These yummy No Bake Cocoa Banana Bars come together in a flash and require no baking. Perfect for warmer days! And they have only 1 tablespoon added sugar from maple syrup
You have no idea how happy I am that it is starting to warm up.
I am such a baby about it being cold, but I guess it has to be cold so we can appreciate the warm, right?
However, when it starts to warm up around here, there's always that lingering knowledge that 100°F temperatures are just around the corner, so I need to really enjoy these breezy spring days.
And I certainly have been. When I'm at home, I just leave my door open and turn off the air conditioner. It's glorious.
Then I forget that I turned off the air conditioner and it starts to get a wee bit warm in my apartment, especially if the oven is on.
However, these beauties don't need the oven.
These No Bake Cocoa Banana Bars are similar to these No Bake Chocolate Snowballs except they have a lot less added sugar thanks to the banana and are easier to make.
I liked that these were not super sweet, but feel free to increase the maple syrup to 2 or 3 tablespoons if desired.
I found that sprinkling with flaked sea salt or even kosher salt after pressing them into the pan helped satisfy that sweet & salty craving I always have. Basically, it was much more satisfying than just an overly sweet dessert.
In fact, I ate these for breakfast one morning and enjoyed every bite. Chocolate for breakfast? I'll take it!
Want more no bake desserts? Try these:
- Key Lime Pie Bars
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Ice Cream Pie
- Boozy Mango Pineapple Popsicles
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip
- No Bake Frozen Cheesecake Bars
No Bake Cocoa Banana Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almond butter or any nut or seed butter
- 1 TBSP coconut oil
- 1 TBSP maple syrup
- 1/4 cup mashed banana about 1/2 banana
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup oats
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1/8 tsp sea salt optional
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil, parchment, or waxed paper. Set aside.
- Put almond butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, and mashed banana in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-low until coconut oil is melted; stir to combine everything.
- Remove from heat and add vanilla extract, salt, and cocoa powder. Whisk together and make sure it is all combined. Add the oats, and unsweetened coconut. Stir together.
- Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish and sprinkle with sea salt if desired. Put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to set.
- Remove from baking dish and cut into 16 squares. Enjoy!
Notes
Meme
Danielle Omar - Food Confidence RD says
I make no-bake bars all the time and never thought to warm the ingredients first...does it make a big difference in the outcome?
Meme says
Hmm ya know, I've never tried it before without warming it. I think it helps everything blend together a little easier and I always keep my almond {or peanut} butter in the fridge so it helps to warm it. But the more I think about it, it seems like it would work without warming as long as everything was at room temperature. I will have to try that!