Twice every week, I toss my reusable grocery totes into my car and drive across town to Trader Joe’s. After easing into a shady parking spot and grabbing a red shopping basket, I always head straight for the banana bin.
I spend at least two full minutes gently pawing through the fruit (yes, that long… and usually more than that!), searching for the biggest ones with the perfect shades of peel. Because I eat one every morning as part of breakfast, I always need a variety of colors. No use in buying a huge bunch that all ripen at the same time!
I snatch up a few bright yellow ones first, sweetly ripe and ready to peel, before looking for two or three with a faint greenish hue that will turn yellow in a couple of days. Finally, I finish with the lime green ones that require a week to ripen. Although I look hilarious circling the bin multiple times, almost like a lion stalking its prey, that method works like a charm!
Well… Except for the times where I get greedy and pick out an extra. At home, it turns spotty before I can finish the rest, so I normally bake a batch of banana bread or muffins and freeze half to nibble on later.
But this time, with our moving date rapidly approaching and our freezer off-limits, in desperate need of cleaning out (why do I hoard so many ice cream flavors??), I had to come up with something else: a treat slightly easier to give away than half a loaf of bread. After a little bit of thinking and a whole lot of indecision, I finally settled on a new dessert to try.
Barely half an hour later, I pulled these Peanut Butter Banana Bread Brownies out of the oven. With the fruity flavor of banana bread, the fudgy texture of brownies, and a ton of peanut butter drizzled on top, these sweet bars taste like pure comfort food. It can be our little secret that they’re skinny, vegan, and actually clean-eating!
These fun brownies are so simple to make, and you only need a few dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. We’ll add very little of the latter two. With such a small amount of baking powder, the bars barely rise, which results in the same fudgy texture as brownies. Yum!
After so many successful recipes in the past month—like brownies, muffins, and cake—I really wanted to keep going with my trend of gluten-free baked goodies. I created my own gluten-free flour blend for these with millet, brown rice, tapioca, and coconut flours, and the bars ended up with a silky smooth texture and flavor. But as always, whole wheat flour works too!
We’ll skip the egg in these healthy banana brownies and add extra mashed banana instead. (Yes, that means they’re actually vegan!) The extra mashed banana helps bind the bars together like the protein in eggs and gives them a bright natural flavor. With just a hint of additional sweetness from Stevia, these treats are seriously fruity and irresistible!
For the swirls on top, add a few tablespoons of peanut butter to a zip-topped bag, and heat that in the microwave for a few seconds. We just want it warm enough to pipe—not completely melted! Squeeze out the peanut butter into straight lines over the brownie batter, and carefully drag a toothpick through in perpendicular lines to achieve those fancy-looking “V” shapes.
Like regular brownies, we’ll bake these low and slow so the center cooks through without the edges turning crispy. Cool them all the way to room temperature in the pan, and let them set for as long as possible. I know it’s tempting to dig right in, but allowing them to rest longer really helps achieve the fudgiest texture possible—just like with my most popular brownie recipe!
After nearly consuming half the pan by myself in barely 24 hours, I sent off the rest of these Peanut Butter Banana Bread Brownies to my adorable little neighbors. I needed to focus on packing—not running a million extra miles to burn all of these off! The kids’ eyes lit up, and they immediately turned to their parents to ask if they could try one after dinner.
“They’re from Amy, so they’re healthy!” was their rationale.
Oops!
These sweet dessert bars taste like banana bread but have the fudgy texture of brownies—a fun & irresistible combination! Topped with a creamy peanut butter drizzle, they’re bound to disappear in seconds. Store any leftovers in an airtight container on the counter for 2 days, or refrigerate for up to 6 days.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and lightly coat a 9”-square pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together the coconut oil, banana, and vanilla. Stir in the Stevia. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour, and stirring just until incorporated.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Add the peanut butter to a zip-topped bag, seal, and microwave on HIGH for 5-10 seconds, or until warm and slightly melted. Cut off one corner, and pipe in straight lines on top of the batter. Drag a toothpick through in perpendicular lines to achieve the “V” effect.
