Banana Bread Brownies

Banana bread brownies are moist, airy, and filled with banana goodness. They are topped with fluffy buttercream frosting!

These are admittedly nothing like a regular brownie—they’re more like Banana Bread in bar form, lathered with a Vanilla Buttercream that has hints of cinnamon! In fact, they’re extremely similar to our well-loved Frosted Banana Bars.

Frosted banana brownies

I love me some sweet breads! They are comforting and oh so delicious. They are also crazy easy to make and require no yeast. Banana bread is one of my favorite sweet breads, and I can never have too many variations of it!

We’ve done Chocolate Chip Banana Bread, Cream Cheese Banana Bread, Peanut Butter Banana Bread, and now we’re putting banana bread into brownie form! Not to mention we then slathered frosting on top for good measure!

These brownies are perfect for serving and sharing and they are sure to be loved by all!

Making Banana Bread Brownies

PREP. Preheat the oven to 375. Grease or line with parchment a 9 x 13 baking pan.

BATTER. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and butter. Add the sour cream, eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla, and blend until smooth. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix to combine.

BAKE. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes, until the brownies are lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

Making the Frosting

MELT. To make the frosting, add the butter to a medium skillet. Melt the butter over medium low heat, stirring gently, until foamy. Watch carefully for the butter to turn a light brown color, then remove from heat and immediately pour the butter into a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer.

BEAT. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla to the bowl, and mix to combine. With the mixer on low speed, add the milk to form a smooth and creamy frosting. Beat on high speed for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Spread the frosting over the cooled brownies, then sprinkle with cinnamon.

Topping Ideas

We topped these banana brownie bars with a delicious layer of frosting, but they can easily be eaten plain. You can also get your baking creativity flowing and make your own little changes. Some variations include:

• Chopped walnuts- incorporate with in the batter before baking, or sprinkle chopped nuts on top
• Caramel syrup
• Chocolate chips
• Add sliced bananas on top- be sure to add right before serving otherwise they’ll brown
• Use Cream Cheese Frosting

Ripen Your Bananas

This recipe calls for overripe bananas. The banana peel should be covered with brown and be very soft to the touch. If you don’t have ripe bananas on hand you can create your own by using the oven to soften and sweeten them.

1. Preheat the oven to 250°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Place the unpeeled bananas on a sheet and bake for 10 minutes. 
3. Flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes.
4. Allow bananas to cool before peeling and mashing them.

Storing Info

STORE frosted banana brownies at room temperature. When stored in an airtight container they can last for up to 5 days.

FREEZE brownies without frosting. Wrap the brownies before or after cutting them in plastic wrap and again with foil. If you want to freeze them with frosting you’ll want to flash freeze them first then transfer them to a freezer safe Ziploc.

for More BANANA TREATS, TRY:

• Bananas Foster
• Banana Cream Pie
• Frosted Banana Bars
• Banana Oatmeal Cookies
• Banana Cupcakes