Banana Bars for Toddlers
Are you looking for a healthy snack that your toddler will eat? These Banana Bars are soft and chewy, so they’re a great choice! These are naturally sweetened with ripe bananas, oats, and a few other pantry staples. They can be frozen and are great for breakfast, snacks, or even a quick lunchbox treat. These banana bars are a healthy alternative to store-bought granola bars. They are great for toddlers, kids, and even picky eaters. These bars are a tasty and family-approved choice, whether you want to use up overripe bananas or just need a quick snack for your toddler.
Why These Banana Bars Are Great
Nutritious Ingredients: These homemade banana bars are full of healthy foods like bananas, peanut butter, and oats. They give toddlers and other family members the fiber, protein, and healthy fats they need to grow.
Easy to Make: These bars are quick and easy to make whenever you want a healthy snack. You only need four simple ingredients and not much time to prepare them.
You can change these bars to fit your family’s tastes. For more flavor and texture, add things like chocolate chips, nuts, or dried fruit.
Snack on the go: These simple bars are great for snacking on the go. You can put them in lunchboxes, take them to the park, or eat them as a snack in the middle of the day.
These bars are kid-friendly because they are sweet and chewy and taste great with bananas and chocolate chips.
Ingredients for Banana Bars
These banana bars with four ingredients are a quick and easy snack or breakfast on the go.
- ▢5 mashed bananas
- ▢1 cup peanut butter or another nut or seed butter
- ▢4 cups of rolled oats
- ▢1/4 cup of chocolate chips
10 minutes to get ready
Cooking time: 12 minutes
9 bars per serving
Instructions
- Set your oven to 350°F (175°C). Use parchment paper to line or grease an 8×8 inch baking dish.
- In a big bowl, mix together the mashed bananas, peanut butter, rolled oats, and chocolate chips. Mix well until everything is well mixed.
- When the ingredients are well combined, put them in the baking dish that has been prepared. Spread the mixture evenly in the dish with a spatula or the back of a spoon, and smooth out the top.
- Put the baking dish in the oven that has already been preheated and bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the bars are set.
- Take the banana bars out of the oven and let them cool completely in the dish before cutting them into bars.
Tips & Variations
Bananas: For this recipe, very ripe bananas work best. If you don’t have any bananas, you can use unsweetened applesauce or mashed sweet potato instead.
Oats: You can use quick oats to make the texture softer.
Peanut butter: If you don’t want nuts, use sunflower seed butter.
You can swap out chocolate chips for chopped nuts, fruit, or raisins to make them taste better.
Storing Your Banana Bars
You can keep any extra banana oat bars in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge for up to three to four days. You can freeze the bars for up to three months if you wrap each one in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Let it thaw at room temperature before serving.
FAQ
Is it possible to make these banana bars gluten-free?
Yes! To make the bars completely gluten-free, just use oats that have been certified as gluten-free. To avoid cross-contamination, always check the labels twice.
How ripe do the bananas need to be?
The more ripe, the better. Bananas with brown spots are the best because they are sweeter and easier to mash, which makes the bars taste and feel great.
How can I make them free of nuts?
The peanut butter helps hold the bars together and adds healthy fats, but you can use a nut-free alternative like sunflower seed butter or leave it out completely. Just know that the bars may be a little softer.
For the best natural sweetness and texture, make sure the bananas are very ripe.
Before cutting, let the bars cool all the way down. This will make the edges cleaner.
You can keep leftover banana bars at room temperature or in the fridge for up to three to four days in an airtight container. If you want to keep the bars for a long time, wrap each one in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and freeze them for up to three months. Before serving, let it thaw at room temperature.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 391kcal, Carbs: 49g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Sodium: 126mg, Potassium: 541mg, Fiber: 7g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 42IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 40mg, Iron: 2mg
The nutrition information is calculated automatically, so it should only be used as a rough guide.