Banana Flapjacks (Dairy-Free & Refined Sugar-Free)
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These deliciously moreish Banana Flapjacks are the perfect choice if you are looking for a dairy-free, vegan and refined sugar-free snack. These soft and chewy flapjacks are easy to make with dates and coconut oil and always go down an absolute storm
These Banana Flapjacks are protein rich perfect oaty snacks. 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.
These are softer than traditional flapjacks as we're not using golden syrup as a binder (which also gives flapjacks their crunchy texture). We are using bananas, dates and cashew butter for binding which creates a glorious chewy and fudgy texture instead. They are slightly cakier but so moist and delicious.
Why You’ll Love These Banana Flapjacks
- Perfect after school or back-to-office oaty snacks.
- No golden syrup or refined sugar. All the sweetness is from medjool dates and banana.
- Deliciously chewy and fudgey texture.
- Protein rich with cashew butter which helps bind these flapjacks together.
- Use with on-the-turn bananas - a great alternative to banana bread.
- Totally satisfying breakfast on the run.
- Quick and easy to make.
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
Bananas. Use really ripe bananas which can mash down easily and provide good sweetness.
Porridge oats. Use porridge oats rather than jumbo rolled oats as they hold together better. However, if you can only get hold of jumbo or rolled oats then just processed a third of the oats in a food processor until they have crumbled down a little more which will help stick the flapjacks together.
Coconut oil. If you don't need this recipe to be dairy-free you can switch for melted butter.
Ground cinnamon. Adds a lovely warmth.
Salt. I use kosher salt for its gently flavour.
Vanilla extract. You don't need to choose a fancy brand, regular supermarket vanilla extract is fine here.
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 Banana 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.
Smother the gorgeous nutty banana caramel mixture over the oats, mixing well together. Press into a tin and bake.
Tips & Troubleshooting
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.
The extra banana slices on the top are really important. So chewy and so good!
Allow the flapjacks to cool completely in the tin before removing and cutting which avoids any crumbling.
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.
Recipe Variations
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 Dairy-Free & Refined Sugar Free Snack Recipes
No Bake Gluten-Free Chocolate Cereal Bars are the perfect pick-me-up. Packed with protein these energy bars use only natural ingredients with no refined sugar in the chewy cereal filling, no gluten and no dairy for the ultimate salty-sweet treat.
These Coconut Lime Energy Balls are the perfect snack when you need a boost. There is no sugar in them at all, refined, fruit or fake but instead loads of plant protein and of course plenty of yumminess.
These No-Bake Granola Bars will become your new favourite snack. They are gluten-free and vegan with no refined sugar and plenty of energy boosting ingredients, plus they are super tasty.
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Banana Flapjacks
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 certified 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!)
- 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
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.
is that 175 grams of butter? That's more than a stick, that can't be right/healthy?
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.
You could sub for coconut oil?