I would be grateful if you shared this recipe :-)

Got a ripe banana or two sitting around? These Gluten Free Banana Bars are a delicious banana filled healthy snack!

Raise your hand if you love banana desserts! You may also know this combination of flavors as monkey bars…that name also works because we go bananas for treats.

Bananas Make the Most Moist Banana Bars

(If you want even more banana deliciousness, try these Gluten Free Grilled Banana Whoopie Pies or these Gluten Free Banana Oat Muffins!)

It is confession time. When my husband goes out of town, bananas hang out on my counter and get ripe. It isn’t that I don’t like bananas, it is just that Mr. Fearless Dining eats a lot of bananas. Bananas are high in potassium, which is helpful on workout days.”

I need to get better at using bananas before they turn to mush on my counter, and I have to make something fast with these. We just had a delicious gluten free banana bread, so I really wanted to create a new recipe.

Thinking along the lines of ripe banana recipes, there are many other ingredients that could be fun to play with. I have some Meyer’s Dark Rum in the cabinet, that flavor would work with the bananas in a cookie bar.

These easy banana chocolate chip bars are sure to please even the pickiest dessert lover. They are moist and so sweet. I even have a dairy free option for this gluten free cookie bar recipe. You only need to use dairy free chips!

Tips to Ripen Bananas

If your bananas are not ripe enough, don’t worry. Try one of these ideas to ripen your bananas:

1. Place your bananas on a baking sheet and bake at 225 for 20 minutes.
2. If you aren’t in a hurry, you can put your bananas in a brown paper bag and let them sit on the counter. (Don’t forget to close the bag!)

Chocolate is a must. This is a big rule my kids are trying to push on me. Other requirements…these cookie bars need to be gluten free, dairy free, and the recipe must use coconut sugar for a low glycemic sweetener. (No need to have sugar buzzed kids running around!)

Mix-In Ideas for These Gluten Free Cookie Bars:

• Chocolate chips. Chocolate is made to go with bananas! You can use bittersweet, dark, or milk chocolate!
• Nuts like pecan, walnut, or even almond!
• Caramel chips. Did you know that caramel brings out the flavors in this banana bar recipe?
• To make this banana bar recipe dairy free, use chips by Enjoy Life. Their chips are vegan and melt really well in recipes.

We hope you enjoy this ripe banana bars recipe. These gluten free healthy monkey bars are moist and delicious.

When you are mixing up this easy banana bar recipe, there are several ways to puree the bananas. I like my bananas mashed so there are some chunky banana bits in my baking, but if you like your banana bar recipe to be smooth, puree the bananas until silky smooth.

Ways to Mash Bananas:

• Place the ripe bananas into a bowl and mash them with a fork. This is easy to do :-).
• Use a blender (like a Vitamix) to puree the bananas.
• I love to use this Cuisinart Immersion Blender with the mini food processor attachment. This one tool is my favorite kitchen tool. It saves me so much time with all of its handy attachments.
• A mixer will also do the job quickly, and you have the added bonus that you can just add in all of the ingredients into the mixer after you mash the bananas.

More Delicious Gluten Free recipes to Try:

• Paleo Lemon Bars
• Gluten Free Banana Sesame Bread
• Easy Chunky Monkey Paleo Trail Mix

(*Please note this post has affiliate links. Ordering through my site will not change the price you pay. A tiny commission will come to Fearless Dining to help offset the cost of running this blog. I truly appreciate the support.)

Tools You Need To Make This Banana Monkey Bars Recipe:

1. Mixing bowls. When mashing bananas, it is no fun when you bowl slides all over the place. I really love this rubber bottom mixing bowl.
2. 8×8 baking dish. This is the perfect size pan for making these monkey bars 🙂
3. Almond flour. The best way to hide protein in your kids’ snacks…and Anthony’s is certified gluten free.

Gluten Free Monkey Bars

Yield: 12 bars

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Easy gluten free banana cake bars, aka monkey bars recipe.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup Authentic Foods Multi-Blend Gluten Free Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cups smashed bananas
• 2 tablespoons dark rum
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup raisins or chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup almond flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Use coconut oil spray to cover an 8x8 baking pan.
3. In a small bowl put mashed bananas, dark rum, coconut sugar, melted coconut oil, vanilla, and eggs. Mix well.
4. In a large mixing bowl add all dry ingredients and whisk thoroughly to blend.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
6. Add in the raisins or chocolate chips (depending on how much sugar you want in these.)
7. Pour mixture into baking pan.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, or until done.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 251 Saturated Fat: 9g Cholesterol: 28mg Sodium: 112mg Carbohydrates: 28g Fiber: 2g Sugar: 15g Protein: 3g

More Yummy Gluten Free Desserts to Try!

(*Photos updated from the original 9/2015 post date.)

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I would be grateful if you shared this recipe :-)