Banana Bread Dessert Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Banana Bread Bars are a great variation of a favorite breakfast meal in our home. Similar to banana bread with a cream cheese frosting.

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Banana Bread is our favorite breakfast food. Any time we have a few bananas the boys always beg us to save them to make banana bread. But one day, we decided we wanted to try something a little different and made it into banana bread bars. 

Since it’s so close to banana bread, we named these banana bread bars. Yeah, we’re really creative over here! I don’t know if they would really be breakfast anymore, with the cream cheese frosting on top, but they made a great snack. 

The ingredients for the bars are very similar to those used for my classic banana bread recipe. It’s just slightly different amounts and methods. Plus, as I said, the bars have a delicious frosting on top that we don’t put on the bread. 

Tyler and Ryan really enjoyed helping us make this recipe. And of course, they especially like helping us eat it! Next time, though, they want me to make chocolate chip banana bars since we already make chocolate chip banana bread sometimes. 

Simple Ingredients

Butter

The butter will cream well with the sugar if it is at room temperature. If you forget to take it out ahead of time (I do this often) then put the butter only in the mixing bowl and use the mixer to soften it for a few minutes before adding the sugar. I find unsalted butter works best for most baking recipes. 

Sugar

We typically use white sugar when we are making banana bread, so that’s what we used for the banana bars recipe. If you would like a slightly different flavor, try using 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 cup of granulated sugar. You could also try these with coconut sugar if you prefer that. 

Eggs

​Make sure you get large eggs for this recipe. Most of the eggs you buy at the grocery store are large eggs, so it shouldn’t be an issue. 

Bananas

When it comes to baking with bananas, the more over-ripe bananas, the better. You want those brown bananas that have been left on the counter for too long and you can’t do anything else with them. The recipe calls for 3 bananas, but I have made these with 4 bananas before so one doesn’t get wasted. You’ll have very moist banana bars with a lot of banana flavor if you use an extra. 

Vanilla Extract

A little bit of vanilla extract goes a long way to adding flavor to the banana bar recipe. You could also use vanilla bean paste for a more intense flavor. 

All-Purpose Flour

All-purpose flour seems to work the best for this recipe or you can use whole wheat flour for a slightly healthier option. Although, if you need a gluten-free flour blend, try making it with almond flour or oat flour. 

Baking Soda

The baking soda helps the bread batter rise just a bit while it cooks. 

Salt

I used to omit salt from many recipes, thinking it was healthier. But at such small amounts, it doesn’t add a significant amount of sodium but it does help bring out the other flavors in the recipe. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

While it’s easier to use store-bought frosting, you’ll get a better taste if you make it yourself. It doesn’t take long and only a few ingredients: butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar. If you make your own, another option is to brown butter frosting by cooking the butter on the stove top to make browned butter before mixing it with powdered sugar and vanilla extract. See this recipe: https://www.thebakerchick.com/brown-butter-frosting/

Banana Bread Bars Step by Step

Ingredients

• 8 tbsp butter (softened to room temperature)
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 bananas (overripe)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups cream cheese frosting

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350F. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until they are fluffy. I like to use my stand mixer for this because it is quick and easy without me having to hold the electric mixer.

Then beat in the wet ingredients (eggs, overripe bananas, and vanilla extract).

In a separate bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt). Slowly stir this into the mashed bananas mixture until it’s just blended together. 

Grease a 9×13 baking dish and pour the banana batter into the dish.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the bars in the dish on a wire rack.

Once the bars are completely cooled, frost them, cut them into one-inch squares, and serve them. Garnish with crushed pecans if desired.

Banana Bread Bar Leftovers

Storage: Store leftover banana bars in an airtight container. Due to the cream cheese frosting, these are best when kept in the refrigerator. They will stay good in there for 3-4 days. 

Recipe

Banana Bread Bars

Banana Bread Bars are a great variation on a favorite breakfast meal in our home. Similar to banana bread with a cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Course:

Dessert

Cuisine:

American

Diet

Vegetarian

Keyword:

banana

|

banana bread

|

cream cheese frosting

|

dessert

|

dessert bars

|

frosting

|

overripe bananas

Dietary Needs:

Nut-Free

Servings: 12 servings

5 from 11 votes

Ingredients

• 8 tbsp butter (softened)
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 bananas (overripe)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups cream cheese frosting

Recommended Equipment

• Mixing Bowls – Stainless Steel
• Whisk – Wire
• Glass Baking Dish
• Wire Cooling Rack
• Stand Mixer

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350F
• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar
• Beat in the eggs, bananas, and vanilla extract
• In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt
• Slowly stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined
• Grease a 9×13 baking dish and pour the batter in the dish
• Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
• Cool in the pan on a wire rack
• When the bars are completely cooled, frost and cut into one-inch squares
• Garnish with crushed pecans if desired

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Nutrition Facts

Banana Bread Bars

Amount Per Serving (1 bar)

Calories 667 Calories from Fat 216

% Daily Value*

Fat 24g37%

Saturated Fat 9g45%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 6g

Monounsaturated Fat 6g

Cholesterol 61mg20%

Sodium 434mg18%

Potassium 176mg5%

Carbohydrates 113g38%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 91g101%

Protein 4g8%

Vitamin A 312IU6%

Vitamin C 3mg4%

Calcium 16mg2%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

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