Blueberry Banana Oatmeal Bars (Printable)

Wholesome bars with blueberries, banana, oats, and protein for a nutritious grab-and-go option.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
02 - 1/2 cup vanilla protein powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
04 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
05 - 1 teaspoon baking powder

→ Wet Ingredients

06 - 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
07 - 1/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup
08 - 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
09 - 2 large eggs
10 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
11 - 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil or unsalted butter

→ Mix-Ins

12 - 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, do not thaw)

# Directions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together rolled oats, protein powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder until evenly mixed.
03 - In a separate bowl, mash bananas until smooth. Add honey or maple syrup, applesauce, eggs, vanilla extract, and melted coconut oil, then whisk until fully combined.
04 - Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir gently until just combined to avoid overmixing.
05 - Carefully fold in the blueberries, taking care not to overmix, especially when using frozen berries.
06 - Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 28 to 32 minutes until bars are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
07 - Allow to cool completely in the pan. Lift out using parchment overhang and cut into 12 bars.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • They taste like blueberry muffins but hold together in your bag without crumbling everywhere.
  • The banana keeps them moist for days, so you can bake once and eat all week without that stale texture.
  • You actually feel full until lunch, not like those sugar-crash granola bars.
  • They smell so good baking that your whole place feels like a weekend bakery.
02 -
  • Let them cool completely or they'll crumble when you cut them, I learned this the messy way.
  • If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them first or your batter turns into a purple swamp.
  • Press the batter firmly into the pan so the bars hold together instead of falling apart in your hand.
03 -
  • Use parchment paper with long overhang so you can lift the whole slab out and cut clean bars on a cutting board.
  • If your bananas aren't ripe enough, microwave them in their peels for 30 seconds to soften and sweeten them fast.
  • Press a few extra blueberries on top before baking so they look bakery-pretty when they come out.
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