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)
Monday left me lost and confused too. I just don’t understand why tragedies like this continue to happen. You’re so right that it helps to focus on the positive things though. Or baking. It’s always such a great outlet when I’m sad or stressed. These bars look awesome!
Just made these with almonds instead of walnuts because that’s all I had. They are wonderful! Thanks so much! I have this great little Wilton pan that has 9 little 2.5 x 3.5 rectangles – made perfect bars.
Hey Melissa, So glad they turned out nicely for you – and yes I’m sure many nuts would be tasty in this recipe. Enjoy the rest! Ours didn’t last long.
Oh Ange, great post. I feel the same way as you about the tragedy on Monday, but at the same time am so proud of all of those that have rallied together to provide support. Today was a really nasty day for me (albeit nowhere near as bad in the grand scheme of things as what happened on Monday), but thinking about these bars is already making my day better! :)
I need to pin every 2nd recipe to my Pinterest board. Generally I’m not that into vegan recipes but can’t resist to yours!!
Then I’m doing my job! ;)
I was very privileged to be running this year’s Boston Marathon for my first time. It really is an amazing event full of kind volunteers, amazing athletes, and wildly supportive fans. I think the Boston marathon, and marathons in general really break down barriers of race, religion, age, etc., and put us all on an even playing field where we can pour our hearts (and legs!) out.
Like many of you, I still can’t wrap my head around what happened in Boston on Monday. I heard the explosions from just a few blocks away, and I’ve seen the footage again and again. It is so hard to believe.
You are right, there is way more good out there. Thank you so much Angela for sharing much more than a delicious recipe this week!
So glad you are safe Katie!
Holy Angela, these look AMAZING!!! I think I need to make a trip to the Bulk Barn to pick up some of these ingredients! haha
These look incredible! Thank you for the recipe, they are on my to-do-asap-list!
This recipe is amazing! They are perfect to carry with me throughout the day during school and work. I find that they give me a good energy boost as well. Thank you for posting this!!
Thanks for trying the bars out Chad! I am happy you enjoyed them.
Sending you all my love from Amsterdam! The bread looks delicious. If I was not all inte RAW vegan right now I would definitely give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration!
These look divine! Is there something you would suggest to use in place of buckwheat groats? I find that they have too much fiber and cause bloating and gas…thanks!
For sure trying these the comfort of banana bread brings me back to 8 years old…do you think I can use just all buckwheat instead of oat flour or try another type of flour? I’ll have to try because oats and I had to part ways this year because of a food allergy ;( thank you for sharing! love + shine Courtstar
hmm…I’m not sure. I think some types of flour could make it too dry, but I’m really not sure. It would be an experiment! Let me know what you try if you make them.
Thanks for this recipe – I have been looking for a good homemade protein bar that I can make a ton of and keep on hand, and I am eager to try this! I am just wondering how long you think this will keep–like could I make some to have around for a couple of weeks, or would it go stale as quickly as any other baked good? And if so, do you think it would freeze well?
Thanks again!
I think they would go stale as quickly as other baked goods….I’d give them 3-4 days tops. Ours only last 2 days though because we polished them off. I’d say your best bet is freezing but I haven’t tried that yet. Let me know how it goes if you try it!
oh, i cannot wait to make this recipe! thank you!
These look fantastic! I’m always on the hunt for a great pre-workout protein bar!
Hi, Thank you for your wonderful recipes!!!!
Do you know how much flour you’ve gotten out of the 1/2 c of groats? I have buckwheat flour and was thinking of using that istead of grinding the buckwheat myself.
Thank you!
Hi Jenny, It’s usually about the same measurement…I would probably use 1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp of flour, but it’s probably so insignificant it doesn’t make much difference. enjoy!
Hi!
Do you think you would be able to freeze ( to keep longer) and then possibly set them out nightly to have the next day for a snack/power bar?
I haven’t tried it myself, but I can’t see why that wouldn’t be fine :)
I love what you say about comfort food. We try so hard to stay away from it because it’s supposed to be bad to calm our nerves with food. But it’s also human… Chowing down one of your banana bars in a moment of stress or grieve isn’t bad at all. You made the recipe with love!
Angela-
I’ve been following your blog for a couple years now and I just wanted to let you know that your photography has gotten incredible!! I am so impressed!!! You really have done amazing. :) And besides that every recipe of yours I’ve ever tried has been so on point!
Tania
Looks like another fantastic recipe Angela. How long will these last if I store them in the fridge?
Silly me just saw you answer that question. :)
Those look awesome. I love bananas!
