Banana Baked Oatmeal Bars

# Components:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 cups rolled oats

02 - 1/2 tsp salt

→ Wet Ingredients

03 - 1 1/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)

04 - 6 tbsp water

05 - 3 tbsp pure maple syrup, agave, or honey, or stevia equivalent

06 - 3 tbsp oil (such as coconut, vegetable), nut butter, or additional water

07 - 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

→ Optional Mix-Ins

08 - 1/3 cup chocolate chips, chopped nuts, dried fruit, or seeds

# Directions:

01 - Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8-inch (20 cm) square baking pan with parchment paper or grease well.

02 - In a large mixing bowl, combine the rolled oats and salt.

03 - Add the mashed banana, water, maple syrup (or other sweetener), oil (or nut butter or extra water), and vanilla extract to the bowl. Stir until evenly combined.

04 - Fold in any optional mix-ins such as chocolate chips or nuts.

05 - Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and use a spatula to smooth the top. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips or nuts on top if desired.

06 - Bake for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven (do not open the door) and let the bars sit inside the closed oven for an additional 5 minutes to set.

07 - Remove from the oven, allow to cool completely, then slice into 6–9 bars.

# Expert Advice:

01 -

These bars come together in literally five minutes with ingredients you probably already have sitting in your pantry right now
The texture sits somewhere between cookie and cake, soft and chewy without any flour or eggs, and they freeze beautifully for busy weeks

02 -

I once cut these while they were still warm and ended up with crumbly edges and uneven bars. Let them cool completely first.
The closed oven resting step is not optional. I learned this the hard way when impatient bars fell apart upon slicing.

03 -