Crumbly, chewy, maple syrup-sweet, peanut butter oatmeal bars. These vegan gluten-free bars make for a delicious, easy breakfast or dessert!
Did you know that my favorite color is turquoise?
I have turquoise shoes. And a turquoise bike. I have a turquoise backpack. And a turquoise water bottle. There is more turquoise in my wardrobe than any other shade of clothing. This wasn’t all intentional, I’m just drawn to the color.
This turquoise teacup is my favorite teacup (although I only have two teacups total). My favorite HEX code is #22C8BF. It’s a very vibrant shade of turquoise. My favorite turquoise in the world is clear calm ocean water on a sunny day. No clouds or raucous surf stirring up sand to mess it up. Just a bright beautiful hybrid of green and blue.
I think every food looks good on turquoise. I haven’t met a single edible thing that doesn’t pop on a turquoise plate or in a turquoise bowl. I think that’s because there are no turquoise foods, so turquoise complements everything. Or perhaps it is just my overwhelming love for the color that makes me believe everything looks good on turquoise. Perhaps it’s all in my head. But whenever I pull a turquoise plate into the photo, I instantly love what I see through the viewfinder.
So with a turquoise plate AND lots of peanut butter in these Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars, I absolutely adore this recipe!
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
These chunky chewy peanut butter oatmeal bars are very easy to make. Rolled oats + oat bran makes for two types of oat texture. A banana for the fruity factor. Maple syrup makes them sweet. They just scream “Eat me for breakfast!” But with a drippy dollop of PB on top they could double as a decadent dessert. Maybe a sprinkle of chocolate chips to sweeten the deal.
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 bars 1x
Ingredients
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1/2 cup oat bran (can sub oat flour)
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup powdered peanut butter
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt (optional)
Topping
- 1/4 cup sweetened powdered peanut butter + 2–3 tbsps non-dairy milk or water
- OR
- 2–3 tbsps creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a mixing bowl, smash the banana with a fork.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix till clumpy and well combined.
- Press into a pan lined with parchment paper or lightly oiled.
- Bake for 20-25 mins at 350F.
- Let them cool completely.
- For the topping, either mix together the powdered peanut butter and milk/water to achieve a drizzle-able consistency OR heat the creamy peanut butter to soften to a drizzle-able consistency.
- Spoon onto the bars, slice, and enjoy.
Peanut flour addiction!!!! Your turquoise is the perfect way to play there up 😉
Well you know my favorite colors are orange and yellow!!
My room was always this light baby pink for years and then finally in 8th grade we painted it light yellow!! Perfect cube of sunshine…my bedroom is a cube…a some cube….my closet is the same size as my room, but with a sloped ceiling since we live in a cape so it can’t be used “effectlvly” like my room but…yea…. hahahahaha!
I think it was our chat about favorite colors (well not so much chat but you asked me then i asked you and I still don’t know why you asked me??) is what spurred me to tell the world my love for turquoise. Awww cube of sunshine, that just sounds like the happiest room! Especially necessary in winter 🙂 I like slope-y ceilings, my room had those back when we lived in arkansas. Made me feel like i lived in some cool loft or something. Good luck with getting back into school this week!! xoxo
Oh, I love turquoise!! I think that’s awesome that you gravitate towards that color – it’s so vibrant, yet calming. A turquoise bike and shoes?! I gravitate towards all these blue when it come to clothes, but all things red when it comes to kitchen stuff (my food processor, stand up mixer, espresso set, water bottle and more).
OK, but this recipe?! You had me at peanut butter…especially the warmed up, drizzly deliciousness on top. I really need to get some powdered pb – watching the video and seeing how it comes together just like the full fat stuff is pretty amazing. As always, great video and the recipe sounds wonderful! <3
Your description says a banana for fruitiness, but I don’t see a banana listed as an ingredient. Is there supposed to be a banana?
They look delicious!!
Oh no, I can’t believe I forgot that banana! Just added it to the recipe, so everything is correct now. Thank you you are a recipe lifesaver!
I LOVE turquoise. It is such a beautiful colour – it’s so vibrant to look at but I also find it quite calming. Your description of it is perfect! I completely agree about how well it works with food too, I find it the same with most blue colours. This stunning plate you photographed your bars on makes them look even more delicious! Oats and peanut butter taste soooo good together – so I know I’m going to love these bars!
★★★★★
It is calming, I totally agree! Cool colors in general I find so much more appealing and peaceful. And easier to photograph on. I remember you had the most adorable purple ramekin in one of your posts a while back and I love purple in pics too, but purple dishes can be so hard to find. And thank you, I love oats with PB too <3
Turquoise is such a lovely color! I also really like earthy greens. Now these bars! They look so yummy and perfect for the peanut butter monsters in our house! I’ll definitely have to make these soon.
