Banana brownies are rich, fudgy and chewy brownies made with creamy bananas. The indulgently deep chocolate flavor of the brownies is perfectly balanced with the subtle sweetness of ripe bananas and chocolate chips. These banana flavored brownies are easy to make and are the perfect treat.
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Why Should You Make This Recipe
Take a quick look around my blog and you’ll quickly notice how much I love rich and fudgy brownies. I adore my Almond Flour Brownies, Turtle Brownies, Peanut Butter Brownies and Espresso Brownies. These fudge banana brownies may just be my new favorite. I know you’ll love this recipe because.
- Simple pantry ingredients: You only need a handful of basic ingredients to make a batch of quick, simple and simply decadent brownies with bananas.
- Use up ripe bananas: Ripe bananas make the perfect banana bread, but sometimes you want something a little different. Try putting bananas in brownies for a new and utterly decadent brownie you will want to make time and time again.
Ingredients
Before I show you how to simple it is to make this recipe for banana brownies, make sure you have these simple ingredients ready to go.
- Dry Ingredients: Gather your flour, cocoa powder, and salt
- Wet ingredients: Gather your butter, chocolate chips, mashed bananas, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and dark chocolate chunks or chocolate chips.
Substitutions
Making brownies with bananas is super simple and you probably already have everything you need. Here are my recommended ingredient substitutions to make this recipe if you need them.
- Butter: I like to use unsalted “sweet cream” butter in almost all my baking recipes. This is the most common and widely available butter in the US. If needed, use salted butter (omit the added salt) or a diary free butter you like.
- Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips: Feel free to use your favorite semi sweet chocolate chips. For a darker chocolate flavor, you can use dark chocolate.
- Granulated Sugar: This recipe hasn’t been tested with another kind of sugar. If you’d like to try making these brownies refined sugar free, I recommend using maple sugar.
- Cocoa Powder: Any type of unsweetened cocoa powder will work well in this espresso brownie recipe. However, I love using dutch process cocoa powder for its mellow, but intensely rich chocolate-y flavor.
- Eggs: This is an essential ingredient for these rich and fudgy banana and chocolate brownies. This recipe hasn’t been tested without eggs.
- Ripe Bananas: Make sure the bananas are soft with lots of brown spots. The perfect banana to make these the best banana brownies is one you would use to make banana bread.
- Vanilla Extract: This is more for background flavor and nicely enhances the flavors of the other ingredients.
- All Purpose Flour: To make these brownies gluten free, use a good 1-1 gluten free flour. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill. Measure the flour based on weight (60 g) rather than cup for cup.
- Chocolate Chips or Chunks: Brownies are always better with chunks of dark chocolate or pockets of melty chocolate chips.
Variations
- Eggless, Flourless Banana Brownies: Mash 3 very ripe bananas until smooth. Mix in ¼ cup cocoa powder (Dutch or unsweetened) and ½ cup peanut butter or almond butter until smooth and well combined. Pour into a lined 8 x 8 (20 cm) square pan. Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 15 - 20 minutes. Depending on your pan and oven, the brownies could take up to 25 minutes to bake.
- Banana Box Mix Brownies: Make these as banana brownies with box mix. You’ll brownie mix (I personally like Ghirardeli) plus any ingredients listed on the box. Instead of the eggs, replace each egg with ¼ cup mashed ripe banana or 3 tablespoons peanut butter. For the linked brownie mix it would be ¼ cup mashed banana or 3 tablespoons peanut butter to replace the egg, plus another ½ cup mashed banana for the actual banana in the brownies. Spread into a 8 x8 (20 cm) pan, metal is preferable. Bake the brownies according to the box directions. Cool for 1 hour, transfer to the fridge for an additional hour, slice and enjoy.
How To Make
Learn how to make banana brownies in a few easy steps.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper along the bottom and two sides. Mash 2 medium bananas until mostly smooth with very few lumps. Measure out the mashed banana in a measuring cup.
- Add the unsalted butter and semi sweet chocolate chips to a heat safe bowl. Heat the butter and chocolate until fully melted and well combined. This can be done as a “bain marie” or in the microwave. If using the microwave, heat the mixture 30 seconds at a time, stirring between heating intervals until fully melted and combined. Gently stir in the granulated sugar just to barely combine and return the mixing bowl to the microwave. Heat for 30 more seconds. Now stir the sugar fully into the melted butter and chocolate. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes if needed to cool to warm, rather than hot. Stir in the eggs, mashed bananas, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and salt until smooth and glossy. This takes many whisks around the bowl. Lift the flexible spatula or spoon and allow the batter to drizzle down. If the batter falls like a ribbon, it’s perfect. Stir in the flour until well combined. Fold in the additional chocolate chips.
- Evenly pour the brownies with mashed banana into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 - 40 minutes. The brownies are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Start checking at 30 minutes. If the toothpick comes out with wet streaks, the brownies will need another 5 - 10 minutes. Cool the brownies in the pan for at least one hour at room temperature. Then transfer the brownies into the fridge for another hour to fully set.
