Healthy Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars
Posted Mar 10, 2019, Updated May 12, 2024
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This easy peanut butter breakfast bars recipe is made in one bowl in 30 minutes, and is loaded with fiber, protein & omega-3s to keep you full all morning long!
When I decided to start this website in 2016, I knew right away that this would be my very first post. These Healthy Breakfast Bars have been my constant companion for the last 15 years are are, hands down, my favorite recipe of all time.
These breakfast bars gave me energy through my career as a high school chemistry teacher. They helped me grow all the necessary parts of our very first tiny little human, and the second, and the third, and the fourth, and the fifth, and the sixth.
These healthy oatmeal breakfast bars sustained me as we moved across the country away form all our friends and family. Every night when my head hits the pillow and I close my eyes, I know one of these beauties will be waiting for me when I wake up. I love them. Truly I do.
I mean, what’s not to love? These breakfast bars are full of fiber, protein, potassium, omega-3s, and are SO delicious. They are gluten, dairy and refined sugar free, but they are hearty enough to keep you full for hours. And they’re easy to make! To me, they are perfect.
Healthy Breakfast Bars: Ingredients & Substitutions
I get a lot of questions about possible substitutions for this breakfast bar recipe, so let’s chat about them now! A great thing about this recipe is that it’s fairly customizable.
- Quick Cooking Oats. Old fashioned oats work well, using them will result in a chewier texture.
- Almond flour/meal: If you’d prefer to not use almond meal, omit it and increase the amount of oatmeal by ½ cup.
- Ground Flaxseed: You may substitute ½ cup of almond meal or extra oats in place of the ground flaxseed.
- Protein Powder: This is an optional ingredient. I love using Vanilla Protein Powder for a little flavor and protein boost, but you can omit it entirely if you don’t keep this ingredient on hand!
- Honey: maple syrup is a good substitute. Or, add an extra banana or an extra ¼ cup applesauce instead if you’d prefer a less-sweet, sugar free option.
- Peanut Butter: I use creamy or crunchy and choose your favorite variety.
How to Make Breakfast Bars
Since I have made this breakfast bar recipe every week for 15 years now, I’m pretty sure I could make them in my sleep! However, in order to be helpful I want to walk through all the steps in this recipe for you.
Combine Wet Ingredients
To make these breakfast bars in one bowl, start by mashing the banana. I use a potato masher, but a fork would work as well.
Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir until the mixture is uniform throughout!
Add Dry Ingredients
Next, add all the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir to combine.
As you can see, the final mixture should not be runny. It should be moist but not at all liquidy.
Bake for 20 Minutes
This healthy breakfast bars recipe requires two sessions of baking. First, bake the breakfast bars naked (without any peanut butter on top) for 20 minutes.
The top should be slightly firm when the breakfast bars are removed from the oven. Since all ovens are different your baking time may vary slightly. However, it is important that the top isn’t mushy and that you can spread peanut butter around on it without it becoming a mess!
Top With Peanut Butter
After 20 minutes of baking, remove the oatmeal breakfast bars from the oven and spread a layer of peanut butter on top. The amount you use will depend on your taste.
I enjoy a super thick layer of peanut butter, so I use about 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Use as much or as little as you’d like!
Bake for 10 Additional Minutes
Return the breakfast bars topped with peanut butter to the oven for 10 more minutes. This step sets the peanut butter and finishes baking the bars.
As you can see, the final product will have nice little sinkholes of peanut butter on top! YUM!
Chill Overnight
These breakfast bars are best served cold. I always make them the day before I want to eat them and let them cool in the refrigerator overnight.
I have eaten them warm when I didn’t have my act together and they’re still good, but not as good if catch my drift!
Cut & Enjoy
Finally, once the breakfast bars have cooled in the pan overnight, cut them into squares and enjoy! Or you can cut them and save them for later! I always cut them into 9 breakfast bars, because it’s the perfect size breakfast for me to enjoy with a green smoothie.
Store/Freeze
I make a large batch of these (sometimes a double batch) to eat all week long. Wrap them individually in plastic wrap and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw slowly in the refrigerator (do not microwave).
Breakfast Bars Recipe FAQs
To store these breakfast bars, simply cut them and put them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If you think it will be over a week before you finish them all, I recommend wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and then putting them in an airtight container.
If stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator these breakfast bars will last for up to one week!
Yes, double the ingredients and bake in a 9×13″ pan. You may need to bake them 5 minutes longer.
