Use Every Banana With 15 Banana Recipes, From Nut Bread to Pudding
Ensure no banana goes to waste, no matter the ripeness level, with this collection of banana-filled recipes.
When life gives you overripe, browned bananas, make these banana recipes. Although bananas seemingly turn brown in the blink of an eye, for folks who love a tender slice of banana bread with their morning cup of coffee, it’s certainly a blessing in disguise. As bananas begin to brown, their starches break down into sugar, which puts them at their prime for naturally sweetening everything from Smashed-Banana Bread to Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding. Of course, there’s always a time and place for perfectly ripe bananas, too. Here are flavorful ways to use a bunch of bananas, at any stage of life.
Banana Nut Bread
Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Kelsey Moylan / Prop Styling by Addelyn Evans
Spare those mushy, browned bananas from going to waste by making this supple and tender banana nut bread with just a few pantry staple ingredients, like cinnamon, sugar, and flour. For an even sweeter snack, save those overripe bananas on the verge of expiring.
Spiced Banana-Oatmeal Cookies
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
Breakfast meets comforting midday snack in this spiced banana-oatmeal cookies recipe. The fuss-free drop cookie batter comes together in mere minutes. The hardest part is waiting for the cinnamon brown sugar and cardamom-spiced cookies to come out of the oven before digging in.
Bananas Foster Cheesecake
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Bananas Foster CheesecakeThis silky, smooth cheesecake features a generous drizzle of caramel and halved bananas, forming a hybrid dessert of two classic favorites: cheesecake and bananas Foster. For a show-stopping dessert that gets the sparks flying, flambé the cheesecake by drizzling a splash of rum and lighting it on fire.
Biscoff Banana Pudding
Layers of crunchy, sweet Biscoff crackers nestled between a creamy custard and sliced bananas make this dessert a refreshing delight. Perfect for impressing a crowd, serve it in a glass trifle dish for a particularly elegant presentation.
Banana Pudding Pie
Preparing homemade pudding isn’t as fussy as it seems, thanks to this banana pudding pie that rivals any store-bought pudding mix. The rich whole milk and egg yolks give the pudding its creamy body, while the whole vanilla bean gives the custard a warming effect. Then, it all comes together as a pie, with a macadamia and vanilla wafer crust paired with the rich custard filling that’s layered in between fresh banana slices.
Banana Sheet Cake with Walnut Streusel and Rum Glaze
Banana bread gets a sweet upgrade thanks to a crunchy walnut streusel and a rich, creamy rum glaze. Baked in a sheet cake, portioning this banana dessert for a large crowd couldn’t be easier.
Banana Pudding Paletas
Chef Paola Velez’s refreshing rendition of paletas features a creamy banana pudding base made with browned butter, crushed vanilla wafers, and diced ripe bananas. Once frozen, each pop gets a thick coating of caramelized white chocolate topped with vanilla wafers and chocolate sprinkles.
Banana Challah Fritters With Sweet Tahini Sauce
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Ali Ramee / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Banana Challah FrittersChallah bread gets the French toast treatment when soaked in a banana, egg, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla mixture before it's rolled into individual fritters and fried until golden brown. A homemade tahini sauce for dipping makes the dessert even more decadent.
Blueberry-Banana Cream Pie
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Torie Cox / Prop Styling by Thom Driver
This chilled icebox pie features a light and airy banana cream custard with a heaping mound of homemade whipped cream and a citrusy blueberry topping. Each bite of this blueberry-banana cream pie is filled with fresh, summertime flavor.
No-Churn Dairy-Free Banana Ice Cream
Jennifer Causey / Food Styling by Emily Nabors Hall / Prop Styling by Shell Royster
This no-churn banana ice cream features a balanced blend of coconut milk, semi-ripe bananas, and swirls of creamy peanut butter. For contrasting textures, chopped honey-roasted peanuts garnish the ice cream batter before it’s frozen until firm.
Banana-Caramel Sauce
Few things go better with a slice of banana bread than this creamy banana-caramel sauce. Finely diced ripe bananas infuse the cooked caramel with a deep, nutty flavor that enhances any dessert, especially homemade banana bread served with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
Pumpkin-Banana Bread French Toast
This two-part recipe first calls for making a loaf of pumpkin spice-scented banana bread. Then, the bread is sliced and cooked French toast-style in an egg, milk, sugar, vanilla, and cardamom mixture until caramelized on the outside yet tender on the inside. A drizzle of maple syrup, a pat of butter, and toasted, lightly salted pepitas complete the dish.
Smashed-Banana Bread
A classic served at Dovecote Café in Baltimore, Maryland, this generations-old smashed banana bread recipe gets its warming flavors from super-ripe bananas and a splash of banana liqueur. Meanwhile, a few handfuls of chopped pecans add a satisfying crunch to the soft and nourishing loaf.
Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding
Sticky toffee pudding generally gets its deep caramel flavor from tender dates. However, in this banana sticky toffee pudding, the moist cake is scented with mashed bananas — and dates — for an even more decadent and flavorful dessert.
Banana and Chocolate Cream Pie Parfaits
Consider this dessert a deconstructed banana cream pie made with layers of chocolate pudding, graham cracker crumbs, sliced bananas, and a scoop of ice cream served in a cup. To finish it, each parfait comes garnished with a dollop of homemade banana cream and even more graham cracker crumbs.
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