Banana Bars are a simple and delicious dessert the whole family will love! With a light and moist crumb and decadent cream cheese frosting, you'll want to make this easy recipe again and again.
Try some other awesome banana recipes like Banana Bread, Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins and Grandma's Moist Banana Cake.
Banana Bars
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Bananas are without a doubt the most popular fruit in our house! My husband goes absolutely nuts over them and so do both of my girls. As you can imagine, we always have some bananas hanging out in our fruit bowl. While I enjoy bananas, I'm also pretty particular about the bananas I'm willing to eat. Specifically, I prefer my bananas to be on the green side. Once I see even a hint of ripeness, I want no part of them!
Now while this certainly benefits my banana-loving husband and kids, I'm also not a fan of waste. I'm always looking for new and delicious ways to repurpose ripe bananas. The great thing about baking is, the browner the banana, the better the flavor! So those bananas you forgot about in your fruit bowl? The ones looking way too overripe to enjoy? Don't throw them out! Make this banana bar recipe instead!
Tips for making this banana bars recipe
- Spray the pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment, allowing a little extra parchment to stick out of the sides. This will make it easier to pull the bars out in one piece once they've baked and cooled for easy slicing.
- I always like to combine my dry ingredients first. That way, they're ready to add into the wet ingredients all at once when the time comes.
- In a large bowl, whip together the bananas to break them down. You can also mash them first with a fork, but I prefer to let my mixer do all the heavy lifting.
- Be sure to use softened cream cheese for making the frosting. This will not only make it easier to mix it together, it'll help you have a smoother frosting.
- Cool the bars completely before frosting them.
Do the bananas have to be really ripe?
No- the riper the banana, the stronger the flavor. But you could also use bananas that aren't as ripe.
How long do banana bars last?
These will last around 3-4 days covered in the refrigerator.
Can you freeze banana bars?
Yes- these can freeze for up to 3 months. A good tip for this would be to freeze them uncovered in a single layer on a sheet pan, to help keep the frosting intact. Once they're frozen, place them into an airtight container with parchment between layers to keep frozen until you're ready to thaw and eat them.
Ingredients for making this banana bar recipe
- Cooking spray
- Flour
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- Bananas
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vegetable oil
- Vanilla extract
- Cream cheese
- Butter
- Confectioner's sugar
Helpful tools:
Banana Bars
Ingredients
Banana Bars
- Cooking spray
- 1 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup ripe bananas, peeled (around 2 medium bananas)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese frosting softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup butter, softened
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Banana Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" x 13" pan with cooking spray and line with parchment, allowing some extra parchment to stick up over the sides. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whip together the bananas to break them down.
- Add sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla and mix until well combined.
- With the mixer on low, gradually blend in the dry ingredients until just combined and pour into the prepared pan. Use a spatula to smooth the batter into an even layer.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean and cool completely.
Cream cheese frosting
- While the bars cool, mix cream cheese, vanilla and butter until well combined.
- Gradually mix in the confectioner's sugar until everything is smooth. Spread the frosting over the cooled bars, cut into 12 pieces and serve.
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Jessy Freimann says