Ooey Gooey Banana Bars are sweet and moist dessert bars that are loaded with bananas and frosted with homemade salted caramel buttercream. Although these bars would be delicious on their own, the frosting puts this dessert over the top! If you love desserts with bananas, or just need a great recipe to use up ripe bananas, be sure to also try my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.
Ingredients & Substitutions
Butter: Use unsalted butter for both the bars and the salted caramel buttercream.
Brown Sugar: These bars are rich dessert bars that are made with brown sugar to give them that extra sweetness.
Bananas: Mash a couple of bananas to use in the bars. You need about 2/3 cup of mashed bananas.
Caramel Sauce: Skip the store-bought caramel sauce and make your own to use in the salted caramel buttercream!
Can These Bars be Gluten-Free?
I stress this often, that I am not a gluten-free specific baker. However, a few readers have mentioned that this recipe works very with a high-quality gluten-free replacement.
Storing & Freezing Ooey Gooey Banana Bars
This cake is best served fresh! However, you can store it in an airtight container (or covered with plastic wrap) in the refrigerator. You can also freeze this cake, however, I do recommend waiting to frost the cake until after thawing.
Can I Make the Bars Without the Frosting?
Yes, of course. However, the salted caramel buttercream truly is magical on these bars and I do hope you’ll give it a chance!
More Delicious Bars
Ooey Gooey Banana Bars
Ingredients
Banana Bars
- 1 cup (2 sticks / 227 g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 cups (400 g) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed, some chunks are okay (about ⅔ cup)
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (250 g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup (82 g) caramel topping
- 1 ½ teaspoons whole milk, as needed
Instructions
Banana Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, combine the butter and brown sugar.
- On low speed, add the vanilla and mix until incorporated.
- Add the eggs, mixing on low until incorporated.
- Add the flour and the salt, mixing well.
- Fold in the mashed bananas.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes, or until the center is set.
- Let the bars cool as you prepare the buttercream frosting.
Salted Caramel Buttercream
- Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and caramel topping in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Start mixing on low speed until the sugar is incorporated with the butter.
- Increase the mixing speed to high and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Adjust the consistency with milk as needed.
- Frost the banana bars with the buttercream after they have cooled completely.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Just saw ur website n m very impressed. M going to try making ur apple zucchini bread to look like urs. Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
Ms. Amanda…Thank you for the no nonsense method of cooking: Baking…My question is…I can’t have cane sugar and totally refuse to use artificial sweetness even stevia…Can I use dates, honey and or maples syrup…along with coconut sugar or pineapple to replace the brown sugar in this recipe? I really love cooking and baking, struggle to find QUALITY recipes that do not use so much cane products. Well please let me know ..thanks! Deb
Hi Deb! Baking with those ingredients is not my specialty, so I am not comfortable advising on to make them shine in recipes! However, there are so many wonderful sugar-free or natural sugar options recipes out there. I know you will be able to find something that works for yoU!
I am going to try to make the Banana Bars and the Salted caramel cream Butter sounds like it will be out of this world! Do you think that topping would be good on Banana bread also?Happy l found you looks like you got some great things!!
Hi Angie! The frosting is really sweet but definitely versatile. It would be perfect on lots of cakes! I love banana bread and can’t imagine it would hurt to add it!
I cannot wait to try this recipe!
Great recipes
Confectioners sugar? Is it icing sugar
It is confectioners sugar, or powdered sugar, in the USA. It can be referred to as icing sugar, but confectioners sugar is correct.
These bars have a brownie consistency. They are so good! A definite keeper! Thank you for the recipe! I opted not to frost. I’ll save the buttercream recipe for another time.
I forgot to turn my oven temperature down by 25 degrees because of using a dark coated pan, but I took the banana bars out before they burnt. Lol
Other than my own mistake, the bars were easy to bake. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Made these today. Such a nice little treat and switch up from banana bread (which I love). So easy too.
Sounds great can’t wait to try them.Thanks will let you know how they turned out. Sharon