Chocolate Chunk and Walnut Banana Bread Bars (Vegan GF)
These thick, chewy and fudgy Chocolate Chunk and Walnut Banana Bread Bars are packed with melting chocolate and are a delicious and easy bake. Naturally vegan, egg-free and gluten-free, they are healthy and wholesome, too.
I love anything that resembles banana bread, and these chocolatey nutty bars taste like banana bread in every bite, only with more nuts and chocolate. Instead of in a loaf tin, bake this batter in a tin, for easy on-the-go snacks and dessert bars to enjoy with a cup of tea. They are just as delicious yes easier to make and quick to bake, plus you can play around with the add-ins depending on what nuts and chocolate you have to hand.
Why will I love these?
These bars are amazing:
- Chunky, chewy and fudgy
- Moreish and soft
- Nutty and chocolatey
- Packed with banana bread goodness
- Made with wholesome ingredients
- High in fibre thanks to oats
- Naturally plant-based, egg-free and dairy-free
- Easily gluten-free and nut-free
- Easy and quick to make
- Ideal for snacks, desserts or breakfast
- Delicious for all of the family
- Made with simple ingredients you will already have at home
- Great to make ahead of time or freeze
If you already love the sound of these then skip ahead to the recipe card below. Or, first let’s discuss the recipe in more detail.
What ingredients do I need?
You can see the ingredients with weights in the recipe card below and see my favourites in the “shop the recipe” section.
Here are the ingredients:
- Ripe banana: the riper the better as they are softer and sweetener.
- Runny smooth almond butter: this is the key ingredient to add moisture and richness to the bars. You can also use peanut or cashew butter or choose sunflower seed butter or tahini for a nut-free recipe.
- Maple syrup: for sweetness and you can also use agave syrup.
- Ground chia or flaxseed: this helps to bind the egg-free batter.
- Vanilla extract: for flavour.
- Oats or oat flour: blend your oats into oat flour before mixing into these bars. The oats are fibre and a slow release of energy.
- Plain, GF or spelt flour: keep these light and moreish with plain flour or choose gluten-free flour if you need. Spelt flour also makes for delicious bars, though they are slightly more dense.
- Cinnamon: for sweetness.
- Baking powder and salt: for rise and flavour.
- Dark chocolate: I use the Divine Dark 70% Chocolate bar and it’s the perfect creamy richness. Chop the bar into chunks, or choose chocolate buttons or chips.
- Walnuts: for adding nutty goodness into the mix. You can also swap these for pecans, hazelnuts or almonds. Or, keep them nut-free by using pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
Are these gluten-free and nut-free?
These are easily gluten-free, as long as your oats/oat flour is gluten-free, and you choose a GF blend of flour. To make them nut-free, swap the almond butter for sunflower seed butter or tahini and swap the walnuts for pumpkin seeds.
How do I make them?
These bars are easy to make in a few steps:
- Whisk together all of the wet ingredients: until smooth.
- Add in the dry ingredients: and combine.
- Fold in the chocolate and walnuts: and stir again.
- Smooth into the tin and bake: until golden brown.
- Allow to cool slightly: and slice into bars or squares.
How long will they last?
These will keep for 3-5 days in a sealed container (in the fridge overnight but best enjoyed at room temperature) or you can freeze them for 1 month. Allow to defrost before eating.
What else can I bake?
For more banana bread and bar inspiration, how about:
- Sticky Toffee Walnut Banana Cake
- Chai Orange Chocolate Chip Streusel Banana Bread
- Chocolate Banana Bread Fudge Brownies
- Apple Cinnamon Streusel Blondies
- Banana Nut Chocolate Flapjack
Chocolate Chunk and Walnut Banana Bread Bars (Vegan GF)
These thick, chewy and fudgy Chocolate Chunk and Walnut Banana Bread Bars are packed with melting chocolate and are a delicious and easy bake. Naturally vegan, egg-free and gluten-free, they are healthy and wholesome, too.
Ingredients
- 400g ripe mashed banana (3 large or 4 small bananas)
- 180g runny, smooth almond butter
- 60ml maple syrup
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed or chia seeds
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 100g oat flour
- 70g plain, GF or spelt flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp baking powder
- A pinch of salt
- 90g dark chocolate, roughly chopped, plus extra
- 60g walnuts, chopped, plus extra
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180ºC and line an 8-inch square baking tin with parchment paper.
- Mash and weigh the bananas.
- Into a large mixing bowl: whisk together the mashed banana, almond butter, syrup, flaxseed and vanilla until combined. Add in the oat flour and then sift the plain flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Add the salt and stir or whisk to a thick, smooth batter.
- Pour in the chocolate chunks and walnuts and fold together. Pour the batter into the tin and sprinkle over the extra walnuts.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes, until golden at the edges and an inserted skewer comes out basically clean from the middle.
- While warm, sprinkle over a few extra chunks of chocolate and allow the bars to sit in the tin for 10 minutes. Carefully lift out the tin and cool for 20 minutes.
- Use a sharp knife to slice into 9 squares and enjoy warm or allow to cool and store in a sealed container for 3-5 days, in the fridge overnight, and enjoy at room temperature. You can freeze the squares for 1 month, wrapped well, and allow to defrost before eating.
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Stay in touch
I look forward to hearing what you think of these Chocolate Chunk and Walnut Banana Bread Bars so please let me know in the comments below and leave a review above. If you do make this, I’d love to see so please tag me, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – please say hello!
With choc chunk love x
p.s. this recipe was first made with Divine Chocolate although this blog post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own.
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