Banana Bread Energy Bars [Vegan, Paleo, Whole30]

This Banana Bread Energy Bar recipe with dried dates tastes just like the store-bought version, but better! With just 3 ingredients and the help of your food processor, these no-bake fruit and nut snack bars will be ready in 20 minutes or less. Vegan, Paleo, and Whole30, too!

Do you know what makes me really excited?

When you can make one of your favorite store-bought snack bars at home, and they taste identical 😀

I discovered the Banana Bread Larabar flavor during my Whole30 and could not get over how amazing it tasted. I’m a sucker for anything banana bread, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when I became obsessed with that flavor. And the when I read the label to see only three ingredients listed–dates, dried bananas, almonds– it was mind-blowing. Okay, maybe that’s just me? I immediately thought “There must be a way to make this at home…I just need to find some dried bananas.”

Then I remembered that Trader Joe’s is like a mecca for all dried fruits. They have EV-ERY-THING. If you’re familiar with TJ’s, you know what I mean. When I was up in Grand Rapids last month (the closest location to me) I of course had to scope things out in the dried fruits section. I found the beloved dried baby bananas* and I knew that this copycat recipe could happen.

Banana Bread Energy Bars

YEAH. Just 3 ingredients are needed for this recipe. The Larabar recipe calls for almonds but I threw some walnuts in there for funsies. Walnuts are actually really good for you, too. Great for your heart and your brain. 😀

Just like my other date energy bars / ball recipes, I use my Breville food processor*. I honestly can’t recommend this food processor enough. We received it as a wedding gift and it is the BEST.

If you’re looking to up your homemade snack game, a food processor (or heavy duty blender) is definitely a must. I remember scrolling through Pinterest several years ago and pinning lots of different energy ball and snack bar recipes, only to realize I needed a food processor to make the recipe… and I didn’t have one. *womp womp* I would get so frustrated!

So if you find yourself in that boat, seriously just get the food processor. It is life-changing. You can make tons of homemade snack bars, nut butters, shred veggies, make scones, and you can even use it for preparing cake batter.

Ingredients for Homemade Banana Bread Energy Bars

• mixed nuts
• dried baby bananas
• medjool dates
• cinnamon (optional)

How to Make Easy Banana Date Bars

1. Preheat oven to 325F and place raw nuts on baking sheet. Toast nuts for 8-12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow toasted nuts to cool on pan for 10 minutes. Toasting is optional but it brings out more flavor.
2. In a medium sized bowl, cover pitted dates and dried bananas with warm water. Let sit for 3 minutes to soften dates and bananas. Then drain. If dates are really moist, no need to soak. My dried bananas were fairly dried out, so those needed to be soaked for a few minutes.
3. In the bowl of your food processor, add cooled toasted nuts. Process until they’re in tiny pieces, almost to meal texture. Next, add in drained pitted dates and dried bananas, process/pulse until broken down and mixture starts to come together. See photos in post for visual.
4. Remove S blade from bowl of processor. Transfer mixture into lined 9×5 loaf pan or 8×8 baking pan. Press mixture down flat. Transfer pan to freezer for 10 minutes, or fridge for 30 minutes allowing the bars to set.
5. Once set, gently life the parchment paper to remove the bars, placing on cutting board. Use large sharp knife to cut the bars into 12 even squares (or desired number of servings).

How Many Servings Does this Fruit and Nut Energy Bar Make?

I like to cut the energy bar mixture into 12 even snacks bars. I find this to be the perfect portion amount for a quick and easy afternoon snack!

But oh yes, you could also roll these into little balls and would get about 24 rounded tablespoon sized balls. Either way, they taste delicious and just like rich banana bread in no-bake form! This is my new favorite homemade energy bar recipe for sure.

How to Store Banana Bread Energy Bars?

For best results, store the banana date bars in airtight container in fridge for up to two weeks, or freezer up to 3 months. Enjoy!

More Energy Bar Recipes You’ll Love:

• Vegan Baked Banana Protein Bars
• Chocolate Almond Butter Oat Protein Bars
• Paleo Cacao Coffee Protein Bars
• Mint Chocolate Date Nut Bars
• 4-Ingredient Homemade Protein Bars
• Pumpkin Spice Paleo Protein Bars

If you make this Banana Bread Energy Bar recipe, be sure to leave a comment and review on the blog! I love hearing  from you, and it helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx Ashley

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

How to Make…

Banana Bread Energy Bars [Vegan, Paleo, Whole30]

This Banana Bread Energy Bar recipe tastes just like the store-bought version, but better! With just 3 ingredients and the help of your food processor, these no-bake fruit and nut snack bars will be ready in 20 minutes or less. Vegan, Paleo, and Whole30, too!

• Prep Time: 10 min
• Cook Time: 10 min
• Total Time: 20 min

• Yield: 12 1x
• Scale: 1x2x3x

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup mixed nuts (I used 1 cup almonds, 1/2 cup walnuts. Cashews also work here.)
• 6oz dried baby bananas (1 heaping cup)
• 10 medjool dates, pitted
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325F and place raw nuts on baking sheet. Toast nuts for 8-12 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow toasted nuts to cool on pan for 10 minutes. Toasting is optional but it brings out more flavor.
2. In a medium sized bowl, cover pitted dates and dried bananas with warm water. Let sit for 3 minutes to soften dates and bananas. Then drain. If dates are really moist, no need to soak. My dried bananas were fairly dried out, so those needed to be soaked for a few minutes.
3. In the bowl of your food processor, add cooled toasted nuts. Process until they’re in tiny pieces, almost to meal texture. Next, add in drained pitted dates, dried bananas, and cinnamon, if using, process/pulse until broken down and mixture starts to come together. See photos in post for visual.
4. Remove S blade from bowl of processor. Transfer mixture into lined 9×5 loaf pan or 8×8 baking pan. Press mixture down flat. Transfer pan to freezer for 10 minutes, or fridge for 30 minutes, allowing the bars to set. Once set, gently life the parchment paper to remove the bars, placing on cutting board. Use large sharp knife to cut the bars into 12 even squares (or desired number of servings).
5. Store bars in airtight container in fridge up to two weeks, or freezer up to 3 months. Enjoy!

Recipes Notes:

Bars can also be rolled into tablespoon size balls. You should get around 24 balls. Store in fridge or freezer.

Feel free to add up to 3 servings of collagen peptides, which would be very similar to the Pumpkin Spice Paleo Protein Bars.

Nutrition Information:

• Serving Size: 1/12th
• Calories: 207
• Sugar: 21g
• Sodium: 0mg
• Fat: 10
• Saturated Fat: 0
• Unsaturated Fat: 0
• Trans Fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 30
• Fiber: 3
• Protein: 4
• Cholesterol: 0

Category: Snacks Method: Food Processor Cuisine: American
Keywords: Banana Bread Energy Bars, Banana Bread Date Nut Energy Bars, Date Energy Bars, Banana Date Bars
Author: Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen

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