Black Bean & Banana Oat Bars
Photo: Louis Hansel / Unsplash
Soft, naturally sweet oat bars made with mashed black beans and ripe banana, warmed with cinnamon and orange zest. A fibre- and iron-rich lunchbox snack little ones genuinely ask for.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Heat the oven
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 20x20 cm baking pan with parchment paper, then rub it lightly with melted coconut oil so the paper stays put.
- a little, for greasing melted coconut oil
✅ Done when: oven is at temperature and pan is lined and lightly greased
Mash beans and banana
In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth, a few small pieces are fine. Add the bananas and mash them in together, this is what makes the bars moist without needing added sugar.
- 240 g black beans
- 2 (about 240 g) ripe bananas
✅ Done when: mixture is mostly smooth with just a few small lumps
Chop the raisins and mix in everything else
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Bake
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Cool and cut
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Serve and store
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Heat the oven
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line a 20x20 cm baking pan with parchment paper, then rub it lightly with melted coconut oil so the paper stays put.
- a little, for greasing melted coconut oil
✅ Done when: oven is at temperature and pan is lined and lightly greased
Mash beans and banana
In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth, a few small pieces are fine. Add the bananas and mash them in together, this is what makes the bars moist without needing added sugar.
- 240 g black beans
- 2 (about 240 g) ripe bananas
✅ Done when: mixture is mostly smooth with just a few small lumps
Chop the raisins and mix in everything else
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Bake
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Cool and cut
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Serve and store
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
The Story Behind the Dish
Black beans are the heart of Brazilian everyday cooking, simmered daily alongside rice in almost every household, while bananas grow abundantly across the country and are a first food for most Brazilian babies. Home cooks and mothers looking for wholesome, no-added-sugar snacks for small children began blending these two pantry staples with oats, turning a savoury national ingredient into something sweet enough for little hands to love.
Bars like these have become popular in modern Brazilian family kitchens and school lunchboxes, prized for being filling, easy to pack and free of refined sugar, a practical answer to the demand for healthier merenda (snack) options.
⭐ Why It's Famous
They turn two humble, deeply Brazilian staples, black beans and bananas, into a soft, naturally sweet bar that feels like a treat but is built from real, fibre- and iron-rich food.
💡 Fun Fact
Brazil is one of the world's largest producers of both black beans and bananas, so this snack uses two ingredients nearly every Brazilian pantry already has on hand.
Brazilian home kitchens
-23.55°S, -46.63°W
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