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Banana Blondies are dense, chewy banana bars with caramel brown sugar flavor and a thick layer of cream cheese frosting, and the batch I baked on a *rainy Sunday afternoon* vanished before the pan even fully cooled, with Maddie and Lizzie calling dibs on the corner pieces. If you love our lemon brownies, this is the cozy banana version of that same fudgy bar magic.
It is the best thing that can happen to the ripe bananas on your counter, no mixer required for the batter.
Banana Blondies Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 35 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 50 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 15 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 339kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Caramel brown sugar and sweet banana with tangy cream cheese frosting
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, a one bowl batter just like our soft chocolate chip cookie bars
Quick Answer
Whisk melted butter with brown sugar, mashed ripe banana, an egg, and vanilla, then stir in flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Spread the batter in a parchment lined 9×13 dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, cool completely, then frost the Banana Blondies with whipped cream cheese frosting.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Melted butter batter. Melted butter makes a dense, fudgy crumb instead of a cakey one, which is exactly what separates a blondie from banana cake.
- All brown sugar. Skipping granulated sugar entirely gives Banana Blondies deep caramel, almost butterscotch flavor that plays perfectly with banana.
- Just one egg. Less egg means less lift, keeping the bars chewy and compact rather than fluffy.
- Very ripe bananas. Spotty bananas are sweeter and mash smoother, so the banana flavor carries through after baking.
- A full cool before frosting. Frosting a warm pan melts the cream cheese frosting into a glaze, cooling completely keeps it thick and fluffy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One bowl and a whisk handle the batter, no mixer needed until the frosting.
- They are denser and chewier than banana bread with that same cozy flavor, like our banana bundt cake in bar form.
- The tangy cream cheese frosting against the sweet caramel bars is an unbeatable combo.
Key Ingredients
Here is a quick look at the pantry staples that turn two ripe bananas into a pan of chewy Banana Blondies.
- Ripe Bananas: The riper and spottier the better, they bring sweetness, moisture, and big banana flavor to every bite.
- Melted Butter: Melted, not creamed, butter is what gives blondies their signature dense, chewy texture.
- Light Brown Sugar: A full packed cup and a half brings caramel notes that make these taste like banana bread meets butterscotch.
- Cream Cheese: The base of the fluffy frosting on top, whipped with butter and powdered sugar just like on our banana cream cheese muffins.
- Vanilla Extract: A teaspoon in the batter and another in the frosting rounds out all that caramelized banana flavor.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
These Banana Blondies take on mix ins and swaps beautifully. Here are our favorites.
- Add chocolate: Fold in a cup of chocolate chips or chunks, banana and chocolate never miss.
- Toasted nuts: Chopped pecans or walnuts add crunch, toast them first for the most flavor.
- Browned butter: Brown the melted butter first for a nutty, toffee like upgrade.
- Skip the frosting: Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with caramel if you want them less sweet.
- More bar treats: If you love these, our cheesecake snickerdoodle bars should be next in the oven.
How to Make Banana Blondies
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper. Whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, mashed banana, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.
- Stir the flour, baking powder, and salt together, then add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined with no dry patches.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Whip the cream cheese and butter until smooth, then beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla and whip for 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Lift the cooled blondies out with the parchment, smooth the cream cheese frosting over the top, and cut into bars.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use truly ripe bananas. Heavy brown spotting means more sweetness and stronger banana flavor in the finished bars.
- Do not overmix the batter. Stir just until the flour disappears, overmixing makes blondies tough instead of chewy.
- Watch the toothpick. A few moist crumbs are perfect, wet batter means more oven time, and a bone dry pick means they are overbaked.
- Cool completely before frosting. Even slightly warm bars will melt the frosting into a runny glaze.
- Soften the cream cheese and butter. Room temperature dairy whips into a smooth, lump free frosting.
- Use the parchment sling. Lifting the whole slab out makes frosting and slicing clean, easy work.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
These Banana Blondies are a lunchbox and after school legend at our house, but dressed up with a banana slice on each square they hold their own on a party dessert tray.
Serve them slightly chilled with coffee, or build a dessert board with our cosmic brownie cookies and lemon brownies for a bar and cookie spread.
Breakfast leaning brunch? Set them out beside our banana nut muffins and let everyone pretend frosted bars count as breakfast.
Because of the cream cheese frosting, store Banana Blondies covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and let them sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. Unfrosted bars freeze beautifully for up to 3 months.
Banana Blondies FAQs
Banana Blondies are denser, chewier, and sweeter than banana bread, closer to a brownie in texture. They use melted butter, all brown sugar, and just one egg, which keeps them fudgy instead of fluffy, then get topped with cream cheese frosting.
Too much banana or too much mixing are the usual causes. Stick to 3/4 cup mashed banana, stir the batter just until combined, and make sure you are using melted butter, not softened. Those three things keep Banana Blondies dense and chewy.
Yes, once they are frosted. The cream cheese frosting means the bars should be stored covered in the refrigerator, where they keep for up to 5 days. Let them sit out for about 15 minutes before serving for the best texture.
Unfrosted Banana Blondies freeze beautifully, wrap the cooled slab tightly and freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw and frost. Frosted bars can be frozen in a single layer, but the frosting texture is slightly softer after thawing.
The riper the better. Look for bananas with heavy brown spotting or nearly black peels, they mash smoothly and bring the most sweetness and banana flavor. Firm yellow bananas will taste bland in the finished bars.
This recipe already fills a 9×13 pan and makes 15 generous bars. For a crowd, bake two pans rather than overfilling one, a doubled single pan bakes unevenly and the center stays gummy.
Have more ripe bananas to use up? Our banana bundt cake is the next bake on the list.
Round out the banana baking spree with our cheesecake filled Cream Cheese Banana Bread.
Banana Blondies
Ingredients
- 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 & 1/2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 3/4 cup mashed ripe banana
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the cream cheese frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper, and set it aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside.
- Place the melted butter into a large bowl. Add the brown sugar, mashed banana, egg, and vanilla, and whisk everything until smooth and combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the wet ingredients and stir until combined with no dry patches.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. A few crumbs left on the toothpick are okay, but if there is any wet batter, it needs to bake longer.
- Place the baked blondies on a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the blondies are cooling, make the frosting. Place the cream cheese and butter into a large bowl, and whip it until smooth with an electric hand mixer. You can also do this in the body of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.
- Add the powdered sugar a little at a time until combined, and scrape down the sides as needed. Add the vanilla, then turn the mixer to medium speed, and whip it for 3 minutes, this will make the frosting light and fluffy.
- Lift the blondies out of the baking dish using the parchment paper to help. Smooth the cream cheese frosting on top and cut it into bars, serve immediately.
Notes
- Use recipe bananas like you would for banana bread.
- This can be frozen, see above for how to do that.
- You can add other additions or toppings to this recipe, see some of my ideas above.
- This can easily be reduced by half, just make half the recipe and spread the batter into an 8×8 baking dish, baking times may vary..
- These must be stored in the fridge since they are frosted with cream cheese.
- 1 large or 2 medium bananas should be enough for 3/4 cup mashed banana.
Nutrition
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