I love shades of green too, probably my second favorite! And thank you, I hope they can satisfy all of your monsters’ PB cravings 😀 haha
I love turquoise too and totally agree about food photographing on it! I photograph my 4 ingredient chocolate ice cream on it and it is one of my favorite set of photos I’ve ever done, haha! These peanut butter bars look SO GOOD! Dang! I LOVE peanut butter very much. I can’t eat it too often or it irritates my stomach though. But I just deal with it because I love it so much,. Love the great, easy recipe too. I love oat bars in general, can never have enough. I have some granola bars coming very soon myself 🙂
I love those chocolate ice cream photos so much too! It’s probably partly because of the turquoise, but also they are just amazingly drool worthy <3 I actually think about them quite often, I think we've even talked about them before haha! Bummer that it bugs your stomach, I'm surprised it doesn't bother mine since it's a legume and those usually bug me. But totally worth it every once in a while, I do the same thing with gluten. You haven't posted any granola bars in a while, I can't wait to see them!
Peanut butter + oatmeal and using peanut butter powder?!!? Yes please!! I love using PB powder, and the combination of those two ingredients is one of my fave. Thanks for sharing!
I know right it’s a no brainer with those two ingredients! They make for a killer bowl of oatmeal too, but bars are more portable 🙂 Thanks Larua!
These bars look super delicious!! I love watching your videos, you’re a pro at filming and editing! 😀 also, that turquoise teacup is so cute 🙂
You are so sweet Nadia! I love your videos too, I hope you start making more soon I miss them <3
I love turquoise too, but pale teal shades steal my heart more. And both those shades are absolutely beautiful with my favorite colors — earthy purples shades. Really I have such a love for all colors, so I can totally relate to your turquoisey inspiration 🙂
And these bars sound delicious. I’m so behind on your recipes, and there are so many delicious things going on here — how am I going to have time to make them all?!?! 🙂
I love every color you just mentioned, purple is a very VERY close second favorite for me <3 I always love the color schemes in your photos--very earthy and deep with pops of color. Just beautiful! There is never enough time to make it all sadly, my list is soooooo long. And just got longer with the addition of many cauliflower treats! Plus the fact that I keep making your muffins doesn't help me get through my list haha 😀
Can you make your own peanut powder somehow or sub somerhimg else for it?
I don’t think there is anyway to make your own powdered pb (but that’d be awesome!) but you can use regular PB and just add a little extra oat flour to make up for the extra liquid. I’ve had someone do that successfully. Or if you want a whole new flavor, these bars are pretty forgiving, so you could sub in cacao powder or coconut maybe. Or just more oat flour and some vanilla powder or cinnamon or something!
Wow Natalie, I’m loving this recipe! Looks like something I would see in a cafe and pass up thinking it would be loaded with butter and refined sugar. I adore this oil-free version though! I’m wondering if I could leave out the maple syrup and if that would affect the amount of oats I should use. Thanks!
Hi Matt!! Ha yes I love that description, I can imagine myself doing the same thing? If you want to leave out the maple syrup I would suggest adding in an extra banana for more sweetness and moisture and still decrease the amount of oats by 1/4-1/2 cup. Hope that helps!
Had some oat flour, rolled oats and a questionable rotting banana, so I searched your site and found this recipe!! Added some choc chips, and nuts…turned them into my breakfast for the week!! Thanks sooo much Natalie for your delicious wonderful and healthy recipes!! I used to crave for all kinds of naughty sweet indulgence but since I found your website, I’ve been eating healthily and guilt-freely! 😀
★★★★★
Oooh what a yummy week of morning meals you have ahead of you now–those additions sound amazing! I’m so happy you like these and I am thrilled to hear that the recipes are satisfying the sweet cravings in your life 🙂 Thanks Pat!
I just made these and added raisins, chocolate chips on top. Soooo delicious! Perfect for my sweet tooth and as a post workout snack! Do you know what the calories are for this? I used sugar free maple syrup and also added cinnamon, vanilla extract. So delish and definitely a skinny version of oatmeal bars. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
YAY! I am so so happy you liked them🤗 PB, raisins, and chocolates chips sounds like the perfect mix — like a trail mix vibe. I don’t personally track calories so I’m not sure, but you can plug all the ingredients and # of servings in here and find out: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/recipe/calculator Thanks for the feedback Anna!
Hi! I’ve made so many of your recipes and they are DELICIOUS! What type of powdered PB do you use?
I am so happy you are enjoying the recipes🤗 This is my fave powdered pb because it’s made with only peanuts: https://amzn.to/2x0HX4j