A sweet, make-ahead snack that the whole family will love, these 21 Day Fix approved Oat Bars will satisfy your chocolate craving!
Ok, so I love this recipe. I'm about to rattle off why, so bear with me.
It's quick. It's easy. You can make it ahead and eat the bars all week. It makes a great "dessert" or an any-time snack. I've also been known to eat one of these while I'm procrastinating cooking my eggs. With only a bowl and a fork, you can get these in the pan in under 5 minutes. My kids LOVE them (and call them brownies, btw). Oh, and one decent-sized bar only uses ½ of a yellow, ½ of a purple and a teaspoon. Have I convinced you to make these wonderful things yet?
Well, did I also mention that they taste pretty great, too?! They're chewy and chocolate-y and fantastic. You can thank me later 🙂
Not to mention that these bars are going to be a mom's best friend when school starts back up. I'll definitely be making and freezing them (well, I haven't tried to freeze them yet, but once I do I'll update this post and let you guys know how they freeze!) so they'll be ready for school lunches. I LOVE having stuff like this on hand for my kids - low sugar, healthy, with amazing ingredients. It doesn't get any better than this! Plus, my girls still feel like they're getting a treat, even when all of the other kids are eating Little Debbies. Don't get me wrong, I love a Little Debbie as much as the next girl (and have been known to partake from time to time - shh! don't tell!) but it's definitely not something I'd want to have (or my kids to have) on a regular basis. And why should they, when there are so many other wonderful things to give them?
I swear, I'm not even being a Pinterest mom here. It's not like I'm folding origami for their lunches or anything. These are so quick and easy, plus they use ingredients that you (yes, you!) most likely have in your cabinet and fridge right now. Hope you like them as much as we do!
What are some of your favorite Fix approved sweet treats? Let me know in the comments!
Enjoy <3
📖 Recipe
Cocoa-Banana Oat Bars
Ingredients
- 2 bananas
- 1 ½ tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tbs almond butter (if you're sending these to school, you may want to use sunbutter instead as many schools don't allow nut products)
- 2 eggs
- 2 tbs raw sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats (be sure to use oats that are labeled gluten free if you're GF!)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8X8 or 9X9 baking dish with olive oil cooking spray; set aside.
- Mash together all of the ingredients EXCEPT for the oats in a medium bowl until fully combined. - There can still be some lumps of banana, no big deal. Stir in the oats until completely coated with the cocoa-banana batter.
- Spread evenly in the prepared baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let cool, then cut into 9 squares. Enjoy!
Notes
21 Day Fix Container Equivalents: ½ PURPLE, ½ YELLOW, 1 TSP, <1 teaspoon SUGAR - there is 1/9th of a red in this recipe. I don't count it, but if you were having two bars, it would be about ¼th of a red and you could count that if you wanted to. Just FYI!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1 barAmount Per Serving: Calories: 142Total Fat: 5.5g
Karen says
Hi,
These sound delicious. Question, I can't eat bananas...could I sub applesauce?
Thanks!
Karen
Stephanie says
Hi! Honestly I don't think these would work well with applesauce, but I'm always happy to be proven wrong. If you give it a go, let me know! Pumpkin might make a decent substitute though - if you try that I would increase the sugar (at least a tablespoon, I would add that amount and see how it tastes and go from there). Hope this helps!
Donna says
Just made these and they definitely hit the spot when craving sweets. Will take one to work for afternoon snack.
Stephanie says
I'm so glad you enjoyed!! I just made a batch of these this week and I love having them on hand!
Traci B. says
Stephanie! I made these tonight and they ticked all the boxes for my after dinner sweet treat craving! I love that they’re aren’t too sweet and I feel like they will be good at breakfast too. Thanks for sharing this! We miss you around here!
Stephanie says
Yes, we eat these for breakfast all the time! I'm so glad you liked them and man, do I miss you guys! Hope you're all well!
Lenore says
Try sunflower seed butter. It is what a friend feeds her child who is allergic to nuts.
erica jonda says
These were sooo good and easy!!!!
Stephanie says
I'm so glad you liked them!!
Belinda says
Just made these and they turned out nicely. Taste nice too. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Stephanie says
I'm so glad!
Kim says
How can I make them if I can't any nut products. So l wouldn't be able to use peanut butter or nut butter. What else can I use? Would plain sugar be ok?
Stephanie says
Hey Kim! Sunbutter is a great, nut-free alternative to peanut butter! If you're doing 21 Day Fix, regular white sugar isn't approved, but if you aren't white sugar will work just fine!
