Breakfast bars are a great substitute for a quick granola bar breakfast or snack. Often, granola bars are too sweet and I am looking for breakfast with more protein. This recipe is loaded with protein and tastes great. I made a full recipe and froze half to enjoy later.

Healthy Breakfast Bars

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ cups mashed Banana – equivalent to 3 large ripe bananas
• 1 can canned Chickpeas – drained, rinsed (note 1) (15 ounce can/425g)
• ¾ cup Peanut Butter – (note 2)
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 2 ¾ cups Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats – (note 3)
• 2 tablespoons Chia Seeds – (note 4)
• ½ cup Dark Chocolate Chips – (note 5)
• ½ cup Pumpkin Seeds – (note 6)
• ½ cup Almonds – (note 7)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9-inch square pan with parchment paper, making sure some pieces of parchment paper hang on the side to easily remove the bar from the pan later. Slightly oil the pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Open the can of chickpea, drain it over a sieve, give a quick rinse and place in a large bowl.
3. Use a potato masher to mash the chickpeas into tiny pieces – you can also add them in a food processor and pulse a few times to break them apart. Set aside.
4. Mash the ripe bananas, pack in measuring cups to get exactly 1 1/2 cups.
5. Place the mashed bananas in a very large mixing bowl, add crushed chickpeas, peanut butter, oats, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, chopped almonds, and chocolate chips.
6. Stir the ingredients very well, pressing them together to form a sticky, thick batter.
7. Pour on the prepared baking pan, press evenly, and sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top for extra sweetness, if desired.
8. Bake the oat bars for 30-40 minutes at 350°F (180°C) until dry and golden on top and set.
9. Let the pan cool down for 15 minutes, then lift the overhanging pieces of parchment paper to release the oats onto a cooling rack.
10. Let it cool down completely for 1 hour before slicing into 12 bars.
11. Slice and serve on a plate for breakfast with mixed berries, a dollop of your favorite yogurt, or eat plain.

Notes

Note 1: equivalent to 1 1/4 cup of cooked chickpeas. You won’t taste them in the bar. They feel like moist pieces that go very well with the nuts and banana.

Note 2: Make sure you are using natural peanut butter with no added oil and no added sugar. You can make the recipe nut-free using sunflower seed butter or tahini. The recipe works with almond butter or cashew butter as well.

Note 3: Use gluten-free certified rolled oats if needed.

Note 4: Chia seeds act as a binder in the bar. You can remove them. But you can swap for 3 tablespoons of flaxmeal.

Note 5: The bars have no added sugar. The chocolate chips add sweetness to the bars. You can swap for dried fruits like dried cranberries, raisins, or finely chopped Medjool dates.

Note 6: The seeds add protein. You can swap hemp seeds for even more protein, or leave them out if you don’t want seeds in your bars.

Note 7: Almonds are for crunch and flavor, swap for any finely chopped nuts like walnuts, pecans, or leave out if preferred. 

Storage: You can store the bars in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. You can freeze them in Ziploc bags and thaw in the fridge the day before.

Recipe from theconsciousplantkitchen