Banana Bars with Chocolate Ganache

Move over banana bread. We’re making Banana Bars with Chocolate Ganache. These banana chocolate chip bars are perfect for parties and celebrations of all kinds.

Swap banana bars for your usual banana bread

Hear me out: I think banana bars are superior to banana bread. I have a few reasons for feeling this way. First of all, they cook faster than a loaf of banana bread.

Second of all, the chocolate chips can be spread more evenly into the banana bars recipe. And third of all, if you put icing on top, you get some icing in every single bite.

This is the perfect thing to serve for parties and celebrations. It can even become a cake for your banana bread loving friend. Dress up the top with sprinkles, banana slices or just a sprinkle of flakey sea salt.

Kitchen Tools

• Mixing bowls
• 9×13 baking pan
• Cooking spray or parchment paper to line
• Whisk and rubber spatula
• Small sauce pan

Trick for ripening bananas

In order to make these banana chocolate chip bars you must use extra ripe bananas. Extra rip bananas are much sweeter and that sweetness is key.

Luckily you can ripen bananas quickly in the oven. Heat your oven to 300F and place the bananas on a baking sheet.

Place in the oven at 300F and cook until the peels turn black. Remove from the oven, cool completely and use for this banana bar recipe!

Ingredients

• Very ripe bananas
• Unsalted butter
• Brown sugar
• Eggs
• Sour cream
• Vanilla extract
• All purpose flour
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Semi sweet chocolate chips
• Heavy cream

What is chocolate ganache?

Traditional chocolate ganache is 1:1 mixture of chocolate and warm heavy cream. When stirred together, the two form a smooth and glossy chocolate sauce.

You can make ganache thicker or thinner by adjusting that ratio. I like to use a 2:1 ratio to make a thicker chocolate ganache that is better for spreading over cakes like an icing.

How to make Banana Bars with Chocolate Ganache

Step 1: Prepare banana bar batter

To begin, preheat oven to 350F. Then, place ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork.

Melt the stick of butter and pour into the bowl with the mashed bananas followed by the brown sugar, eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract.

Next, whisk to combine the wet ingredients. Pour the flour, baking soda and salt into the bowl and fold in with a spatula. Then fold in the chocolate chips

Step 2: bake banana bars and prepare ganache

Then, pour the batter into a lined 9×13 baking dish. Place in the oven and back at 350F for 28-30 minutes.

Insert a toothpick into the center of the pan and if it comes out clean they are fully baked. Remove from the oven and cool completely.

While they are cooling prepare the ganache. Heat heavy cream on the stove top until just starting to boil. Pour scalded cream over the chocolate chips in a mixing bowl. 

Then, mix the ganache constantly with a whisk until the milk is fully incorporated into the chocolate and a smooth ganache remains.

Step 3: pour ganache over top and serve

Allow the ganache to cool completely. ONLY when the banana bars and the ganache are completely cool, pour ganache over top of the bars.

Finally, garnish with flakey sea salt and cut into squares

Storage

I prefer to store the cut banana bars in the fridge. It helps the ganache stay firm and prevents them from going bad too quickly. I store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Check out These Other easy dessert recipes

• Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookies
• M&M Sugar Cookies
• Fudgy Brownie Bites
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispie Bars

You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!

Recipe

Banana Bars with Chocolate Ganache

★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

Make banana chocolate chip bars with a silky chocolate ganache

Recipe By: Madeline

Prep: 15 minutesCook: 30 minutesTotal: 45 minutes

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Servings: 24 squares 1x

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Ingredients

Banana bread ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1 stick unsalted butter (8 tbsp)
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Ganache ingredients

• 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Place ripe bananas in a large mixing bowl and mash with a potato masher or the back of a fork. Melt the stick of butter and pour into the bowl with the mashed bananas followed by the brown sugar, eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract.
3. Whisk to combine the wet ingredients. Pour the flour, baking soda and salt into the bowl and fold in with a spatula. Then fold in the chocolate chips
4. Pour the batter into a lined 9×13 baking dish. Place in the oven and back at 350F for 28-30 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of the pan and if it comes out clean they are fully baked.
5. Remove from the oven and cool completely. While they are cooling prepare the ganache. Heat heavy cream on the stove top until just starting to boil. Pour scalded cream over the chocolate chips in a mixing bowl. 
6. Mix the ganache constantly with a whisk until the milk is fully incorporated into the chocolate and a smooth ganache remains.
7. Allow the ganache to cool completely. ONLY when the banana bars and the ganache are completely cool, pour ganache over top of the bars.
8. Garnish with flakey sea salt and cut into squares

Notes

• Use extra ripe bananas – to ripe banana quickly place in the oven at 300F until the peel turns black
• To make gluten free use a 1:1 gluten free flour blend
• Use regular chocolate frosting in place of ganache if desired

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.