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With the flavors of banana nut bread in a healthy gluten free snack, these No-Bake Banana Bars are easy to make and hard to resist. Full of wholesome ingredients and sweet chocolate chips, they are perfect for kids on-the-go!
Easy Banana Snack Bars
We love no-bake snacks in this house. I love that I can make them in minutes, stock the freezer, and know that there is always something nutritious around for my kids to grab, whether they are packing their lunchboxes, running to the bus, or need something to for those afternoon hunger pangs.
And these Banana Snack Bars are no exception. They are a super sweet, super yummy way to get the flavor of banana bread in a portable little bite – and it doesn’t hurt that they are packed with fruit, oats, and superfoods like flax seeds and chia seeds. Not to mention just a bit of chocolate to make them irresistible.
And they are easily made gluten free and vegan, if you need to or want to! Let’s see what you’ll need and how to make them.
Banana Bar Ingredients
Let’s go over what goes into these sweet little snacks. This is just a quick overview. Be sure to scroll to the recipe card for the full amounts and instructions.
- Banana. Make sure it is very ripe, as this adds natural sweetness.
- Dried pitted dates.
- Uncooked oats. Get certified gluten free, if needed.
- Ground flax seed or flax meal.
- Chia seeds.
- Vanilla extract.
- Cinnamon and nutmeg. For a hint of warm spices.
- Salt. Even in a sweet recipe, it enhances the flavors.
- Chopped walnuts. If you have a nut allergy, you can omit these.
- Mini chocolate chips. These are optional. Use vegan, if needed.
How to Make No-Bake Snack Bars
These banana bars are so simple to make. Let’s go over the steps before you get the details below in the recipe card.
Prepare the pan. Line a square pan with parchment paper or wax paper.
Make the mixture. Combine banana, dates, oats, seeds, vanilla, and spices in a food processor or blender and process until it forms a thick mass. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides as needed.
Add the mix-ins. Add walnuts and mini chocolate chips to the mixture, and pulse until they are distributed.
Form the bars. Press the mixture firmly into the prepared pan. Place in the freezer until firm. Slice into bars or squares and store the bars in the refrigerator.
Tips for Success
While this is an easy recipe, a few tips help you make and store the banana bars.
Easily press in the pan. You can cover the top with more parchment paper and press an equal sized pan firmly on top flatten the bars completely.
Freeze to cut. Freezing them makes it easier to slice neatly. Otherwise, they are quite sticky.
Refrigerate or freeze for later. After they are cut into bars you can store them in a container in the refrigerator for up to a week. They can be frozen for several months. Just wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container or freezer storage bag.
What You’ll Need to Make Them
I often use my food processor to make these banana bars. However, a high-powered blender such as a Blendtec with the Twister Jar is a great option because that jar has a lid with built-in blades for scraping down the sides.
I am a Blendtec Ambassador, and should you make any purchases through my Blendtec Store link, I will receive a small commission, but that also means you can use the code CUPCAKESANDKALECHIPS to receive 20% off. Once you have it, use it for recipes like the ones below.
More no-bake snack bar recipes
No-Bake Banana Nut Energy Bars
Ingredients
- 1 very ripe banana
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1 cup uncooked rolled oats gluten free, if needed
- ¼ cup ground flax seed or flax meal
- 2 Tablespoons chia seeds
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- ¼ cup mini chocolate chips vegan, if needed, optional
Instructions
- Line a 8×8 or 9×9 square pan with wax or parchment paper.
- Place all ingredients except walnuts and chocolate chips in a high-powered blender (such as a Blendtec) or food processor, and process until the mixture forms a thick mass.
- Break up slightly with a spatula, add walnuts to the mixture, and pulse until the nuts are slightly chopped and distributed.
- Break up the mixture one more time, add chocolate chips and pulse a few times to distribute the chips, or simply stir in the chips.
