Peanut Butter Oatmeal Breakfast Bars with Banana and Honey

These Oatmeal breakfast bars aren’t just a healthy breakfast recipe; they make great afternoon snacks, too. Filling, kid-friendly, and packed with a few of my life-long ingredient loves (peanut butter, banana, and honey, I heart you), these easy homemade baked oatmeal bars are yummy, hearty, and guaranteed to keep you powered for hours.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups old fashioned oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk — I used unsweetened vanilla almond, but any kind will do nicely
• 3 tablespoons honey*
• 2 tablespoons peanut butter — creamy or crunchy—I used natural creamy
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 medium banana — quartered and diced

Instructions:

1. Place rack in the center reheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat an 8x8 inch square pan with cooking spray.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the oats, whole wheat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. In a separate large bowl, combine the milk, applesauce, egg, honey, peanut butter, and vanilla.
3. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and stir to combine. The batter will be very wet. Fold in the diced banana, then pour into the prepared baking pan.
4. Bake for 35 minutes or until thickened and golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool, cut into bars, and serve.

Notes:

*As the recipe is written, these bars are very lightly sweet. If you prefer a sweeter bar, increase the honey to 4-5 tablespoons.
Storage: Once cooled, bars can be wrapped individually in plastic and kept in the refrigerator for 5 days or frozen in a zip-top bag for up to 4 months. Let thaw in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours before serving. For a larger yield, increase the ingredient quantities by 1.5 and bake in a 9x13 inch pan for 25-30 minutes.