A rich, chocolatey, fudgy Peanut Butter and Banana Brownie made with two bananas and a hidden layer of peanut butter.
Super easy to make!
Super hard to resist!
Hello lovely people! So this recipe is a mashup. Quite literally. I love all things peanut related (totally guilty of sifting through the "Celebrations" and making off with all of the Snickers), but, I had never really ventured into the wonderful world of peanut butter. I don’t think PB is quite as big in the UK as it is in the States, but, as I have now discovered, it is great to bake with!
Being something of a peanut butter ignoramus, I blundered into the supermarket and purchased a high-end brand. Assuming this could only be a good thing.
Cut to 2 lots of rather-nice-but-dull Peanut Butter and Banana Brownies later, and for attempt number 3 I'm instead going in with a cheap supermarket brand and...boom! Sweet success!
Banana 🍌 and peanut 🥜 goodness in every bite...
Two bananas are used in this recipe. One banana is added to the brownie mixture and one is added to the peanut butter filling. The filling sits hidden inside as a nice sweet surprise.
These Peanut Butter and Banana Brownies are a great slightly healthier version of brownies if you want to get a little goodness into kids!
I hope you enjoy this recipe, happy brownie baking! 😋
If you are a blondie fan try my Easy Cherry Bakewell Blondies
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Why make these Banana and Peanut Butter Brownies?
A fudgy, rich, chocolatey brownie ✔️
Filled with peanut butter and banana ✔️
Simple recipe ✔️
Great as a snack or a warm dessert ✔️
Equipment
Stand mixer or hand mixer and bowl
Brownie tin or a 9x9 inch (23x23cm) baking tin
Small saucepan
Skewer or cocktail stick
Why I love using a brownie pan
A brownie pan segments the brownie batter into sections and conducts the heat evenly to all of the brownies. This results in an even bake and no overly-stodgy brownies in the centre.
The divider easily removes once the brownies are baked, so no cutting up is required and you have nice even sides to your brownies.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Unsalted butter: fat content is hugely important for a good, rich, fudgy brownie. We melt the butter in these brownies to give us a more fudgy, cookie type base.
Icing sugar: a little is used to sweeten the peanut butter.
Dark chocolate: one thing you can't really skimp on in brownies is using good quality dark chocolate. The flavour is faaaaaaaar superior and your brownies will taste sublime. I use Green and Blacks 70% cocoa chocolate in these brownies. Some recipes call for cocoa powder, but you’ll find your brownies are a bit cakier and less fudgy if you choose this option instead.
Milk: a little is added to the Peanut Butter and Banana Brownie batter to loosen it up a little and ensure it is not dry. Some is also added to the peanut butter paste so that it can be easily spread across the brownie batter.
Bananas: the riper your bananas the stronger the flavour. You can speed up the ripening process in several ways, click here for more information on how to ripen bananas.
Peanut butter: I recommend using a supermarket brand because the consistency tends to be softer and not too dry. I use smooth peanut butter, but crunchy works just as well and gives some added texture.
Eggs: are imperative because they bind the brownie batter together and also add air when beaten. If not using eggs then another binding agent will be needed to replace them.
Light soft brown sugar and caster sugar: we use brown sugar for its nutty richness in these Peanut Butter and Banana Brownies and caster sugar for extra sweetness.
Vanilla bean paste: gives a vanilla hint to the brownies, you can replace this with vanilla extract.
Plain (all-purpose) flour: because we want fudgy not cakey brownies (though both types are lovely), we only add a little flour, just to hold the mixture together. We use plain (all-purpose flour) as we don't want any added leavening agents to turn our brownies into cakes.
Fine salt: is added because it brings out the flavours in this Peanut Butter and Banana Brownie recipe.
Instructions
See end of post RECIPE CARD for precise quantities and instructions.
- Melt your butter slowly over a low heat.
- Gently mix in your chocolate until it has fully melted into your butter and then leave to cool.
- Whilst the chocolate mixture is cooling make your peanut butter paste. Mix your peanut butter with your vanilla bean extract, icing sugar, milk and mashed banana. You can do this with a fork. Set aside.
- Add your eggs, sugars and vanilla bean paste to your mixer bowl and beat together with the paddle attachment for about 10-20 seconds, until little bubbles sit on the top.
- Add your egg mixture to your cooled chocolate mixure and fold together, then return the whole lot back to your mixer bowl.
- Beat in your flour, salt and mashed banana, starting on a low setting. Stop after a few beats to scrape down the sides and base of your bowl with your spatula so that everyting is fully mixed. Then finish with a final beat for about 10 seconds on a medium high setting.
- If you using a brownie tin, add a dessertspoonful of brownie mixture to each segment and spread out with the end of your skewer or cocktail stick. If using a normal tin spread half of the mixture over the base.
