Banana Blondies
Easy and moist Banana Blondies with rich brown butter frosting—easy to bake, full of flavor, and perfect for dessert, snacks, or breakfast!
Do you have some brown bananas sitting on your counter waiting to be used? Well, today is their lucky day! My Banana Blondies are so amazing and reason enough to go out and buy bananas now if you don’t have any. This is a simple and indulgent recipe that is just different enough. The familiarity of the banana flavor will make sure that everyone of all ages will fall in love.
Looking for more blondie dessert bar recipes? Try my Cake Batter Blondies and my White Chocolate Blondies with Maple Cream Sauce next.
BANANA BLONDIES
If you are unfamiliar with a blondie, then your day is about to get a whole lot better. First, let’s start with a brownie. Who doesn’t love this classic dessert? Especially served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. A blondie is very similar, just not rich with chocolate. Traditionally, a blondie is more of a vanilla-style brownie. But this recipe takes everything to a new level.
These blondies start with a very straight forward batter with butter, eggs, flour, and brown sugar. Mashed bananas join the party to make this as fun as a barrel of monkeys. Now, a piece of this on its own would be fruity and flavorful, but you know I’m not going to stop there. A 4-ingredient brown butter frosting is lathered over everything which makes each bite utterly irresistible!
Find my expert tips on how to make these homemade banana blondies below! Don’t forget to tag me in all of your creations @lifeinthelofthouse on Instagram or Facebook. Let’s stay connected. ❤️
Why You’ll Love This Easy Banana Blondies Recipe:
- Quick & Easy-To-Make: Bakes in just 25 minutes with simple ingredients.
- Moist & Tender: Ripe mashed bananas make the blondies soft and flavorful. If you have overripe bananas sitting in your kitchen, this is the perfect way to use them up!
- Buttery Sweetness: Brown sugar and melted butter create a rich, golden base.
- Decadent Frosting: Brown butter frosting adds a nutty, caramel-like finish.
- Versatile Treat: Perfect for dessert, a snack, or even a quick on-the-go breakfast.
Ingredients
Blondies
- 1 cup salted butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 1/2 medium-sized bananas)
Brown Butter Frosting
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
For The Blondies
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch baking dish with parchment paper then spray with cooking spray. Set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add melted butter and sugar. Mix until combined. Add in eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until incorporated. Stir in salt, flour and banana until batter is smooth. Spread evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until the center is set. Remove from the oven and let cool before frosting.
For The Brown Butter Frosting
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat until butter starts to barely brown and becomes very aromatic. This only takes a couple of minutes. (Don’t let it burn!) Add the brown sugar and milk to butter. Stir until mixture comes to just a boil. Remove from heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes. Stir in powdered sugar with a whisk. Spread on top of blondies. Allow frosting to set before cutting into squares. It’s important to let the blondies rest and cool before frosting them. Otherwise, the brown butter frosting will get runny and not adhere correctly. After they are frosted, they are ready to serve. Enjoy!
Servings
One pan of this freshly baked dessert makes 18 servings.
Storage and Reheating
Store the banana blondie leftovers covered on the counter for up to 3 days, or cover and store in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reheat and enjoy warm, microwave a blondie for 10–15 seconds or warm in the oven at 325°F (160°C) for 5–7 minutes.
Holly’s Tips for the Best Banana Blondies:
- Use Ripe Bananas: The sweeter and softer the banana, the more flavor and moisture your blondies will have. Overripe bananas are perfect.
- Don’t Overmix The Batter: Once you add the flour and banana, mix just until combined. Overmixing can make the blondies dense.
- Even Baking: Line your pan with parchment and spray lightly. This ensures easy removal and clean edges.
- Check For Doneness: Carefully insert a toothpick in the center; it should come out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter. This prevents overbaking.
- Brown The Butter: Keep an eye on it and stir frequently—brown butter can go from perfect to burnt in seconds.
- Cool Slightly Before Adding Powdered Sugar: This prevents the frosting from becoming too runny.
