Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Bars
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These healthy and scrumptious Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Bars are so loaded with flavors bragging on peanut butter, banana, chocolate chunks and shredded coconut, if you wish! Vegan, Sugar-free & Gluten-Free Options available! Video too!
We made some bars with and without shredded coconut and the coconut inspiration is right on, amazing, if you love coconut! These are such a satisfying snack to have on hand for the kids as well as the adults, as well as breakfast, a lunch supplement or a healthy dessert!
Why You’ll Love These Easy & Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Bars
- These peanut butter banana bars are the perfect quick fix to your days going forward! Soft-baked and very moist.
- A perfect answer to your prayers for quick, easy, healthy and deliciousness for your family. A bar recipe you’ll soon want to make over and over.
- They are not only quick to make, but also perfect for meal prep! So easy and quick to make, no mixer!
- Make multiple batches to last you for a few weeks! Between everyday schedules, it can be hard to fit in a healthy breakfast or snack on the go…but not with these bars, plus they taste amazing!
- Satisfying and hearty to give you a boost throughout your day!
Main Ingredients You Need
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana 2- 3 bananas
- melted coconut oil or butter coconut oil for vegan option
- sugar of choice or sugar-free substitute like Lakanto Monk fruit sugar
- egg or applesauce for vegan option
- milk of choice non-dairy for vegan option
- vanilla extract
- all purpose white whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour
- baking soda
- cinnamon
- salt
- chocolate chunks or chips or whatever add-ins you prefer use vegan chocolate for vegan option, sugar-free chocolate for sugar-free option
- shredded coconut optional, use unsweetened for sugar-free option
Although These Bars are Quite Healthy, You Can Always Make Them Even Healthier!
- Flours – Switch out all-purpose flour for white whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour. We love the white whole wheat flour!
- Sugar – Switch out the sugar for healthy sugar alternatives, like monk fruit sugar or coconut sugar.
- Vegan – Switch out the egg for applesauce and the milk for dairy-free milk substitutes like almond milk or oat milk!
- Gluten Free – Use a good gluten-free flour!
Instructions How to Make Peanut Butter Banana Bars
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Use parchment paper for easy removal, but not necessary, if you do not have it. Set aside.
- Mash ripe bananas with a fork in small bowl and then measure them out to be sure you have 1 cup exactly.
- Add oil, sugar, egg/applesauce, milk of choice, vanilla and peanut butter and whisk together.
- In another bowl mix all dry ingredients together and whisk together to remove any lumps.
- Slowly add all the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix using a spatula or spoon. Do not over mix!
- Fold in the chocolate chunks, coconut or whatever add-ins you wish, by not overmixing.
- Add mixture to prepared baking pan.
- Bake for about 18 – 20 minutes. Check with a toothpick before pulling out. Let it cool before cutting and serving. Cut into 9 or 12 squares.
Healthy Peanut Butter Banana Bars Quick Tips!
- Flavorful and healthy! Can be made even healthier with ingredients like white whole wheat flour and a healthy sugar-free sugar, like Lakanto! Even if you use regular granulated sugar, it’s only 1/3 cup! You’ll be getting a lot of natural sweetness from the bananas.
- Freezer-friendly – Freeze squares in single layers between sheets of parchment paper in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- To keep this recipe gluten-free, make sure to use a good gluten-free flour like Red Bob’s Mill or King Arthur‘s instead.
- These healthy peanut butter bars will not cut as evenly with the coconut included, but don’t let that hold you back! So yummy when they become coconut peanut butter bars!!
More Variations
- Replace the peanut butter with cashew butter, almond butter or seed butters, like sunflower seed butter are always nice for a change of nutty flavor.
- More nuts? Add some pecans, walnuts or pistachios.
- Add some old-fashioned oats for a delicious banana peanut butter oat bars recipe! Just sub some of the flour with the oats or certified gluten-free oats for some yummy texture!
- Top these with some sprinkles of sea salt here and there, if you’re one of those types! I am!
- Adaptable to add whatever add-ins you wish, like we added coconut in one of our batches! But you could add in some chopped dates, raisins, dried cranberries, chocolate chips of any flavor, or nuts of any kind!
Yummy Snacks We Love!
