Flourless Peanut Butter Banana Bars (Printable)
Moist, gluten-free bars loaded with mashed bananas and peanut butter. An easy, wholesome treat ready in under 35 minutes.
# What You'll Need:
→ Wet Ingredients
01 - 2 large ripe bananas, mashed
02 - 1 cup creamy peanut butter
03 - 2 large eggs
04 - 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey
05 - 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
→ Spices & Add-ins
06 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
07 - 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
08 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
09 - 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips, optional
# How-To Steps:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
02 - In a large mixing bowl, combine mashed bananas, peanut butter, eggs, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth and fully incorporated.
03 - Add cinnamon, salt, and baking soda to the wet mixture. Stir thoroughly until no dry pockets remain.
04 - Gently fold in dark chocolate chips if using, distributing evenly throughout batter.
05 - Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading into an even layer with spatula.
06 - Bake for 20-22 minutes until center is set and toothpick inserted comes out clean.
07 - Allow to cool completely in pan before slicing into bars for clean cuts.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- These bars taste like a cross between banana bread and peanut butter cookies but with none of the flour mess
- The texture is impossibly moist and stays fresh for days, unlike typical gluten-free baking that dries out within hours
02 -
- Overripe bananas with plenty of brown spots are non-negotiable here, green bananas will make the bars dense and lack sweetness
- These continue to firm up as they cool, so don't panic if the center seems slightly jiggly when you first pull them from the oven
03 -
- Use the parchment paper overhang to lift the entire batch out at once, then cut on a cutting board for perfectly clean edges
- If using natural peanut butter, stir it thoroughly before measuring since the oil separates during storage