Combining rich peanut butter, dark chocolate chips, and banana bread these Peanut Butter Banana Bread Bars get an extra dose of protein from almond flour and protein powder. They feature an irresistible moist and gooey texture, and are vegan, no dairy, and gluten free, making them a perfect healthy breakfast or snack.
Basil and I have been soaking up all of the summer sun lately with extra long walks in the early morning, before it gets too unbearably hot of course. I love starting my day off with a peaceful walk. It helps set my day off in positive mindset (which is great because work has been especially busy lately). But to keep the long walks from cutting into my busy work day, I need a quick breakfast that will fuel me up and keep me full until lunch. Things like quick breakfast smoothies and these High Protein Peanut Butter Banana Bread Bars have been my go to for quick and healthy breakfast recipes lately.
These Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bread Bars are perfect for a quick grab and go breakfast bar or easy snack. With dark chocolate chips, bananas, and just a bit of maple syrup, they are just sweet enough to satisfy my sweet tooth (without lots of extra added sugar), and they are packed with protein helping to keep you full and satisfied.
The best part is the moist, gooey texture. These protein bars are kind of like a mix of tender peanut butter banana bread, meets gooey brownies. They are rich and dense with peanutty flavor and a chewy brownie like texture.
A High Protein, Healthy Breakfast Recipe
These Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bread Bars are a healthy breakfast or snack for a number of reasons.
- Anti-Inflammatory: These protein banana bread breakfast bars include a number of anti-inflammatory ingredients including almond flour, bananas, and peanut butter. Maintaining an anti-inflammatory diet has been shown to help to lower your blood pressure, boost your mental health and cognitive function, reduce your risk of certain chronic diseases, and relieve or manage other health conditions.
- Protein Packed: These breakfast bars pack a healthy dose of protein thanks to the almond flour, peanut butter, and an extra scoop of protein powder. I use my favorite plant based protein powder, Vega Protein and Greens, but you can use whatever you prefer. Or skip the protein powder, and add an extra 1/4 cup of almond flour.
- Limited Added Sugars: Of course you will have natural sugar from the ripe bananas, but these Peanut Butter Banana Bread Bars have limited added sugar, with just a tablespoon of maple syrup (and of course the chocolate chips). If you are worried about sugar, you should also pay attention to your peanut butter’s sugar content as some can be high in added sugar.
- Vegan, No Dairy, & Gluten Free: These breakfast bars are easy to fit into a variety of diets as they are vegan, contain no dairy, and gluten free.
Can I Make Ahead and Freeze These Protein Peanut Butter Banana Bread Bars?
These are a perfect make ahead breakfast recipe as you can make them on the weekend and store them in the fridge for the rest of the week.
I like to make a batch of these Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bars, cut them up into individual servings, and store them in the freezer. They thaw really quickly, so when ready to eat, you can just take one out and thaw at room temperature for about 5 – 10 minutes. I actually even prefer to eat them still a little frozen.
Looking for More Healthy Recipes?
- Healthy Beet and Kale Salad with Golden Ginger Turmeric Dressing
- Roasted Sweet Potato, Kale, & Quinoa Power Bowl
- Smoky Chipotle & Roasted Beet Hummus
- Strawberry Spinach Breakfast Salad with Granola Croutons & Strawberry Greek Yogurt Dressing
- Wild Rice and Kale Salad with Lemon Dill Vinaigrette
High Protein Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bread Bars
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 chia egg (1 tbsp chia seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water) or substitute 1 egg or flax egg
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2/3 cups peanut butter
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (can omit and substitute 1/4 cup extra almond flour)
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (plus extra for sprinkling on top, if desired)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°
- In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas, add chia egg, maple syrup, peanut butter, and vanilla extract. Mix to combine.
- Add almond flour, protein powder, and baking soda and mix. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Line 8 x 8 in glass baking dish with parchment paper, and transfer mixture to baking dish, pressing down to spread evenly. If desired, top with extra chocolate chips.
- Bake 20 - 25 minutes, until set. It will still be slightly gooey in the center.