Vegan Banana Bars with Chocolate Chips

Ingredients Notes

Bananas - Can’t have banana bars without bananas!  Use those overripe bananas for some natural sweetness.

Cane Sugar - I use organic cane sugar in most of my desserts.  It’s vegan and it can be substituted for a 1 to 1 ratio for granulated white sugar.

Dairy-Free Milk - The milk adds more moisture to the bars and any dairy-free milk should work.

Whole-Wheat Flour - Adds a slightly nutty flavor to baked goods, but the bars should work fine with all-purpose.  Sometimes whole-wheat flour can be a smidge thirstier than all-purpose, so the bake time might increase.

Vanilla and Ground Cinnamon - They add more flavor to complement the banana.

Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips - Because chocolate chips are amazing and I love how they firm up when the bars are stored in the refrigerator.

How to Make Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Bars

Preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).  Lightly grease or line an 8x8 glass baking dish with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, mash the bananas well.  The goal is for your bananas to produce a cup’s worth when mashed.  If you don’t have 1 cup of mashed banana, it can be topped off with unsweetened applesauce.

Then mix in the sugar with the mashed banana.  Next, add the milk and vanilla and whisk until combined.

In a large bowl, whisk together the whole-wheat flour, ground flaxseed, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips.  If your baking powder and/or baking soda clumps, they may need to be sifted.

Now add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together. Don't overmix.

Transfer the banana mixture to the prepared pan, and spread it out so it reaches the corners and its level. 

Bake for 20-24 minutes, the banana bars are done when a toothpick is inserted in the middle and comes out clean.  The top should be set, and lightly spring back when pressed.

Tips

• Make sure to use ground flaxseed, not whole.
• A lot of the moisture comes from the overripe mashed banana, so make sure you have 1 cup.  That could be 2 very large bananas or maybe 2  ½ medium.  It just really depends on their size.   
• If you have almost 1 cup but don’t want to use part of another banana, top it off with unsweetened applesauce.  I’ve done this plenty of times and it works well.  I haven’t tried pumpkin puree, but it should work well too, and give you a little pumpkin flavor.
• Make sure to use overripe bananas with lots of brown spots.  This ensures they’ll be soft enough to mash and adds sweetness to the bars.
• I haven’t tested it, but all-purpose flour should work in place of whole-wheat flour.

Storage

Store leftover vegan banana bars with chocolate chips for 2-3 days on the counter in an airtight container and for about a week in the refrigerator.  They can also be frozen for about 2-3 months.  In a freezer-safe container, either separate the layers with parchment paper so they don’t freeze together or freeze them separately.  

To freeze them separately, line a baking tray with parchment paper or a silicone mat.  Then spread the bars out, and freeze overnight or until frozen.  Then transfer the individual frozen bars to a freezer-safe container.  When ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then enjoy.