These healthy chocolate chip banana bars are soft, moist, and loaded with melty chocolate chips. Made with oat flour, ripe bananas, and coconut sugar, they bake in 30 minutes - much faster than traditional banana bread! Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free, and naturally sweetened.
Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.
Mash the bananas: In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas until mostly smooth.
Add the wet ingredients: Whisk 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 until just combined.
Fold in the chocolate chips: Stir in the mini chocolate chips.
Bake: Add the batter to the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with more mini chocolate chips on top. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Cool and slice: Let them cool before slicing into bars. I know it’s tempting, but patience is key. Enjoy!
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Notes
Use very ripe, spotty bananas. The darker and more brown-spotted your bananas are, the sweeter and more flavorful your banana bars will be. Those bananas you think are too ripe? They're perfect for this recipe!
Don't overmix the dry ingredients. Fold until just combined. Overmixing can make the bars dense instead of soft and tender.
Let the bars cool completely before slicing. Since they're made with oat flour, they need time to set after baking so they can firm up. I know it's tempting!
Finish with flaky sea salt. A sprinkle on top adds the perfect sweet-and-salty balance.