for your favourite nut, seed or even better, vegan chocolate chips.
secrets to success
In the original Banana Bread recipe, I use a different blend of flours, but find that using a mix of oat + almond flour gives the bars a bit more moisture, and a denser texture versus bread.
Make sure that the bananas you use are SUPER, and I mean SUPER DUPER ripe. The riper they are, the sweeter they will be, and easier to mash into the batter. Brown spots and a yellow-y brown colour encouraged.
if you like this recipe, try…
- Healthy Vegan Banana Bread
- Raspberry Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Simple Banana Oat Pancakes
- Pancake Bread (Trader Joe’s Copycat)
Healthy Vegan Banana Bread Bars (gluten-free, oil free)
Ingredients
- dry
- 1 cup fine oat flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar can use brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- wet
- 1 flax egg 1 tbsp ground flax seeds + 2 tbsp warm water
- 2 large very ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/4 cup non-dairy milk I used coconut milk
- 1/2 cup creamy roasted almond butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- add-ins
- 1/3 cup pecans or walnuts chopped
- vegan chocolate chips
- cacao nibs
- anything else you'd like!
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F while you prepare your batter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients except for flax egg. Once smooth, slowly stir in flax egg with a spatula.
- Sift dry ingredients into the bowl, and combine, using spatula. Fold in any desired mix-ins.
- Line a square baking pan with parchment paper and pour batter in. Bake for about 15 minutes, rotate the baking pan (I find this helps for any uneven baking) and bake for another 15 minutes or so, or until surface is golden brown, and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool. They will continue to cook and firm up, making cutting into bars easier. Divide into 9-12 bars.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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