- Bake the brownies at 300°F for 19-22 minutes. Cool completely in the pan, and let the brownies rest for at least 2 hours at room temperature (or overnight, for the fudgiest texture) before slicing into squares.
Notes: For the gluten-free flour, I created my own blend using the following: ¾ cup millet flour, ¼ cup brown rice flour, ¼ cup tapioca flour, 4 teaspoons coconut flour, 1 ¼ teaspoons xanthan gum.
Melted unsalted butter or margarine may be substituted in place of the coconut oil.
Feel free to use your favorite regular or no-calorie sweetener in place of the Stevia. You’ll need the equivalent of ¼ cup of granulated sugar.
Any milk (cow’s, soy, almond, coconut, etc.) may be substituted in place of the nonfat or rice milk.
I am loving these! First, I LOVE banana! But also that they look so dense and brownie like, instead of cake-like. I have to make them! The hubs would gobble them up! And can you believe I’ve never been to trader joes? It’s a hike for me and it’s been on my list forever, but I’ve yet to do it. Sadness.
Thank you Lindsay! I’m all about the fudgy brownie texture. 😉 I hope you’re able to make it to TJ’s someday! We had one in my hometown, but when I moved to college, the closest one way 30-40 minutes away. Because I LOVED their granola and ate it every day, I’d make the trek out about once a month and buy out their entire inventory. The cashiers always looked at me a little funny when I showed up with 10 boxes of cereal and nothing else!
Hi!! I LOVE LOVE LOOOOVE ALL YOUR RECIPES! I wanna make these today, I was wondering if I could use almond milk?
Thanks Yasira! Almond milk is perfectly fine for this recipe. I’d love to hear what you think, and I really hope you enjoy them! 🙂
Oh. My. Gosh. I saw this on your Instagram and said “I NEED TO MAKE THESE NOW.” Your desserts are always a HUGE hit 🙂 Hopefully mine turn out as good as yours — here I go 🙂 I’ll be sure to tag you in my Insta post!
Your banana brownies looked wonderful Jenn! I’m so touched that you decided to make them. 🙂
Could I use coconut flour to when making these?
I haven’t tried it Jan, so I’m honestly not sure. If you did use coconut flour, you’d only need ½ cup because it’s much more absorbent than regular flour, and I’d recommend adding ½ teaspoon of xanthan gum too. Let the batter rest for at least 10 minutes before spreading it into the pan, and you may also need to add extra milk if the batter looks too dry. I’d love to hear what you think if you try it!
Hi Amy!
I’ve made a mix of these brownies and your carrot cake (basically this recipe + greek yoghurt, baking soda, carrots and the spices) plus I added some raisins. It’s in the oven now and I cannot wait to see what they’ll be like! I want them to be a bit more moist than carrot cake so probably a bit more like these for a consistency but still taste like carrot cake. I’m gonna bake them at 350 for 30 minutes, I think that’ll be the best! What do you think about the baking time?
Thanks!!
That sounds like a lovely idea Anika! I think the bake time all depends on how much of the other ingredients you add. The toothpick test is generally the best way to tell if you’re making more than one tweak to a recipe. I hope they turn out how you envisioned! 🙂
Hi! Just wanted to let you know that it turned out perfect, It’s very nice and moist and tastes great! Thank you for you recipes
I’m so glad to hear in Anika! 🙂
Can you mix the peanut butter into the batter instead of piping it on top?
Sure Ali! However, its flavor might be harder to taste that way since there isn’t very much. I hope you enjoy them!
Love Love Love these brownies!!!! I made them yesterday with almond flour and almond milk, no honey, but i did use agave. Delicious.Thank you so much, because I will be baking them again.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the brownies, and I’m touched that you already want to make them again! 🙂