Shareable Banana Nutella Bars Recipe

Bananas and Nutella are a match made in sweet-tooth heaven. Luckily for fans of this combo, there are endless ways to pair them, whether you're dolloping a spoonful over each bite of banana or elevating a baked treat with Nutella. Tasting Table recipe developer Jessica Morone brings us these shareable banana Nutella bars and says, "I love these because they are like a perfect mashup of banana bread and a brownie, with swirls of rich Nutella in every bite. Bananas, chocolate, and hazelnut form the perfect combination of flavors." 

The sweetness of the fruit is pleasantly enhanced by the unmistakable nutty flavor of hazelnuts, and that famously moist and tender banana bread texture is taken to the next level with the gooey melting swirls of chocolate hazelnut spread. These crowd-pleasing bars are simple to make and endlessly versatile, and they're perfect to share at an afternoon tea, a pot luck, or even a school bake sale. They also stay soft and chewy at room temperature for up to 3 days and keep even longer in the fridge. And Morone tells us that they freeze well, too, wrapped individually and packed in a freezer bag. So you can whip up a batch and have the bars ready to share with your guests at a moment's notice.

For this recipe, you'll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, unsalted butter (melted), brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, vanilla extract, mashed bananas, and, of course, Nutella.

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment paper, set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl and beat until combined.

Beat in the egg, vanilla extract, and mashed banana until smooth.

Whisk the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients until just combined.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Add dollops of Nutella to the top of the batter.

Use a toothpick or a knife to swirl the Nutella into the batter.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, until the edges are golden and the middle is set.

Let cool, then cut into squares and serve.

This sweet recipe is a great candidate for personalizing. Morone tells us, "These banana Nutella bars are super easy to customize depending on what you have on hand or what you're in the mood for." She offers a few tips for inspiration, starting by subbing a different spread for the Nutella. "You can swap the Nutella for any chocolate spread, like a dark chocolate almond butter, cookie butter, or even peanut butter for a salty-sweet twist," she suggests. Meanwhile, if you're after more texture, she recommends, "You could also stir in a handful of chocolate chips, chopped hazelnuts, or toasted coconut into the batter."  

You can steer these more in the direction of traditional brownies by adding a little cocoa powder to the batter, or you could add a little sweet spice with cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger. If you want to add a flourish to the top of the bars, try drizzling melted chocolate to harden once they're out of the oven, perhaps with some chopped hazelnuts for extra crunch. Whatever you do, it doesn't have to be fussy. As Morone points out, "They're the kind of treat that's hard to mess up and fun to play around with!"

Unfortunately, those fresh green bananas you just bought aren't going to do it for this banana Nutella bar recipe. "Overripe bananas are the best option for this recipe," Morone tells us, explaining, "they're extra sweet, soft, and mash up easily, which gives the bars great flavor and moisture." That said, if your bananas are more yellow than green or brown, Morone has a recommendation to help your fruit ripen more quickly. "You can speed things up by placing them in a paper bag to help them ripen faster." 

If you're looking to make these right away and don't even have the time it takes to wait for them to ripen in a paper bag, Morone saves the day with a clever hack. "Bake unpeeled bananas in a 300 F oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the skins turn black and the insides are soft and sweet." You'll need to wait until they are cool before adding them to your batter so you don't inadvertently cook the egg.