Chocolate Chip Banana Bars are a simple & delicious ripe banana recipe that’s even better than banana bread! Great for breakfast, lunch and even dessert! Check out all the 5 star reviews- everyone raves about this easy banana bars!
Shared nearly 100,000 times on social media, this is the perfect banana recipe! See the 5⭐️ reviews below!
Best recipe to make when you have Ripe Bananas on the counter!
This recipe for Chocolate Chip Banana Bars is my favorite banana recipe ever. They are delicious, filling, and perfect for breakfast, an afternoon snack or as dessert. I love that they have a ton of bananas in them. I like to bake a batch, cut them into squares and freeze them individually for when we’re on-the-go!
Why You’ll Love these Chocolate Chip Banana Bars
- Perfect use for ripe bananas! You’ll need 4 or 5 for this recipe, depending on the size. Tell me I’m not the only one who buys bananas week after week for them to disappear lightning fast. Then suddenly that stops…and you’ve got nearly a whole bunch on the counter ripening at an alarming rate. Ha!
- They’re easier to make than banana bread. Bakes faster & for some reason when they’re cut into squares everyone eats them faster than slices of bread. I’ve heard it time and time again!
- So incredibly versatile! Swap out some oil for applesauce. Use 1 less banana. Add in oats. Or peanut butter. Since posting these 5 years ago, I’ve made so many revisions! They’re all amazing!
Banana Chocolate Chip Bar ingredients
Here’s what you need to make our Chocolate Chip Banana Bars:
—BANANAS: 5 very ripe bananas (about 1 2/3 cup) – yes, you can use frozen bananas! Once you’re ready to use the frozen bananas, thaw them out slightly, then peel them and place the bananas in a bowl. Once they’re fully thawed, drain out the liquid and proceed with the recipe.
—SUGAR: You’ll use just 3/4 cup brown sugar. I opted to use brown sugar in place of white sugar as it’s sweeter due to the addition of molasses. Adds great flavor too!
—OIL: You need 1/4 cup oil for the banana bars. Canola, vegetable or coconut oil work the best. I’ve even gotten comments from people who’ve swapped out the oil for applesauce with great success!
—MILK: We add 1/4 cup milk for moisture. I most often use almond milk, but any type of milk except soy milk works well. (I find soy milk doesn’t bake well!)
—EGGS: You need 2 eggs for this recipe.
—DRY INGREDIENTS: You’ll need 1 3/4 cup flour. I regularly swap out all-purpose flour for whole wheat! You’ll also need 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp cinnamon for flavor and leavening.
—CHOCOLATE: We added 1 cup mini chocolate chips to the recipe in 2 parts. You’ll mix half into the batter and the other half you’ll sprinkle on top before baking. Adds just the right amount of sweetness!
How to make Chocolate Banana Bars
Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 15×10.5″ pan with non-stick spray.
Peel bananas and mash well. Stir in brown sugar, oil, milk and eggs until combined.
Add in dry ingredients and stir. Fold in 1/2 the chocolate chips.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle remaining chips on top. Bake 18-22 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool completely and cut into squares.
Yields 24 bars.
I like to make a batch, then cool, cut and freeze in individual baggies. Since they’re filling, they make a wonderful snack, breakfast or school lunch addition.
How can I ripen bananas quickly?
Ripe bananas are used in banana bread because they have a stronger, more pronounced flavor. There are several ways to help bananas ripen faster so that you can make banana bread. Here are my preferred methods:
- Ripen bananas in the oven. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place bananas peel and all on the parchment and bake for 30-40 minutes, until peels are black & shiny. Let cool 1 hour and proceed with banana bread recipe.
- Ripen bananas in a paper bag. If you have more time, place bananas in a paper bag with an apple. Fold and secure closed. I usually leave bananas like this for a full day, then proceed with the Banana Nut Bread recipe.
How to make Healthier Banana Bars
There are several things you can swap out in this recipe to make them healthier. Here are some ideas:
- I use brown sugar instead of regular granulated sugar to add more sweetness with less sugar. That being said, you can decrease the sugar to 1/2 cup. Just make sure you’re using VERY ripe bananas to add sweetness there.
- You can replace half or all of the oil with applesauce. I’m more of a fan of using half coconut oil and half applesauce, personally.
