Whenever my heart feels heavy, lost, or confused I tend to turn to the kitchen to distract myself. Seeking comfort in food isn’t as bad as those ridiculous diet magazines make it out to be. Food can bring us all together and make us pause to enjoy the simple pleasures in life. Sometimes, a big pot of chili and garlic bread, creamy avocado pasta, or warm walnut banana bread is just the thing we need in that moment. Other days, it’s a big kale salad or a juicy basket of strawberries and coconut cream. Monday night, I made pasta with homemade spaghetti sauce while we watched the news. I felt like a zombie as I cooked, but I knew we needed something to settle our bellies.
It’s been an emotional week to say the least. I find myself extra sensitive about everything, trying to make sense of all the loss in this world. I haven’t made any sense of it yet and there’s no feeling of progress made in my mind. Despite this heavy heart, I can’t help but be inspired by all the good out there. The selfless people helping in a time of need. The bravery and generosity going on is a beautiful thing to see. Sometimes I don’t always see the good, but it’s there. Love always prevails.
These banana bread bars were my solution to another comfort food craving yesterday. Think of them as soft, doughy granola bars filled with crunchy walnuts, omega-3 lovin’ chia seeds, and a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips. The wet batter is made up of spotty bananas, a generous scoop of protein-packed peanut butter, a splash of vanilla, and just a hint of sweetener to round it all out. I’ve been enjoying them around the clock, so it’s safe to say they work nicely as breakfast, snack, or even dessert. Your call.
Banana Bread Protein Bars
Yield
10 Bars
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
These banana bread bars were my solution to another comfort food craving yesterday. Think of them as soft, doughy granola bars filled with crunchy walnuts, omega-3 lovin’ chia seeds, and a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips. The wet batter is made up of spotty bananas, a generous scoop of protein-packed peanut butter, a splash of vanilla, and just a hint of sweetener to round it all out. I’ve been enjoying them around the clock, so it’s safe to say they work nicely as breakfast, snack, or even dessert. Your call.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2/3 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats, ground into flour
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 3 tbsp chia seeds
- 3 tbsp mini dark chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life brand)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt
Wet Ingredients
- 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 small-medium)
- 1/2 cup natural smooth peanut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut nectar syrup (or brown rice syrup)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch square pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper, one going each way. Tip – to get the parchment to stick to the pan, give the base a spray with olive oil and do this for the next paper too.
- Add raw buckwheat groats into a high-speed blender and blend on high until a fine flour forms. Whisk all dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
- Mash bananas until smooth and measure out 3/4 cups. Stir together the banana and all the wet ingredients in a bowl.
- Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir well until combined. The dough should be very sticky!
- Scoop batter into prepared pan. Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the batter and press it down to spread out the batter evenly. You can also remove the paper and wet your hands lightly and spread it out that way. Make sure it’s as even as possible.
- Bake at 350°F for 22-26 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the bread is firm to touch. Cool in the pan completely (I left it for 1 hour) before removing and slicing into bars.
Tip:
Raw buckwheat groats are not the same as kasha or toasted buckwheat. Raw groats have a milder flavour than toasted. You can find raw groats online, in some health food stores, or the bulk bins of Whole Foods. I buy mine in bulk from Upaya Naturals online. You might be able to substitute the ground buckwheat for oat flour, but I have not tried this myself. If anyone tries it, please leave a comment and report back.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Hi Angela,
So hard to keep up with you:) You come up with something awesome all the time. Can I replace peanut butter with almond butter you think. Can’t wait for your book to come out. i think you have the best Vegan recipes. Quick question though: I made your zucchini cake/bread but the bread did not bake inside. I had to throw it away:( Do i need to squeeze the zucchini to get the water out of them before mixing it in? Thanks!!!
Hi Vildan, You are so sweet! Thank you for the kind words. I can’t see why almond butter wouldn’t work (of course the flavour will change though). I’ve never had that problem with the zucchini bread and I’m sorry that happened to you. Did you make any changes to the recipe? My guess is that it just needed more time in the oven – oven temps can vary a lot. try the toothpick test to make sure it comes out clean before removing from the oven.
I actually like the almond flavor better! It’s a more subtle flavor!
Hi sorry to butt in but since the zucchini/walnut bread is sort of a standard in my house, here’s my take on it.
Angela’s temp confused me, I bake it at 180 C for 40 min then cover it with foil for another 20min. That way the bread is baked otherwise it is wet. It’s best eaten/sliced the next day. Also I omit the sugar and add 1 extra TBs of agave syrup and reduce the water in the flaxseed by one. I wasn’t kidding about the healthy vegan. No vegan butter or sugar in the recipes I cook.
Thank you Angela for your recipes. I am not a vegan by the way but my husband is a recent one. Or rather a health addict. However your recipes are so good I’ve eaten quite a few of your recipes. I’ve done so many- Universal salad,red quinoa/ black bean, the X’mas meatloaf one, and I forget the rest. Your tomato soup with red lentil is the best soup I’ve ever tasted.
