These 5-Ingredient Vegan Caramelized Banana & Nut Bars are packed with deep caramelized banana flavor & are made with only a handful of ingredients. No refined sugar! Pack them for an amazing plant-based office snack, sweet breakfast on the go, or for road trips with hungry kids.

These healthy bars can also be made gluten-free if you use certified gluten-free oats! And you can also make them nut-free if you use seeds instead of nuts.

I am not kidding, these bars are currently my favorite, they just taste so freaking amazing, they are so easy to make, and only require few ingredients. It’s so hard for me to restrict myself from eating the whole pan of bars!

Anyway, let’s talk Bananas – aren’t they just an amazing fruit? Eaten alone they are a satisfying snack, nature’s candy. But they also do wonders when added into baked goods. They can take the place of sugar, eggs, and fat in many healthy vegan treats.



CARAMELIZED BANANA & NUT BARS – YOUR NEW FAVORITE VEGAN SNACK:

The caramelized banana gives these vegan bars a deep banana flavor and a delightful sweetness and acts as a binding agent at the same time – no need for butter or eggs.

Despite the fancy-sounding name, these are super easy to make. To caramelize the bananas all you do is bake them on a sheet pan until they get golden and gooey.

Then you process all that caramelized goodness with some healthy oats, nuts, dates and a pinch of cinnamon in a food processor, mix it all up, and press the mix into a pan. Then bake for a few minutes, and you’ve got yourself a tray of freshly baked vegan banana granola bars! You’ll have a hard time not devouring all of them in one day.

These vegan banana nut granola bars get their sweetness from baked caramelized bananas and dates! So they have no added sugar, plus you can whip them up in just a few minutes. They’ll take care of your grab-and-go breakfasts, healthy after-school snacks, and sneaky dessert.

Unlike most store-bought energy/protein bars, the sweetness in these bars is not overpowering and there is just enough to satisfy a mid-afternoon craving.

INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING THESE 5-Ingredient Vegan Caramelized Banana & Nut Bars:

I use a mix of nuts and seeds – walnuts, cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds. Use whatever you have in your pantry basically.

– walnuts, cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds. Use whatever you have in your pantry basically. Gluten-free oats – Old fashioned rolled oats. Use certified gluten-free if needed.

Old fashioned Use certified gluten-free if needed. Bananas – ripe or very ripe. The baked caramelized bananas help to hold everything together and combined

with the dates, they give these vegan bars that divine chewy sweetness.

– ripe or very ripe. The baked caramelized bananas help to hold everything together and combined with the dates, they give these vegan bars that divine chewy sweetness. Dates act as a glue and provide some natural sweetness without having to add any refined sugar.

act as a glue and provide some natural sweetness without having to add any refined sugar. Ground cinnamon adds some warming spice to these bars.

adds some warming spice to these bars. Don’t skip that quintessential pinch of salt that brings out the sweetness and makes these just taste so much better.So! I hope I have convinced you to try these bars out. Do drop me a comment below and tell me how you found this recipe, or you can message me directly on Instagram or Facebook! I love seeing what my lovely readers think of my recipes!

Ingredients:

4 medium-sized bananas, sliced into 1/2 cm thick slices

1.5 cup (216g) nuts/seeds, a mix of walnuts cashews, almonds, pumpkin seeds

1 cup (81g) oats

6 (6 ) dates

1/4 tsp salt

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

Method:

1. Place sliced bananas on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Add oats and nuts to another baking dish. Bake the sliced banana at 375 deg F (190 C) for 15 mins, Reduce temperature to 350 deg f (180 C) then add the nuts and oats to the oven and bake for another 15 mins. Let them cool.

Alternatively, you can cook the bananas in a skillet with 2-3 tbsp non-dairy milk until caramelizing.

2. Add the toasted nuts and half of the oats to a food processor. Pulse to break the nuts into a coarse meal, then add the dates along with the caramelized bananas and pulse to break down the bananas a bit. Add cinnamon, salt, the other half of the oats and pulse again until a dough-like state. (If your dates are not very soft, process with the banana to break them down before this step)

3. Press this mix into a parchment-lined brownie pan and bake at 300 F (150 C) for 20 mins.

Cool, slice and store refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Notes:

1. You could add some vanilla essence and maybe some freshly grated nutmeg to add a little extra dimension.

2. Make sure you allow for them to cool completely before you cut into them, otherwise the bars may fall apart.

3. These would taste pretty great with coconut or pistachios as well.

4. If you are a fan of dried fruit, feel free to add some raisins, cranberries, dried cherries or apricots.

5. If you find yourself craving a little more sweetness you could add a handful of vegan chocolate chips.

6. For a nut-free version, you can simply use a mix of seeds instead of the nuts and add in some dried fruit for variety.

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