- Adjust Consistency: If the frosting is too thick, add a tiny splash of milk; if too thin, whisk in a little more powdered sugar.
- Serving Tip: For an extra treat, warm a blondie square slightly before serving—it enhances the banana flavor and makes the frosting slightly melty and delicious.
Frequently Asked Questions:
You can make Banana Blondies ahead of time by baking and cooling them, then storing them covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the fridge for up to 5 days. The brown butter frosting can also be made up to 3 days in advance and warmed slightly before spreading if needed. For longer storage, both frosted and unfrosted blondies freeze well for up to 2 months—just wrap tightly and thaw at room temperature before serving.
Yes, a hand whisk or electric hand mixer works fine. Just mix until ingredients are combined; don’t overmix.
Yes, make the brown butter frosting and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Warm slightly before spreading.
No. The blondies are still moist and flavorful on their own, but the brown butter frosting adds a rich, nutty sweetness.
Swap the all-purpose flour with a 1-to-1 gluten-free baking flour blend. Look for a blend that contains xanthan gum or guar gum, which helps mimic the structure of regular flour. The texture may be slightly different—sometimes a bit more tender or crumbly—but the flavor will stay delicious. Measure the gluten-free flour carefully. Mix just until combined to avoid a dense texture. If your blend doesn’t contain xanthan gum, add ½ teaspoon per cup of flour to help hold the blondies together. You can also frost them exactly the same way with the brown butter frosting—no modifications needed there.
Similar Recipes
Craving something similar? My Chocolate Chip Banana Bake is just as delicious!
Looking for something kid-friendly? My pull-apart Banana Bread Monkey Bread is as sweet as it is fun to eat!
Looking for something more fruity? My Coconut Banana Bread has coconut shavings throughout each bite.
Wanting something more bite-sized? Start your day off right with my soft and chewy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.
In the mood for a chilled dessert? My Banana Cream Pie Dessert contains layers of graham cracker crust, banana pudding, and whipped cream.
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Banana Blondies
Ingredients
Banana Blondies
- 1 cup salted butter melted
- 1 ½ cups packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup mashed banana (about 2 ½ medium-sized bananas)
Brown Butter Frosting
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Banana Blondies
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×9-inch baking dish with parchment paper then spray paper with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, add melted butter and sugar. Mix until combined. Add in eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until incorporated. Stir in salt, flour and banana until batter is smooth. Spread evenly in prepared pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until center is set. Remove from oven and allow blondies to fully cool before frosting.
Brown Butter Frosting
- In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat until butter starts to barely brown and becomes very aromatic (this only takes a couple of minutes.) Don't let it burn!
- Add the brown sugar and milk to butter. Stir until mixture comes to just a boil. Remove from heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes. Whisk in powdered sugar until combined.
- Spread frosting over cooled blondies. Allow frosting to set before cutting into squares. Enjoy!
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This recipe seems awesome, I’m definitely going to Make this!
I made these twice and so delicious. Made for the 4th of July. These were a hit with the family.
I don’t have light-brown sugar. Is it okay to use regular brown sugar??
Yes that will work fine 🙂
Great! Thank you 🙂
Made it. Extra banana. Unexpected. Texture. Flavor. Tasty. Thank you. 🙂
I was looking for an alternative to banana bread to use up my aging bananas. I am so glad i found this recipe! I made These intO individual portions in Cupcake liners in my muffin pan. They are diVine. And, the brown butter frosting makes them extra special. The kids loved them. (There’s potassium in bananas, so it’s a healthy snack, right? ) I will definitely make tHese again.
MaDe These this evening. Moist and yummy. It’s more Cakey than expected (not airy) buT a niCe rich, thick, decadent textUre. The icing was very sweet so eitheR reduce the sugar or leave it off to the side. We ended Up scraping some off Since we glazed tHe Whole thing. Overall, the blondies got a
Thumbs Up fRom the fam!
Love these. We love bananas so I used 4 in the recipe.
These are so good but very sweet! if you want to break up the sweet, i added sliced strwberries and blueberries to the top of mine and it was super tasty. it kind of made it into a fruit pizza but it was still amazing without the addition.
