Chocolate Chip Banana Bars (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
These chocolate chip banana bars are soft, moist, and perfectly sweet. Made with oat flour, ripe bananas, and coconut sugar, they bake in just 30 minutes… way faster than banana bread! Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and naturally sweetened.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Ready In: 45 minutes
- Servings: 9 banana bars
- Calories: ~181 per bar
- Key Ingredients: Oat flour, peanut butter, coconut sugar, mini chocolate chips
- Dietary Info: Vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free, oil-free
- Why You’ll Love It: All the flavors of banana bread in bar form and ready in half the time!
There’s something so warm and comforting about banana bread. My healthy banana bread is basically on weekly repeat in my house, and my vegan banana muffins aren’t too far behind. But lately, these chocolate chip banana bars have made it into the rotation.
When I first tested this recipe, I knew it was going to become my new favorite healthy snack. They have all the same flavors of banana bread, but are quicker to make, faster to bake, slice beautifully, and somehow even more snackable than banana bread.
Featured Review
“I made these bars for my son‘s 39th birthday this past Sunday. They were a huge hit! These bars are easy to make, delicious and healthy! I highly recommend this recipe!”
– Lois
They’re made with oat flour which gives these bars just enough structure, while staying perfectly soft, moist, and tender. Plus, they’re ready in just 30 minutes (half the time of traditional banana bread!)
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love These Healthy Banana Bars
All the flavors of banana bread, but in bar form.
- Moist, soft, and tender… they melt-in-your-mouth!
- Studded with mini chocolate chips
- Ready in 30 minutes (half the time of banana bread)
- One-bowl recipe
- Naturally sweetened with ripe banana + coconut sugar
- Vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free
- Perfect for snacking, dessert, or meal prep
These bars are faster, easier, and even more snackable than banana bread!
Ingredients You’ll Need
You only need a few simple ingredients (which you likely already have in your pantry) to make these vegan banana bars.
- Bananas: This recipe uses 3 ripe bananas. The riper the banana (lots of brown spots), the sweeter and more flavorful your bars will be.
- Oat Flour: I opted for oat flour in this recipe because it keeps the bars gluten-free while creating a soft, tender crumb; the same reason I use it in my healthy banana bread and banana muffins.
- Coconut Sugar: Adds natural sweetness and a subtle caramel flavor that pairs beautifully with the banana. Coconut sugar is my go-to sweetener in all of my refined sugar-free baked goods!
- Peanut Butter: Opt for an all-natural peanut butter with a runny consistency. Almond butter or cashew butter work too, or use sunflower seed butter for a nut-free option.
- Non-Dairy Milk: Any dairy-free milk will work (soy, almond, oat).
- Vanilla Extract: An essential.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: After much recipe testing, I’ve found that it can be tricky to get vegan and gluten-free baked goods to rise, so we have to use a bit more leavening agent to assist.
- Spices: Cinnamon and a pinch of salt add a cozy flavor.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: Make sure your mini chocolate chips are dairy-free to keep this recipe vegan.
Scroll down to the recipe card to get the full recipe with measurements!
Substitutions
- Peanut Butter: Almond butter or cashew butter work. For a nut-free option, use sunflower seed butter.
- Coconut Sugar: Keeps this recipe refined sugar-free, but you can swap in date sugar, brown sugar, or cane sugar.
- Oat Flour: Unfortunately, I don’t recommend substituting the oat flour since it give these banana bread bars their soft and tender texture.
How to Make Vegan Banana Bars
Here’s how to make these chocolate chip banana bars in just a few easy steps:
- Preheat the oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease or line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Mash the bananas: In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas until mostly smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the coconut sugar, peanut butter, non-dairy milk, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients: Fold in the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Fold in the chocolate chips: Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Bake: Add the batter to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with mini chocolate chips. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- Cool and slice: Cool completely before slicing into bars (I know it’s hard, but worth it). Enjoy!
Megan’s Tips
- Use very ripe, spotty bananas. This is the secret to naturally sweet and flavorful muffins! If your bananas look too ripe to eat, then they’re perfect. The darker, mushier, and more spotty, the better.
- Don’t overmix the dry ingredients. Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
- Line your pan with parchment paper. This makes removal and slicing so much easier.
- Add a sprinkle of flaky salt on top. For that sweet + salty balance.
- Let them cool fully. I know it’s so tempting, but since they’re made with oat flour, they need to cool completely in order to set properly. This helps them firm up for a tender crumb and clean slices.
Storing Your Banana Bars
If these banana bars aren’t already gone within the first hour… (guilty).
- At room temperature: Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days
- In the fridge: Store in an airtight container for 5-7 days
- Freeze them: Store your sliced banana bars for up to 2 months in a freezer-safe container
Frequently Asked Questions
I wouldn’t recommend substituting the oat flour in these banana bread bars. Oat flour as a very unique texture, giving the bars a fluffy, light crumb and sturdy texture.
1 cup of mashed banana is about 2 medium bananas.
Got More Ripe Bananas?
Try these banana recipes next!
If you make this recipe, please be sure to leave a comment and ★★★★★ star rating below. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram so I can see your creations!
Chocolate Chip Banana Bars (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
wet ingredients
- 1 cup mashed banana, about 2 ripe bananas
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- ¼ cup peanut butter, runny consistency
- ¼ cup non-dairy milk, oat, soy, almond
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dry ingredients
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegan mini chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Mash the bananas: In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas until mostly smooth.
- Add the wet ingredients: Stir in the coconut sugar, peanut butter, non-dairy milk, and vanilla extract until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients: Fold in the oat flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Fold in the chocolate chips: Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
- Bake: Add the batter to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with mini chocolate chips. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- Cool and slice: Cool completely before slicing into bars (I know it’s tempting, but patience is key). Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Use very ripe, spotty bananas. This is the secret to naturally sweet and flavorful muffins! If your bananas look too ripe to eat, then they’re perfect. The darker, mushier, and more spotty, the better.
- Don’t overmix the dry ingredients. Fold in the dry ingredients until just incorporated.
- Line your pan with parchment paper. This makes removal and slicing so much easier.
- Add a sprinkle of flaky salt on top. For that sweet + salty balance.
- Let them cool fully. I know it’s so tempting, but since they’re made with oat flour, they need to cool completely in order to set properly. This helps them firm up for a tender crumb and clean slices.
I made these bars for my son‘s 39th birthday this past Sunday. They were a huge hit! These bars are easy to make, delicious and healthy! I highly recommend this recipe!
Soo happy you and the family loved them and that they were part of such a special birthday celebration! Thank you for sharing, sweet Lois! 💛
Absolutely delicious. Love the combination of chocolate, peanut butter and banana! Will be making these over and over again
So happy to hear you loved them! I hope Alex and baby did too.. 🙂
These are so moist, fudgy, and insanely good…taste just like banana bread but somehow better! My new go-to snack!