Tart, sweet and chewy, these banana oatmeal cranberry bars with chocolate chips and pepitas require no sugar, egg, flour or oil. The only added sugar in this vegan recipe comes from the dried cranberries and chocolate chips.

glass baking dish with baked banana oat bars topped with chocolate chips, dried cranberries and pepitas

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These baked banana oatmeal bars with dried cranberries, chocolate chips and pepitas are a variation on these 5-Ingredient Healthy Banana Oat Bars.

Make these chewy bars for snacks, a light dessert or as part of a balanced breakfast served with fresh fruit and yogurt.

🧄 Very useful ingredient notes

Ingredients on counter: ripe bananas, rolled oats, cinnamon, ground flax and baking powder - not pictured: dried cranberries, chocolate chips and pepitas

Mashed banana - Use overripe sweet bananas for this recipe, the kind you would use to make banana bread. Since we're not adding sugar (or even maple syrup) to this recipe, using ripe bananas will make them naturally sweet. Of course, if the banana has really bad spots when you peel it, then remove that and discard it.
Chocolate chips - Trader Joe's chocolate chips happen to be vegan and are affordable, so those are the ones I would recommend. Of course, if you're okay with standard chocolate chips, you can use those - just keep in mind that they are likely not vegan since they contain milk.
Pepitas - a small oblong seed that is light green and crunchy. Look for unsalted, unflavored pepitas in the nut and seed aisle at your grocery store.

📋 Substitutions and variations

Here are some suitable substitutions for the ingredients in this recipe:

Rolled oats - you can use quick oats instead of rolled oats for this recipe, but don't try to use steel cut, as they won't work.
Cinnamon - instead of ground cinnamon, you can use pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice or vanilla extract
Dried cranberries - instead of dried cranberries (craisins), you can use raisins, dried cherries or currants
Pepitas - instead of pepitas, you can use sunflower seed kernels, hemp hearts, pistachios, sliced almonds, chopped walnuts or chopped pecans.
Ground flaxseed - instead of ground flax, you can use chia seeds
Chocolate chips - you can use cacao nibs, chopped dark chocolate or vegan chocolate candies instead of the chips. Or, omit them altogether.

Switch things up with these variation ideas!

Coconut pepita with brown rice syrup - sub the cranberries for big coconut chips and then drizzle with brown rice syrup for a sweet sticky coating.

See this chocolate pecan version of this recipe on my website!

🔪 Instructions

Step-by-step instructions with photos for how to make these banana oatmeal bars with dried cranberries, chocolate chips and pepitas.

process step 1.1 how the mashed bananas should look

Step 1: In a large bowl, mash the banana very well with a potato masher or fork.

process step 2 add flax, cinnamon and baking powder

Step 2: Add ground cinnamon, ground flaxseed and baking powder to the mashed banana.

Step 3: Mix everything together with a large spoon.

Step 4: Add rolled oats to the bowl.

Step 5: Mix everything together well. This is what the finished batter should look like.

process spread mixture in a 13x9 baking dish

Step 6: Spoon batter into glass 13x9 baking dish and spread batter out evenly. (If using a metal pan or baking sheet, line with parchment paper or silicone baking mat to prevent sticking. No need for this in a glass baking dish.)

Step 7: Sprinkle dried cranberries, chocolate chips and pepitas across surface. Gently press the toppings into the batter with your fingers or the back of a spoon. Bake banana oatmeal bars in oven for 25 minutes, or until firm to the touch.

after baking the banana oat bars in the glass baking dish

Step 8: This is what it looks like after it's baked. Allow to cool and then slice into bars. Store cut bars in refrigerator for 3-4 days.

Expert tips

To prevent a sour taste from the baking powder, try these tips:
- Mix the baking powder thoroughly with the dry flax seed before adding it to the banana
- If the baking powder stays in little clumps, then you can get a lot in one bite, whereas another bite will taste fine. One of the challenges with this recipe and that issue is that we're not using flour, so the baking powder doesn't have another powder to mix into. We're adding it straight to liquid ingredients. So, try to mix it in really well with a fork or whisk in the pan.
You can skip the baking powder, but it will make the bars more dense and chewy (since they won't have as much help to rise), but they will still be delicious.

🥡 Make ahead and storage tips

You can definitely make these cranberry oatmeal bars ahead of time. Store them in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve them. They will keep for up to 5 days.

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📖 Recipe

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