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Get your quinoa first thing in the morning with these Banana Quinoa Breakfast Bars. An easy, make-ahead breakfast that is vegan, refined-sugar-free and absolutely delicious.

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Why Make These Quinoa Breakfast Bars?

Quinoa for breakfast? Don’t knock it until you try it! These breakfast bars are the perfect meal to start your morning with. They’re packed with protein, vegan and free of refined sugar!

There is truly nothing better than having healthy meals and snacks on hand. If you get sick of cooking every meal, every day (like me!), this recipe is perfect for you. It can be prepped in advance so you have a yummy breakfast or snack ready to enjoy!

Let’s recap! These Quinoa Breakfast Bars are:

  • Healthy – quinoa is a great source of fiber and protein
  • Can be prepped in advance
  • Vegan + gluten-free – no eggs, dairy or gluten required!
  • Refined sugar free!

Ingredients Needed:

  • rolled oats – grab gluten-free oats if necessary.
  • uncooked white quinoa – the most neutral tasting quinoa with the lightest texture… perfect for these bars! Make sure you rinse the quinoa before using both for removing the outer coating and also for the final texture of the bars.
  • bananas – you’ll want super ripe bananas!
  • ground flaxseed – helps bind the bars together. It is effectively like using a flax egg in place of regular eggs.
  • peanut butter – look for natural peanut butter with just peanuts and salt listed for ingredients! You can also swap for a different nut butter or seed butter. Almond butter works great!
  • coconut oil – look for unrefined and/or organic coconut oil.
  • maple syrup – a hint of added sweetness! You could use honey but this recipe would no longer be vegan.
  • baking powder – helps the bars rise.
  • cinnamon – I love the combination of cinnamon and banana.
  • sea salt – to bring all of the flavors together
  • optional add-ins – chocolate chips, coconut, chopped dried fruit (cranberries, raisins etc.), nuts + seeds (walnuts, pumpkin seeds, pecans etc…)

Why white quinoa?

There are actually lots of different colors of quinoa – white, red, black and more! White quinoa is the fastest cooking quinoa that is light in texture and mild in flavor. It’s perfect for these breakfast bars! You can try making this quinoa breakfast bars with a different flavor/color of quinoa but I find they take longer to cook and the flavors are affected.

Do you have to rinse quinoa?

Yes! Quinoa is coated in saponin which is bitter tasting and could result in a gross tasting breakfast bar! Add the quinoa to a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold water before using in this recipe.

How to Make Banana Quinoa Breakfast Bars

STEP 1: MIX ALL INGREDIENTS

In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, quinoa, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Add in the mashed bananas, flaxseed, peanut butter, coconut oil and maple syrup. Stir until well combined. Stir in any optional add-ins and let the mixture sit for 10 minutes so the flaxseed can absorb some liquid. 

Mixing raw ingredients for quinoa breakfast bars.

STEP 2: BAKE BREAKFAST BARS

Spray or grease a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with coconut oil and pour the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.  Bake at 350ºF for 25 minutes or until the edges are crisp and the center is cooked through.

Quinoa breakfast bars cut in a baking dish.

STEP 3: CUT + SERVE

Let sit for 20 minutes before cutting into 9-12 squares. 

banana quinoa breakfast bars with chocolate chips

Storage Instructions

Fridge: These bars store really well! After allowing the bars to cool completely, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. 

Freezer: Store quinoa breakfast bars in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight or on counter for several hours.

More Healthy Breakfasts:

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Banana Quinoa Breakfast Bars

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4.4 from 17 reviews

Get your quinoa first thing in the morning with these Banana Quinoa Breakfast Bars. An easy, make-ahead breakfast that is vegan, refined-sugar-free and absolutely delicious.

  • Author: Davida Lederle
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 912 bars 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Bake
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Spray or grease a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with coconut oil
  3. In a large bowl combine rolled oats, quinoa, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
  4. Add in bananas, flax, peanut butter, coconut oil and maple syrup. Stir until well-combined.
  5. Sprinkle with optional add-ins.
  6. Let batter sit for 10 mins to let flax absorb some liquid.
  7. Add batter to baking dish and spread out evenly.
  8. Bake for 25 mins or until edges are crisp and center is cooked through.
  9. Let sit for 20 mins before cutting into 9-12 squares and allow to cool completely.
  10. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for longer.

Meet the Maven

Hi! I'm Davida and welcome to my corner of the internet. I'm a wellness blogger, yoga teacher, certified herbalist, and green beauty lover.

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113 Comments

  1. Just tried these – super good! Didn’t have flax seed, so I subbed in some ground almonds and hemp seeds. Also added some carob powder to give it more of a “chocolately” taste and some chia seeds. Turned out great even with the substitutions. Glad I found something I could eat after I found out I couldn’t eat clif bars anymore due to an allergy!

  2. I just made these and had successful results using the the following modifications:
    Sub honey for maple syrup 1:1
    Sub an egg for the flax meal
    Baked in a greased muffin tin at 350 for 15 minutes
    1/4 c chocolate chips with 1/2 tsp coconut oil and drizzled on the bars once they had cooled slightly.

    This is a fantastic recipe! I think I’ll try toasting the quinoa first next time to see how that affects the flavor. Thanks for the recipe! ??

  3. Hi Davida..i tried your recipe however i ran out of peanut butter and substitute with nutella instead. Nice. Will do it again but with the original recipe next time. Thnx

  4. I just made these bars, and they are AMAZZZZING!! Thanks for the recipe!! I added dark chocolate chips and raisins to mine!! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes!

  5. I absolutely LOVED this recipe! Added some chopped walnuts and blueberries (on deprecate ocasions) and it turned out amazingly!!

    Is there any way to find out how many calories are in the original recipe?

  6. Yesterday I was looking for a healthy recipe to use up a few very ripe bananas I had and stumbled over this and it’s absoluetely delicious 🙂 thanks for sharing and I’m sure I’ll be back to try more of your recipes! x Carina

  7. I also made these immediately after I found the recipe! I forgot to rinse the quinoa (oops), but they taste great regardless! I also don’t have a 9×9 baking pan (so sad), so I used muffin trays and reduced baking time to about 15 mins. I added the chocolate chips and LOVE them. This will definitely be a part of my weekly prep! Thanks for the recipe!

  8. I love this recipe! I made it last weekend and shared with some friends. I was wondering if you have an idea of the calorie count?
    Thank you!

  9. Hi! I just wanted to thank you for this great recipe! I made your banana quinoa bars last night. They turned out great! I added in a bit of unsweetened coconut and less than half a cup of frozen blueberries as my husband doesn’t appreciate chocolate chips…anyway, he said they were the best healthy square I have ever made and he ate 2 right away!

    1. Sorry for the delayed response! Wouldn’t recommend it. The flax helps to bind things together. They may work out without it but haven’t tried it myself!