Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Bake up a batch of these delightfully delicious banana bars with cream cheese frosting and watch them disappear!

Banana bars are extra moist and packed with banana flavor and pecans. They’re topped off with a buttery cream cheese frosting for the perfect bite.

slice of Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting with a bite taken out

This recipe has been sponsored by Challenge Butter.

Why We Love These Banana Bars

This sweet homemade bar recipe is a nice departure from a classic banana bread recipe and makes for an easy afternoon snack or dessert.
Everything’s better with butter including the buttery cream cheese frosting on these bars.
Use up those overly ripe bananas and make banana bars!
Make the bars ahead (uncut) and freeze, then thaw and frost when ready to serve!

flour , sugar , baking soda , cinnamon , pecans in bowls with bananas , eggs , lemon , milk and butter with labels to make Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients for Banana Bars

Bananas – For best results, use overly ripe bananas with lots of black spots. If the bananas are ready and you’re not ready to bake, peel them and freeze them. That and use as directed in the recipe below.

Butter – Use unsalted butter in this recipe. A high-quality butter like Challenge Butter ensures these bars come out with a perfect crumb and great flavor.

We love Challenge butter because it contains no preservatives, additives, hormones, or dyes. It’s made from simple ingredients and cream from happy cows. It’s perfect to use in any baking recipe, from cakes to waffles!

Flour – All-purpose flour is the base for this dessert while sugar adds a bit of sweetness.

Add-ins – Pecans are the favored nut for this recipe, but walnuts, slivered almonds, or even hazelnuts will work. Mini chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, flaked or toasted coconut, and chopped dried cranberries make banana bars just a little more fun and festive.

No ripe bananas? No problem!

Ripen bananas by placing them in a paper bag for a couple of days or bake them In their peel) for 15-20 minutes at 300°F.

Frosting for Banana Bars

We love cream cheese frosting with bananas (we spread it on our fluffy banana cake too). Soften cream cheese and butter at room temperature while the banana bars are baking. This helps them blend faster.

Other frosting options are One Minute Easy Chocolate Frosting or Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. These are moist and tasty so you could also skip the frosting and serve with whipped cream instead.

dry ingredients in a bowl and adding butter to sugar to make Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

wet ingredients in a bowl to make Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

How to Make Banana Bars

Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
Cream the butter & sugar in a separate bowl until fluffy. Add the bananas & remaining wet ingredients.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients.
Spread the batter into baking pan and bake (as per recipe below).

Cream Cheese Frosting

Combine all ingredients except powdered sugar with a hand mixer until smooth, (as per recipe below).
Slowly mix in powdered sugar & milk as needed to reach a spreadable consistency.
Spread over cooled banana bars, cut, & serve.

Storing Banana Bars

Keep banana bars with cream cheese frosting in a covered container for up to 4 days.
Freeze portions on a baking sheet, then wrap individually and freeze for up to 4 weeks.
Make the bars ahead of time and freeze the whole sheet (uncut) wrapped in plastic for up to 1 month.
To thaw, unwrap and thaw at room temperature.

Got Bananas?

If you’ve got ripe bananas, here are some favorite ways to enjoy them!

Did you make these Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting? Leave us a comment and a rating below!

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Banana Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Moist and decadent Banana bars are topped with tangy cream cheese frosting for a perfectly flavorful dessert.

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Banana Bars

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13 pan.
Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Cream butter and sugar with hand mixer until fluffy.
Add eggs, milk, mashed banana, & lemon juice. Mix well.
Stir the flour mixture and pecans into the wet mixture.
Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

While the bars are cooling, beat cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer until fluffy. Mix in vanilla and a pinch of salt.
Add powdered sugar, a bit at a time, until incorporated. Spread over the banana bars and serve.

Store Banana Bars in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Cake, Dessert

Cuisine American

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