Banana Bars - a moist and delicious dessert bar recipe (2024)

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:

1. Mixing bowl
2. Spatula
3. Stand mixerorHand mixer
4. Measuring cups
5. Measuring spoons
6. 9x 13 pan

If you tried this recipe please comment and rate it 🙂 I love hearing your feedback and answering your questions!

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