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.
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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)
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