Dulce de Leche Banana Bars
These easy Dulce de Leche Banana Bars have such amazing flavor and a soft texture. A great anytime treat!
As odd as it may be, I love baking with bananas but I don’t really enjoy eating bananas. It’s a texture thing, I think. In any case, you can always sign me up for banana bread, cake, cookies, or most any banana treat. And now I have these Dulce de Leche Banana Bars to add to that list.
Making these bars is about as straightforward as baking gets. Everything mixes in one bowl, and you won’t even need your mixer for these. Just grab a bowl and a mixing spoon, and you’re set!
There are so many things to love about these banana bars. They’re wonderfully soft and moist. The texture is a bit like banana bread but a little sturdier. That makes them easy to serve and to eat out of hand. Serve these as an afternoon snack, pack them in your lunch, or enjoy them as a simple dessert.
Then there’s the flavor. Wow, are these things good! The addition of dulce de leche to all that banana deliciousness is just fantastic. I like to swirl the dulce de leche into the batter instead of mixing it into the batter. You may not necessarily see the swirl like you might with something of a more contrasting color, but I love that pretty, shiny top that you get from having most of the dulce de leche near the top of the bars.
If you’ve never tried the combination of bananas and dulce de leche, I urge you to do so as soon as possible. That rich, caramel-like flavor is such a great complement to bananas. I find it flat-out irresistible. If you’re a believer in that tasty pair, too, then be sure to try Dulce de Leche Banana Pudding Bars and Dulce de Leche Banana Bread, too.
More Banana Bar Recipes
Dulce de Leche Banana Bars
Yield: 16 2-inch bars
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
These easy Dulce de Leche Banana Bars have fantastic flavor and a soft texture. They make a great anytime treat!

Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup firmly packed lightly brown sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2-3 bananas)
- 3 tablespoons dulce de leche*
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
- Whisk tougher the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, combine the cooled butter, brown sugar, egg, and vanilla until thoroughly combined.
- Add the flour mixture, mixing just until combined. Mix in the bananas.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Dollop the dulce de leche over the top of the batter. Use a thin knife to swirl the dulce de leche into the batter. (Alternately, you can mix it into the batter before transferring to the pan.)
- Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan before cutting into bars.
Notes:
*Look for dulce de leche alongside other spreads, in the international foods section, or with the ice cream toppings.
Recipe adapted from Gold Medal Flour.
19 Comments on “Dulce de Leche Banana Bars”
I try and keep the number of ingredients I have in the pantry to a minimum. I never have Dulce de Leche, I just make my own:
Pop a tin of condensed milk in a pressure cooker and just cover with water.
Cook on high, 15lb’s pressure, for 40 minutes.
Leave it in the pan to cool and you are done!
WOW these bars look so delicious and I love how moist the texture is!
These turned out great. Well received. Very easy and wonderful flavor. Thanks for a super keeper recipe.
I’m so glad you liked them, Linda!
I made these yesterday just to “check them out”……and they are marvelous! So moist……and they were the perfect (if not the healthiest…..but then again maybe they were!) morsel to go with my coffee this morning!! Thank you, Jennifer!
My pleasure, Nikki! I’m glad you enjoyed them.
Well, first I tend to “wing it” with some recipes.
I did not have Dulce de Leche
I do love peanut butter with my banana bread (or cake)
I did have caramel sauce so I used caramel sauce that I had mixed some peanut butter into for Ice cream I had last weekend.
I followed the rest of the ingredients and instructions.
But when I got to putting the batter into the 8 inch pan I thought..there is not enough batter! so I switched to a loaf pan.
Then swirled the peanut butter caramel on the top and into the batter.
Even in the smaller pan these were very thin.
But the taste was very good!
I will make these again, doubling the batter and using the 8 inch pan.
And I will keep the peanut butter caramel just cuz that was so awesome!
Peanut butter and caramel are a great pair!
G’day to you.
I just love your site, you put up great recipes WELL DONE . I shall be making these today.
These look great, and not as much guilt involved as i would have thought, looking at the ingredients! Also, nice pics. I’m assuming u use a professional camera, and it really adds to the recipe. : )
Thanks, Missy!
Awesome they were worth it. Used pb and carmal sauce and it turned out perfect. Thank you
That’s great to hear, Katie!
Can we swap the all purpose flour with oatmeal flour?
I don’t have much experience baking with oatmeal flour, so I can’t give you a definitive answer. I’d recommend following the manufacturer’s guidelines for substitution.
LOVE this recipe. Never been able to make a banana cake. It’s so easy and delicious. Have made it five times in two weeks!
I’m so glad you like it, Emma!
I’ll try these today. I made bloodies with your recipe last week and everyone loved them . Thanks for sharing
Enjoy! 🙂