Dense, chocolatey and delicious! These banana bread brownies are the perfect mix of fruit and chocolate.
banana bread brownies

Bananas go through phases in our apartment.

yellow-green and they are Joanne-perfect

yellow with a few brown spots and they are The.Boy-perfect

…and when there’s more brown than yellow and they fall off their stalks after just one nudge with your pinky finger and they’re so pungent they make your entire one-room apartment smell. They are banana bread perfect.

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But sometimes…banana bread just doesn’t hit the spot the way that chocolate does. (All the ladies in the house…ahem. You get me.)

So when the stars aligned to give me mushy bananas and a chocolate craving sixty miles wide all on the same evening…I knew what I had to do.

Banana bread brownies. Dense, fudgy, delicious.

So serendipitous in so many ways.

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These were what I sent to Carrie of Frugal Foodie Mama for this month’s The Leftovers Club! She was so sweet to take my peanut butter and cinnamon love to a whole new level by making me peanut butter chai cookies. So.Good.

Check out what everyone else made for this month’s event! And if you’re interested in taking part next month, be sure to head on over to The Leftovers Club facebook page to check it out and sign up!

Banana Bread Brownies
 
Dense, chocolatey and delicious! These banana bread brownies are the perfect mix of fruit and chocolate.
Yield: 25 brownies
Ingredients
  • 6 tbsp butter
  • ¾ cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1½ cups mashed ripe bananas
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1¾ cups flour
  • ½ tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 350. Spray a 9x9-inch pan with cooking spray.
  2. In a microwave-safe bowl, heat the butter and chocolate chips together in 30 second intervals until melted.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the vanilla, bananas and sugar. Stir in the eggs. Stir in the flour until just combined.
  4. Reserve ¼ cup of the chocolate-butter mixture. Mix the remaining chocolate into the batter. Pour into the prepared pan. Drizzle the remaining chocolate over the batter and swirl it in.
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes until it is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting.
Notes
Adapted from Cookies and Cups
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 brownie

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70 Responses to Banana Bread Brownies {the leftovers club}

  1. Bananas in brownies is a first for me. They look really, really fudgy and yummy.

  2. Banana bread brownies!!! All my favorites in one! Absolutely perfect.

  3. debbie says:

    I’m with you. I prefer yellow green bananas. Don’t like them too ripe at all but I always have over ripe ones around just waiting to make into a banana bread! This looks great Joanne!

  4. Simply Life says:

    I’m with you and at or may not strategically “forget” to eat our bananas so that I’ll just have to use them in this 🙂

  5. wow,you are so right about this scrumptious bread-brownies….dense,chocolaty and so so so delicious…this is for after-dinner dessert tonight,thanks for sharing 🙂

  6. Great idea – we always have brownies in the freezer that are overripe. We just finished a Biscoff Banana Bread.

  7. Shaina says:

    Wow these look so so good! I love banana bread, but I also love the dense richness of a good brownie. Combining the two…perfection!

  8. Chewthefat says:

    When I first saw the title of the post, I thought you were going to put chunks of banana bread in the brownies! I can see how this could convert to a low-fat recipe, too, by subbing some of butter for more banana and maybe some yogurt, if so inclined.

  9. gloria says:

    Ha! The bananas live the same phases here! And this bread look absolutely delicious!:)

  10. Yesssss, love this. I have some ripe bananas in the freezer right now that just might have to be made into these delicious, chocolatey brownies!! 🙂

  11. Joanne,
    Wow!! Just when I think I’ve seen and tasted it all, my senses are blown away again by ideas like these brownies. What a great combination of flavor and all things delicious. Wonderful idea!!

  12. P says:

    I wish you made me a batch! These look & sound so heavenly!

  13. Megan says:

    Yes. So perfect! I know those chocolate cravings you’re talkin’ about! I’m all about yellow bananas with a little green on the creases, but when they get past that point, I’ll be making these!

  14. Lynn says:

    What a great idea this is! I wish I had one right now.

  15. Karly says:

    So, I’ve had chocolate banana bread before, but banana bread BROWNIES? That speaks to my heart, Joanne.

  16. I need to bake a batch too! They look so good.

  17. Jordan says:

    Hoooly yum, these sound fantastic!! And I just bought bananas… I see banana bread brownies in my future!

  18. These look amazing! Love how dense and fudgy these brownies are!

  19. I totally support this hybrid of fruit/dessert/breakfast. It seems pretty ingenious to me.

  20. Sarah says:

    I’ve only recently found your blog, and I’ve wanted to try so many of your recipes, but this was the first one I’ve attempted! Currently eating one straight out of the oven, wow! I’m a big chocoholic though, wouldn’t mind it a bit more chocolatey, do you think it would be ok for me to up the chocolate next time? Or should I just add chocolate chips? Thanks 🙂

    • joanne says:

      I think you can totally up the chocolate in this recipe! (My boyfriend felt similarly as you…he wanted it to be full on chocolate.) Adding chocolate chips or chunks might be better because then you’ll get those pockets of gooey chocolate. Which are always a good thing.

  21. Oooh, these look super yummy! I am also a yellow-green banana girl. But I do freeze riper bananas to make smoothies.

  22. Pam says:

    Awesome! Bookmarked because my kiddos will love these bad boys.

  23. […] Banana Bread Brownies – Eats Well With Others […]

  24. Haha, bananas totally go through the Stages of Life in our apartment as well! My husband likes them very firm & sliced on his oatmeal, while I prefer the baking-ready variety 🙂 This is even better than just adding chocolate chips to banana bread!

