Need an excuse to use up those sad ripe bananas on your counter? Look no further than these Baked Banana Blueberry Oat Bars. They are easy to assemble, use up 3 bananas, and are packed with bananas, blueberries, and brown sugary oats in each bite.
Jump to:
As someone who is not a huge breakfast person (but a BIG dessert person), this recipe was originally inspired by a bowl of oatmeal. I had been hunting for something delicious to motivate me to eat in the morning when I stumbled upon Pinch of Yum’s Caramelized Banana Oatmeal recipe. The flavors were so good I made oatmeal for breakfast for a few weeks straight.
As I played around with different ingredients to add in, I kept coming back to a variation with bananas, blueberries, and granola. And, in true dessert-person fashion, I knew I had to figure out how to pack some of those flavors into dessert bar form.
Ingredients you’ll need
Bananas: 3 ripe bananas. If yours are unripe, don’t let that stop you; see the section below for a quick and easy method.
Blueberries: you can use either fresh or frozen blueberries for this recipe. If using frozen, do NOT defrost them before using them.
Rolled Oats: this recipe uses whole, rolled oats. Using different styles of oats (specifically, steel-cut oats) will change the texture.
You can find a complete list of ingredients, measurements, and instructions at the bottom of this post.
How to ripen bananas
So, you just bought fresh bananas and don't want to wait a few weeks to try this recipe? That’s ok. You can quickly ripen bananas in the oven.
- Pre-heat oven to 425°
- Place bananas on a baking sheet covered with foil and bake for 15 minutes or until completely brown
- Allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes
And just like that, you’ll have perfectly ripe bananas ready to make some delicious oat bars.
Equipment
- 8 x 8-inch pan
- Hand or stand mixer
- 1 large & 2-3 medium mixing bowls
- Spatula
- Pastry cutter (optional – a fork or your fingers work great too!)
- Parchment Paper
How to make Banana Blueberry Oat Bars
The order of the recipe will go as follows:
- Cookie base
- Banana-blueberry filling
- Oat crumble
- Assemble
Cookies Base:
It’s all about the base…
- Preheat your oven to 350° and prepare your 8x8-inch pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. While waiting for the oven to preheat, combine all the dry ingredients: flour, rolled oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a medium size bowl.
- In a separate bowl, cream together the butter and sugars on medium for a few minutes or until it looks light in color. Then add the egg and vanilla and mix until fully combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined.
- Press down the cookie base in your prepared 8x8-inch pan and bake for 15 minutes. The edges should look lightly golden brown.
Banana-Blueberry Filling
While the cookie base is baking and you smell the delicious aroma of butter, sugar, and oats baking, you’ll make the banana-blueberry filling.
- Start with mashing the bananas. I like to leave a few larger chunks in mine to add texture to the filling. Then stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. And finally, fold in the blueberries.
Oat Crumble:
- In another bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Then add cold cubed butter and cut into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles a coarse crumb.
Assemble
Just like in Avengers: Endgame, the final step will be to assemble them all.
Once the cookie base has finished baking, evenly spread the banana-blueberry filling across the base. Then generously sprinkle the oat crumble over the top. Place in the oven for 20 minutes at 350° – the top should have a nice golden brown coloring, and the filling should be set.
Serving Suggestions
This recipe was developed to be a dessert or grab-and-go breakfast (we are the adults here, we make the rules). But these are also delicious served warm with a scoop of ice cream.
Storage
These can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Other Bar Ideas
Strawberry Pistachio Cheesecake Bars
Did you try this recipe? If you have a moment to spare, please consider leaving a comment and a star rating below. I would love to hear from you. And, if you want to continue the conversation, tag me in your creations on Instagram. Happy Baking!
PrintBaked Banana Blueberry Oat Bars
- Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 x 8 Square pan 1x
Description
Need an excuse to use up those sad ripe bananas on your counter? Look no further than these Baked Banana Blueberry Oat Bars. They are easy to assemble, use up 3 bananas, and are packed with bananas, blueberries, and brown sugary oats in each bite.
Ingredients
Cookie Base
- 1 ⅓ (177g) Cup All-purpose Flour
- ⅔ Cup (74g) Rolled Oats
- ½ Teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ Teaspoon Salt
- ⅓ Cup (78g) Unsalted Butter, Softened
- ⅓ Cup (60g) Granulated Sugar
- ¼ Cup (45g) Light Brown Sugar, lightly packed
- 1 Egg (56g), Large
- ½ Teaspoon Vanilla
Banana Blueberry Filling:
- 3 Bananas (~340g), ripened
- 3 Tablespoons (35g) Light Brown Sugar
- ¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Vanilla
- ¾ Cup (113g) Blueberries
Oat Crumble:
- ⅔ Cup (88g) All-Purpose Flour
- ⅔ Cup (74g) Rolled Oats
- ⅓ Cup (57g) Light Brown Sugar, lightly packed
- ¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 5 Tablespoons (71g) Butter, Cold & Cubbed
Instructions
Cookie Base:
- Preheat oven to 350° and spray 8x8 inch pan with non-stick spray, and line with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients; flour, rolled oats, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugars on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the mixture looks light, fluffy, and pale in color. Add the egg and vanilla extract and continue to mix on medium speed for another 1-2 minutes until the mixture is well combined and fluffy.
- Add in the flour mixture, mixing on low until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure all the flour is incorporated.
- Press dough evenly into the bottom of the prepared 8x8-inch pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges of the dough turn lightly golden brown.
Banana Blueberry Filling
- In a medium bowl, mash the bananas
- Stir in brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla
- Fold in blueberries
Oat Crumble:
- In another bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon.
- Add cold cubed butter (~1 in./2.5cm) into dry ingredients. Using your fingers or pastry cutter, combine the butter with the flour mixture until the mixture resembles a coarse crumb. Set aside.
Assemble:
- Once the cookie base is done, spread the banana blueberry filling evenly. Then add the crumble over the top.
- Bake at 350° for 20 minutes; the top is lightly golden brown. Allow bars to cool completely at room temperature.
Notes
- You can use either fresh or frozen blueberries for this recipe. If using frozen, do NOT defrost them before using them.
- If your bananas are not ripe, you can bake them at 425° for 15 minutes or until completely brown
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Chilling time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Bars
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Cookie Bar
Keywords: Banana, blueberries, cookie bar, oat bar
Leave a Reply