Banana Brownies Recipe With Chocolate Chips and Pecans

Banana brownies are a twist on the classic fudgy, chocolatey dessert made with the addition of ripe bananas. Banana brownie recipes feature the ingredients of traditional brownies, including milk, butter, sugar, eggs, and all-purpose flour along with mashed bananas. These fudgy brownies have a texture that’s a mixture of chocolate cake and fudge.

When making banana brownies, consider the following tips:

1. 1. Use fully ripe bananas. Like banana bread, the ideal bananas for banana brownies are covered in brown spots and soft to the touch. If you’re using frozen bananas, let them thaw completely before mashing. Bananas are a good source of potassium, vitamin C, and calcium.
2. 2. Make banana bread brownies. Take things up a notch by swirling brownie batter and banana bread batter in one pan for banana bread brownies.
3. 3. Go for gluten-free brownies. You can also make this dessert gluten-free by simply using gluten-free flour—such as almond flour or rice flour—instead of the usual all-purpose flour.
4. 4. Experiment with add-ins. You can stir in chocolate chips and a handful of coarsely chopped nuts for extra flavor. You can include milk and white chocolate chips in addition to semi-sweet for more color and flavor. Top banana brownies with chopped nuts, a swirl of peanut butter frosting, or dust them with powdered sugar.

Follow these simple steps to make the best fudgy banana brownies:

1. 1. Mix the wet ingredients. Whisk together the melted unsalted butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add the mashed bananas and eggs, mixing until just barely combined. Introducing a lot of air into the brownie mixture creates cakey brownies as opposed to fudgy brownies. To avoid this, beat the eggs and sugar together just until they combine but before they become light and fluffy. This helps to produce a denser, fudgier brownie.
2. 2. Finish the batter. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the flour mixture until the batter is just combined and uniformly brown. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts, or other add-ins.
3. 3. Bake the brownies. Bake the brownies until a toothpick comes out mostly clean—a few moist crumbs are okay. Take care not to overbake the brownies, so they have a chewy, gooey texture.
4. 4. Finish and serve. After the brownies cool, dust them with powdered sugar. If desired, you can serve banana brownies with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.