Our Peanut Butter–Banana Oatmeal Bars are your solution to making healthy protein bars at home. A cross between banana bread and a baked oat bar, this recipe delivers healthy nutrients. The protein adds up in this recipe from the oats, whole-wheat flour, milk, egg and peanut butter. You also get three hits of fiber, from the oats, whole-wheat flour and bananas—excellent for your gut health. Using ripe bananas, applesauce and a bit of honey adds a subtle sweetness, but not too much. These are store-bought-quality protein bars made at home. Keep reading for our expert tips on nut butter substitutions, add-in recommendations and more!

Tips from the EatingWell Test Kitchen

These are the key tips we learned while developing and testing this recipe in our Test Kitchen to make sure it works, tastes great and is good for you too! 

• The riper the bananas, the sweeter these oatmeal bars will be.
• Feel free to use any nut butter you like—cashew or almond butter would work well. If you have allergies, you can use sunflower seed butter.
• Get creative with your bars! Try a peanut butter and jelly version by swirling in some jelly on top before baking. You can also add dark chocolate chips, chopped nuts such as pecans or walnuts, seeds, dried fruit, coconut and more to customize them to your liking.

Nutrition Notes

• Old-fashioned rolled oats have a lot going for them. This recipe isn’t gluten-free, but oats are a great gluten-free grain to keep on hand—just make sure they are made in a gluten-free facility. They are also an excellent source of gut-healthy fiber. Oats contain a specific type of fiber called beta-glucan, which can help lower cholesterol levels when you eat oats regularly. 
• We use half whole-wheat flour and half all-purpose flour in this recipe to increase the amount of whole grains, fiber and protein. This is great for your digestive health, but also to keep you fuller for longer. 
• Bananas are often hailed for their potassium content, which is great for helping to lower blood pressure, but they also have magnesium, vitamin C and folate. They are a good source of prebiotic fiber, which helps maintain a healthy microbiome by keeping gut bacteria healthy.  
• Peanut butter is a healthy source of all three macronutrients: protein, carbs and healthy fats. You’ll also get fiber for your digestive health, magnesium for blood pressure support and B vitamins for a healthy metabolism.