- For a brownie tin, take about ½ a teaspoon of your peanut butter mixture and pop it onto the brownie mixture in each segment. Spread out a little with the end of a skewer or cocktail stick so that the filling reaches the sides. Don't worry about it being perfect though. If using a normal tin, dot ½ a teaspoon of peanut butter mixture in rows of 4x4 and again spread out a little.
- Cover with another dessertspoonful of peanut butter and again spread out to hide the filling. Or in a normal tin spread over your remaining mixture over the top.
- Bake for 20 minutes in the centre of your oven if using a brownie tin,or 25 minutes for a normal tin. The centre should still look a little gooey when you take the brownies out of your oven, or a skewer poked into the centre comes out with a few bits of fudgey brownie clinging to it.
- If using a brownie tin, leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack so that the brownies don't continue to cook. If using a normal tin leave to cool for 10 minutes then remove and cool.
Top Tips
Have your chocolate chopped up into small pieces, so that it melts quickly into your melted butter.
Mix your flour and salt together with a fork, but don’t sift it as we don’t want too much air in the brownies.
If you want your Peanut Butter and Banana Brownies to bake evenly, cover the edges of your tin with some aluminium foil. I don't bother doing this to be honest, but if you are not using a fan over this can be a useful to ensure the consistency is the same across all of your brownies.
When removing from the oven err on the side of gooeyness over cakeyness and don't worry too much if you think they may be underdone. Brownies literally transform from fudgey to cakey with just a few more minutes in the oven.
Variations
Where do I start??! There are soooo many things you can do with this brownie recipe, really anything goes.
You can use a different spread (Biscoff, Chocolate or Salted Caramel) or add chopped nuts, such as walnuts chopped into quarters. Just make sure you use the same quantities of spread.
Adding nuts works really well in brownies because it gives the brownie extra texture. So, as mentioned before, try using crunchy peanut butter instead if you prefer.
I also recommend listening to the podcast by Kate H of Flour, Butter, Eggs, Sugar on Brownies as she offers some great tips and a couple of alternative recipes.
Storage
These little bad boys are best eaten within a couple of days, but will happily stay fresh for about 4 days if kept in an airtight container. They will go quite hard in the fridge, so I tend to keep mine at room temperature.
They freeze well for up to 3 months.
Did you try this recipe?
Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the Recipe Card below.
FAQ
Can I use crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth?
What if I want to use a different peanut butter, such as the no added sugar variety?
What if I want my Peanut Butter and Banana Brownies even more fudgier?
Linked Recipes
Here are a few more popular recipes on Ella's Better Bakes for similar bakes:
Jammy Dodger Blondies with White Chocolate
Sunken Chocolate Cake with Amaretti Cream
📖 Recipe
Peanut Butter and Banana Brownies
Here's what you'll need...
- Small saucepan
Ingredients you'll need...
Brownies
- 175 g unsalted butter 12 tablespoons
- 150 g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa) chopped into small pieces (US = 1 Cup)
- 100 g light soft brown sugar (US = ½ Cup packed)
- 100 g caster sugar superfine sugar (US = ¼ Cup)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 160 g plain flour all purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt
- 100 g ripe banana about 1 small banana
- 1½ tablespoon milk
Peanut Butter and Banana Filling
- 120 g peanut butter (US = ½ Cup)
- 100 g ripe banana about 1 small banana
- 1 tablespoon icing sugar
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon milk
Here's what we do...
- Heat your oven to 150°C Fan/170°C/Gas mark 3/340°F
- Grease your tin if using a brownie tin, or line your tin if using a normal tin.
- Melt your butter slowly over a low heat.
- Mix in your chocolate, stirring constantly until it has fully melted.
- Leave to cool.
- Make your peanut butter spread by mashing your banana and then mixing the banana and all of the other spread ingredients together.
- Add your eggs, sugars, vanilla extract to your mixer bowl and beat for 10-20 seconds until the mixture has little air bubbles on the top.
- Add your egg mixture to your melted and cooled chocolate mixture and fold together, then return the whole lot to your mixer bowl.
- Mix your flour and salt together, just with a fork or spoon, and add to your brownie batter.
- Mash your banana and add to your brownie mixture.
- Beat for about 10 seconds on medium-high, then stop and scrape down the sides and base of your bowl with your spatula to ensure everything is mixed in. Beat for another 10 seconds or so on medium high.
- Take a desertspoonful of brownie batter and add to your brownie tin, or if using a normal tin spread half of the mixture over the base.
- Add about half a teaspoonful of your peanut butter mixture onto the top of your brownie mixture and spread out with your skewer or cocktail stick. If using a normal tin, dot the spread in rows of 4x4 evenly over the brownie mixture.
- Cover with the remaining brownie mixture and spread out so that the filling is hidden.
- Bake for 20 minutes if using a brownie tin or 25 minutes for a normal tin. The centre should still look a little gooey when you take the brownies out of the oven, or a skewer poked into the centre should come out with a few bits of fudgy crumbs clinging to it.
- Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then remove to a cooling rack and allow to fully cool.
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