  25. I can imagine that these are so moist and fudgy, great looking pan of brownies.

  26. Beth says:

    Chocolate always takes banana bread up a notch. I’m with the.boy on banana readiness, but I’ve been known to let them linger on purpose for baking purposes.

  27. bellini says:

    I am regretting my decision to throw away all those frozen banana torpedoes in the freezer.

  28. sandra says:

    my husband and I are the reverse – he likes them green and I am more of a brown spot kind of gal.

  29. sandra says:

    when are we going to be paired??

  30. How brilliant! I’ve thought to do one with black beans and avocados before so I just had a total *facepalm* moment, LOL

  31. Banana bread brownies = best words ever typed!

  32. YOU ARE RIGHT.

    Chocolate is exactly what banana bread needed….this looks WONDEROUS!

  33. All the goodness of two delish desserts in one! Thank you 😀

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  34. Suzie says:

    Brilliant idea. I love the idea of combining the two. I bet these were delicious!

  35. Colynn says:

    These are perfect. My step mom makes banana bread with chocolate chips in them, so any banana bread without chocolate is incomplete to me. I never thought of making brownies! These will most likely end up being a staple in my house. 🙂

  36. Monica says:

    How moist do these look! I’ve never had bananas in brownies but I love chocolate in banana bread and muffins so I can totally picture it now. : )

  37. Hotly Spiced says:

    I also like my bananas slightly under-done. But when they turn, I love to cook with them. I’ve never had a banana brownie before. These do look very good, especially with the chocolate xx

  38. Wow! Banana bread brownies sound great. They really do look dense and yummy.

  39. And here I usually just cram my banana bread with as many chocolate chips as it will hold. This looks so much more elegant (and less messy). Gotta try it!

  40. Johanna GGG says:

    I am with you on bananas – great when yellow green and excellent in brownies – well actually I am bookmarking this recipe so when I have made it I will be sure but how can you go wrong with chocolate and banana

  41. I’m the opposite – I’d take a banana dessert over chocolate any day (and also prefer bananas with spots haha) .. But I’ve never seen bananas IN brownies – that makes brownies so much more appealing to me!

  42. I am so all over this recipe you have no idea! PERFECT!

  43. Your introduction is so cute and what a beautiful recipe and different way to make bread. Pinning this for sure on my breads board.

  44. What? This is like a dream come true. I’ll be trying this one soon!

  45. Banana bread just grew up! I like it, a lot 🙂

  46. Mmmm banana bread and brownies? Both combination sounds great as one!

  47. Sanjeeta kk says:

    Bananas, bread and Brownies…I am sold! Lovely clicks, Joanne.

  48. Love your stages of bananas- that sounds like my house 🙂

  49. Shannon says:

    definitely a great way to use up those past-prime bananas!

  50. Oh, girl! This looks much much better than plain banana bread! I know now what I’m to do with a couple of balck bananas that have been sitting on my counter for weeks 😉

  51. Ashley says:

    Two amazing desserts in one! Wow! These look phenomenal. With a toddler in the house, we burn through bananas like crazy, so I’ll definitely have a chance to make these beauties sometime!

  52. Kate says:

    We go through bananas so quickly, they rarely get past the yellow green stage.

  53. These were so yummy! I am glad I was your The Leftovers Club partner this month. 😉

  54. Amy says:

    This is genius. That is all.

  55. This has to be the perfect combination. I used to love banana choc chip ice cream but they don’t make it anymore *sad*, so this is an ideal sub.

  56. Jen says:

    This looks like a great recipe. Do I double the recipe to make a 9 x 13 pan?

  57. cquek says:

    oh my oh my oh my. these are so beautiful and your pictures are yet again amamamamazing!

  58. Matt and I also like the underripe bananas the best! Usually that equates to an overabundance of very brown bananas. I must try this with some of my collection!

  59. grace says:

    what you describe as banana bread perfect also happens to be grace perfect. that’s why i rarely have any bananas with which to make banana bread (or brownies). 🙂

  60. Love this! I haven’t made brownies OR banana bread in way too long.

  61. Reeni says:

    Loving the idea of bananas in brownies! Completely unlooked for but altogether delicious! Plus there’s a lot less butter than a traditional brownie. Win win.

  62. Danielle says:

    I think you might be inspired by Moosewood, whether or not you know it. The Original suggests bananas in the 4 egg brownies. I write recipes comments directly in my cookbooks, and they’re often rather goofy. On the Moosewood Brownie recipe I’ve written “Approximately the density of lead, but delicious!”

  63. Nutmeg Nanny says:

    Wow these look so perfect, I feel like I can already taste these fudgy beauties!

  64. I never used to wish I liked bananas until I became a food blogger. Then I had to read about all these scrumptious baked goods with perfect textures from the bananas that I cannot eat (there are dislikes and then there are dislikes). Alas. But I bet your partner like these–they look awesome!

  65. Julie says:

    I made this yesterday for a sweet super bowl snack and they were delicious! Only thing I missed was that the recipe did not call for when to add the salt – so I accidentally went on without it (i used salted butter though, so when I realized the mistake I wasn’t too worried). The consistency of these are great. I used three ripe bananas but probably would have added another if I had it. Next time I make these I think some whole chocolate chips in the batter would really put it over the top.

    Thanks! Your blog is definitely one I trust with trying out new recipes!

  66. Mimsie says:

    These were not good. Rubbery and tasteless. I will look for another recipe with more crumb and more chocolatey flavor.

    • joanne says:

      I’m so sorry to hear you didn’t like them! They are quite dense from the high banana ratio, and certainly not your typically blondie or brownie, but that’s actually what I liked about them! To each his/her own.

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