If you’re looking for a delicious, easy-to-make anytime treat, these Banana Bread Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are just the thing to try! Moist, flavor packed, and a great way to use up those extra ripe bananas you may have on hand! Also check out my Cinnamon Crumble Banana Bread recipe and Banana Bread Coffee Cake for more banana options!
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Don’t you just love a recipe that comes together quickly and makes plenty for everyone? I know I sure do! Since these easy banana bread bars are made in a 9×13 baking pan, you can cut them into small pieces to serve a large crowd, or cut bigger size pieces and no one will judge! The perfect breakfast, brunch, snack, or evening treat as these are the perfect cross between a cake and delicious banana bread! The best part of all, these are topped with a homemade cream cheese frosting that is hard to resist.
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Banana Bread Bars Recipe Ingredient Notes
With simple ingredients and minimal prep time, you can satisfy your sweet tooth in no time. See printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for exact ingredient amounts and step by step directions.
Banana Bread Bars
- Butter– I use unsalted butter since salt is added additionally. You will want the butter melted and slightly cooled.
- Applesauce– cinnamon applesauce is my go-to because it adds a warm spiced flavor throughout. The applesauce keeps the bars moist.
- Sugar– you will need both white granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- Eggs– large eggs at room temperature are best as they combine into the batter easily.
- Vanilla Extract– opt for pure vanilla extract versus imitation.
- Bananas– about 3-4 medium bananas, mashed using an electric mixer or two forks.
- Sour Cream– this combines with the applesauce to keep the cake part of the bars moist and fresh. Also helps to activate the baking soda.
- Flour– you’ll need all purpose flour for this recipe. Gluten free flour should work great too at a 1:1 ratio.
- Baking Soda/ Salt– ensure freshness by changing out your baking soda every 6 months as this is the levener that gives the bars their rise.
- Cinnamon– ground cinnamon adds the warm spice to these banana bread bars.
- Walnuts– optional, these give the bars an added soft crunch throughout. You can also use pecans if desired.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream Cheese– I use block cream cheese and let it sit out to soften when I prepare the bars.
- Butter– unsalted is best, however, any type works, just be sure to let it soften.
- Vanilla Extract– pure is best versus imitation.
- Powdered Sugar– also called confectioners sugar, this gives the frosting its sweetness.
How to make Old Fashioned Banana Bread Bars
- Pre-heat oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper leaving the sides a little longer to create a sling.
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to combine the butter, applesauce, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add in the mashed bananas and sour cream, blend until just combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Slowly add dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and cake is golden brown.
- While the bars cool, make the frosting by mixing all frosting ingredients in a bowl until smooth and creamy.
- Once the bars are fully cooled, spread the frosting over the top, then sprinkle walnuts over the top.
- Slice into 24 frosted banana bars and serve.
Variations to try
- Add 1-2 cups chocolate chips to the banana bread batter for an added sweetness. The banana chocolate chip combination is a family favorite when we are looking for more of a dessert option. Mini chocolate chips work great too.
- Plain Greek yogurt can be used in place of sour cream.
- If you prefer using only brown sugar, that works in place of using the white AND brown sugar in this recipe. Try the recipe as written first and decide if you want to change it up the next time.
- You can substitute ¾ cup of vegetable oil for every 1 cup of butter called for.
- If you prefer a thinner frosting, add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
- Level up the bars with a drizzle of caramel, peanut butter, or chocolate sauce!
Tips for Success
Follow these simple tips so you get the perfect, moist bars each and every time and avoid wet, gooey bars that aren’t fully cooked in the middle.
- Mash the bananas evenly. If you find using two forks is too hard or leaving large lumps, use an electric hand mixer starting on low speed and gradually increase until bananas are evenly mashed.
- Mix ingredients until just combined. Over-mixing the batter will result in dry, dense bars versus the moist, fluffy bars.
- If you don’t want to make your own cream cheese frosting, feel free to use store bought. Chocolate or vanilla frosting works great too.
- For an added change, you can make a brown butter frosting in place of the cream cheese. My family prefers cream cheese, but every one has different tastes.
- If you have a jelly roll pan, you can use that in place of the 9×13 baking dish, just decrease the time by about 5 minutes.
- Two cups of mashed bananas is 3-4 bananas.
Storing Moist Banana Bread Bars
These bars are one of our favorite things to make because they are perfect for several days and even freeze well! Here are some tips I have found work best to keep them fresh the longest.
- I don’t recommend storing at room temperature due to the cream cheese frosting.
- To refrigerate, fully cool and place sliced pieces into an airtight storage container or bag for up to 1 week.
- To freeze, wrap in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil, or place in a freezer safe container/bag for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in fridge overnight before enjoying!
- My biggest tip for storage is to allow the frosted banana cake bars to fully cool. Take out of the pan immediately after cooking and turn upside down on a cooling rack so that the bottom does not become too moist. Once cooled, then you can frost.
- Heat banana bread bars in the microwave for 10-seconds for the best morning breakfast to pair with coffee!
More Banana Recipes to try
Quick and Easy Mini Banana Muffins– quick and easy to prepare, making them the perfect breakfast or snack option! Classic banana bread made into conveniently sized mini muffins to enjoy anytime!
Peanut Butter and Banana Mini Muffins– naturally sweetened with honey, and packed full of healthy ingredients you can feel good about. Add in some chocolate chips for a bit of sweetness or omit and keep them as healthy anytime treats!
Old-Fashioned Homemade Banana Pudding– rich and creamy vanilla pudding, combined with layers of crunchy vanilla wafers and perfectly ripe bananas. Easy to assemble and packed with flavor, this is a favorite at any gathering, potluck, picnic, or Holiday!
Banana Cream Cheese Muffins– moist, flavor packed, and include a mouth-watering cream cheese topping! Plus, they are ready to enjoy them in only 30 minutes!
Copycat Starbucks Banana Bread– incredibly moist, loaded with the perfect taste of banana throughout, and tastes even better than the Starbucks favorite bread!
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The BEST Banana Bread Bars
Ingredients
Banana Bread Bars
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- ⅓ cup applesauce
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup white granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups bananas mashed, about 2-3 medium bananas
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups flour all-purpose
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup walnuts chopped, optional
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper leaving the sides a little longer to create a sling.
- In a large bowl, use an electric beater to mix butter, applesauce, brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add in the bananas and sour cream, mixing until just combined.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Slowly add dry mixture into wet ingredients, mixing until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- While the bars cool, make the cream cheese frosting by mixing all ingredients until smooth and creamy.
- Once the bars have fully cooled, spread the frosting evenly on top and sprinkle the walnuts. Slice into 24 bars and serve!
Nutrition
Barb says
Any substitute for applesauce?
Kristin says
Mashed banana, pumpkin puree, or Greek yogurt work great as alternative options
Barbara Patrick says
Can I use homemade applesauce?
Kristin says
Absolutely! Homemade works great! Enjoy!
Brandy says
looks delicious. what kind of applesauce? sweetened or unsweetened. Thank you 😊
Kristin says
Thanks! I use unsweetened, however, either kind works great!
Kristin says
So delicious!