- Use almond or cashew milk in place of regular milk.
- Add in 2-3 TBSP of ground flax! No one will notice and it gives an added boost of fiber.
- Add veggies!! Seriously. Check out my double chocolate version of this recipe. I added cocoa powder and tons of ground spinach. No one can taste the difference and if you blend the spinach small enough (blending it with the coconut oil helps) you can’t see the difference either.
CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BARS
Ingredients
- 5 very ripe bananas about 1 2/3 cup
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup oil any type- I use coconut
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 ¾ cup flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips divided
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 15×10.5" pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
- Peel bananas and mash well. Stir in brown sugar, oil, milk and eggs until combined. Add in dry ingredients and stir. Fold in 1/2 the chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle remaining chips on top.
- Bake 18-22 minutes, until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely and cut into squares. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I’ve made several revisions to this incredible recipe! Here are my favorites:
➡➡➡ I added Peanut Butter. These Peanut Butter Banana Bars have more flavor and protein! Use smooth or crunchy, depending on what you like.
➡➡➡Double the Chocolate! I mean, adding more chocolate is always a good idea. These Double Chocolate Banana Bars are dark brown due to the cocoa, so I took the opportunity to sneak in some blended spinach too! THEY NEVER NOTICE!
➡➡➡Like Cheesecake? I made two different versions to satisfy you! Here’s a Cream Cheese Frosted Banana Bars and this one, Cheesecake Banana Bars has a swirl of sweetened cream cheese baked into it!
➡➡➡Bring on the fruit! Bananas pair well with so many other fruits, so I made a Blueberry Banana Bars recipe, Strawberry Banana Bars and added some citrus with these Orange Banana Bars. YUM.
Can you use frozen bananas in banana bars?
A lot of people freeze overripe bananas to use them later on in banana bars. It’s a simple way to amass a collection of ripe bananas to use in this recipe. you don’t even have to peel the bananas prior to freezing! Once you’re ready to use them in this banana bars recipe, thaw them out slightly, then peel them and place the bananas in a bowl. Once they’re fully thawed, drain out the liquid and proceed with the recipe.
Can you freeze Chocolate Banana Bars?
Yes! I freeze these banana bars often! My favorite way to freeze them is to cut them into 2″-3″ squares and place in a small baggie. Place all of the individual baggies in a larger ziplock bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Then you have individual servings of chocolate chip banana bars that are perfect for an on-the-go snack or school lunch! You can also freeze a half pan of these banana bars. Instead of baking in a 10×15 pan, bake them in 2 quarter bakers sheets or 9×13 pans. Simply cool fully, then cover with plastic wrap and freeze for up to 2 weeks.
Are banana bars gluten free?
My traditional recipe for chocolate chip banana bars does contain gluten, however you can substitute a gluten-free flour blend or use almond flour instead. If you swap out regular flour with almond flour, just add a rounded teaspoon of baking soda instead.
Fantastic cake-like banana bar recipe for when you have ripe bananas that need to be used up! Perfectly spiced with a bit of cinnamon & studded with chocolate chips, these banana bars are amazing!
Catherine Beach says
I just made these and they are fantastic! I added a tsp of vanilla. Thank you for the recipe!
Jessica Reynolds says
My 7 year old daughter loves to make these! We made them tonight! Such an easy good recipe! These are her favorite and she can almost make them all by herself! 😊
joanie B says
The recipe was dry and chewy and too thin in the size pan recommended. I will not make it again.
Keri says
Used almond flour, only 1/2 c. sugar, sugar free chocolate chips (Lily’s) and a 9×13 pan. They turned out thin and soft (like cookie dough), but insanely delicious! This will be a go-to recipe.
Cassidy says
Can I use chia seeds instead of flax seeds to add some fiber?
Nellie says
Absolutely, that sounds like a great idea!
YOLANDA GARCIA says
I made these with almond and coconut flour, milkanamian milk and swerve sweetener. They are delicious.
Do I store them in an airtight container? Do they need to be refrigerated?
Thank you.
Nellie says
So glad you enjoyed them. No need for refrigeration, but yes, they do best when stored in an airtight container. Or you can just put plastic wrap over the top of the cookie sheet…they usually only last a day or two at my house anyways!
