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Chocolate Chip Banana Bars

Chocolate chip banana bars with a soft, chewy banana crumb and melty chocolate chips throughout. Baked in a sheet pan until the top is golden and slightly crinkled for an easy banana blondie-style snack.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 24 servings
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 210
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Banana bars batter
  • 3 ripe bananas Mash until smooth.
  • 0.5 cup unsalted butter Softened for creaming.
  • 0.75 cup brown sugar Packed.
  • 1 large egg Room temperature if possible.
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips Measure 1 cup for the batter and 1/2 cup for the top.
  • 0.5 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips Remaining chips for scattering over the top.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and preheat
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13 baking pan or line with parchment for easy release.
Make the batter
  1. Beat the softened butter and brown sugar together until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg and vanilla.
  2. Stir in the mashed bananas until fully incorporated, with no streaks.
  3. Fold in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until just combined, stopping as soon as you don’t see dry flour.
  4. Fold in 1 cup of the semi-sweet chocolate chips so the batter stays thick and studded.
Bake
  1. Spread the batter evenly into the pan and scatter the remaining chocolate chips across the top.
  2. Bake for 18–22 minutes at 350°F until the bars turn golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
  3. Cool completely before cutting into bars so the center sets and stays chewy.

Notes

For clean slices, let the bars cool fully, then chill them for 1–2 hours before cutting. Store covered at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate up to 5 days; freezing is yes (freeze sliced bars in an airtight container up to 2 months). For a lower-sugar option, replace brown sugar with an equal amount of packed light brown sugar substitute that measures 1:1.