Made with rich peanut butter, sweet bananas, and decadent chocolate chips, these Banana Chocolate Chip Bars are extremely easy to make and irresistibly good.
Preheat oven to 350 ℉ and line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper or grease well.
In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until smooth. Add the egg, peanut butter, honey, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined.
In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. (Add ½ teaspoon of salt if your peanut butter is unsalted.) Add in the chocolate chips and toss to coat the chocolate chips with the flour.
Add the dry ingredients to the peanut butter and banana mixture and gently fold together until the flour is fully moistened. Do not overmix.
Spread the batter out evenly in the prepared baking dish.
Bake for 17-20 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.
Cool the banana bars on a cooling rack for 10 minutes and then carefully remove the parchment paper from the pan to cool the bars completely. Slice into 12 bars and serve. Note, if you just greased your pan instead of using parchment paper, do not try to remove the bars from the pan, just cool for 20 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Flour: Use either Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, whole white wheat flour, or regular all-purpose flourIf you use Unsalted Peanut Butter: If your peanut butter is unsalted, add ¼ teaspoon of salt to the dry ingredients. Storage: After baking, allow the banana chocolate chip bars to cool fully. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container for 3-4 days in a dark, cool place, such as the pantry.Freeze: Allow the bars to cool fully, and cut them into bars. Wrap each bar in plastic wrap or parchment paper, transfer to an airtight container, and store in the freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost individual bars at room temperature for a couple of hours.Add Nuts: If you want to add a bit of texture to the chocolate chip banana bars, add up to ⅓ cup of chopped walnuts to the recipe when you add the chocolate chips.Egg-Free Banana Bars: Replace the egg by preparing a flax egg. Mix together 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water and let sit for 5 minutes. Use in place of the egg.Gluten-Free Banana Bars: Use Gluten-Free 1:1 All-Purpose Flour instead of the flour. No other modifications are needed.Dairy-Free Banana Bars: If you have a dairy allergy, use dairy-free chocolate chips, or omit chocolate chips.Double the Recipe: This recipe can be doubled easily. Bake in a 9x13 pan for 22-28 minutes at 350 degrees F.