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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.
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.Â
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.
STEP 3: CUT + SERVE
Let sit for 20 minutes before cutting into 9-12 squares.Â
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.Â
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:
- Orange Rosemary Scones
- Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins
- Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
- Chocolate Chip Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread Baked Oatmeal Bars
Banana Quinoa Breakfast Bars
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.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 9–12 bars 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
- 1 cup uncooked white quinoa, rinsed
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed
- 3 tbsp natural peanut butter (other nut and seed butters will work)
- 1 tbsp coconut oil, softened
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- optional: 1/4-1/2 cup add-ins like chocolate chips, coconut, chopped dried fruit
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray or grease a 9 x 9 inch baking dish with coconut oil
- In a large bowl combine rolled oats, quinoa, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
- Add in bananas, flax, peanut butter, coconut oil and maple syrup. Stir until well-combined.
- Sprinkle with optional add-ins.
- Let batter sit for 10 mins to let flax absorb some liquid.
- Add batter to baking dish and spread out evenly.
- Bake for 25 mins or until edges are crisp and center is cooked through.
- Let sit for 20 mins before cutting into 9-12 squares and allow to cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for longer.
I am not a banana fan and only eat them for health when they are still pretty green. Do you think I can substitute apple sauce for banana? Thanks!
Yes you can! They won’t be as sweet but you could add a little sweetener if you’d like.
How many calories per serving? (9 total servings)
I’ll be honest, I was a bit skeptical about this recipe, but I really wanted a healthy grab-and-go breakfast option for my early mornings. I was really pleasantly surprised! This recipe is very well balanced, sweet enough but not too sweet, and a nice crunchy/soft texture from the quinoa, oats, and banana. I will definitely be making this again and sharing with friends! 🙂 Awesome way to get protein in the morning.
What can I substitute the oats for… I’m sensitive to oats even GF oats.
These sound so yummy! I want to make them but need some guidance on what to replace the oats with. Thank You
I love these just the way they are! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Thank you for sharing a delicious recipe that can easily be modified for the items you have on hand! Can’t wait to try it with the ripe bananas on my counter!
This is my go to now with left over bananas.. the only change I made to this recipe is using almond butter (my sons allergic to peanuts) and I used left over cooked quinoa. It just takes out the crunch and made it more of a more moist cake consistency . My kids LOVE this which makes me love it even more haha they don’t know they are eating flax and quinoa and non refined sugars! All around great ratio of flavours and I love it can feed it to everyone in my family with all our dietary restrictions, even the picky 4yr old who actually doesnt like bananas.. she gobbles these up! It made me laugh when I read they can be stored for a few days… these don’t make it 2 hrs in my house!
haha thanks, Brennah! They don’t last long around here either. So happy your family loves them too!
I can’t accurately review this as written because I was out of an ingredient and had to sub (out of flax seed-used half as much chia seed and they turned out perfectly!). But I wanted to say how much I love the flavor profile. I love that it is not overly sweet. When I start the day with sweets I tend to crave that all day. I also eat plant based breakfast and lunch m-f. And need something I can grab and go. Overnight oats and smoothies are getting boring. Lol! These are perfect. I had intended to add dried coconut and chopped dates and totally forgot to! Next batch! But thank you for this recipe. I will pick up some ground flax seed for next batch and give it an appropriate review. I look forward to playing with add ins to change the flavor a bit.
So glad you enjoyed!
This is my first time on your blog but I just wanted to respond with what was written above. I totally understand where you’re coming from with negative comments/feedback with people just wanting to be mean. No matter what you do, they will always come. It’s a shame. I started a YouTube channel 2 years ago and have had some really rotten things said just because…. don’t let it get to you! You’re putting something out there and whether or not someone likes your recipe is on them. Just do you and do what you love. The positive will always outweigh the negative. And this recipe sounds delicious and I can’t wait to make it tomorrow morning. Thank you for sharing it!
I wonder if we can toast the quinoa or pop the quinoa and then put it in the recipe, do you think that would work??
Never tried it but likely would work!