I have made it a goal of mine to be more cognizant of food waste when meal planning and shopping and I really have been doing much better lately. However…one thing I always end up with too much of is BANANAS! Any mother of young children will tell you that their kids love something one day, can’t stand it the next. This is true of my Declan and especially with bananas. He will ask for 3 a day sometimes and then turn his nose up at them for two weeks straight. So…I’ve always got bananas on top of bananas…which drives me bananas!
And so while I always have the intention of baking with the excess, the time escapes me and my freezer fills up with bananas. This is why these easy Banana Oat Bars were born. I had a surplus of bananas, and a surplus of oats and no granola bars for Declan. So I mixed some ingredients together and voila…homemade granola bars which use simple pantry ingredients and over ripe bananas.
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 over ripe bananas (or frozen bananas, thawed)
- 2 to 3 cups of rolled oats (I would say to use about 3/4 cup oats per banana)
- pinch of salt
- pinch of cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Mash bananas in large bowl
- Stir in remaining ingredients
- Mixture should be wet but not runny. Add more oats if needed to tighten it up
- Press into an 8 x 8 parchment lined dish
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes
- Cool and cut into bars or squares
Enjoy!
Let us know if you try these banana oat bars!
Comments
Carole Evans says...
Sounds delish! Will definitely make! I also cut ripe bananas up and freeze them. Then I add a touch of coconut milk and whip with a hand held blender and make ice cream! Sooo good!