Description
Easy no-bake Banana Protein Bars made with rolled oats, coconut flour, hemp seeds, and naturally sweetened with honey! The perfect nourishing snack to fuel you all all week. Like banana bread in bar form, with almost 5g fiber and 8g protein!
Ingredients
- 1 cup walnuts (can sub almonds, pecans, or cashews)
- 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/3 cup vanilla plant protein powder
- 1/4 cup coconut flour* (can sub ground flax)
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- heaping 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup mashed overripe banana (2 medium bananas)
- 2 tbsp honey (optional)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional topping:
- 2 tbsp chocolate chips
- 1/2 tsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper hanging over the sides and set aside. To help the parchment paper stick, you can spray the pan with cooking spray first.
- Place walnuts, oats, protein, coconut flour, hemp seeds, cinnamon and salt in the food processor and blend until the walnuts are broken down into small pieces. Add banana, honey and vanilla and process until a dough forms, scraping down the sides as needed. It will be very thick and slightly sticky and may seem wet at first but the coconut flour and oats will quickly thicken it. Press mixture evenly into prepared pan.
- If desired, you can press a handful of chocolate chips into the bars like the photos, or make a chocolate drizzle. Make drizzle by placing chocolate chips and oil in a small bowl. Melt in 20 second increments, stirring in between, until smooth. Use a fork to drizzle chocolate on top of bars.
- Freeze for 1-2 hours, or until set, before slicing into 8-10 bars. Store in the freezer and let them sit a bit at room temperature before eating to soften up if needed.
Notes
*Do not substitute coconut flour for another flour---it is very unique and absorbent and not a 1:1 sub. This is what helps thicken the bars. If you don't have coconut flour, readers have said ground flaxseed works. I have not tested this recipe with whey protein.
This recipe was originally posted on April 6, 2014 and updated on March 2, 2021. Original recipe: 1/2 cup pitted dates, 1/2 cup mashed banana, 1/2 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup almonds, 1 cup oats, 1/2 cup protein powder, 2 tbsp ground flaxseed, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Directions: Blend dates, banana, and vanilla in food processor until very smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and proceed with the directions above.