Lydia says
Can I use peanut butter instead of almond butter?
Stephanie says
Absolutely!
linda says
what about coconut sugar?
Stephanie says
Coconut sugar would be great in this 🙂
Irina Baran says
Hi Stephanie,
What would be your recommendation for substituting eggs in this recipe? It looks great! I am saving it in my bag of tricks.
Thank you,
Irina
Stephanie says
Hey Irina! I would probably use either a chia egg or a flax egg - here's how to make them.
Natalia says
Hi Stephanie, could i subs raw sugar for stevia? If so, how much stevia would you recommend?
Stephanie says
Hey Natalia, you can definitely sub stevia for the raw sugar here. However, I don't use it so I'm not entirely sure how much you should use. If it were me, I would mix together all of the ingredients except the eggs, then add some little by little until it's a good sweetness for you! If you're on the 21 Day Fix, just remember that you can't have more than 2 tsp of sweetener per serving, so that would be a total of 6 Tablespoons for this entire recipe. Hope this helps and that you love them!
Jennifer says
SO amazing. Was craving sugar and google took me to you. My 4 year old and I whipped them up and put them in muffin tins. They turned out great.
Stephanie says
Love this! I never thought to put them in muffin tins, I might have to try that! Glad you guys liked them, Jennifer!
Laura says
These are great! Really curves my sweet tooth. Thanks for sharing.
Stephanie says
So glad you liked them, Laura!!
Annie says
Hi Stephanie
These sound geat, but i have a few questions; i hope you don't mind. 1. Do you think peanut butter would be OK as the "nut butter"? 2. What is "raw" sugar? 3. Large flake or quick rolled oats? 4. Any difference in cooking time using the 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 pan?
Thanks, Annie
Stephanie says
Hi Annie! I don't mind at all 😉 Peanut butter works great in this! A common brand of raw sugar is called Sugar in the Raw, it's also called turbinado sugar. Large flake oats. This dish is pretty forgiving and I don't think the small difference in pan size would change the cooking time. I hope you like it!
SHeri says
These were awesome and just the perfect amount of sweet for me!
Stephanie says
Yay! I'm glad you liked them, Sheri!
Sophia says
Hello, I just made these for breakfast and I am wondering if the containers are per serving? And if so, how much would a serving be?
I just started the 21 day fix am still not used to the way it works.:)
Stephanie says
Hi Sophia! Yes, the containers are per serving. In this case, you'll cut the pan into 9 bars and then each bar is 1/2 Purple, 1/2 Yellow, 1 tsp 🙂
Julianne says
Hi! I was wondering how long do you think these lasts and how to store them (most likely in the fridge)? Thanks! Can't wait to try 🙂
Stephanie says
Hi Julianne! I store them in the fridge and I would say that they should last 5-6 days. We almost never have them longer than four in my house, so this is just an educated guess 🙂
Lily says
Hi there! This will be my first time making these bars, but I don't have any baking soda, you think they'll come out ok if I skip this ingredient? I don't wanna go to the store when I already have everything else.
Stephanie says
Hey Lily! If you have baking powder on hand, you could substitute it with that. If not, you can definitely leave it out, they just won't rise as much.
Jody says
These were great. I liked them for an afternoon treat with a cup of coffee. It got my thru the time when I am craving more food. Thanks!
Stephanie says
Awesome, I'm glad you liked them, Jody! I made them yesterday, too 🙂
Christina says
Did you ever freeze these? How did they turn out?
Stephanie says
Sorry, I haven't! Between snacks/treats for all of us and putting them in the kids' lunches, they don't last too long around here!
Rose says
Hi. Have you tried making these with protein powder instead of cocoa powder? Thanks!
Stephanie says
Nope, I haven't, sorry!
Harmony says
These came out more like overnight oats. Very dry. Added a biy of milk after they were done and could pass it for a breakfast.
Stephanie says
Hi, Harmony! I'm so bummed these didn't turn out for you and I've been racking my brain as to why. They've always come out really moist for me and we make them almost every week. I did see your comment on Pinterest as well that said that you doubled the recipe, so it's possible that had something to do with it. I've never tested doubling it, and I know some recipes don't work out as well when doubled. Or perhaps when doubling it you forgot to double the amount of banana or egg or maybe baked it longer than needed? Sorry, it's hard for me to say for sure, these are just my best guesses.