Banana Cream Pie Bars

5 from 2 votes

Banana Cream Pie Bars have a soft chewy crust, banana pudding, and a whipped cream topping with a special ingredient. They’re the perfect treat for a crowd!

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

chilling/cooling30

Total Time1

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 219kcal

Author: Sara Smith

Ingredients

For the crust:

½ cup butter room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1¾ cups all-purpose flour

For the banana filling:

1 (5.1 oz) box instant banana pudding mix
2½ cups cold milk

For the whipped cream topping:

4 oz room temperature cream cheese
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup powdered sugar
2 cups cold heavy whipping cream

optional toppings:

fresh banana slices
vanilla wafer cookies graham crackers, chocolate chips, etc.

Instructions

For the crust:

Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking sheet.
With an electric mixer, use a paddle or whisk attatchment and combine butter and brown sugar together on medium high speed for 2-3 minutes, until fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add eggs and vanilla and mix well until the egg is fully incorporated.
Add in the salt, baking soda, and flour. Mix them with the wet ingredients until well combined, about 1 minute. The dough will be super soft and a little sticky.
Pat into the prepared baking sheet evenly. Bake at 375 F. for 10-12 minutes (or if using thick ceramic pan, 12-14 minutes). It will be super soft and look underbaked like a cookie. We want that!
Let the crust cool completely before spreading filling onto it and make the fillings while it cools.

For the banana pudding filling:

Mix together instant pudding mix and cold milk for 2 minutes. Spread onto cooled base before it completely sets up. Let rest in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes before spreading on whipped topping.

For the whipped cream topping:

With an electric mixer using the whisk attachment, mix together the cream cheese, vanilla, and powdered sugar on high for 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy.
Add in ½ cup of the heavy cream and mix well until it's smooth again. Repeat in ½ cup increments until the heavy cream is fully mixed in, then turn the speed on high and whip until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
Spread carefully over pudding mixture.
Top with bananas or crumbled graham crackers or vanilla wafer cookies.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Notes

Don't substitute almond, soy, cashew milk, etc for cows milk in this recipe. The pudding will not set up properly.

Store for up to 3 days refrigerated.

Nutrition