Easy Peanut Butter and Banana S’Mores in a Pan (gluten-free)

Gooey marshmallow, warm chocolate, crunchy graham, sweet banana, spiced peanut butter and all perfectly toasted and melted together. The quintessential summer dessert is getting a makeover and doesn’t require a campfire for those of us who can’t go camping this year. 20 minutes is all that stands in between you and this truly deliciously decedent summer dessert, what are you waiting for?

Need to get your hands on this recipe right now?! Skip straight to it.

I don’t think I’ve experienced real disappointment in my life until this last weekend. Derek and I were grocery shopping and that’s when I saw it. The glorious S’mores display that had graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallows in unity, and boy was it calling my name. I ran over and started loading up like a bear before winter. Derek looked at me like I was crazy (what’s new) and asked what I was doing. I told him we were going to be having some s’mores. He then pointed out that it wasn’t gluten-free, my face fell and the newly found joy slipped away. I often forget about being gluten-free (Derek is allergic) and being denied the joys of gluten-filled food just makes me want it more! So after some research, I found out there are actually a ton of gluten free graham cracker options out there. So baby, we gonna have some s’mores today!

Easy Peanut Butter Banana S'mores for a Crowd 6

Look at those perfectly browned little mallow babies!

The great thing about this recipe is you can alter it to match your needs. If you are vegan, just replace the chocolate and marshmallows with vegan alternatives. If you can eat gluten, just use regular graham crackers. If you don’t like/are allergic to peanuts, use another nut butter or skip it! This recipe isn’t a science like other desserts and it is really easy to make substitutions, additions, and alterations. This recipe is also super easy to scale up so you can share or eat the whole darn thing yourself (I ain’t judging).

Gluten-Free Options

If you are gluten-free/celiac, I highly recommend Schar’s Honeygrams. They are very crunchy and have a great flavor. If you can’t get a hold of these, I know Kinnikinnik and Pamela’s have GF graham crackers, but I have not tried them. Glutino also has graham flavored animal crackers that I’m sure would work in a pinch with the addition of cinnamon and sugar for flavor. King Arthur Flour also has a graham crack crust mix, which would work as well. If you can’t find any of these products, I would recommend using this recipe to make your own!

If you are newly gluten-free, make sure to research the brand of marshmallows you get. Most marshmallows are gluten-free, but read the label or check their site to be sure.

On to the recipe!

Recipe

Peanut Butter and Banana S'Mores in a Pan

Servings: 4-6
Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Print

Gooey, chocolatey smores with a twist of banana and peanut butter.

See note above for gluten-free graham cracker alternatives.

Ingredients

1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used 2 packets/12 crackers of Schar’s Honeygrams)
2-4 tablespoons butter
2-3 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
4-6 tablespoons milk (whole, almond, rice, or whatevs)
1/8 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet (or whatever ya like) chocolate chips
1 banana cut into 1/4 inch slices
15 regular sized marshmallows (or enough mini marshmallows to make one even layer on top)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Make the graham cracker crust. Use a food processor to break down the crackers into crumbs. Add melted butter in increments until you have a mixture that looks like wet sand and sticks together when pressed (you may need to stir this by hand). Add sugar or cinnamon/pumpkin pie spice if this mixture tastes bland (depends on the type of graham cracker you use). If you do not have a food processor, crush the crackers in a bag with your hands or a rolling pin and place into a bowl, stir the melted butter into the crumbs until it reaches the state described above.

3. Form and cook the crust. Oil an 11″x7″ glass casserole pan (or whatever you got) with butter or cooking spray. Pour your crust mixture into the pan and pat with clean hands or a rubber spatula until the crust is pressed together, even, and flat. Place the crust into the oven for 6-8 minutes to cook and come together.

4. Make the peanut butter sauce. While the crust cooks, work on making the sauce. Place the peanut butter into a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Immediately start adding your milk by the tablespoon to the peanut butter and mixing in completely. You are looking for the sauce to be thick but will fall in a stream from a spoon, a thin pudding consistency (you basically want this to be pourable/dippable). Once you have reached a good consistency, stir in the pumpkin pie spice and vanilla. Once your mixture is warm (NOT boiling), remove from the heat and let cool.

5. Assemble. After your crust has finished cooking, begin layering your dessert. Add the chocolate chips first to form one even layer (place them good from the beginning because they will start melting and be hard to reposition). Next, add the banana slices in rows with a slight gap between (or do more, whatever your feeling). You can add the peanut butter sauce here in one even layer, or you can leave it off to the side and let people top their smores with the amount they want (my preferred method). Finally, top with marshmallows in one even layer.

6. Toast Mallows. Turn your broiler to low (or high if you got places to be) and place the dish into the center of the oven. It will take about 5-7 minutes for the marshmallows to become golden brown, but KEEP AN EYE ON IT! Don’t walk away, and be sure to check it every minute until it starts to brown. Once you see the marshmallows browning, just keep watching them until they are perfectly golden (it’ll happen real quick). You may need to turn the pan/dish halfway through to make sure the mallows are evenly browned.

7. Enjoy! Cut up, top with peanut butter sauce if you didn’t in the previous step, and down this portion and quickly the whole pan 😉