Healthy Brownies (with Banana)

These Healthy Brownies are a delicious option when you have some over-ripe bananas to use up and you’re in the mood for a chocolate dessert. These banana brownies are fast to make, are just sweet enough, and store amazingly well in the fridge for an entire week.

Okay real talk: These banana brownies are so delicious. They are tender, fudgey, and perfect for snack or dessert. They’re made with a base of bananas and oats, but really, they taste like a delicious chocolate brownie.

The method to make these involves mashing banana and stirring everything together in a bowl, then simply waiting for them to bake up in the oven. So straight-forward. And then they store so well in the fridge for days and days, which means you can enjoy them all week…if they last that long!

(You may also like Black Bean Brownie Bites, Apple Overnight Oats, Chocolate Protein Muffins, and my yummy Salmon Bites.)

Ingredients You Need

To make this healthy brownie recipe, you’ll need to have the following ingredients on hand and ready to go.

• Ripe bananas: You’ll need 2-3 very ripe bananas. We mash these smooth to provide the natural sweetness in the recipe.
• Eggs: Large eggs help the batter hold together.
• Honey or maple syrup: This adds sweetness in combination with the banana. I prefer it here as the sweetener. You can sub granulated sugar and add a splash of milk, too.
• Unsalted butter: Melted and slightly cooled, or you can use coconut oil.
• Vanilla extract
• Oat flour: You can make this or buy it, or use rolled oats ground up in the food processor.
• Cocoa powder: I prefer Hershey’s Special Dark, SACO, or Trader Joe’s cocoa powder.
• Baking powder: A little baking powder helps to ensure the brownies bake through as desired.
• Chocolate chips: Roughly chopped to evenly distribute the flavor, or you can use use mini chocolate chips.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Here’s a look at the process involved in making this healthy brownie recipe. For the full information, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

1. Mash the banana really smooth and stir it together with the wet ingredients.
2. Add the dry ingredients.
3. Chop up the chocolate chips. This helps it be more evenly distributed throughout the batter, for a better overall flavor. You can also use mini chocolate chips. Stir or fold into the batter.
4. Pour batter into a parchment-lined baking pan and bake the healthy brownies.

How to Store

To store, you can slice up the banana brownies and wrap them individually before storing them in the fridge so you can pack them in lunches. Or, place them into an airtight storage container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. We prefer to eat them chilled right out of the fridge, though room temperature works, too.

You can also place cooled banana brownies into a freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months.

Best Tips for Success

• Use very ripe bananas for the best flavor in banana brownies.
• Let cool fully in the fridge before removing from the pan and slicing. This will ensure that the brownies hold together well.To make these gluten-free, use gluten-free rolled oats.
• Dairy-free: Use dairy-free chocolate chips and coconut oil.
• Gluten-free: Use certified gluten-free oat flour. 
• Because these brownies are so wonderfully fudgey, you want to make sure they cool fully before slicing, and it’s actually easiest to slice them after they chill a little bit. When you’re ready, use the foil to lift the entire bar out of the pan and place them onto a cutting board to slice.
• I like to chop up the chocolate chips so they’re evenly distributed throughout the batter. You can also use mini chocolate chips.
• If you don’t want to use banana, try my Sweet Potato Brownies.
• Drizzle with peanut butter or almond butter for more yummy flavor, if desired.

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I’d love to hear your feedback on this recipe, so please comment below to chime in!

This post was first posted January 2019.