Name: Oatmeal Banana Almond Breakfast Bars (Vegan, Gluten-Free)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 2 3/4 cups rolled oats, divided; 1/2 cup raw almonds; 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil; 2 tablespoons chia seeds; 1/2 cup pitted Medjool dates (about 6- as soft and fresh as possible); 2 large over-ripe bananas, roughly chopped; 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt; 1 teaspoon cinnamon; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/3 cup non-dairy milk; 2 cups diced peeled sweet potato (from 1 large sweet potato); 1/4 cup cocoa; 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup, to taste; 1 tablespoon sunflower seed butter or almond butter; 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil; Pinch of fine sea salt

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These oatmeal banana almond breakfast bars with chocolate sweet potato icing are a breakfast lover’s dream come true! They’re vegan, gluten-free, and refined sugar-free, and are perfect for your morning meal or as an afternoon power snack.

Are you a creature of habit at your morning meal, or do you like to switch things up throughout the week? I must say that I love my toast with sunflower seed butter, banana, and a sprinkle of hemp and coffee most days, but I also like to try new things for breakfast. These oatmeal banana almond breakfast bars with chocolate sweet potato icing are one of my most recent breakfast creations, which I have also been enjoying as a pre- or post-workout snack or evening treat (while watching The Bachelor or Schitt’s Creek).

As long as you have a food processor, these bars are easy to whip up, and you only need a handful of affordable and easy to access ingredients. The recipe makes a batch of nine bars, making it something the whole family can enjoy for breakfast or snack for a couple of days. I can imagine that young children would love these bars- you can even make them nut-free by using sunflower seeds instead of almonds. They’re packed with fibre, protein, and healthy fat, so they’ll keep you going for hours!

INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED

For the bars: Rolled oats, raw almonds or sunflower seeds, chia seeds, coconut oil, medjool dates, bananas, cinnamon, vanilla, sea salt, and non-dairy milk.
For the chocolate sweet potato icing: Sweet potatoes, cocoa, maple syrup, sunflower seed butter, coconut oil, and sea salt.

how to make these breakfast bars

Line a 8×8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper with enough overhang to lift the bar out after baking. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 2 cups of rolled oats and the almonds to a food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Process until a meal forms. Add the coconut oil, chia, dates, bananas, sea salt, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk. Process until smooth. Finally, pulse in the remaining ¾ cup of oats.

Transfer the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake for 18 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool in the dish for around 15 minutes before transferring it onto a wire rack to cool fully. Wash the bowl and blade of the food processor, as you’ll be needing it again for the icing in the next step.

While the bar is baking, you can prepare the chocolate sweet potato icing! Place the sweet potato in a steamer basket over a pot of water and steam until very tender, 15-20 minutes. Allow it to cool slightly before transferring into the food processor fitted with the ‘S’ blade. Add the cocoa, maple syrup, sunflower seed butter, coconut oil, and salt. Process until VERY smooth, pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl every so often. It will take a few minutes to achieve the correct consistency: You want it to resemble a chocolate buttercream in texture. 🙂 Taste and add additional maple syrup, if desired. I found 3 tablespoons to be the perfect amount.

Finally, frost the bar and slice into 9 squares!

a few final thoughts

If you don’t want to make the sweet potato icing for these particular bars, no problem! I would recommend slathering each bar with almond butter or sunflower seed butter and jam for a punch of flavour and textural contrast instead.

I mentioned this earlier, but I’ll mention it here as well: If there are nut allergies, use raw sunflower seeds in place of the almonds.

You can probably make this recipe oil-free by using applesauce or nut/seed butter in place of the coconut oil. Let me know how that goes if you give it a try!

I recommend storing the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They keep for at least a week.

They would be delicious with a smoothie for an even heartier breakfast. They’re also quite good with a glass of non-dairy milk or a dirty chai latte and fresh fruit.

The sweet potato frosting happens to be delicious on all sorts of things, so let your creativity run wild! Try it on overnight oats, in smoothies, or topped with berries and coconut whipped cream for an outrageously simple dessert!

more healthy breakfast ideas

I hope that you love these oatmeal banana almond breakfast bars. If you make them, let me know how you enjoyed them by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I absolutely love seeing what you’ve made, and re-posting your creations in my Instagram stories.

Enjoy!