strawberry banana oat bars

These strawberry banana oat bars are naturally sweetened and made with healthy ingredients like oats, bananas, strawberries, and maple syrup. They make a delicious gluten-free and vegan breakfast or snack.

One of the best things about going back to update old recipes is getting to make the ones that I loved and forgot about.

See, the downside of food blogging is that once I’ve tested and posted a recipe, I usually don’t get to make it again because I constantly have to come up with and test new recipes. Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, but outside of a few staple recipes that I make regularly, there are a lot that I forget about.

Like these strawberry banana oat bars, for example. I don’t think I’ve made them since I originally posted them in 2015. And that’s crazy because they’re freaking delicious!

I mean, just look at them…

And if that’s not convincing, here are some of the things I had to say about them in my original post:

You guys. You guys. We need to talk about these bars, because they seriously knocked blew my socks right off. Or at least they would have if I was wearing any socks. I mean, I expected to like them, but not to the point where I was saying: “Holy snap.“ BITE. “These may just be…“ BITE. “The best oatmeal bars…” BITE. “I’ve ever had.” BITE. But it’s true!

And:

I wanted a really simple oatmeal base that was healthy enough to eat for breakfast but didn’t taste overly healthy, you know? None of that dry and bland nonsense. My bars needed to be: soft, tender, chewy, doughy, and plenty flavourful. And oh.man were they ever…

Fast forward 5 years and I had the same.exact.reaction. I took a bite, expecting to like it, but it seriously blew me away to the point where I think only 2 bars survived that first day. In my defence, the boy helped. A little.

So let’s make some bars.

How To Make Chia Seed Jam

I know that making your own jam might seem like an unnecessary additional step, but I promise you that it’s so worth it. Not only is it super easy to do, but you get a fresh homemade jam that’s 100% naturally sweetened. Oh, and a nice little boost of plant-based protein, fibre, and omega-3’s from the chia seeds.

So let’s jam:

• I like to make the jam the night before or the morning of the day I plan to make these bars and let it sit for a while. That way it has time to thicken up.
• Start by adding the berries and maple syrup to a medium saucepan set over medium heat and let them cook until they start to release their juices. This will take anywhere from 5 – 15 minutes depending on how frozen the berries were.
• Once things look all juicy, allow the berries to come to a gentle boil and continue to cook them for about 10 minutes until they start to reduce and thicken. At this point, use a spoon or a potato masher (preferred) to break the berries apart.
• Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir in the chia seeds (these help thicken things up even more). Let the jam cook for another 5 minutes before removing it from the heat and letting it sit.
• It will continue to thicken the longer it sits and should have the consistency of a regular jam – spreadable without being liquidy.

And I promise you it’s not at all complicated. I know it looks like a lot of steps, but really you’re just cooking the berries until they reduce and then stirring in some chia seeds to get a more jam-my consistency.

That being said, if you don’t have the time or ingredients on hand to make your own jam, yo can definitely use a store-bought jam.

How To Make Strawberry Banana Oat Bars

Okay. Now that you’ve got the jam ready to go, it’s time to make some bars.

• The original recipe had you grinding half the oats into oat flour, but I updated it to include both oats and pre-ground oat flour just to make things easier. That being said, if you don’t have any oat flour on hand, toss 1 cup (80 g) of oats into a blender and process them on high until they resemble a fine flour.
• Combine the dry ingredients (oats, oat flour, baking powder, and salt) in a large mixing bowl first, and then add in the mashed bananas, maple syrup, and vanilla. Stir, stir, stir, done. See? Easy peasy.

Now to assemble:

• Reserve about a half a cup of the dough to use as the top layer of the bars. Transfer the rest of it into your prepared baking pan and use a spatula to spread it out evenly.
• Spoon the chia jam onto the oat base and use your spatula to spread it out evenly. Try to leave a small bit of room around the edges to keep the jam from burning.
• Now drop the remaining dough on top of the jam in small spoonfuls and use your spoon to spread them out and swirl them around a little. You don’t have to cover the jam completely – I always like to leave gaps so the jam can poke through.
• 30 minutes of baking time yields soft and chewy bars, but you can leave them in the oven for longer if you want slightly drier bars.
• These bars never last that long around here, but I recommend storing them in the fridge if they’re sitting for more than 4 days.

Okay, But What Are They Like?

Soft, tender, fruity, sweet, and packed with strawberry + banana flavour.

These are softer and chewier bars, so if you’re looking for something that’s drier or crunchier, this might not be the recipe for you. But if you want a really tender, fruity bar, I think you’ll love these.

They’re gluten-free, vegan, refined sugar-free, and super easy to make. The crust is literally just oats + bananas plus a little bit of maple syrup for extra sweetness, and I think the simplicity of the ingredients is what makes them so surprisingly delicious. And healthy. I mean, you’re basically eating a bowl of oatmeal in bar form.

If you’re not big on strawberries or don’t have them on hand, feel free to use a different berry. And if you don’t have the time or ingredients to make your own jam, make it even simpler by subbing out a store-bought jam.

Happy eating!

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Post originally published in April 2015. Text and images updated in May 2020.

Looking for more healthy banana oat recipes? Try one of these!

Banana Oat Baked French Toast
Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins
Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Pancakes
Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Cookies
Greek Yogurt Banana Oat Bread