Banana Bars
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Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are an amazing homemade dessert featuring bananas. Super moist, this banana bar cake is delicious year round but really makes its splash in the spring time for picnics and parties.
If you have a pile of ripe bananas and are not sure what to do with them, this dessert recipe is sure to put them to great mouthwatering use. Plus the whipped cream cheese frosting makes a striking dessert with very little effort and ALL the flavor.
Banana Bars Ingredients
Frosted Banana Bars with creamy cheese is a dense and moist cake like dessert bar. Bananas gone bad? Not a problem here! This is such a fantastic treat to take overly ripe bananas and create a masterpiece smothered in cream cheese frosting.
Here are the ingredients to gather to get started and then scroll to the recipe card for assembly, measurements, and banana tips:
- flour
- baking soda
- salt
- butter
- white sugar
- 2 eggs
- sour cream
- vanilla
- mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)
- cream cheese frosting
How to make Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 x 13 x 2 baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Please note that a baking sheet is not the same as a COOKIE sheet. The baking sheet needs to be at least 2 inches deep and here is an example.
In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt and mix well. Seat aside.
Using a mixer, add butter and sugar and beat well, for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Fold in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla and beat well.
Add bananas and mix well.
Fold in flour and beat just until mixed in.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
Let cool completely before frosting.
Decorating Frosted Banana Bars
Just like strawberry poke cake, use a 1 m frosting top and an 18 inch piping bag to put beautiful dollops and flowers of cream cheese frosting.
Simply spread out the frosting with a knife or a back of a spoon like I did with the banana pudding poke cake recipe.
If you take your time with the frosting, you can change the tips out and add mini star shapes as well! The decorating is totally up to you and how much time you have.
Optional Banana Bar Variations
- Chocolate Chips – want a little chocolate in your banana bar? Add mini chocolate chips on top of the frosting OR add 1/2 a cup of chocolate chips into the banana batter
- Walnut Pieces – walnuts are often used in banana recipes like banana bread and banana cake. You can easily add walnut pieces to these banana bars or use as a finish to your cream cheese frosting
More Ripe Banana Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Banana Pudding
- Banana Poke Cake
- Crock Pot Banana Bread
Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup 1 stick, butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas about 2-3 bananas
- 1 tub 16 oz, cream cheese frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 9x13x2 baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt and mix well.
- Set banana batter aside.
- Using a hand mixer, add softened butter and white sugar and beat well, for around 3 minutes, until butter is light and fluffy.
- Fold in 2 eggs, sour cream and vanilla into the butter bowl and beat well.
- Add mashed ripe bananas to the same mixture and combine again.
- Dump in dry flour ingredients and beat all ingredients just until mixed (do not over mix).
- Pour banana bar batter into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
- Let Banana bars cool completely before frosting or the whipped cream cheese frosting will melt.
- To decorate with frosting, its super easy to use pre-made cream cheese frosting. Use a piping bag and 1M frosting tip to really dress up the top layer or if short on time, simply spread frosting on with a spatula.
- Makes 24 square Banana Bars
Notes
- Please note that a baking sheet is not the same as a cookie sheet. Baking sheets, also called bakeware, are at least 2 inches tall, unlike cookie sheets which can be flat or lipped around 1 inch. No matter what you use, you need it to be 2 inches tall on the sides or more.
- Optional topping for Banana Bars: Top cream cheese frosting with walnuts pieces or slices of fresh cut-up bananas right before serving.
- It’s not hard to make one of the best banana recipes with ripe bananas. No waste here! Just like banana bread, these banana bars are a lovely change from the same old cake or banana bread. Easily use different frosting tips to change the look of the frosted top.
- Try other frosting flavors: Banana Bars are great with cream cheese frosting but maple brown butter frosting, chocolate chip frosting, and whipped brown butter frosting are all great options.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer: The nutritional data provided here is auto-calculated and intended for your convenience only. As it’s generated via automation, its accuracy may be compromised. For precise nutritional insight, please compute the values utilizing the actual ingredients in your recipe through your chosen nutrition calculator or application.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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This sounds AMAZING! I’ve added it to my Pinterest board to save and make soon 🙂
Hi Ivette, let me know if you make it and what you think!
Flour in this recipe is supposed plain flour?
Yes
My friend brought these to a church potluck and we were immediately hooked! Simple ingredients and flavor is so delicious!! Way better than banana bread!
Hi Victoria, thank you for your feedback on the banana bar recipe. I agree – better than banana bread (although I like them both). If you are a fan of bananas, you should also try my banana pudding. I made a huge batch for Easter. Its SO good too!
Thank you for taking the time to come back and share.
Trisha
This recipe is excellent! I made for my very fussy husband in an attempt to use some very ripe bananas. He was hooked! It’s such a nice alternative to Banana Bread. I’ve already shared this recipe with friends.
thank you!
I used mango yogurt and 5 tablespoons oats. Very nice.