31 Banana Recipes to Put That Ripe (Or Overripe) Bunch to Work
Sure, we love a nice loaf ofbanana bread, but there are many other creative ways to use that spotted yellow bunch. Our best banana recipes includebreakfast favoriteslike pancakes and strawberry-banana smoothies to start your morning right. There are desserts aplenty, including arefreshing take on British favoritebanoffee派和一个简单的锅蛋糕食谱a sticky glaze. You’ll also find a few fun twists on banana bread here, like crumb-topped muffins and a vegan version loaded withchocolate chunksand glazed in caramel.
Many of our favorite banana recipes call foroverripe bananas, and we’re here for it. Despite our best efforts to slice the fruit over cereal or slather it withpeanut butter, a couple of stragglers always end up crossing over to the dark side. But don’t toss that browning bunch: As bananas ripen, their starches transform into simple sugars, resulting in a jammy sweetness, heightened banana flavor, and moisture that actually enhances quick breads and cakes. Let’s get mashing.
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图by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele1/31Banana Muffins With Brown Sugar Streusel
Reminiscent of a fruit-studded coffee cake, these banana bread muffins are rich and nutty from brown butter, delicately spiced with cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg, and crowned with a brown sugar oat streusel. Bake this banana recipe over the weekend, and keep the muffins on hand for a quick breakfast or snack.
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图by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton2/31Banana Cream Pie With Bourbon Whipped Cream
Give banana cream pie a taste of Southern hospitality byspiking the whipped cream with a splash of bourbon.
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图by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams, Food Styling by Judy Haubert3/31Banana Milkshake
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图by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne4/31Banoffee Pie
If you prefer slightly less sweet desserts, take a page out of British baking iconPrue Leith’s book: Swap digestive biscuits for a ginger nut biscuit crust, halve the amount of condensed milk toffee, and flambé the bananas with a splash of brandy.
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图by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Rhoda Boone5/31Classic Easy Banana Bread
This banana nut bread will forever be our favorite way to use a pile of overripe bananas. Aftertesting round after round of the classic loaf, this version stood out for its supremely moist, tender crumb. Make it your own by leaving out the walnuts, swapping them for pecans, or adding chocolate chunks or a ribbon of cream cheese.
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6/31Bananas Foster
This New Orleans favorite highlights halved bananas, brushed in lemon juice to maintain their freshness, then flambéed in a syrupy (but not cloyingly sweet) white rum sauce. For serious wow factor, light the dessert aflame tableside. Don’t forget thevanilla ice cream.
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图by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou7/31Banana Pudding Cheesecake Bars
Banana puddingmeetscheesecakein these sliceable banana bars, featuring a Nilla wafer crust, velvety fresh-banana cheesecake, and fluffy sour cream whip.
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Photo and Styling by Joseph De Leo8/31Plátanos Horneados con Crema y Queso (Baked Banana With Crema and Cheese)
You don’t need fancy techniques or gadgets (looking at you,kitchen scale) to make a great dessert. Case in point? This simple baked banana dish, which calls for just three ingredients.
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图by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele9/31Sticky Banana and Chocolate Skillet Cake
If you like your cakes sticky, gooey, and full of chocolate, you’ve come to the right place. This skillet cake is baked in anon-stick panand is topped with caramelized bananas and vanilla cream.
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图by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton10/31Vegan Banana Bread With Chocolate and Miso
Misoadds a slightly savory note to this chocolate chip banana bread, which also happens to be vegan. Bake in a muffin tin for just-sweet-enough chocolate banana muffins.
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图by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton11/31Khao Niao Ping Sai Kluai (Grilled Sweet Sticky Rice With Banana Filling)
For this traditionalThai recipe,seek out nam wa bananas, which are sweeter and tangier than other varieties you’ll find at the grocery store.
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图by Oriana Koren12/31Hummingbird Cake
Now a staple of the American South’s baking canon, thehummingbird cake originally hails from Jamaica. This version from chef Kelly Fields boasts the usual cinnamon and cardamom and gets a dose of ground rose petals for a floral note.
