If you love banana bread, you’ll adore these banana bread brownies. They’re quick and easy to prepare and disappear fast. I’ve often meant to freeze a batch, but they rarely last long enough to make it into the freezer.
These bars require simple pantry ingredients: all-purpose flour, sugar, butter, sour cream, baking soda, salt, eggs, vanilla, and 3–4 ripe bananas. I keep extra bananas in the freezer in a Ziploc bag for recipes like this—just thaw and mash when you’re ready to bake.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease and flour a 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan.
In a large bowl, beat the sugar, sour cream, softened butter, and eggs until creamy. Mix in the mashed bananas and vanilla. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and beat for about one minute until combined. Fold in chopped walnuts if desired.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.
This batter is fairly thick and doesn’t spread much during baking, so be sure it’s level in the pan to avoid uneven bars that end up dry at the edges.
Bake for 20–25 minutes or until the top turns golden brown. While they bake, you can prepare a brown butter frosting if you like. When the bars are done, remove them from the oven and let cool for 5–10 minutes before frosting.
Banana Bread Brownies
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 3/4 to 2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3–4 bananas)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease and flour a 15 x 10-inch jelly roll pan.
In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, sour cream, softened butter, and eggs until creamy. Stir in the mashed bananas and vanilla.
Add the flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix for about one minute until well combined. Fold in walnuts if using.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 20–25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool 5–10 minutes, then frost with brown butter frosting if desired.