Fantastic –perfect use for brown bananas. recipe was easy to make and the finished product was thoroughly enjoyed by the fam. we will be making these again (and again)!
I was looking for a recipe to keep two very ripe bananas from going to waste. Not The usual banana bread or muffins. I happened onto this recipe. These blondies are very sweet, but so delicious! I especially love the browned slightly crispy edges. I added sprinkles because I’m taking them to give to some family and friends. I think I’ll try adding some chopped walnuts next time. Lovely recipe! Fast and easy!!
Absolutely divine…hands down my new “go to” with ripe bananas!
Just made them with almonds. My hubbys favorite banana and walnuts! Ill let you know! They smell amazing and the frosting yum!
I cant say what these are like exactly as wrItten in the recipe, but i made them with a few modifications and they are amazing! I used half the butter and only one cup of sugar in the batter. Also added an extra banana. Finally, i omitted the brown sugar in the icing. I dont typically like super sweet desserts, and had Read a few reviews that they were too sugary for some people. They were just the right amount of sweetness for me this way with a perfect denSe texture. Loved it and will be making again and again!
I had a few bananas in the fruit bowl and I seen where you recently posted this recipe for frosted banana bars. So decided to make them followed the recipe as you wrote and they came out great. The recipe was very easy to make. Once they cooled and I cut them into bars and gave family members a bar all I heard was WOW these are awesome. So I will be making another pan real soon. Thank you for sharing.
so I am trying the recipe but making a few additions like chocolate chips, walnuts and a few white chocolate chips. will let you know how it goes
I HAD RIPE BANANAS AND WAS TIRED OF BANANA BREAD. I FOUND THIS RECIPE. IT IS EASY AND ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! THE FROSTING TASTES LIKE MY MOM’S HOMEMADE SOFT CARAMELS SHE MAKES AT CHRSTMAS. I MAY HAVE EATEN A COUPLE SPOONFULS OF FROSTING WHILE THE BARS COOLED. WILL DEFINITELY MAKE THESE AGAIN!!
I, too, was looking for an alternative to banana bread and am so happy I found this. Normally I steer away from recipes that are two part or I leave off the icing. But this was so easy! I didn’t pack my brown butter, and I ended up only doing about 2/3c of powdered sugar because that’s all I had left, but it was amazing! So moist, flavorful, and yummy. Agree these were more like a dense cake than a bar, but no one here complained! Thanks for the great recipe!
What about adding CHOCOLATE chips?
You could definitely add chocolate chips to the batter. I would fold in about a cup or a little less to the batter before pouring it into the pan to bake. 🙂
Made these tonight just as directed (except added a 3rd banana). They were Easy to make, cooked nicely and everyone loved them. Ill add these to my rotation for the fute. Thank yOu.
These came out PERFECT! Thanks for an amazing recipe!! We love them!! They DEFINITELY melt in your mouth!
Just made these today. So delicious. Better than starbucks.
They taste great but I dont know if they need to be refrigerated or are they ok to leave out in an airtight container?
You can leave them out on the counter in an airtight container 🙂
So moist and the frosting is soooo good. They are great room temperature or even chilled. I love this recipe! The family loves it and so do all of the guys where my husband works! Thank you so much! This will be a go to dessert for all my family events.
Amazing!! The batch I did came out perfectly!!
Came out very good, husband loved them. Very Easy recipe holly. Thank you so much. Will definitely be saving this recipe
Absolutely blown away with this recipe. So simple yet so delicious. I’m so glad to have found another use for old bananas rather than the same old banana cake/bread. Was a hit with the family.
loved these for an alternative to banana bread. I used 4 smallish very OVERRIPE bananas (just slightly more than a cup), and oat milk instead of cow’s milk. I added vanilla to the frosting and sprinkled the blondies with raw sugar, pink Himalayan salt, and a roasted butter pecan topping that gave them just the right crunch and saltiness that balanced out the sweetness. very decadent and delicious, my son ate them right up!