Chunky Monkey Protein Baked Oat Bars (Printable Version)

Banana-chocolate protein bars with oats, peanut butter & walnuts. Perfect for breakfast or snacking on the go.

# What You'll Need:

→ Wet Ingredients

01 - 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
02 - 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
03 - 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
04 - 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
05 - 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
06 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

→ Dry Ingredients

07 - 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
08 - 1/2 cup vanilla or chocolate protein powder
09 - 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
10 - 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
11 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
12 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
13 - 1 teaspoon baking powder

# Steps to Follow:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas until smooth. Stir in applesauce, honey or maple syrup, almond milk, peanut butter, and vanilla extract until well combined.
03 - In a separate bowl, combine oats, protein powder, walnuts, chocolate chips, salt, cinnamon, and baking powder.
04 - Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix until just combined without overmixing.
05 - Spread the mixture evenly across the prepared baking pan.
06 - Bake for 22 to 25 minutes until bars are set and golden around edges.
07 - Allow bars to cool completely in pan before slicing into 12 pieces.

# Additional Tips::

01 -
  • They taste like dessert but fuel you like a real breakfast, no guilt required.
  • One bowl, one pan, and youre done in under 40 minutes start to finish.
  • Perfect for grabbing on your way out the door or sneaking as an afternoon pick me up.
02 -
  • Dont skip the cooling step, cutting them warm will make them crumble and fall apart.
  • If your protein powder is very sweet, cut the honey down to 3 tablespoons or theyll be too sugary.
  • Press a few extra chocolate chips on top before baking for that bakery style look.
03 -
  • Use a pizza cutter to slice the bars cleanly and evenly without dragging through the chocolate chips.
  • If the batter seems too thick, add an extra tablespoon of almond milk to help it spread smoothly.
  • Let your bananas get really ripe, the natural sugars develop and you can use less added sweetener.
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