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!
Crystal says
Could I use a 9X13 pan??
Jessica says
Yes, they’ll just be thicker bars and require a bit longer baking time!
Mallory Clark says
I really loved the versatility of this recipe and how flexible it was! I used canned pumpkin in place of 2 bananas and it it was perfect for fall! Thank you! Love it!
Jessica says
It’s SO flexible, isn’t it?1 Pumpkin sounds great! Thanks Mallory!
Gloria Colebank says
Sooo yummy & absolutely easy!!. G
Robyn Bean says
I made this in my pampered chef stoneware pan (I think 14×10). I substituted applesauce for the oil, and I stirred in the whole cup of chocolate chips and then sprinkled maybe 1/3 cup more on top. It was delicious. Took it to a church potluck and it was gobbled up by kids and adults. I was also pleased that it took 5 bananas because that’s what I had (many recipes called for 3 and I didn’t want 2 left over!). Thanks for the recipe.
Shawnacee Marshall says
I have made these twice now and both times gave been hits! The second time I used a 9×13 and only had to increase the cook time by a few minutes. I also ended up subbing half the mini chocolate chips for mini butterscotch chips (I realized way too late that I didn’t have enough of either to do all of one flavor) and they were amazing!
Alison says
Shawnacee, Butterscotch chips sound like such a good idea! I’ll be trying it!
Vineeta says
Aah.. Loved the simplicity and ease of this recipe! I totally skipped the chocochips and used flaxseed powder as you suggested.. turned out nice and spongy 🙂 Happy hubby, happy me!
Thank you from India 🙏
Jessica says
You’re most welcome Vineeta!
Meagan Cornett says
I used a 9×13 pan, and almond flour. I read your instructions to say if you use almond flour to add a rounded tsp of baking soda instead of a measured tsp correct? Also with the smaller pan I’m wondering if I should have baked for 25 mins instead of 21 because it came out pretty moist, and flimsy, not like a traditional bar would feel.
Jessica says
Being as you used a smaller pan, you’ll have to adjust the baking time for sure (since yours will be thicker.)
Geri says
I used an insulated pan. Baked for about 30 minutes. Came out cake like. Used a third whole wheat, some flax, a little nutmeg, and regular sized chocolate chips. Very yummy..
Adriene says
Very good recipe! I only had 4 bananas but made it anyway and they still turned out amazing!
Sophia says
It was delicious! I made a very slight change where I used 2/3 a cup of brown sugar and it was just as good 🙂
Natalia Olufsen says
4/5= need cup to ml alternative
5/5= flavor
I was supprised over how simple it turned out to be. I don’t even have mutch supplies, I had to use a fork to mix and baked it in my iron frying pan. Tastes awesome! Swapped out with lactose free milk and it’s prob even sweeter because of it. Reason for not 5 stars: it was a hazzle to convert everything to ml from cup. Would be lovely with a converter or something!
Will make again, and will look trough the website regularly (unless I find a page as good but in ml)
Jessica says
Glad you liked them!
Bob Deming says
I made a modified recipe. Instead of chocolate chips, I used crasiens and chopped pecans. After placing in baking pan, I placed a pecan halves on the top, centered on each bar.
Alison says
Love the changes you made Bob!
SM says
Thanks for the great recipe! I had old bananas and so didn’t feel like making banana bread. Followed as written used vegetable oil only had full size semi sweet morsels all worked great! I’d make this just because my house smelled soooo good. The husband migrated down from upstairs because he smelled them as well lol He rated these as a 9 said you just don’t throw around 10’s haha the pan I used was a bit larger so the ends were a tad thinner than the middle but I like the more done corners also put some walnuts on one end as I love them and worked and tasted great! Will book mark this for sure! Easy to put together as well don’t think I’ll have any to freeze he ate half the pan!
Cheryl says
What a fabulous recipe!!!! They didn’t last a day in my house. Thank you for posting it!!!
erin says
Can I use white sugar instead of brown sugar for this recipe?
Jessica says
Brown sugar adds more sweetness using less sugar overall, which is why I use it here. But yes, you can use white sugar instead!
SARA says
While these are very yummy and easy to make; I would not call them bars. They are fluffy like banana muffins but baked in a pan. They were finished pretty quickly!
Angie says
Made this today and I’m really happy with how it turned out. Filmed it for my youtube channel LupusLife
Buba says
Easy to make and amazing taste. Fluffy. A total success thank you! I used coconut sugar instead of brown and out half it it (and whole-wheat flour)
Alison says
Thanks so much Buba! Glad these worked for you!
Kaitlyn says
Will this recipe work in high altitude?
Jessica says
Yes! It works well in high altitude!
Emma says
Hi, I want to try this recipe, it looks fab! I’m in the UK and we have self raising or plain flour. Which should I use in this recipe? Thanks
Nellie says
Plain flour will work great!
Andrea says
Great alternative to the many many loaves of banana bread I’ve made! Although it’s pretty much the same recipe; it tastes like a change 🙂
I’d recommend a quick broil at the end for a nice crispness to switch up the texture!
Jessica says
Agree Andrea! For whatever reason these bars DISAPPEAR so much faster than banana bread!
Heather C says
Made these exactly as the recipe said and they turned out PERFECTLY! They are moist and delicious! Sharing this great recipe and will be making it again and again! Thank you!
Alison says
That’s so great to hear Heather! Glad you loved them!