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Oatmeal Banana Almond Breakfast Bars (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

February 19, 2021 by Allison 2 Comments

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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. 

a straight on shot of one banana oatmeal almond breakfast bar on a white plate

an overhead shot of a white plate with banana almond oat breakfast bars on it, and a dish of kiwi slices and a glass of almond milk

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! 

close up overhead shot of a bunch of the banana oat bars on a white plate

 

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 3/4 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! 

straight on shot of a fork going into one of the banana oat bars on a white plate

overhead shot of one of the bars with a fork beside it and kiwi on the plate beside it

straight on shot of one of the bars on a white plate with a bite taken out of the bar

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 

  • Vegan Tempeh Breakfast Sandwiches with Chipotle Aioli
  • Vegan Pumpkin Banana Spelt Muffins
  • Vegan Almond Butter Banana Porridge

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! 

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a straight on shot of one banana oatmeal almond breakfast bar on a white plate

Oatmeal Banana Almond Breakfast Bars (Vegan, Gluten-Free)


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: Allison
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 9 servings 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

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.


Scale

Ingredients

Bars

  • 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

Sweet Potato Icing

  • 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

Instructions

  1. 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 3/4 cup of oats.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Finally, frost the bar and slice into 9 squares. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for a week. Remove a bar from the fridge ten minutes before enjoying to allow it to warm up slightly.

Notes

In the case of nut allergies, feel free to use raw sunflower seeds instead of almonds.

  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Bake

Keywords: vegan banana oatmeal almond breakfast bars

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @upbeet.kitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #upbeetkitchen

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LONG Pinterest pin with a close up of one banana breakfast bar and the recipe title in bold

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Filed Under: Baking, Breakfast, Gluten-Free, Healthy Snacks, Recipes, Vegan

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amrita

    February 22, 2021 at 2:49 pm

    Delicious and satisfying breakfast. A great way to get healthy food into my children to start the day.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Allison

      February 22, 2021 at 5:45 pm

      Thank you so much!

      Reply

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