Chocolate Chip Banana Bars

These Chocolate chip banana bars are a fabulous afternoon snack, or weekend dessert. These bars are a cross between banana cake and banana blondies, and we couldn’t love them more!

I love recipes that use overripe bananas, and it’s not just because I love banana-baked goods (though gluten-free banana bread is probably my number one favorite thing ever). I buy bananas because my kids eat them fast… until they don’t.

And suddenly, I have bananas sitting on the countertop, getting black spots on them. And if there’s one thing my kids agree on, it’s that they don’t eat ripe, let alone overripe bananas.

Which kind of forces me into baking. But this is one time when I don’t mind being forced. Not when bananas and chocolate are involved.

By the way, these banana bars can be made extra decadent and taste great with a little bit of peanut butter or cream cheese frosting with a sprinkle of chopped almonds.

Are these banana bars gluten-free?

They can be! As you know, we have food allergies in our family, so while we no longer cook exclusively gluten-free, we do our share, and we love a dual-purpose recipe. I recommend using King Arthur’s all-purpose gluten-free baking blend for these banana bars. You will find that they are slightly more fragile than traditionally made with wheat flour. So, I recommend adding an additional two tablespoons (1/8 cup) of flour to the recipe when you swap it to gluten-free flour.

Ingredients for Chocolate Chip Banana Bars

• Butter – I use salted, but you can use unsalted butter and increase the salt in the recipe by a pinch.
• Brown sugar
• Egg
• Vanilla extract
• Salt
• All Purpose Flour (see note above for gluten-free option)
• Baking powder
• Ripe Bananas
• Chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

As you can see, these ingredients are pretty conventional, and you probably have most or all of them in your pantry.

Ingredients substitutions and swaps

However, just in case you need to make them, here are a few substitutions you can make.

Sugar. I like to use brown sugar for the richer flavor, but in terms of moisture content, the bananas do a fantastic job, so if needed, white sugar can be used.

Butter. You can make the bars dairy-free using a vegan butter substitute such as coconut oil, Earth Balance, Country Crock, or Smart Balance. You can also use light olive oil, though that will change the texture and flavor of your bars slightly.

Flour. You can substitute up to half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. I would not use all whole wheat, as this can make them heavy.

Chocolate chips. You can leave them out or switch them for something like white chips or chopped white chocolate. You can also use Dairy-Free chocolate chips such as Enjoy Life.

How to make Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

1. Preheat oven to 350º
2. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder, and set aside
   
3. In a larger mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla
   
4. Add bananas – if using a stand mixer or hand beaters, you can add the bananas whole. If mixing with a whisk or fork, you may want to mash the banana before adding – and beat in well
   
5. Add dry ingredients, and combine until just mixed
6. Fold in chocolate chips
   
7. Pour into a greased and floured or parchment paper-lined baking pan, and bake in the center of the oven for about 35 minutes, until bars are golden brown on top.
   
8. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove and let cool completely on a wire rack.
9. Cut into 10-12 bars, and serve

How to store leftovers

Once bars are completely cooled and chocolate chips are no longer gooey, bars can be stacked in an airtight container or ziplock bag at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.

To freeze, package completely cooled banana bars in an airtight container in a single layer and place in the freezer for up to a month. To thaw, move to the refrigerator overnight. To avoid sogginess, allow to completely through while still packaged. This keeps the condensation off of the bars themselves.

More Banana Recipes For you: 

• Flourless Oatmeal Banana Bread
• Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Muffins
• Sourdough Banana Bread
• Gluten-Free Banana Cupcakes
• Strawberry Banana Fruit Leather

Print