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You won’t be able to get enough of these Healthy Banana Flapjacks. They are the perfect choice if you are looking for a vegan, refined sugar-free and gluten-free treat. Believe me you will be baking these and serving them to your friends and family time and time again.
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These Healthy Banana Flapjacks are on constant snack rotation in our house. They are ideal to have in the kitchen for the whole family to ward off mid-afternoon hunger pangs that don’t revolve around refined sugar. This recipe is golden and I guarantee you will be making it time and time again.
Why should you make these Healthy Banana Flapjacks?
- Perfect back-to-school or back-to-office healthy snack for lunchboxes.
- Refined Sugar Free Flapjacks. All the sweetness is from medjool dates and banana.
- Deliciously chewy and fudgey texture.
- Totally satisfying breakfast on the run.
- Vegan Banana Flapjacks!! Actually I used to make these flapjacks with melted butter but this vegan version with the coconut oil is better. It’s lighter and gives a slightly cleaner taste.
Ingredients needed
- Medjool dates. These lovely sticky dates are a perfect sugar replacement
- Cashew butter. Can't find any cashew butter at the supermarket? It's super easy to make your own - see this recipe >>> Homemade Cashew Butter
- Banana
- Porridge oats. For gluten-free flapjacks choose gluten-free porridge oats.
- Coconut oil
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
- Vanilla extract
Salted date caramel
The trick to making Refined Sugar-Free Flapjacks is to make a salted date caramel which is really just a fancy way of saying date paste. We use:
- Dates
- Water
- Vanilla extract
- Salt
Whizz this lovely foursome up in a food processor to create your caramel. And yes, it really does taste like a thick sweet golden caramel. Hard to believe there is no sugar!!
How to make the flapjacks
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Melt the coconut oil and whisk in the cashew butter, mashed banana and date caramel.
This is when the true magic happens. If you dare to dip a fingertip into this magic elixir then I warn you, there may be no coming back from it.
The fact that these flapjacks make it into the oven at all is a miracle each time.
2. Smother the gorgeous nutty banana caramel mixture over the oats, mixing well together. Press into a tin and bake.
Baker’s tips
- Make a double quantity of the date caramel as it blends up better in your food processor/blender. The date caramel is an amazing topping to porridge, mixed into coconut yoghurt, or can be used as the sweetener in sugar-free cakes like this Apple Blueberry Maple Cake.
- For these flapjacks to be gluten-free then make sure to use gluten-free oats.
- Use porridge oats rather than jumbo rolled oats as they hold together better.
- The extra banana slices on the top are really important. So chewy and so good!
How to freeze
Allow to cool completely. I recommend freezing before cutting them up. Double wrap to avoid freezer burn and remove from the freezer to defrost overnight at room temperature.
How to store
These Gluten-Free Banana Flapjacks keep well for at up to 3 days in an airtight container stored in a cool dark place.
Add-ins to try
This flapjack recipe is delicious on its own but you can pimp it up for something even more special. Why not try:
- Chocolate - Dark chocolate chips (I feel like I always say this!)
- Seeds - pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds or hemp seeds
- Dried Fruit – chopped apricots are particularly good here!
More vegan, no sugar and gluten-free snack recipes you'll love
- No-Bake Salted Chocolate Energy Bars
- Coconut Lime Energy Balls
- Best Granola Bars
- Raw Blueberry Coconut Energy Bars
If you make these Healthy Banana Flapjacks (gluten-free and vegan) then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own baking creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Healthy Banana Flapjacks {Gluten Free & Vegan}
Ingredients
- 200 g medjool dates - about 11
- 60 ml warm water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 170 g cashew butter
- 175 g coconut oil
- 120 g mashed banana - about 1 large banana
- 1 banana - sliced for decoration
- 350 g gluten-free porridge oats
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C/ 150°C fan/ gas mark 3 and grease and line a 20cm square cake tin.
- To make the date caramel pit the dates then place them in a food processor along with the warm water, vanilla extract and salt. Whizz together until completely smooth. You may have to scrap the sides of the processor a few times to help the process along.
- Melt the coconut oil in a medium pan over a low heat then remove from the heat and stir in the cashew butter, date caramel and mashed banana.
- Pour the oats into a large mixing bowl then smother with the banana caramel mixture until it is all mixed well together.
- Press the flapjack mixture into the tin so the top is even and smooth. Cut the extra banana into slices then place on the surface of the flapjack. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
- Once cool, remove from the tin and cut into squares.
Notes
- For these flapjacks to be gluten-free then make sure to use gluten-free oats.
- Use porridge oats rather than jumbo rolled oats as they hold together better.
- Don’t skip the sliced banana on the top!! So good.
- Can't get to the shops for Cashew Butter? It's so easy to make, see this recipe.
- You can add chocolate chips, pumpkin or sunflower seeds or even dried fruit like chopped apricots to make them really special.
- These flapjacks freeze really well.
- Store in a cool dark place for up to 3 days (if you can possibly resist them!)
Ingredient measurements
- Please note when you see ‘grams’ listed as opposed to ‘millilitres,’ or any other term of measurement, that is not incorrect. I weigh all of my ingredients, including liquids, for accuracy.
- US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results. READ MORE >>> Why you should always weigh vs measuring with cups
Nutrition information
Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification. The nutrition serving is for 1 flapjackNutrition
This recipe was originally published in January 2017 but revised slightly to make vegan by swapping out the butter for coconut oil, adding more process photos and more tips and advice.
Natalie says
is that 175 grams of butter? That's more than a stick, that can't be right/healthy?
Georgina says
Hi Natalie, 175g of butter is the correct amount for this recipe. The flapjacks are portioned up into 16 so that's a little over 10g of butter per flapjack. I definitely think these flapjacks are a treat and not something that should be consumed with abandon. I wouldn't class these flapjacks as a 'health food' by any standard. However I also don't think butter is an 'unhealthy' ingredient as the body needs good fats for energy and fat also helps the body to absorb essential vitamins and minerals. Butter does contain a lot of these saturated fats so is not bad for you but also should only be eaten in moderation. I tend to eat lunch at 11.30 with my son so I find it a struggle to reach suppertime with my husband without something mid-afternoon to keep my energy levels in check and these flapjacks with their slow-releasing complex carbs certainly help with that, as well as having a little bit of sweetness from the dates and banana for good measure. I hope I have clarified this recipe a bit.
Imogen Fox says
You could sub for coconut oil?