These dairy-free moist and chewy peanut butter oatmeal bars are perfect as a grab-and-go gluten-free breakfast or snack. They’re packed with whole rolled oats, lightened up with oat flour, and sweetened naturally with mashed banana and a smidge of maple syrup.
When I started writing cookbooks over a decade ago, I was a self-proclaimed non-baker. Especially after going gluten-free fifteen years ago, the exactness it would take to replicate my favorite baked goods without regular flour felt like too daunting a task. Over the years though, I’ve created a stable of truly foolproof treats—like these low sugar oatmeal cookies—that don’t need to behave like light, airy fluffy cakes or pastries (the things that require either the elasticity of gluten or someone with an attention span that is more dependable than mine).
There have been a few gluten-free experiments over the years that deserve some serious air fist-pumps of accomplishment—one of the best being these peanut butter oatmeal bars.
Despite being both dairy and gluten-free, these bars are deliciously dense, moist and oat-y—kind of reminiscent of a breakfast monkey bar. I.e. the kind of monkey bar you wouldn’t feel guilty about eating at 8am.
The bars are relatively low in sugar thanks to a mix of mashed banana and maple syrup. If you’re making these for little ones and want to dial back the sweetness even more, you can easily omit the maple syrup entirely. For the more virtuous looking to pack more plants into their mornings, you can always add 2 tablespoons of chia seeds , flax seeds and/or hemp seeds. This is a similar trick I use in my Baked Green Berry Oatmeal, but this recipe doesn’t have any hidden veggies in it!
Gluten-Free Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars Step by Step
I’ve given the gluten-free peanut butter oatmeal batter a whirl in muffin tins. They turned out excellent as well with roughly the same cook time, and I have been very grateful to them as on-the-go breakfasts.
That said, the peanut butter adds such a fudgy texture to these gluten-free oatmeal bars that they also lend themselves to dessert. They are delicious warm with a little scoop of dairy-free ice cream! For that option, you can increase the maple syrup to ¼ cup and add ¼ cup chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips for extra indulgence and a true chunky monkey vibe.
If you don’t have oat flour, one hack is to pulse rolled oats in a food processor until a powder forms. Alternatively, you can also substitute another gluten-free flour like white rice, chickpea, or millet. A regular AP gluten-free flour works as well.
Read on for these oatmeal peanut butter bars with oat flour, and make sure to check out my other gluten-free breakfast ideas!
With health and hedonism,
Phoebe
Baked Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars with Oat Flour (Gluten-Free + Dairy-Free)
Servings 9 bars
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8 inch baking pan (or equivalent) with oil or butter.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the banana, almond milk, peanut butter, maple syrup, and egg until well-combined.
Add the oats, oat flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and mix until fully incorporated.
Transfer to the prepared pan and bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan. Cut the gluten-free peanut butter oatmeal bars into 9 to 16 equal squares.
I like the dairy-free oatmeal bars best served warm. Otherwise, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week of easy gluten-free breakfasts and snacking.
Notes
You can make your own oat flour by pulsing rolled oats in a food processor until finely ground into meal.
If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe – I’d love to see it!