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图by Evi Abeler13/31Almond Butter and Banana Pancakes
Mashed bananas and smoothalmond butterform the base of this four-ingredient, gluten-free pancake batter. Top the finished flapjacks with sliced bananas and cocoa nibs.
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图by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne14/31Capirotada
ThisMexican bread puddingis traditionally served at Lent, but we’d make a case for this sweet-and-savory, peanut and coconut–studded dish to be enjoyed year-round.
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图by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Judy Kim15/31Banana Pudding Custard Pie
Borrowing elements from both banana pudding (a crispy, golden vanilla wafer crust) andbanana cream pie(a silky custard filling), this custard pie is a banana lover’s dream.
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图by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson16/31Peanut Butter–Banana Muffins
High in fiber and full of vitamins, wheat germ boosts the nutrition in this whole-grain,kid-friendlypeanut butter muffin recipe. Bonus: It adds a lot of nutty flavor, too.
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图by Sidney Bensimon17/31Vegan Banana Ice Cream
Use animmersion blenderto transform coconut milk and cashew milk (yes, you need both), plus a few other pantry ingredients, into a creamy vegan ice cream base, then add in freshly-roasted bananas and toasted walnuts.
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罗幕燕19/31Banana Tartes Tatin
To make these impressive little banana desserts, you’ll need only four ingredients: unsalted butter, brown sugar, ripe bananas, andpuff pastry. Serve with a generous scoop of ice cream.
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图by Haarala Hamilton21/31Bananas and Ice Cream With Brandy Syrup on Panettone
Give that half-eaten holidaypanettonenew life with the help of thisbananas Foster-inspired recipe fromGreat British Bake Offjudge Prue Leith.
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图by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks22/31Banana-Pecan Ice Cream Bread
This fun dessertmagically transforms store-bought ice cream into breadwith the help ofself-rising flour. Using butter pecan ice cream does double duty, adding caramelly sweetness and nutty crunch.
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图by Chelsea Kyle, Styling by Ali Nardi23/31Banana-Stuffed French Toast
This banana-stuffed French toast will be the star of your nextbrunch: Cut each slice of bread almost all the way through, then stuff each pocket with four to six banana slices before soaking them in custard. Don’t forget the maple syrup.
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Photograph by Isa Zapata, Prop Styling by Dayna Seman, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk24/31Creamy-Dreamy Strawberry-Banana Smoothie
Keep this straightforward smoothie plain for a milkshake alternative, orload it up with your favorite add-inslike protein powder, collagen, or chia seeds.
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图by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton25/31Dr. Bird Cake
Spiced banana-pineapple layer cake, commonly calledhummingbird cakein the States, goes by the name Dr. Bird Cake in Jamaica. This version uses whole wheat flour for nutty complexity, coconut oil to heighten the tropical flavor, and swoops of cream cheese frosting for ultimate richness.
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图by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson26/31Banana Coconut Muffins
This easy recipe relies on mashed bananas and flaked coconut for sublime texture and tropical-leaning flavor. Wantmore delicious recipes for muffins? We have a gallery for that.
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图by Myles New27/31Raspberry & Banana No-Knead Breakfast Loaf
How can you upgrade even thebest banana bread recipe? Fold someraspberriesinto the loaf. They’ll give it a welcome pop of color, and the tart berry flavor pairs wonderfully with the sweet bananas.
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图by Ted Cavanaugh28/31Banana Split Ice Cream Cake
Turn the classicbanana splitinto an epic ice cream cake layered with caramel banana jam, maraschino cherries suspended in vanilla ice cream, and crushed peanuts.
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图by Colin Price30/31Blueberry Muffin Smoothie
This smoothie recipe channels the flavors ofclassic blueberry muffinsinto a cooling breakfast for the whole family. Use fresh or frozen blueberries and bananas, and feel free to add chia or flax seeds for an extra nutritional boost.
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Yunhee Kim31/31Chocolate-Covered Frozen Bananas
Our easiest banana recipe calls for just three ingredients: Skewer bananas on popsicle sticks, dip them in chocolate, and freeze for a fun, hand-held dessert or snack. Don’t skip thesprinkles.
