The dreamiest Chocolate Crumb Banana Bread Bars made with vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar-free ingredients!
We have a new banana bread recipe on the blog friends. But it’s not your usual banana bread recipe…
For starters it’s not the traditional loaf form and instead made into bars. Making them perfect to snack on all day every day. Plus they are a combination of two of our favorites: crumb cake AND banana bread. Oh and don’t forget the dark chocolate.
The bottom layer of these bars is a moist (accurate word) banana cake mixed with dark chocolate then on top a slightly sweetened chocolate crumb topping. As soon as I snagged a few bites of the crumbs before they even baked in the oven, I know it was going to be something good.
These Chocolate Crumb Banana Bread Bars are vegan, gluten-free and nut-free. They are also packed with extra nutrients thanks to Garden of Life flaxseeds, chia seeds and extra virgin coconut oil. I love that all of Garden of Life products are 100% organic and made with quality ingredients. You guys know about my obsession for all of their food, supplements and now their new essential oils. Plus it only seems fitting to share this recipe after having the most magical event with them in Chicago this week!
It is absolutely amazing to have a brand in the industry who is bringing us products we can trust. I particularly love their Once Daily Prenatal Vitamins and have been taking them since before I was even pregnant. They gave my body extra nutrients when it was trying to become fertile and conceive for the past year + (and the extra hair boost didn’t hurt).
What I also love about this recipe is how many flour options there are. You can use either gluten-free oat flour, gluten-free all purpose flour or sprouted spelt flour. I haven’t tried any grain-free varieties but almond flour would likely work well too.
One you stock up on the Garden of Life chia seeds, flaxseeds and coconut oil, here are a few of my other favorite recipes using their products: 6-ingredient Vegan Chocolate Scones, Simply Epic Homemade Flaxseed Bread and Fluffy Vegan Pancakes.
Don’t forget to share these gems with us on Instagram! I cannot wait to hear what you think.
Chocolate Crumb Banana Bread Bars
The dreamiest Chocolate Crumb Banana Bread Bars made with vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar-free ingredients!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
Yield: 9 bars 1x
Ingredients
Wet ingredients:
- 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon Garden of Life Organic Flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water)
- 3/4 cup non-dairy milk
- 3/4 cup mashed banana (about 2 small bananas)
- 1/2 cup sunflower seed butter (can sub nut butter too)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dry ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour (can sub sprouted spelt flour or GF all purpose, i haven’t tested grain-free)
- 2 tablespoons Garden of Life Organic Chia Seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 5 ounces dark chocolate, chopped (or about 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips)
Crumb topping:
- 1 cup oat flour (can sub spelt flour or GF all purpose)
- 1/3 cup sprouted oats
- 1/4 cup cacao powder
- 3 tablespoons Garden of Life Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (melted and cooled)
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8 baking dish with coconut oil
- Mix together the wet ingredients until smooth and creamy
- Add in the dry ingredients and mix well to combine
- Fold in dark chocolate then pour batter into baking dish
- Combine the crumb topping in a medium bowl and mix well to form the crumbs
- Sprinkle the chocolate crumb topping on top of the batter then bake in oven for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean!
Notes
Store in airtight container on counter for up to 5 days or freeze for 2 months
xx, Rach
Thank you Garden of Life for sponsoring this post! It means so much to me to work with brands I love and believe in here on the blog!
Share this recipe
Alana
Does the flaxseed have to be ground up or can it remain whole for the “egg”? Excited to make this!
Rachel
yes ground flax!
Brittany Audra @ Audra’s Appetite
I seriously am so excited about these! I love literally every ingredient…oats, chocolate, banana, sunflower seed butter…sure to be an INSANELY delicious combination! 🙂
Kristina
I made these with a few subs based on what I had in the house: Regular egg, white whole wheat flour, almond butter, regular old-fashioned oats, and honey. They turned out really well! The crumble could stick a little better, it seemed a bit powdery – I’ll probably use more coconut oil/sweetener to do that next time!
If anyone is curious, based on the recipe calculator I used, each bar is about 500 calories (accurate??) with the particular ingredients I used. That’s pretty high calorie for a snack/dessert to me, but there’s also about 14g of protein per bar… so there’s pros and cons about this recipe. In general I’m not super strict about my calories so I don’t mind but figured the people might want to know! 🙂 Thanks for another great flavor combo/recipe idea, Rachel!
Mary
This looks delicious! What are sprouted outs, can I do that myself somehow? And if not can I sub regular oats?
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