Thank you for your recipes. They are about the only ones I can bear to cook can’t stand the other vegan recipes I find in books or on the Net.
Hey Clara, Thanks so much for your feedback! I’m sure it will be helpful to others. :) So glad you are enjoying the recipes by the way! Thanks for trying them out.
I couldn’t agree more, Angela. Food can be such a comfort:) I’m also a very sensitive person but I believe it’s better to feel than not too…
Yes I agree….sensitivity can been seen as a weakness in our culture, but it’s not! In the words of Jewel, “I’m sensitive and I’d like to stay that way” :)
I’m very sensitive, love that song, and feel the same way.
I have also been inspired by the strength of the good among us. No amount of evil could ever break that. Your protein bars sound like the perfect comfort food, especially the bits of chocolate. :)
Banana bread is a great comfort food! Especially warm, with some of that maple spread on top.. mmm. I found myself in the kitchen a lot this week as well. While many people found comfort running an extra mile or a half hour longer to show their love and support to Boston, I made a couple amazing meals in my kitchen. My heart goes out to all those affected by this tragedy.
YUMMM! want these right now!
I always turn to baking when I am feeling down/depressed/angry/upset/stressed (you name it). I’m sure it benefits my colleagues to wind me up :-) I have all those ingredients at home so I can see myself hurrying to make these. My prayers are with all those who are affected by this .
Lovely reflections, Angela. As you note, there’s a lot of people in the healthy food world that criticize notions of comfort food and emotional eating, but I think it’s important to honor what your heart needs, and put those needs above the ostensibly “healthier” option. These bars look delicious and grounding. Just what so many of us need this week!
This looks amazing!! Do you think I could substitute protein powder for the ground buckwheat groats?
Hey Joy, To be honest I haven’t had much luck when using protein powder in baked granola bars. I find it tends to come out chalky? Add at your own risk ;) and please let us know how it goes if you try it!
2.5 tbsp of hemp seeds is equal to 7 grams of protein!
great idea :)
Hi Angela – I just made these with awesome bars, but wanted more protein so I added:
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup hemp seeds
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1/2 banana
They came out delicious and not chalky at all, but they were a bit too dry. Next time I’m going to add a full banana instead of half and maybe a bit more peanut butter. Do you have any suggestions on what else I can add to make it more moist? I was also thinking about topping them with your peanut butter drizzle!
Thanks,
David
I’ve been trying to decide what to do with a bunch of spotted bananas sitting on the counter… thanks for today’s snack :) I only hope buckwheat flour works instead of freshly ground buckwheat grouts! Everything else is in the pantry ready to go when the baby and I get back from our walk/run. Have to take advantage of the sun being out while it lasts :)
Thanks for sharing your heart with us today Angela; you are not alone in your feelings of confusion that’s for sure. I hope to make these bars this weekend and I will try the oat flour if I do!
So yummy. I’m going to try these. Question though – do you know about how long they would stay good? I’d like to make enough to last a good week or so. Any suggestions on that? :)
Hey Melanie, Sorry I missed your question some how!
I’m not sure how long they keep because we polished them off in 2 days. hah. oops. Since they are a baked good I wouldn’t imagine they’d keep fresh more than a few days. They might freeze well, but I didn’t get around to that. Let me know if you try it!
They freeze beautifully! They even taste good frozen.
Thanks Anne!
So glad to see this reply! I just put a double batch in the over and I’m planning to cool, cut and freeze individuals to grab on the go :) Thanks Angela for always being a inspiration!!
When I’m stressed, being in the kitchen and creating, making, seeing what happens and what I come up with is therapeutic and relaxing and needless to say, with this week’s events, I have been feeling unsettled and have spent plenty of time in the kitchen.
Your bars are wonderful. Banana bread, and granola bars, are both faves of mine. Love these!
These bars look absolutely delicious. Definitely comfort food- and definitely delicious sounding. Thanks as always for the beautiful inspiration.
Love the recipe and some comfort food right now is fine indeed. It’s always been a way people come together in my house. Hoping to make these for a girl’s tea party next week in honor of two little girls whose daddy is serving in the military right now. Might make an extra batch to send to my son, who lives in Boston and was one mile from the explosions (so glad he didn’t run this year)!
Do you have the breakdown of Pro/Cho/Fats?
Hi Shannnon, I linked to the nutritional info at the bottom of the recipe – hope this helps!
These bars looks delicious and seem simple enough to make all the time for a quick protein snack, thanks for sharing as always Angela! ;)
These look amazing! Quick question though, I have nut and coconut allergies over here :( What can I use instead of the walnuts and shredded coconut? Can I use sunflower seeds and/or pepitas and just omit the coconut? Thanks!!
These look great! Thanks for the comfort!!
Yaaaah buckwheat! I am absolutely in love with these. They look so soft + chewy. Can’t wait to try them!
Wow these look amazing! Perfect for a day hiking or any day for that matter!