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Banana Chocolate Chip Bars taste like a cross between banana bread and chocolate chip blondies. They are the perfect recipe to use up ripe bananas!
While a loaf of banana bread takes nearly an hour to cook in the oven, these chocolate chip banana bars cook in just half the time. They are naturally gluten-free and dairy-free and come together quickly in one bowl.
Don’t be surprised if you find yourself keeping more bananas on hand, just to make these again!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instead of using butter, this recipe relies on peanut butter and a touch of olive oil to keep it moist. You can’t taste the olive oil at all, but any other vegetable oil will work, like coconut oil or avocado oil.
Paired with ripe bananas and coconut sugar, these bars are sweet enough to be served as dessert, but they’d also make a delicious after-school snack.
If you’re not a fan of cinnamon, feel free to swap it for vanilla extract, or simply leave it out. The flavor is easy to adjust to your liking.
How to Make Banana Chocolate Chip Bars
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper. A metal pan will give you better results than a glass pan since these are brownie-like.
Mash the banana with a fork until smooth, then measure out 2/3 cup. (You’ll get this amount from roughly 2 small bananas or 1 very large one.)
Transfer the measured mashed banana to a large bowl, then add in the peanut butter, eggs, coconut sugar, olive oil, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Stir until the batter is smooth.
Fold in the chocolate chips, then transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top, if you’d like.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the center feels firm to a light touch. (A toothpick inserted in the center might still come out a bit sticky since these bars are so moist. They will continue to firm up as they cool.)
These bars will be very tender while they are hot, so be patient and let them cool for at least 1 hour before serving. (The banana flavor is even more prominent when warm, too.)
Use the parchment paper to remove the bars from the pan, then use a sharp knife to cut 16 squares. Enjoy them right away!
Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
Looking for more banana recipes? Try my Flourless Banana Snack Cake (with no added sugar), Almond Flour Banana Bread, or Banana Mug Cake for more ideas.
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup mashed banana (see notes)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup oat flour (certified gluten-free, if needed)
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line an 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Use a fork to mash the ripe banana on a plate, then measure out ⅔ cup for this recipe. (You'll get this amount from 1 very large banana or 2 small ones.)
- Transfer the mashed banana to a large mixing bowl, then add in the eggs, peanut butter, olive oil, oat flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir well, until the batter looks relatively smooth. There may still be a few lumps from the mashed banana.
- Fold in the chocolate chips, reserving a few to sprinkle on top. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread it out evenly. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips on top, then bake for 30 minutes at 350ºF.
- When the center looks firm and the edges look golden, remove the pan from the oven and let the bars cool for 1 hour. Then slice into 16 squares and enjoy. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
Nutrition
If you try these Peanut Butter Banana Bars, please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how you like them.
I made this and used the Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 flour which is gluten free and it turned out amazing! Will definitely be making this again!
Very easy and tasty! Thank you!
We bake these into muffin tins for convenience and everyone in the family loves them! It’s a
go-to recipe at our house.
Can I use egg replacer to make this vegan? Thank you
Perhaps Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer would work? I’ve enjoyed using that one before on tricky recipes. I wouldn’t use flax eggs for this, because I think it will be too gummy or gooey in the center. Let me know if you experiment with it!
Would flax eggs work as an egg substitute?
I don’t love how flax eggs work with oat flour. The texture can become very gooey or gummy. But perhaps a store-bought egg replacer could work? I’ve had decent luck with Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer (powdered) before, but I haven’t tried it in this recipe yet.
Can I sub coconut flour for oat flour?
No, that wouldn’t be a 1:1 swap! Check out my coconut flour brownies or Coconut Flour Banana Bread if you want a starting point?
These bars are delicious. I did use some substitutions. I have never had success with oat flour, so I used 3/4 cup of almond flour. I used a bit less than 1/3 cup maple syrup for sweetener. I adjusted for your “banana note” as my banana measured just shy of one cup. Thanks!!
Swap peanut butter for almond butter?
Yes, I’m sure that will be delicious, too!