Caramel Banana Squares
Like little bites of heaven, these decadent caramel banana squares are made with just 4 plant-based ingredients.
Flavor Notes
salted caramel | dark cocoa | banana
Pairing Suggestions
post-workout | hot tea | silk pjs
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Why You’ll Love These Caramel Banana Squares
- Only 4 ingredients
- Makes plenty to share and save
- An elegant and aesthetically pleasing snack
- Perfect to store in the freezer as a snack
- Naturally sweetened with fruit
- Vegan friendly (check your chocolate if needed)
- Naturally gluten free
- 4.8 g fiber per serving
- 50% daily value for copper
- 16% daily value for magnesium
- 14% daily value for iron
Ingredients for Caramel Banana Squares
- Bananas – frozen or chilled work best for this recipe!
- Dates – never deglet, always choose medjool! I personally love joolies “ugglies” dates – grab a bag here.
- Dark Chocolate – my favorite brands include:
- Endangered species baking chips, purchase here
- Trader joes no sugar added dark chocolate chips, purchase here
- Sea salt – I love Maldon sea salt flakes!
How to make Caramel Banana Squares
STEP 1
Date Caramel Layer – blend the dates and soaking water in a high speed blender or food processor and transfer to a baking sheet lined with greased parchment paper
STEP 2
Banana Layer – blend the frozen bananas until smooth and pour over the date caramel
STEP 3
Freeze, then slice!
STEP 4
Chocolate Coating – melt the dark chocolate in a tall, microwave safe dish and dip each square inside
Expert Tips
Be sure to grease the baking dish before adding the date layer – it can be sticky, even when frozen!
Keep the squares cold – pop the tray back in the freezer in between batches of coating in chocolate. This will help keep the layers together while dipping in melted chocolate.
Chocolate coating – I like to use two forks to dunk each square into the melted chocolate
Extra chocolate – you’ll need to keep a well-filled chocolate “pool” to completely submerge each caramel square. Because of this, I always melt more chocolate than I need so I don’t run out. You can always use the extra melted chocolate to drizzle on top of the coated caramel banana squares.
Recipe Card
Caramel Banana Squares
Equipment
- 1 8×8 baking pan
- 1 Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 5 medium bananas (100-110g ea) frozen or cold
- 22 medium medjool dates (16-18g ea)
- 8 oz dark chocolate (227g)
- 1 tsp sea salt flakes, optional
Instructions
- Line a 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper, ensuring the paper climbs up the sides so it can be easily lifted out of the pan. Grease bottom and sides of parchment paper with a neutral oil.
- Pit the dates and soak them in hot water for 5 minutes
- Add the dates and some of the soaking water (about 2 tbsp) to a high speed blender and process until a smooth paste forms.
- Using a spatula, transfer the date caramel to the prepared baking dish and spread to form a smooth base layer.
- Add the cold or frozen bananas to the blender (no need to clean between uses) and process until smooth.
- Pour the banana cream over the date caramel to form the second layer.
- Freeze for 3 hours or overnight.
- Remove from baking sheet and slice the frozen bar into smaller squares – make seven cuts going each direction.
- Melt the dark chocolate (see notes in blog post) and using two forks, carefully dip each square in the pool of chocolate. Transfer to a wire baking rack to allow the chocolate to harden.
- Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired. Enjoy!
