Ooey Gooey Banana Bars are sweet and moist dessert bars that are loaded with bananas and frosted with homemade salted caramel buttercream. 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.
Ooey Gooey Banana Bars
These bars are rich dessert bars that are made with brown sugar to give them that extra sweetness. They are moist and dense with a wonderful banana flavor in every bite. Although these bars would be delicious on their own, the homemade salted caramel buttercream frosting puts this dessert over the top!
Ooey Gooey Banana Bars Recipe
There are two parts to these ooey-gooey banana bars treat–the banana bars and the salted caramel buttercream.
How to Make Ooey Gooey Banana Bars
This batter is made up of melted butter, a fair amount of brown sugar, and much less flour than normal which is great for a soft and chewy dessert bar. But the addition of the bananas in the mix, as well as the homemade salted caramel buttercream, really makes these bars a special treat.
- First, combine the melted butter and brown sugar in a large bowl. Stir well before adding the vanilla and eggs.
- Next, add the flour and salt, mixing well.
- Then, fold in the mashed bananas. It is fine if there are a few chunks of banana in the mix.
- Finally, bake at 350°F for 45 minutes, or until the center is set.
- Let the bars cool completely before adding the buttercream.
How to Make Salted Caramel Buttercream
Having your butter and milk at room temperature helps greatly in this buttercream recipe. You can substitute whipping cream for milk, but it is not necessary if you get the butter whipped up nicely. (I do not recommend skim milk in this recipe.)
First, in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, combine the butter, confectioners’ sugar, salt, and caramel topping. Mix on low until every ingredient is combined. Next, mix it on high for a couple of minutes, or until the buttercream is smooth and fluffy.
Finally, add the milk. The milk is added for your desired consistency, so start with just a little bit, and continue to add more milk to make it smoother. Buttercream can be made in advance, so to save some time, make it ahead of time! Store it in the refrigerator for up to a week or the freezer for up to 3 months.
Looking for More Dessert Bar Recipes?
Ooey Gooey Banana Bars are sweet and moist dessert bars that are loaded with bananas and frosted with homemade salted caramel buttercream.
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 226g) butter, melted
- 2 cups (400g) brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 (about ⅔ cup) ripe bananas, mashed (some chunks okay)
- ½ cup (1 stick or 113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (250g) confectioners' sugar, sifted
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (82g) caramel topping
- 1½ teaspoons whole milk, as needed
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9x13-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
-
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, combine the butter and brown sugar until creamy.
-
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.
-
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.
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
These were easy enough to make. The frosting was delicious and I added an extra spoonful of caramel just because! It was really good. My hubs thought next time use chocolate chips in the mix so I sprinkled some mini chips on his and he loved it. Thanks for the change from always using bananas in bread. We will definitely enjoy these yummy bars again!
These were easy enough to make. The frosting was delicious and I added an extra spoonful of caramel just because! It was really good. My hubs thought next time use chocolate chips in the mix so I sprinkled some mini chips on his and he loved it. Thanks for the change from always using bananas in bread. We will definitely enjoy these yummy bars again! Oh and I only used one teaspoon of 1% milk in the frosting. Delicious!
The recipes I have made -posted by you – have been absolutely excellent! 🎉✅ Yesterday I made the ooey gooey banana bars and they did not turn out ooey gooey at all. The base was really quite dry. I am not sure if it should have been made in a smaller pan – there wasn’t any call for baking soda/powder to add. Suggestions?
Thank you!
This was incredible… I took it over to a friend’s home for dinner last night and it was a hit! Can’t wait to try some more recipes! Thank you!
So good. Made for my sister but I had to try too.
Hi made these twice alre and they taste incredible but mine are not gooey… What am I doing wrong? Even baked them 5min less as I use a fan oven. Help x
Amanda, I just put the banana bars in the oven and they smell great! I have a question about Kosher salt. Mine is labeled coarse. Does it come in a fine grind or do I use it as is?
Can you use bananas that have been frozen?
Hi, Shara! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. Yes, you can use bananas that have been frozen. Just let them come to room temperature before using them in the recipe. Have a great day!
The banana bars are delicious!! I tweeked the recipe to make it gluten free and it came out yum!
..Only thing I’m having issues with is the frosting, I’ve followed the ingredients and method to a T and it’s just too runny. It won’t hold itself on a cake. Help! 🙂
Hi Lizzie! You can use less liquid or more sugar to reach your desired consisntecy. 🙂
Hi can I use 2% milk. I dont have whole milk.
Yes. 🙂
These were delicious but EXTREMELY SWEET. I did not even top it with the frosting. The bars alone were CRAZY SWEET!! Is there a way to decrease the sugar amount to make it less sweet without ruining the texture? The texture as it is now is perfect.
Hi, Sylvia! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. We have not tried using less sugar in this recipe, so I can’t say how that would affect the texture. If you try it, let us know how the bars turn out. Have a great day!
Just made these weekly banana bars and they are awesome. Can’t wait to share them with the family tonight. Something besides chocolate for sure.
These bars are yummy! They are like eating a banana brownie as they are on the dense side. I made them with 1.75 cups of brown sugar rather than the 2 cups called for in the recipe and they were perfect! The frosting is so good, puts them over the top! A keeper for sure!
How many bananas go in this recipe. Thank you
Hi, Nancy! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. Two ripe bananas go in this recipe. Have a wonderful day!
Hello. I do not have a stand mixer for the icing. Can you use a regular hand mixer?
You can but it may not end up as smooth, which is ok, it will still taste delish! Have your handheld mixer on high and it may take a few minutes.