Banana Nut Bars with Brown Sugar Frosting
These Banana Nut Bars are dense, fudgy, and full of banana flavor, covered in a delicious Brown Sugar Frosting. If you love banana and brown sugar, you’ll be sure to love these bars!
I don’t know about you guys, but we always have extra too-brown bananas. In a house of six girls, we all tend to get confused about whose bananas are whose and end up with a pile of brown bananas waiting to be a) used in a baked good or b) thrown away. I try to use them up as much as possible so we’re not wasteful, and I’m realizing that bananas taste darn good in waaay more baked goods than just banana bread.
Case in point: banana nut bars with brown sugar frosting. These are no regular banana nut bars – these are fudgy and dense and full of delicious banana flavor.
They have a healthy dose of cinnamon and nutmeg because I’m all about fall spices right now, and I love the added warmth the spices bring to the bars. The nuts add the crunchiness that I love and crave in most baked goods, but obviously if you’re anti nuts in your baked goods, feel free to leave ’em out. And then of course, you have the super delicious banana flavor from that ripe banana. It adds a nice texture and an additional level of sweetness to the bar.
Brown sugar frosting!
The brown sugar frosting is a super quick, boiled frosting that comes together in less than 5 minutes. It reminds me so so much of the inside of a butterscotch square from See’s Candy. This frosting is sweet and full of brown sugar. It has a tiny bit of delicious crunch from the way the frosting sets up around the edges.
The bar is made from one of my favorite blondie bases – it comes together all in one bowl! I hate dirtying any more dishes than absolutely necessary.
How to store banana bars
They will keep well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week…if they last that long! They’ll be okay at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
If you love banana and brown sugar, you’ll be sure to love these bars! Enjoy :)
Want more banana recipes?
- Wholesome Banana Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Banana Granola
- Brown Butter Banana Cake with Chocolate Ganache
- Strawberry Banana Muffins
- Banana Crumb Cake
- Banana Layer Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
Banana Nut Bars with Brown Sugar Frosting
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 16 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These Banana Nut Bars are dense, fudgy, and full of banana flavor, covered in a delicious Brown Sugar Frosting.
Ingredients
For the bars
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup mashed banana, 1 medium banana
- ½ cup chopped pecans or nut of choice, toasted
For the frosting
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
For the bars
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-by-8-inch pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- Melt ½ cup butter in the microwave. Combine remaining brown sugar and melted butter in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the egg, vanilla, and whisk to combine. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and stir until just combined, taking care not to over-mix. Gently stir in the banana. Fold in the pecans. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing it lightly with a spatula or offset knife.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until the bars are set. The edges will be slightly pulling away from sides of pan. Let cool while you make the frosting.
For the frosting
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in brown sugar and milk and stir until it comes just to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in powdered sugar and cinnamon.
- Spread on top of blondies and let frosting set. Allow bars to cool for at least 2 hours before slicing and serving into 16 squares. I like to refrigerate them before cutting to make them easier to cut. Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
If you want to double the recipe, use a 9×13″ pan.
Keywords: banana bars, banana blondies, brown sugar frosting, banana cookies
Recipe adapted from Cookies n Cups
Love these! The spices and the brown sugar are perfect for fall :) I don’t think these would be very easy to pass up :) Might have to make them and send them to the rink for Marc’s team to eat!
soooo good! That brown sugar frosting totally takes these to the next level!
I’m swooning over these! I love banana everything and I know I would enjoy these bars, especially with that brown sugar frosting. Delish!
These look way too good!
These look like they could be fudge, I’m sure that means they are dense and flavorful with great texture! Can’t wait to try these out, I always have extra bananas!
Drooling over these bars, I love banana in baked goods! These look amazing Rachel!
You had me at brown sugar frosting! These bars look incredible! Bananas are one of my favorite fruits to bake with, so I think this dish might me dangerous around me! :)
These look SO fudgy and dense! What a nice departure from the typical banana bread!
I love the combinations of bananas, nuts, and brown sugar. These would be the best little sweet treat in the afternoon. You’re right about the banana baked goods–they taste amazing in so many different creations!
banana nut bars! these look sooo good! i’ve never thought of turning banana bread-y stuff into bars, but now that i see it, it’s like duhhh that would be AMAZING.
What a perfect Autumn treat!
We always end up with over ripe bananas in our house too! These bars look incredible, the frosting sounds amazing!
Oh boy! I am all over these bars, they looks so dense and delicious, and the way you describe the frosting has me in full swoon mode! Pinned! ; )
Thanks so much, Crystal! :)
These bars look amazing! So fudgy and decadent. Love that brown sugar frosting too! We always have way too many bananas too so I can’t wait to try these!
Ohh! I love this! I always have brown bananas, I don’t know how it happens?! Sometimes they just go brown too fast! I love how dense and fudgy these look! And that frosting is seriously to die for! I never make brown sugar frosting, but I am going to start! :)
These look wonderful! I have some overly ripe bananas sitting in the kitchen so I know what I’m making soon. Thanks, Rachel!
How gorgeous are these banana nut bars! They look like delicious fudge. Annd with brown sugar frosting too? I am sooo there!!!
Thank you Jessica! They really are super duper fudgy, and the brown sugar frosting takes ’em over the top!
These bars look awesome! I love the the brown sugar frosting… I have a brown sugar weakness, especially in the fall. Something about chilly air makes me want that comforting rich flavor!
Oh my gosh! That brown sugar frosting is calling my name! I’ll bet it goes fabulously with the super-soft looking banana bars. Oh, how I’d love one (or 10) of these bars right now with my morning coffee! Pinned. :)
What a great new use for brown bananas! Yummy!
That frosting is totally calling my name! Love these!
Everytime I buy bananas, I always buy more than I need so they will sit around and get nice and brown for me. Nothing better than a speckled brown banana just begging to be used in a baked good! I usually make banana bread or banana muffins, but these banana nut bars sound even better! Love that brown sugar frosting. Yum!
We have a ton of frozen bananas in our freezer from freezing the over ripe ones for baking. These sound great, I love how fudgy they look. And I know what candy from See’s your talking about, that frosting must be amazing!!
I feel like it’s okay to have too many ripe bananas, because you always have some on hand for baking!
Yum! Those banana nut bars look delicious. I love that brown sugar frosting :)
these look, and sound, delicious! Love banana anything
that’s some straight up fudgy right there. looks SO good.
i’m slightly jealous that you live with 5 other girls since there’s always a rogue cookies left uneaten somewhere around the house!
don’t judge, but i’m crazy into speckled bananas. they’re just so so delicious! with that said, i rarely have extras laying around, so whenever i bake something banana i go off and buy a separate bunch in advance. these…. they deserve that special treatment. so good!
OHmygod these look so dense and amazing! Love!!
Love that brown sugar frosting!
My bars turned out thin…2 1/2 tall…the ones in the blog look thicker. I did double the batch and bake in 2 8×8 pans. Did I miss some leavening? They are REALLY good, though, and aren’t even iced yet!
Oops, never mind! The pans I thought were 8×8 are actually 9×9. I should have measure them before commenting. So…the bars are a little thinner, but I have more of them!
Glad you figured it out, Jacque! Hope you enjoy the bars :)
Plain or self rising flour? When you double the recipe it still has you using an 8 x 8 pan.
Hi Barry, this uses all-purpose flour. Unfortunately there’s no way to have the instructions adjust with the doubling or tripling of the recipe, but I’ll make a note of it.