A quick and easy recipe for the BEST No Bake Banana Bars! Packed with sweet bananas, heavenly scented with cosy cinnamon and naturally sweetened with maple syrup, these cream cheese frosted banana bars are the ultimate guilt-free dessert or lunch box treat! This recipe is simple-to-make, healthy, nut-free and sure to have your entire family saying ‘YUM!’. You’ll need 3 spotty bananas for this recipe.
Lovely, oh my goodie-good-goodness, these No Bake Banana Bars are so delicious! Extra moist, soft, tender, bursting with sweet banana, with the perfect hint of coconut, kiss of vanilla and scented with maple syrup. These melt-in-your-mouth banana bars are so good and super pretty too. This recipe is the ultimate ‘guilt-free’ dessert and just the thing you need to use up those spotty bananas sitting on your kitchen bench.
These [No Bake] Banana Bars were inspired by my No Bake Carrot Cake Bars. I’m a little (or a lot!) obsessed with healthy-ish style desserts lately! I have a MAJOR sweet tooth so being able to enjoy something decadent, rich and delicious minus the guilt is AMAZING. And today’s better-for-you banana bars didn’t disappoint! These darling bars are the epitome of healthy-ish style dessert recipes, are insanely good and honestly make the perfect anytime treat.
The bars themselves are packed with healthier ingredients. Of course bananas are the star ingredient but oats, tahini, coconut flour, coconut milk, maple syrup and a little brown sugar (totally optional) make excellent co-stars. The combined results are perfectly tender, delicious banana bars that disappear at record speed!
These banana bars are also smothered in the most delicious (and generous) layer of maple sweetened cream cheese frosting that provides the perfect amount of tangy, creamy, luscious goodness to each bite. I love this silky smooth frosting. Why? Because it’s not overly sweet. It contains no confectioners sugar and is instead sweetened with just the right amount of maple syrup and scented with a little vanilla bean too. Yum!
How to make no bake banana bars…
These bars are a super easy dessert recipe to whip up. Follow these simple steps and you’ll be in creamy banana bar heaven too…
- Stir together the coconut flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt.
- Heat together the tahini, coconut milk and maple syrup until melted together. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Stir.
- Press mixture into pan and set.
- Whizz together cream cheese frosting.
- Spread frosting over bars.
- Place bars into fridge for 4-5 hours to ‘set’.
- Cut into bars.
- Eat. Enjoy. Repeat.
No bake banana bar ingredients
Perfectly Ripe Bananas: Ripe bananas are essential here! They provide the perfect amount of sweetness to the bars along with their unmistakable sweet banana flavour.
Coconut Flour: Is a low-carb, high-protein, high-fiber, super soft flour made from dried coconut meat. It lends the most lovely coconut flavour to our banana bars and is responsible for creating super soft, fluffy and very moist bars. You can find coconut flour in the baking aisle of your super market or make your own by blitzing shredded or desiccated coconut into a fine powder using a food processor.
Maple Syrup: Sweetens and scents the bars with it’s cosy fragrance.
Cinnamon: My all-time favourite spice lends its homey yet exotic, sweet warmth to the bars.
Coconut Milk: Along with the mashed bananas helps to bind the bars together whist adding sweet coconut flavour and fragrance. Coconut milk is also responsible for creating ultra moist, tender and fluffy bars.
HOW TO STORE NO BAKE BANANA BARS:
Store bars in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Bars are also freezer friendly and can be stored in an air-tight container in the freezer for up to 3 months!
For the day’s you’re craving a sweet, luscious and decadent dessert (minus the guilt) – these No Bake Banana Bars are absolutely for you! With just a little mixing, you’ll put spotty bananas to good use and be rewarded with a beautiful batch of healthier banana bars that are melt-in-your-mouth good.
MORE HEALTHY SWEET RECIPES
citrus honey and poppy seed bliss balls
★ DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING BELOW!
I know you’re going to love these No Bake Banana Bars, please let me know if you make them by leaving a comment and rating the recipe. I’d love to hear from you and it helps encourage others to make the recipe too! Kayla xo
Print
No Bake Banana Bars
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: Makes 16–20 Bars 1x
Description
A quick and easy recipe for the BEST [No-Bake] Banana Bars! Packed with sweet bananas, heavenly scented with cosy cinnamon and naturally sweetened with maple syrup, these cream cheese frosted banana bars are the ultimate guilt-free dessert or lunch box treat! This recipe is simple-to-make, healthy, nut-free and sure to have your entire family saying ‘YUM!’.