Thank you for your comforting words, Angela. It is hard to be a Boston resident right now. It’s like there is a big cloud over us…I feel like a zombie. Nice to read some uplifting thoughts on the subject.
I LOVE anything banana bread! great post!
Wow!! I just made these and I desperately want a second one, they are so delicious!! I didn’t have the buckwheat groats so I used almond flour instead and they came out fine :)
Thanks for letting us know Anna! Glad you enjoy them. :)
These look incredible! I would love to dig right into the bowl of dough!
Hi Angela,
This is unrelated to your banana bread bars, but I just wanted to let you know that I made your peanut butter cookies today – I think you called them “Aunt Angie’s soft peanut butter cookies” – for my little almost 20-month old son, who is sensitive to dairy and can’t have any milk products (like butter, etc.) yet. They were SO darn delicious, and as an added bonus, they have no sugar?!?!?! It’s amazing. I looked up several “traditional” p.b. cookie recipes before thinking to check your website – and they all had so much butter and so much sugar – like 2 cups of packed brown sugar!! It is so nice to know that I can make a “treat”, and have it be healthy. I’ll never make another p.b. cookie recipe again – only yours! Thanks so, so much for all that you do.
Hi Sandy, I’m so happy to hear that the cookies are a hit! Thanks for letting me know :)
I was thinking of trying to make a banana protein bar. Now I can use your recipe. Looks delicious.
Thanks for your terrific site! Couldn’t wait to buy the buckwheat groats so went ahead and used oat flour. No problem. It turned out well. Thanks again!
Oh yum! These look fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
I wholeheartedly agree, food is a comfort and food can bring people together in a positive way :) these granola bars look delicious and sound healthy too!
I love how simply amazing this recipe is! Thanks so much! <3
A frozen banana just fell out of my over-stuffed freezer and then I pulled up your page to see this recipe. I think that’s a sign!
Hi Angela, those sound really good — I have some bananas calling my name!!!! What a good Sat am treat…. Have you ever tried Arbonne products? They have a vanilla (& chococolate) protein powder that is dairy, gluten, & soy free. Their entire “Essentials” line is also free of dairy/gluten/soy … NO animal testing on any of their products. I think I might omit some of the oats & try my protein!!! Email me if you want some samples to try new recipes for us ;)
Well I attempted to make these protien bars, and let them cool and these were totally awesome!. I did change the reciepe up a little instead of coconut nectar syrup I used the pure 100% Blue Aguave Nectar Syrup (I did not have coconut nectar syrup). these sure were yummy! as my kids would say. going to give reciepe to my friend Linda and some samples. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Angela,
I made these bars yesterday and instead of the buckwheat groats, I just made oat flour in my Vitamix using more of the rolled oats. They turned out well, although they are a bit dense. They really are right on the line of being a super healthy snack…but then the chocolate chips make them more of a dessert… a “snack-ert”. I love that there is no added sugar besides the brown rice syrup because so many recipes just contain too much sugar.
BTW, my family loves your chocolate zucchini walnut muffins so much that now we make batches and freeze them. After dinner, we just pull them out and microwave them for 30 seconds and enjoy! I also tried making them with mashed banana instead of the zucchini, but I like the zucchini better because it makes them fluffy.
I LOVE that your recipes are easy to make…you don’t make them too fancy or complicated with unusual ingredients, which really allows people like me to come home from work and make something fresh and healthy. SO EXCITED for your cookbook. :o)
Thank you for this recipe! I have been looking for a recipe and this looks the best! Can I use apple sauce in place of bananas? bananas spike my blood sugar. My prayers are with the injured and families of Boston too. Such a sad time for these innocent people. Thank you for your help.
Hi Kate, I’m not sure about the applesauce – haven’t tried that yet myself. Please report back if you try it and let us know how it goes! I know the bananas help bind the mixture and I’m not sure if applesauce would too. Hopefully they would still hold together.
Oh yum ~ these look amazing! I can’t wait to make them! I am awed by your continual creativity to keep coming up with all of these amazing recipes and have a whole different set for your cookbook. There is an endless well of inspiration, isn’t there? :-)
haha yes…SOME days…other days not so much! Creativity comes in spurts, that’s for sure. :) Thanks for your kind words!
Love and wishes to those people who were hurt or affected by that dreadful bombing in Boston.
