Banana Bars

The absolute best homemade Banana Bars tastes like a heavenly cross between banana bread and banana cake. This easy banana dessert recipe is slathered in a gooey brown butter frosting and can be ready to serve in 30 minutes!

Baking with bananas always seem to make a great tasting, moist recipe. From Fluffy Banana Cake with Banana Filling, Flourless Banana Pancakes, and Chunky Monkey Cake, ripe bananas don’t stand a chance at our house.

This Banana Bars recipe is coming out on top, though. First of all, if you have ripe bananas, chances are you have everything on hand to make this dessert NOW!

Secondly, from start to finish you can be diving into a slab of these banana bread bars in 30 minutes. This easy recipe comes together in one bowl and bakes for only 20 minutes.

While the bars are finishing baking, quickly mix together the brown butter glaze on the stove top and pour over warm cake. Slather, cut, and eat.

If you want to go the extra mile, pile them on a dessert platter. Then brace yourself with will power because these banana bars disappear fast!

How to ripen bananas quickly

Emergency dessert beckons, am I right? Here are a few shortcut tips from Taste of Home to speed up the banana ripening process.

1. If you have a day or two place bananas in a brown paper bag to trap in the ethylene, the gas which causes fruits to ripen. Place already ripe fruit in the bag, such as an apple, to speed up the process more.
2. To use yellow bananas immediately for baking, soften and ripen by heating in an oven. Place unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet. Warm in a 250ºF oven for 20 minutes, or until skins are black.

Freezing ripe bananas

Did you go a little bananas in the produce section? No worries, there’s a fix for your overzealousness.

1. For smoothies: Slice peeled bananas and place in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Freeze until solid then transfer slices to a freezer-safe bag. Blend up frozen slices in smoothies.
2. Ready to Bake: Peel bananas and mash. Measure and freeze in 1 cup portions in individual freezer bags. Squeeze out as much air as possible and freeze flat. Thaw bags overnight in refrigerator or on the counter for an hour.
3. Feeling Lazy: Throw the unpeeled bananas in a gallon freezer bag. Take out what you need and thaw on a plate in the fridge or on counter.

Go Nuts with Easy Banana Bars

Moist Banana Bars with Brown Butter Frosting go quick anyway you slice them, but here are some tasty additions to try out.

• Mix chopped pecans or walnuts into the banana bar batter, or sprinkle on top of the frosting immediately. Press down lightly to stick.
• Melt 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter in the microwave for 20 seconds. Drizzle on top of frosting and swirl together.
• Make the brown butter frosting more of a glaze by halving all the frosting ingredients except leaving amount of milk the same.
• For a touch of tang in frosting replace milk with buttermilk or substitute milk with 1/3 cup sour cream.

Adding Chocolate Chips 

I have to practice serious restraint to NOT add chocolate to any dessert I’m making. My willpower failed me a few times as I made these bars.

If you suffer from the same affliction, stop beating yourself up and give into it. No one’s going to complain about banana bars being dotted with melting chocolate.

Use mini chocolate chips to make chocolate chip banana bars so they don’t sink down to the bottom of the pan. Then throw caution to the wind and sprinkle some on top of the warm frosting as well. 😎

Making in 9X13 pan

If you prefer a thicker cake to frosting ratio, this banana bar recipe can also be baked in a 9X13″ pan.

It will take longer to bake, so add 10-15 minutes to baking time. Be sure to insert a toothpick in the middle to check for it to be clean before taking them out of the oven.

How To Make Banana Bars Recipe

1. Cream softened butter with both sugars until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Add eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract.
3. Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined.
4. Pour into greased jelly roll pan and bake 20 minutes.

How To Make Brown Butter Frosting

A creamy vanilla frosting goes perfectly with banana bars! Try this stove top brown butter frosting or make fluffy buttercream frosting or peanut butter drizzle to spread on top.

1. Melt and brown butter in saucepan until milk solids sink to the bottom and just turn golden brown.
2. Whisk in brown sugar, salt, milk, and 1 cup powdered sugar.
3. Stir in remaining powdered sugar and spread on warm banana bars.

Click here to see the
step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!

Other MamaGourmand Favorite Dessert Recipes

• Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake – Easy-to-make old fashioned peanut butter sheet cake is covered in a 5 minute warm chocolate frosting and sprinkled with salty chopped peanuts.
• No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake – Creamy no bake cheesecake in graham cracker crust, topped with fresh strawberries, and a glossy gelatin glaze.
• Ginger Molasses Cookies – Gingersnap cookies are an update on a classic with the perfect amount of spices and rich, dark chocolate chips mixed in.

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