Line Osseiran says
Loved the recipe! It’s easy, light and just perfect to enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea !
Alison says
I love this with my favorite drink as well Line!
YoliO says
Making this recipe was so easy but better, my husband absolutely loved it! Thank you very much for putting this recipe up for us!
Jen says
My boys (6 and 9 yrs) LOVED this!! I did exactly what the recipe said to do. The only thing I added was a few swigs of sugar free salted caramel (coffee) syrup to the batter. I made this yesterday afternoon and they’re almost gone! lol Thanks for sharing!
Alison says
I love that salted caramel syrup idea Jen! I hope you all continue to enjoy these!
Olya says
Moist, very tasty, beautiful flavour. I prefer to eat it warm, yet it taste great when fridge cold
Alison says
I prefer it warm as well Olya! We pop them in the microwave when we want to eat them the next day!
Cathi Schoenhoff says
Super easy and quick! I used A/P flour, increased the cinnamon cause we love it, added chopped walnuts and used regular chocolate chips since I didn’t have mini. Awesome treat! Thanks so much!
Alison says
I’m so glad you enjoyed this treat Cathi!
Jillian says
What do you do when you remove them from the freezer? Do you just let a bar thaw out in the bag, or do you open the bag, or do you remove the bar from the bag? haha Sorry! I just don’t want to “ruin” them by not thawing them correctly!
Jessica says
I’ve done all of those options! When I send them to school with my kids, they end up thawing in the bag. At home, I set them out for a snack or something, so they thaw out on a plate.
Natalie says
Amazing, so moist and delicious! Not too sweet either.
Becky Fritz says
I made these and they are delicious however they are fluffy like banana bread. Did I do something wrong???
Jessica says
Nope, they are fairly fluffy. Not quite cake-like but fluffier than brownies.
Sarah says
I tried this with vegetable oil and they didn’t dry out as much as shown in the photos. Next time, I’ll try with coconut oil instead.
Jessica k says
Wow delicious! Thank you for the recipe. I will absolutely make it again. Here are the subs i did in case its helpful for anyone. It turned out PERFECTLY! Loved it
1/2 coconut oil mixed with 1/2 applesauce ( 2T each)
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 loosely packed brown sugar since my bananas were super ripe.
A dash of cinnamon instead – but I’d totally skip it next time
12.5×9 sheet pan and baked it for 24 mins
I’m also pretty sure my costco sized bananas were huge and way more than callef for but i still used 5 and it was still fine
Nellie says
Thanks for sharing your substitutions! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
K Smith says
Great alternative to bread for using up overripe bananas. Quick and delicious, always love it too when I don’t have to use the mixer! 🙂 I used melted coconut oil, and only needed 4 bananas to equal 1 2/3 cups. The result is somewhere in between a cookie and banana bread. Definitely going in the baking rotation, thanks!
Alison says
I’m glad to hear you enjoyed these!
Natalie says
Wow! These turned out so good! I’m eating one as I type this. I did mix the dry ingredients first before putting it in the the banana mixture too. So moist, flavorful and yummy! Thank you 😊👍🏼 I finished it…time for another one! 🤣
Kristen Shields says
I made this to get rid of a lot of ripened bananas we had on hand and I wanted to make some healthy snacks for my husband. He loved these and I cut up over 24 pieces and after cooling bagged them up. Perfect grab and go snack and a great way to use up some bananas. Simple recipe and I will use in the future.
Alison says
This is how we use them at our house too! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed these Kristen!
June Gaulding says
Just made these, followed instructions to the T.
Turned out so nice, just like the picture.
However, the cinnamon ruined them. Sorry 😞
Alison says
You could always omit the cinnamon if it is not your preference!
Michele says
Love them. I added a drop of vanilla extract and little less cinnamon then the recipe called for. I do have a question, should these be stored in the refrigerator?
Nellie says
You can just store them at room temperature. I like to cut them up and freeze them individually wrapped in plastic wrap for lunches as well.
Teresa says
Moist and delicious! More like banana cake consistency though. I used dark belgian disks, cut into shards, and added walnuts too. I did add an extra 8 minutes to the bake time, probably due to the wetness of my bananas? Will make again. 🙂
Mariyam says
Loved this. It was very delicious.