Well you are amazing Angela. I love your blog. I only tried this because you made it. Anybody else and I wouldn’t have. I have texture issues with bready doughy things (you wouldn’t get me near bread and butter pudding). I made this for my son (13) as a treat for sticking to a whole day of juicing yesterday. He said it’s to die for. I have to say it is very yummy, enough so that I can get past the banana and bread middle bit. The smell of peanut butter and banana as it was cooking was delicious. I couldn’t leave it in the tin till cold though as I just had to try it. Thank you very much. :)
Angela,
I’m so feeling your post today. I live outside of Boston; actually, within 1-2 miles of all the activity that was going on yesterday to catch the suspect. Being on “lockdown” and not able to leave our houses was scary to say the least. It was the end to an awful, emotional week.
On Monday night, when I came home from work, all I could do was get in the kitchen and start cooking to distract myself. It puts me in a zone where I don’t have to think about other things. Similarly, yesterday the news coverage was becoming a bit much, but I didn’t feel I could do much else. So I made your Rustic Oat Banana Chocolate Chip Bread. It was exactly what I needed. And it seems sort of a close cousin to this bar recipe. Had to tell you that your bread, both in its yummy taste and its distraction, was just right.
Prayers for the victims and much love to the compassion coming from around the world, including yours.
We’ve just started baking vegan! This looks incredibly delicious …
I bet these would great to throw in the purse for quick and healthy snack!
Hi! I’m looking forward to trying these soon. I see an asterisk by buckwheat groats, but can’t find the note that goes with that asterisk – ? If I can’t find this ingredient, what do you recommend as a replacement? Thanks.
Nevermind – I found the note. :)
oops just saw this now :) hah anyway enjoy1
Hi Lesley, Oh the note is just below the recipe, under the nutritional info link. I think you might be able to replace the buckwheat flour with oat flour, but I havent tried this substitute myself. Enjoy!
Thanks for your reply. :) I couldn’t find buckwheat groats so I substituted oat flour. They turned out very nice! I’m about to enjoy another, and look forward to having them during the week ahead.
these bars are so good! Thanks for the great recipe. I used buckwheat flour since I couldn’t find raw buckwheat nearby & maple syrup for the sweetener. Will def make these again sometime soon!
I used regular quick oats and made a flour out of it as well. Swapped chia seeds for flax (not ground) and walnuts for almonds. Also used maple syrup and added a heap of hemp protein, turned out really yummy! Held together well and everything.
Nice! Thanks for letting us know your changes :)
I tried oat flour and honey. And some apple sauce for the banana b/c I only had one. They turned out a bit moist, but they bound together and are super delish!
They’re in the oven with modifications
no coconut and I used buckwheat flour instead of groats, and regular oats.
Also used half agave syrup and half maple
I’ll let you know how this works.
Certainly smells yummy
Made these today using the coconut nectar and buckwheat groats. The only change is that instead of the peanut butter, I used Earth Balance Coconut Peanut spread because it was what I had in the house. I also left out the chocolate because I’m not a huge fan of it. (Weird, I know!) Anyway, they are fabulous! Just the thing for an afternoon snack or for breakfast with a glass of green juice!
I’ve followed your blog for a while now, and tried a number of the recipes, but this is the first time I’ve commented. These bars are so good that I just had to!
Hey Sabrina, so glad you enjoyed them and that they worked with your changes. Thanks for reporting back!
looking for a palm oil free vegan liquid soap any recommendations??
I’m not certain these were as “healthy” as I was looking for, but I certainly enjoyed them on a cold and windy 40k run this AM. Last LSD before Mississauga weekend after next.
I forgot to purchase coconut syrup so I used some agave syrup I had. Googling for substitution ratios I learned that apparently agave syrup is no longer in fashion in terms of healthy. I have so much to learn from the plethora of opinions. LOL
I purchased buckwheat groats and ground them up in the new Vitamix – first time making flour. Worked great. I just want to know what buckwheat, groats or buckwheat groats are. A grain, I know. Why did you decided to use those over any other ingredient/flour. The only buckwheat I knew was an Eddie Murphy SNL character. LOL
Anyway, the real reasons I’m posting was to express my thanks. They turned out great, I also wanted to share the following link that I used to make them when I wanted to, despite that fact that the banana I had wasn’t quite ready. The texture of the cooked banana was a little strange to work with, but was totally fine in the square.
http://cleangreensimple.com/2012/03/quick-tip-how-to-quickly-ripen-bananas/
All the best. Your “best of” 2012 meatloaf is up tomorrow.
Well colour me purple. Buckwheat is not a grain.
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/a/What-Is-Buckwheat.htm
I am allergic to coconut. What is a good substitute?
Hi Bev, you can probably just leave it out and it should be ok still. goodluck!
Yum, yum, yum …. just a protein receipe I was looking for … and gluten free what more can I ask for … thanks… will try these tomorrow need some ingredients first