- When it’s time to serve, remove the brownies from the pan using the parchment paper overhang. Slice the brownies, serve with more sliced bananas, whipped cream or enjoy as is.
How To Serve, Store, Freeze and Thaw
- Serve: These banana chocolate brownies are perfect when served with with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream and more sliced bananas.
- Store: Once the brownies have cooled completely to room temperature and have set in the fridge, slice and store them airtight container for up to 3 - 4 days at room temperature or 7 - 10 days in the fridge.
- Freeze: Make sure the brownies are completely cooled at room temperature and in the fridge. Cut the brownie with bananas into your preferred amount of pieces. Individually wrap each fudgy brownie in plastic wrap and place in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- Thaw: The easiest and tastiest way to thaw your rich banana cocoa powder brownies is to let them sit out at room temperature for at least two hours or overnight in the fridge.
M's Expert Tips
- Mash the bananas to very smooth. Unlike banana bread where some chunks of banana are delightful, these fudgy brownies with mashed banana taste best when the bananas are very smooth.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in deliciously chewy brownies.
- Use an 8x8 pan metal pan. This recipe was created using an 8x8 aluminum pan. If you are using a glass baking dish, you may need to add a few more minutes to the baking time and note that the brownies will bake slightly differently than when using a metal pan. For slightly thinner brownies, use a 9 x 9 pan for 30 - 35 minutes. As always, it’s best to use baking times as a guide rather than a strict rule. Double the recipe to make these banana brownies in a 9 x 13 pan.
- Line the baking pan with parchment paper. This helps to release the brownies from the pan more easily. You can also lightly grease the pan if you prefer not to line it with parchment paper.
- Fully cool the brownies: You may be very tempted to slice into these espresso brownies, but a little cooling time makes them even more amazing and gives them time to firm up.
- For perfectly sliced brownies, fully cool them to room temperature and then chill them in the freezer for about 30 minutes or in the fridge for 1 hour before cutting. Use a sharp knife to cut them and always clean the knife between cuts.
- Look for the signs the brownie is done. Use the baking time as a guide rather than a strict rule. Signs a brownie is finished baking are a set center with baked edges that have slightly pulled away from the edge of the pan.
FAQs
Brownies are widely regarded as healthy, but these banana brownies do contain bananas which are a good source of nutrients and minerals. Cocoa powder and chocolate contains antioxidants which are considered healthy.
Bananas have a creamy and sweet flavor that pair perfectly with dark and rich flavor of chocolate.
Other Banana and Chocolate Recipes to Try
If you try this Banana Brownies recipe please rate the recipe and leave a comment below. Doing so helps other readers decide if this is a great recipe to bake. Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re baking! Happy Baking! - M
Banana Brownies Recipe
Equipment
- 1 8 x 8 (20 cm) pan
- 1 parchment paper
- 1 measuring cup
- 2 mixing bowls (one heat or microwave safe)
- 1 whisk and flexible spatula or spoon
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup mashed banana
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (3 oz., 85 g) semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup (30 g) Dutch processed or unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup (60 g) all purpose flour
- ½ cup (3 oz. 85 g) chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (177 C). Line an 8x8 pan with parchment paper along the bottom and two sides.
- Mash 2 medium bananas until mostly smooth with very few lumps. Measure out the mashed banana in a measuring cup.⅔ cup mashed banana
- Add the unsalted butter and semi sweet chocolate chips to a heat safe bowl. Heat the butter and chocolate until fully melted and well combined. This can be done as a “bain marie” or in the microwave. If using the microwave, heat the mixture 30 seconds at a time, stirring between heating intervals until fully melted and combined.½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, ½ cup (3 oz., 85 g) semi sweet chocolate chips
- Gently stir in the granulated sugar just to barely combine and return the mixing bowl to the microwave. Heat for 30 more seconds. Now stir the sugar fully into the melted butter and chocolate. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes if needed to cool to warm, rather than hot.1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- Stir in the eggs, mashed bananas, vanilla extract, cocoa powder and salt until smooth and glossy. This takes many whisks around the bowl. Lift the flexible spatula or spoon and allow the batter to drizzle down. If the batter falls like a ribbon, it’s perfect. Stir in the flour until well combined. Fold in the additional chocolate chips.2 large eggs, room temperature, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon salt, ⅓ cup (30 g) Dutch processed or unsweetened cocoa powder, ¼ teaspoon baking powder, ½ cup (60 g) all purpose flour, ½ cup (3 oz. 85 g) chocolate chips or chunks
- Evenly pour the brownies with mashed banana into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 - 40 minutes. The brownies are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Start checking at 30 minutes. If the toothpick comes out with wet streaks, the brownies will need another 5 - 10 minutes.
- Cool the brownies in the pan for at least one hour at room temperature. Then transfer the brownies into the fridge for another hour to fully set.
- When it’s time to serve, remove the brownies from the pan using the parchment paper overhang. Slice the brownies, serve with more sliced bananas, whipped cream or enjoy as is.
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