A thick, soft and moist lunchbox slice with oats, banana and mixed berries. Somewhere between banana bread and a baked oat bar — filling, without being heavy or doughy. Lightly sweetened, made with dairy-free ingredients and delicious with optional vegan chocolate.

Makes: 12 thick slices   Prep: 10 minutes   Bake: 30–38 minutes   Oven: 175°C fan   Tin: 20 cm square

Ingredients

• 200 g rolled oats
• 150 g plain flour or white spelt flour
• 2 large ripe bananas (about 220 g peeled)
• 2 eggs
• 30 g coconut sugar (optional; use 25 g for less sweetness)
• 70 g melted Olivani
• 120 ml unsweetened dairy-free milk (use a nut-free variety for lunchboxes)
• 150 g mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries or chopped strawberries)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of fine salt
• Optional: ½ cup vegan chocolate buttons, roughly chopped, or dairy-free chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175°C fan bake. Line a 20 × 20 cm square baking tin.
2. Mash the bananas in a large bowl.
3. Whisk in eggs, coconut sugar, melted Olivani, milk and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, combine oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.
5. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients until just combined.
6. Gently fold through the berries and optional chocolate. If using frozen berries, add straight from the freezer.
7. Spoon into the tin and smooth the top. The batter should be quite thick but spreadable.
8. Bake for 30–38 minutes, until lightly golden and the centre is set. A skewer should come out without wet batter.
9. Cool completely in the tin before slicing into 12 thick pieces.

For the best texture

• Softer, more cake-like: Blend 100 g of the oats into a coarse flour before mixing.
• More chewy and oaty: Leave all the oats whole.
• Extra thick: Use the 20 cm square tin rather than a larger baking dish.
• Moist, not doughy: Avoid overmixing and do not add extra banana.

Freezer-friendly

Cool completely, wrap individual pieces and freeze in an airtight container. Thaw before serving.

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Shop the ingredients

• Jumbo rolled oats
• Organic white spelt flour
• Baking powder
• Organic coconut sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Fine salt
• Vegan chocolate buttons