Chocolate Banana Brownies

This healthy moist chocolate banana brownies recipe makes fudgy, gooey chocolate banana brownies that are moist, healthy, and oh-so-delicious. It’s a perfect dessert, a tasty afternoon snack, or even a delicious breakfast! This is the best dairy-free, egg-free treat and it’s a satisfying scratch to your chocolate-craving itch.

Shawn and I definitely enjoy our desserts. For example, there’s my indulgent Vegan Brownies recipe. Every bite is divine!

However, some days I prefer things less sweet. In fact, oftentimes I’m fine with a little bit of chocolate on a banana. That must have been what inspired me to try making chocolate banana brownies…combining my favorite flavors together.

If you doubt my appreciation for using bananas in recipes, you should see my Banana Chia Pudding recipe. It’s pretty, tasty, and healthy too! And there’s also my Vegan Banana Bread recipe. Of course, the house smells pretty amazing every time I bake a loaf of that bread!

Healthy Banana Brownies

You know, I love making brownies with bananas because it checks off my favorite boxes:

• Less Refined Sugar — thanks to the sweetness from bananas, we can get away with less refined sugar in this recipe
• More Nutrients — Ingredients like bananas, chia seeds, and chocolate add more nutrients to every slice
• Natural Egg Replacers — Bananas make a perfect egg replacer
• Loaded with Flavor — Between the bananas, applesauce, chocolate chips, and more, each bite is full of delicious chocolatey flavor!

Now it’s time to discuss how to make these moist banana fudge brownies.

What You Need

You can find the full printable recipe, including ingredient quantities, below. But first, here are some explanations of ingredients and steps to help you make this recipe perfect every time.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this recipe:

• Chocolate Chips — use this dairy-free chocolate chips guide to find your favorites!
• Vegan butter — I used vegan butter (Earth Balance), or you can use coconut oil.
• Chia seeds — This is the egg substitute. You can substitute ground flax seeds.
• Ripe bananas — You can get away with bananas that are not ripe, but you may need to add a little sweetener.
• Applesauce — We want moist brownies and applesauce helps a lot!
• Coconut sugar — I used coconut sugar because it may not impact blood sugar as much as processed sugars.
• Whole Wheat Pastry Flour — If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour, you can substitute half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour.

You can add 1/4 creamy peanut butter to transform these into chocolate peanut butter banana brownies.

How to Make Chocolate Banana Brownies

I could have called this a banana chocolate chip brownie because the vegan chocolate chips really contribute to the final flavor. Because the brownies are lightly sweetened, biting into the chocolate chips contributes to a sweeter tasting brownie.

Here are the key steps to make these brownies:

1. Melt Chocolate — Melt the chocolate chips and vegan butter in a microwave and then Stir to combine. Then add the chia seeds.
2. Add Bananas — Add ripe banana slices in with the chocolate and use a fork to mash the bananas against the side of the bowl. Stir in the applesauce and water.
3. Mix Dry Ingredients — Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
4. Make the Batter — Stir together the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. You want a thick batter, but be prepared to add a tablespoon or two of water to make it spreadable.
5. Bake —  Spread the batter evenly into a prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 30–35 minutes until a butter knife or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

More Brownies

Want some more recipes for ripe bananas? Check out some of the best banana recipes here:

Vegan Gluten-Free Brownies

40 mins total

Healthy Brownies

30 mins total

Best Vegan Brownies

40 mins total

Vegan Black Bean Brownies

45 mins total

Making Banana Brownies Healthy

Let’s geek out on health a little. Here are some benefits you’ll find in these chewy chocolate banana brownies:

• Bananas are a great source of fiber, potassium, and even more phytonutrients.
• Dark chocolate is a good source of fiber, magnesium, iron, copper magnesium, and more surprises like selenium. Dark chocolate is full of organic compounds like polyphenols and flavonoids.
• Chia Seeds contain Omega-3 fatty acids, something we all need more of in our diet. But chia seeds are also an important source of calcium, magnesium, and even protein.
• Fiber is found in most of the ingredients in these banana brownies, all the way down to the whole wheat pastry flour. Each bar includes 3 grams of fiber per serving.
• Calories were reduced as much as possible (approximately 192 calories each bar). If you’re interested in reducing even more calories, reduce the coconut sugar to a half cup and the chocolate chips to a half cup, too. If you reduce the chocolate chips, be sure to add about a quarter cup of cocoa powder.

You know, healthy and deliciousness combined in the same recipe is just another reason to love these vegan banana brownies!

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Chocolate Banana Brownies

You're going to love these rich, moist chocolate banana brownies, filled with ripe bananas, nuts, and, of course, chocolate! Thanks to whole wheat four, these bars boast fiber, potassium, and other tasty nutrients making it both delicious and a healthier dessert alternative.

4.58 from 7 votes

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 192kcal

Author: Marly McMillen

Ingredients

CupsMetric

• ▢ 1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
• ▢ 3 tablespoons vegan butter (see note for alternatives)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• ▢ 2 medium ripe Bananas
• ▢ ½ cup applesauce (unsweetened)
• ▢ ¼ cup water
• ▢ 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (see note)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ ¾ cup coconut sugar (see note)

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Instructions

• Heat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Spray a 9×9" square baking pan with vegetable cooking spray.
• Place 1 cup of chocolate chips and vegan butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave for 1 minute. Stir to combine the melted chocolate and vegan butter. 
• Add the chia seeds to the chocolate mixture and stir to combine. 
• Slice the ripe bananas and add slices to the bowl with the chocolate. Use a fork and mash the banana slices up against the side of the bowl. Add the applesauce and water and stir this all together. Set aside.
• In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Stir to combine. 
• Pour the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture. Stir to combine. Add additional water if necessary, one tablespoon at a time, until you reach a desired, spreadable consistency. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading it evenly across the pan.
• Bake in the heated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until a butter knife or toothpick inserted in the middle, comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
• Optional: Melt additional chocolate and drizzle over the top.
• Store banana brownies in a sealed container in the fridge for up to one week. You can also freeze the bars. Place them on a tray and place that in the freezer. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag. Store in the freezer up to two months.

Recommended Equipment

9×9 inch Baking Pan

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Notes

Here are some easy pantry substitutes for some of the ingredients:

• Use all-purpose flour or gluten-free flour instead of whole wheat pastry flour
• You can use brown sugar, granulated sugar, or even 1/2 cup of agave nectar in place of the coconut sugar.

Calories: 192kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 140mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 145IU | Vitamin C: 1.8mg | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 1.6mg

The nutrition information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator and should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a rating below then tag @namelymarly on Instagram and hashtag it #namelymarly. I love seeing your creations!

This post was originally published in 2019 and was updated to include new photos, new text, and an updated recipe in 2021.