These Banana Bars are the best way to use overripe bananas! They’re moist, fluffy, and slathered in a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting.
Does anyone else buy bananas and then let them sit on the counter until they’re too brown to eat plain anyway? No? Me neither. 😉
Anyway…if I do happen to end up with some way-too-ripe bananas, I love to use them either in smoothies or in baked goods like banana bread, banana muffins, and now…banana bars!
My favorite now might just be these banana bars. They are moist, fluffy, and smothered in a sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting!
Ingredients
Banana Bars
- Unsalted Butter – provides moisture and warm depth of flavor.
- Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar –
- Eggs – act as a binder, helping to hold the banana bars together.
- Vanilla Extract – adds flavor depth.
- Banana – use extra ripe bananas for the best flavor.
- All-Purpose Flour – gives the banana bars their structure.
- Ground Cinnamon and Salt – cinnamon adds a warm spiciness while salt brings out other flavors and cuts the sweetness.
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda – both give the bars a fluffy texture and prevent them from becoming too dense.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream Cheese – creates a delicious, tangy, creamy base for the frosting.
- Unsalted Butter – adds warm depth of flavor.
- Heavy Cream – things the frosting out to make it even creamier and spreadable.
- Vanilla Extract – adds flavor depth and a nutty sweetness.
- Powdered Sugar – gives the cream cheese frosting so much yummy sweetness and structure.
- Salt – cuts the sweetness and brings out flavor.
How to make
Banana Bars
- In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and mashed banana until well combined.
- Add in flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda and stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into a greased baking dish.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes then cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add in heavy cream and vanilla and beat again.
- Mix in powdered sugar and salt and beat until combined.
- Spread the finished frosting on the cooled bars and enjoy!
How can you ripen bananas quickly?
Maybe you’re not one of those people that always has too-ripe bananas around but all of the bundles at the store are too underripe to add the desired flavor and sweetness to your baked goods…
Here are a couple of tactics you can use to ripen your bananas quickly!
- In a paper bag. Place the bananas in a brown paper bag along with ripe fruit like an avocados, apples, peaches, pears, etc. The riper fruit will stimulate the bananas to ripen as well.
- In the oven. Preheat the oven to 300ºF and place the bananas on a baking sheet. Bake them for 15-20 minutes. They should turn completely black. Once they’re done, let them cool and then scoop out the fruit.
Can you use frozen bananas?
Yes! …Well, sort of. One of the best ways to store really ripe bananas is to freeze them. They will keep for 6-8 months and then you have the MVP of banana bread or banana bars on hand all the time!
Although you can’t incorporate those frozen bananas directly into your baked goods, all you have to do is let them thaw so that you can mash them up and use them. Easy!
Variations
- Make peanut butter banana bars. Stir in some peanut butter chips or swirl in melted peanut butter for a flavor twist.
- Add chocolate. Mix chocolate chips into the batter or swap the cream cheese frosting out for some melted chocolate.
- Use another frosting. Try regular vanilla frosting, marshmallow frosting, or cinnamon cream cheese frosting.
- Make them caramel-y. Swirl in your favorite caramel sauce for an even sweeter flavor twist.
- Add nuts. Stir in chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds, etc.
- Make berry banana bars. Try any of your favorite berries like raspberries, blueberries, sliced strawberries, blackberries, etc. You can use fresh or frozen!
How to store
Leftover banana bars can be stored unfrosted at room temperature for 1-2 days. They can also be stored frosted in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To enjoy again, serve straight from the fridge or thaw in the fridge if frozen.
– Jennifer
Banana Bars
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
Banana Bars
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups mashed very ripe banana
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spoon and leveled
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese softened to room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Banana Bars
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together butter, sugars, eggs, vanilla, and banana until well combined.
- Add in flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Stir until *just* combined.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for 45-60 minutes (mine was perfect at 55) or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese and butter until fluffy.
- Add in heavy cream and vanilla and beat until combined.
- Add in powdered sugar and salt and beat until combined and fluffy.
- Frost cooled bars and serve at room temperature or chilled.
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Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.