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By: Becky Hardin
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These chocolate chip banana bars are super easy to make and perfect to serve as a snack or dessert. All of the flavor of your favorite banana cake in bar form!
I love using bananas in baked goods! They keep them really moist and I love the natural flavor and sweetness. I can also trick myself into thinking I’m eating one of my daily portions of fruit!
Perfect to serve up as a mid afternoon snack or as a family dessert.
If you love these bars, be sure to check out my Banana Muffins and Brown Butter Banana Bread!
Table of Contents
Why you will love these chocolate banana bars!
- Easy: It takes just 10 minutes to make the batter for these bars and then into the oven it goes!
- Fluffy and light: These cake bars rise wonderfully and aren’t at all heavy. They are very cake like!
- Perfect for a crowd: This recipe makes 12 squares, so it’s a perfect treat if you have guests.
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How to make chocolate chip banana bars
Be sure to scroll down for the full recipe!
- Prep: Pre heat the oven and grease a baking pan.
- Combine: Beat together the butter sugar and eggs. Mix in the other wet ingredients. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in chocolate chips.
- Bake: Pour the batter into the pan, sprinkle chocolate chips on top and bake until cooked through.
Can you use underripe bananas?
It’s best to use ripe or overripe bananas in these bars. They will be much sweeter and more flavorful than underripe. They will also be easier to mash.
How long do they keep?
Once the cake is cooled and cut into bars, transfer to an airtight container. They will keep well at room temperature for up to 3 days and will keep for up to 7 days in the fridge. They make a great addition to daily lunchboxes!
Can you freeze them?
Yes! You can freeze these banana bars either in the dish, or wrap them individually and place in freezer bags. You can thaw them at room temperature or in the fridge.
Recipe Notes and Tips
- The more ripe your bananas are the sweeter and more banana flavored these bars will be.
- If you don’t have buttermilk on hand you can add a tablespoon of lemon juice to ¾ cup of milk. The acid in the lemon juice ferments the milk and acts as a raising agent.
- Don’t over mix the batter, the dry ingredients should be just combined.
- Let the cake cool completely before cutting into bars.
More Easy Baking Recipes
- Strawberry Oatmeal Bars
- Oatmeal Cream Pies
- Strawberry Lemonade Sugar Cookie Bars
- Skinny Cranberry Bliss Bars Recipe
- Cranberry Orange Biscotti
- Lemon Raspberry Bars Recipe
Recipe
Chocolate Chip Banana Bars
4.68 from 111 votes
Author: Becky Hardin
Prep: 10 minutes minutes
Cook: 30 minutes minutes
Total: 40 minutes minutes
Serves12 bars
Print Rate
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These chocolate chip banana bars are super easy to make and perfect to serve as a snack or dessert. All of the flavor of your favorite banana cake in bar form!
Email This Recipe
Enter your email and we’ll send the recipe directly to you!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from The Cookie Rookie.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter 113 grams, melted (1 stick)
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200 grams
- 2 large eggs 100 grams, room temperature
- 3 bananas mashed
- ¾ cup buttermilk 170 grams, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 8 grams
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 240 grams
- 2 teaspoons baking powder 8 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 6 grams
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt 3 grams
- 1½ cups mini chocolate chips 266 grams, divided
Recommended Equipment
Kitchen Scale (optional)
Hand Mixer (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a large bowl, with a whisk or hand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, and eggs together.
½ cup unsalted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 large eggs
Add the banana, buttermilk, and vanilla and mix well.
3 bananas, ¾ cup buttermilk, 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fold in 1¼ cups of the chocolate chips.
1½ cups mini chocolate chips
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the top.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Becky’s tips
- The more ripe your bananas are the sweeter and more banana flavored these bars will be.
- If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can add a tablespoon of lemon juice to ¾ cup of milk. The acid in the lemon juice ferments the milk and acts as a raising agent.
- Don’t overmix the batter, the dry ingredients should be just combined.
- Let the cake cool completely before cutting into bars.
Storage: Store chocolate chip banana bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1bar Calories: 371kcal (19%) Carbohydrates: 56g (19%) Protein: 5g (10%) Fat: 15g (23%) Saturated Fat: 9g (56%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 2g Trans Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 56mg (19%) Sodium: 401mg (17%) Potassium: 163mg (5%) Fiber: 2g (8%) Sugar: 35g (39%) Vitamin A: 375IU (8%) Vitamin C: 3mg (4%) Calcium: 94mg (9%) Iron: 2mg (11%)
Did You Make This?I want to see! Be sure to upload an image below & tag @thecookierookie on social media!
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Meet Becky Hardin
Becky Hardin is a wife and mother living in Saint Louis Missouri. She founded The Cookie Rookie in 2012 as a creative way to share recipes. Now, she is a trusted resource for easy cooking around the world, being featured in Taste of Home, The Kitchn, ABC’s Home and Family, and more. Here at The Cookie Rookie she is the editor in chief of all recipes and continues to enjoy sharing her passion for cooking for busy families. She has since founded two additional food blogs, Easy Chicken Recipes and Easy Dessert Recipes.
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41 Comments
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Sarah R
Posted on 7/26/2023
It’s so delicious!! I doubles the recipe amd I made two “cakes” for an event. Inded it’s so cakey and moist. I’ll be so happy and confident that people are going to love this! Thabks so much!
Reply
Jenny
Posted on 2/12/2023
Could you make these into muffin/cupcakes? If so does the baking time need to change?
Reply
Samantha Marceau
Posted on 2/13/2023
Reply to Jenny
Yes, we would start checking them at about 15 minutes!
Reply
Karen S. Drew
Posted on 11/30/2022
DELICIOUS & easy to make!! Will make again!! Yum.
Reply
Karen
Posted on 4/8/2022
These look amazing! We don’t use cow’s milk, do you know of anything else we can substitute for the buttermilk? We typically drink oat, almond, or coconut milk, so I’m unsure if the vinegar trick will work on those.
I can’t wait to figure out a way to substitute so we can make these!
Reply
Becky Hardin
Posted on 4/11/2022
Reply to Karen
You can try a vegan sour cream?
Reply
Louise
Posted on 4/28/2022
Reply to Karen
Yes, you can add lemon juice to oat milk to substitute buttermilk and it works just fine. 1tsp lemon juice in half cup of oat milk :)
Reply
bridget
Posted on 3/6/2022
very good.i used half the sugar and added an extra banana. i am always looking for recipes to use up old bananas. Hate to waste food. This was perfect!
1
Reply
Becky Hardin
Posted on 3/8/2022
Reply to bridget
Thanks for sharing, Bridget!
Reply
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