- Press the mixture into the prepared pan. You can cover the top with more paper and press an equal sized pan to roll the top with a glass to flatten completely.
- Place in freezer until firm, as this will allow you to slice them easier. Otherwise they are quite sticky. Slice into bars or squares and store the bars in the refrigerator.
Did you make this?
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These look delicious Brianne! I make a lot of energy bars as they are so handy to have around, especially in the afternoon! I always seem to end up piling cacao in there, though. Can’t resist that choclatey hit! I’ll have to lock it away when I try these out. Thanks for sharing!
I have to say that I find it a bit annoying that I want to see the recipe for the banana whatever no bake bars and by the time I wade through all the blah blah blah of why you haven’t been posting (or commenting or responding or whatever) and where else you are posting and where you are fading back from posting and why you are fading back from posting there and which guest bloggers aren’t your guest bloggers anymore and who your new guest bloggers will be and where they came from and what they like and where you are linking and why you are linking and what you hope to get from linking and your Parade (or carousel or some such) that now I have to CLICK ON A LINK FROM YOUR BLOG to get to SOMEONE ELSE’S BLOG to get YOUR RECIPE that is what this post was about in the first place?!?!??! I don’t even remember the name of the recipe by this point.
Ugh, I get why bloggers are have such a bad reputation lately.
And I LIKE to read people’s blogs, but not when they aren’t about the person doing what they like to do….it’s all about guest posts, clicks, driving traffic, and it’s pretty annoying. I guess you can figure out that I won’t be a subscriber.
I apologize for that, but sometimes I feel like I should give a little update on how things are evolving on my blog. It is my job and a business, and sometimes we have to experiment, like contributing to other sites, having contributors on ours, doing roundups elsewhere. All businesses take steps to grow. Some things work, some things don’t, but sometimes I have to take an opportunity that could potentially lead to growth and try it. I’m sorry if it bothers you.
I guess you missed my point. Had your post been titled “what new around the ol’ cupcake’ I would have expected to hear about all of your changes and updates and what’s going on AND I MIGHT HAVE EVEN BEEN INTERESTED! By all means, this is your business and you should share about what you are working on and how things are going, but NOT in a post with a title about a recipe.
You pinned a picture of some banana nut bread no bake energy bars and lured people to your blog to get the recipe only to go on and on about your blog and then link to ANOTHER BLOG to get the recipe.
It should bother YOU, because I liked the look and feel of your blog and I hoped to find a recipe that sounded yummy and now, I’m not going to read your blog because what you did feels deceptive. You lured with the promise of a recipe and then didn’t provide it.
Respond or don’t, it really doesn’t matter to me. I just hope you think about what I have said and let it sink in. How would YOU feel if you went to someone’s blog for a recipe and found out it was all a bait and switch for clicks. Maybe it wouldn’t bother you.
I’m not trying to be mean or argumentative, I’m trying to help you look at your business and how you respect (or don’t) those who come to your blog.
If you don’t see anything dishonest with baiting with a post title about one thing and then providing a diatribe about unrelated stuff and then pointing to another blog for the thing your title was about, then there’s nothing that I can say that you will understand.
Thanks for your feedback. Honestly, if I contribute or guest post on another site, I still write the content on my site and then let people know where to find the recipe. Many of us do this – it’s called a “teaser”, and it is very common amongst blogs. Some people will even post a “teaser” on their site when they are posting a recipe on a brand’s site. It’s because they may be providing content on another site, but they know their readers like their recipes, so they want to let people know where to find that recipe, because they may never see it if they don’t read that other blog or go to that other brand’s website.
This time I just happened to write about what is going on with the blog versus writing some random story. I will take your feedback into consideration. I truly appreciate what anyone has to say.
I love banana bread and never thought to make energy bars with the same flavor. I love these little bars and can’t wait to try them. Thanks for including a link to my recipe too!
Those energy bites sounds great! I have to add them to my list to make for my boys who go crazy for them!