These banana bars with cream cheese frosting are made from scratch using simple ingredients. They’re perfect for breakfast or dessert!
These moist dessert bars are essentially banana cake in disguise. With 1-½ cups of mashed bananas, the delicious banana flavor is complemented with sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting.
Toasted pecans are completely optional, but they add a nutty crunch factor that can’t be beaten.
Banana Bars Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- baking soda
- salt
- butter
- sugar
- eggs
- mashed banana
- vanilla extract
How to Make Banana Bars
Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Lightly spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or Baker’s Joy. Set the pan aside.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-size bowl. Set the flour mixture aside.
Cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add eggs, bananas, and vanilla.
Adjust the mixer speed to low and slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the mixer as needed to make sure there are no traces of flour.
Pour the banana cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake in the center of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
Slice the cake into bar shapes before serving.
How to Store Banana Bars
Unfrosted banana bars can be stored in the freezer for up to three months. If you’d like to make the cream cheese frosting ahead of time, be sure to freeze it separately from the bars.
Otherwise, store frosted banana bars in the fridge for up to three days or on the countertop for two hours.
FAQ
Kind of. You can freeze the banana bars and the cream cheese frosting separately for up to three months. The frosting will need to be re-whipped after thawing in order to regain its original texture so I don’t recommend freezing the bars already frosted.
It depends on what you’re comparing them to. Using mashed banana rather than cooking oil makes these banana bars lower in fat and calories than a traditional cake recipe. However, due to the cream cheese frosting, banana bars won’t be as healthy as plain quick bread recipes that are often served for breakfast.
Frosted banana bars should be stored in the refrigerator since the cream cheese frosting is perishable. They will be just fine on the counter for a couple of hours though, so no need to sweat it if you are bringing them to an event.
Other recipes you might like
My Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe is another tasty treat for breakfast or brunch.
This Lemon Loaf Cake with Raspberries has a light, tart flavor perfect for summer.
Cinnamon Chip Quick Bread is a fast and easy quick bread recipe that requires very little prep.
If you’re feeling ambitious and want a breakfast to impress, knock their socks off with this Pumpkin Monkey Bread recipe.
Banana Bars
Equipment
- 9×13-inch baking dish
Ingredients
Banana Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt
- ½ cup butter softened
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 ½ cups banana mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup butter softened
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
Topping
- 1½ cups pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Lightly spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or Baker's Joy. Set the pan aside.
- Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium-size bowl. Set the flour mixture aside.
- Cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add eggs, bananas, and vanilla.
- Adjust the mixer speed to low and slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Scrape down the sides of the mixer as needed to make sure there are no traces of flour.
- Pour the banana cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake in the center of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before icing.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat ½ cup softened butter with cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla, mixing well. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk to thin the icing as necessary.
Pecan Topping
- Place pecans on a baking sheet and bake at 350° Fahrenheit for 8-10 minutes. Let pecans cool.
Assembly
- Spread cream cheese frosting over the cool banana cake.
- Sprinkle toasted pecans over the top of the banana cake.
- Cut cake into 12 rectangles. Store banana bars in the refrigerator.
Frosted Banana Bars is the web story version of this recipe.
Rebecca - Glutarama says
I do love a good tray bake recipe and one that uses up the banana’s that keep looking at me in my fruit bowl is a BONUS!
Lynda says
My mom makes these bars and everyone loves them.
Jenn says
Awesome! I love that you can serve them for dessert or breakfast.