- Healthy Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins – Sugar Free & Vegan Options
- Apple Cinnamon Bread
- Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls – GF option
- Scrumptious Peanut Butter Loaded Bars
- Healthy Chunky Monkey Oatmeal Bars – Easy
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Muffins
- 25 Delicious Recipes for Ripe Bananas!
Adaptable healthy peanut butter bars to make the way you want to fit in with your lifestyle with ingredients you have on hand! The whole family will love these and they are awesome for giving to friends or family as a nice gesture of love!
More Snacking Fun!
- Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins
- Healthy Double Chocolate Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Lasagna Dessert
- Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Oat Chocolate Chip Cookies – 5 Ingredients
- Healthy Banana Peanut Butter Brownies
- Healthy Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Peanut Butter Banana Bars
These healthy & scrumptious Peanut Butter Banana Bars are loaded with bragging flavors of peanut butter, banana, chocolate chunks and shredded coconut, if you wish! Vegan, Sugar-free & Gluten-Free Options available!
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana 2- 3 bananas
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil or butter coconut oil for vegan option
- ¼ cup peanut butter or nut butter of choice
- ⅓ cup sugar or sugar-free substitute like Lakanto Monkfruit sugar
- 1 egg or 1/4 cup applesauce for vegan option
- 2 tablespoons milk of choice non-dairy for vegan option
- 1 tsp vanilla
- ¾ cup all purpose white whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup chocolate chunks or chips or whatever add-ins you prefer use vegan chocolate for vegan option, sugar-free chocolate for sugar-free option
- ½ cup shredded coconut optional, use unsweetened for sugar-free option
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Use parchment paper for easy removal, but not necessary, if you do not have it. Set aside.
- Mash ripe bananas with a fork in small bowl and then measure them out to be sure you have 1 cup exactly.
- Add oil, sugar, egg/applesauce, milk of choice, vanilla and peanut butter and whisk together.
- In another bowl mix all dry ingredients together and whisk together to remove any lumps.
- Slowly add all the wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix using a spatula or spoon. Do not over mix!
- Fold in the chocolate chunks, coconut or whatever add-ins you wish, by not overmixing.
- Add mixture to prepared baking pan.
- Bake for about 18 - 20 minutes. Check with a toothpick before pulling out. Let it cool before cutting and serving. Cut into 9 or 12 squares.
Video
Notes
Bars will not cut as evenly with the coconut included, but don't let that hold you back! So yum!!
Nutrition
Calories: 131kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 3gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 107mgPotassium: 58mgFiber: 1gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 20IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 7mgIron: 1mg
Tried This Recipe?Let us know how it was by commenting below!
Recipe slightly adapted from: Peanut Butter Banana Bars
Sa-weet!! So happy to hear that and everyone devoured them! Thank you so much for trying them! xo
These are delicious! Made them for a group and every crumb got finished within minutes (or less;)
Thank you so much Valentina! That means a lot to me! xo
Kim, I love that you always give options to meet various dietary needs — and that these incredible desserts can be still be so great when they’re applied. This recipe looks fantastic. Also, I’m loving the new look of your site! So clean and pretty! 🙂 ~Valentina
Peanut butter and bananas undoubtedly make a beautiful combo, and these bars look and sound gorgeous! And with the addition of chocolate, it’s (Everything!) even better.
They are baking right now and smell wonderful. I went all out and included walnuts, chocolate chips, and coconut … we’ll see how they taste. I wish I had peanuts to add (would have amped up the peanut flavor) but settled for walnuts, which I like in all things banana. I doubled the recipe and baked in a 9×13 pan. I’ll check them at 20 minutes to see if they are done. They look thicker than your photos, so I’ll have to wait and see. 20 minutes are up … very gooey in the middle still; will try in 5 more minutes. . . still gooey — trying 5 more minutes (getting kind of brown around the edges); and PERFECTION! My husband loves these, I love them, the guys visiting him in his garage love them! Positively YUMMY!
These would be a great little snack bar!! They sound so soft and delicious. PB, chocolate and banana. A match made in heaven!
You are the queen of texture Kim, every dessert you make looks SO scrumptious and baked to perfection! And these bars are no exception, coconut sounds marvelous with peanut butter and banana!