If you make something from JoyFoodSunshine I would love to see your creations. Follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. Tag me in your photos #joyfoodsunshine @joyfoodsunshine Don’t forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment below.
Healthy Peanut Butter Breakfast Bars Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup quick cooking oats
- ½ cup almond meal
- ½ cup flaxseed meal
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 Tablespoons vanilla protein powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 overripe bananas (mashed)
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 Tablespoons honey (or maple syrup)
Topping
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 square baking dish
- In a small bowl combine the dry ingredients (oats, almond meal, flaxseed, salt, cinnamon and protein powder if using), set aside. (alternately add the dry ingredients after mixing the wet ingredients).
- In a large bowl mash the banana. Add applesauce, honey, 1/4 cup peanut butter and vanilla. Mix well.
- Stir dry ingredients into wet until combined. Spread mixture into the pan (should be moist but not soupy).
- Bake 20 minutes (should be slightly brown around the edges and top should be set), remove from oven and spread peanut butter over the top of the bars (I like a really thick layer of peanut butter but it’s to your own preference)
- Continue baking for 10 minutes more or until firm and lightly browned around the edges. At this point the peanut butter layer will have tiny little bubbles in it.
- Cool completely in the refrigerator and cut into 6 or 9 bars. Wrap each with plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the fridge for a quick grab and go breakfast!
Video
Notes
- Quick Cooking Oats. Old fashioned oats work well, using them will result in a chewier texture.
- Almond flour/meal: If you’d prefer to not use almond meal, omit it and increase the amount of oatmeal by ½ cup.
- Ground Flaxseed: You may substitute ½ cup of almond meal or extra oats in place of the ground flaxseed.
- Protein Powder: This is an optional ingredient. I love using Vanilla Protein Powder for a little flavor and protein boost, but you can omit it entirely if you don’t keep this ingredient on hand!
- Honey: maple syrup is a good substitute. Or, add an extra banana or an extra ¼ cup applesauce instead if you’d prefer a less-sweet, sugar free option.
- Peanut Butter: I use creamy or crunchy and choose your favorite variety.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Oh my, I love this recipe!! I made it normally a few times, which is so yummy, and it’s also super customizable – I decided this week I wanted pumpkin bars so I replaced the applesauce with pumpkin puree, doubled the cinnamon and made it pumpkin pie spice instead, and added equal parts pumpkin puree to the peanut butter for the topping. They came out SOOOOO good and are exactly what I wanted!! I’ve added chocolate chips to this before as well. Absolutely loves these and they’re a staple of mine now 🙂
I had been buying Kind Almond Butter Breakfast Bars for years and wanted to avoid seed oils and refined sugar, These are perfect–healthier and even tastier! I have one every morning. I make a double batch and freeze them.
Than you so much Jeanne!
Have been making these for months.. today I wanted to make but didn’t have any applesauce. Used cottage cheese instead and wow they are even more amazing! Super moist. Nice to sneak in a bit more protein, too 🙂
Hi! Can I use another nut butter instead of peanut? I’m allergic to peanuts
Yes, any nut butter works well!
I made these last week for the first time and loved them so much that I had one everyday for breakfast. They DO keep me full for hours as well! So, I’m making them again right now for this week. My husband just asked me why I was making them again since I just made them last week… lol. Great recipe!!
Do you have your own cookbook. These recipes are great Laura!! I would love too buy one, if not you should make one it would be awesome.
Hey Dee! Thank you so much! Right now I don’t have the bandwidth to create a cookbook – however I imagine once my kids are older I might write one!
I baked these yesterday and they are truly delicious. I can see why you eat them every day!
For my batch, I added roasted, unsalted pumpkin and sunflower seeds as well as chocolate chips so that I could eat mine as a sweet treat. They turned out perfect and I plan to keep them on hand often. I cut mine into smaller squares and got 16 servings which is roughly 140 calories. Thank you for the recipe!
If you’re not vegan, could you put an egg in these instead of the flax meal?
Also, considering adding chia seeds!
Has anyone tried to make a chocolate version of these? Perhaps with the addition of coco powder and chocolate chips?
I did a chocolate version. I added chocolate protein. Melted chocolate, butter and chocolate for the top!
Delicious! A question though, does the nutritional info at the bottom include the addition of the optional protein powder, or is it with it omitted?
I do not think it includes the protein powder.
Your testimony of DAILY consumption for years made me want to try these. I made them in an 11×7 with old fashioned oats and they are GREAT! I put some in the freezer for grab and go breakfast and also to hide them from my young adult sons who will devour the whole pan if I don’t stash some. Thanks Laura!