Ingredients
No Bake Banana Bars:
- 3 cups (330 grams) coconut flour
- 1 cup (90 grams) rolled traditional oats
- 1/4 cup (40 grams) brown sugar (optional)
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) tahini
- 400 ml can coconut milk
- 1 cup (250 ml) pure maple syrup
- 3 bananas, mashed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
Cream Cheese Frosting (optional):
- 250 grams cream cheese
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) coconut oil, melted
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or extract)
Instructions
To make the no bake banana bars:
- Line a square 20 cm x 20 cm tin with baking paper. Set aside.
- Place coconut flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt into a bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Place the tahini, coconut milk and maple syrup into a saucepan over low-medium heat. Cook for 2-3 minute (stirring continuously) until warmed and melted together.
- Add the mashed banana and vanilla to the saucepan, stir to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
- Press mixture into prepared pan and smooth.
- Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes whilst you prepare the frosting.
To make the cream cheese frosting:
- Place the cream cheese, coconut oil, maple syrup and vanilla into the bowl of a food processor, blitz for 1-2 minutes (scraping down the sides of the bowl, as necessary) or until the frosting is luscious and creamy.
- Spread frosting over the chilled bars.
- Return bars to the fridge for 4-5 hours or until firm.
- Cut into 12-16 bars. Enjoy x
Notes
Store no bake banana bars in an air tight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
No bake banana bars are freezer friendly. Store in an air tight container for up to 3 months.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: Sets in Fridge
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
This looks amazing. Do you have any suggestions for an oats substitution? Many thanks.
Dealing with a “stay-at-home” pantry in California. Is there a substitute for the tahini? Could canola oil be used in place of the coconut oil? Could cow milk work in place of coconut milk?
sorry for saying this but I feel like I have to as I have just thrown out the slice, the consistency wasn’t right (it didn’t set) and it was too sweet and too much coconut for us as well… we couldn’t eat it!
Hi Elean. I’m so sorry. Another reader had similar results. I’ve made these bars twice with excellent results but something has been lost in the recipe translation. I’ll be retesting the recipe first thing tomorrow to see what I’ve done wrong. My sincere apologies lovely, having to discard the slice (especially at this time) is such a shame and I hate to think you’ve wasted ingredients. My only thought is I’ve written the recipe/blog post whilst home schooling the kids and made an error along the way. Again, I’m so sorry. I’ll update you with my results. Thanks for your feedback, its truly appreciated. Kayla xo
Hi Elean. Quick update. I made these bars again today and realised the error I made was leaving out step 3 (when making the cream cheese frosting) “Return bars to the fridge for 4-5 hours or until firm.” Again, apologies for the confusion. The recipe is now updated and correct. I’ve also shared the how-to videos via Instagram Stories. Hope that helps. Kayla xo
Could I sub almond or oat flour for coconut flour or half coconut, and half an alternative flour?
Hi – this tasted great but it didn’t come out properly. We followed the recipe but the frosting was more like a very fine icing than frosting. The icing also wouldn’t set, despite being put in the freezer for a day.
Hi Helen, so happy you enjoyed the taste of the bars! YAY! Ok, the icing…may I ask what brand of cream cheese you used? I use philadelphia cream cheese and whip it using the food processor. I’ve recorded the videos of me making this recipe on Instagram and they’re saved under Banana Bars highlight, maybe that will show you the texture the icing is suppose to be? It should be quite firm. Thanks again for your feedback! Truly appreciated. Kayla xo
I normally love your recipes but these turned out so disappointing and ended up in the bin. Couldn’t put my finger on it – the frosting was ok, it was the base. Too dense and a strange after taste. As I say, your recipes normally turn out perfectly for me so just don’t know what happened with these.
Hi Alex, thanks for your feedback lovely. So sorry this one was disappointing. I’ve had such mixed feedback. Some people love it and others not so much. It’s always great to hear your opinion. Hope you enjoy my other recipes. Thanks again, Kayla xo