food
By Katherine Gillen
•
Published May 14, 2020
It happens every time: We buy a bunch of green bananas with the intent of eating every single one, then we blink twice, and they’re all verging on black. And as much as we love banana bread (truly, we do), we’re going to need to add a few more recipes to our repertoire so we don’t get bored. Thankfully, they’re as plentiful as our stash of fruit. Not sure what to do with ripe bananas? Behold, 30 recipes to inspire your taste buds.
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Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
1. Chocolate Banana Bread Babka
Even the best bakery babkas can be a little dry. Thanks to bananas, this one is moist and sweet every time.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
2. Upside-down Banana-caramel Bread
Banana bread, but make it fancy. The best part is, you don’t even have to make a caramel sauce.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
3. Overnight Oats With Peanut Butter And Banana
Don’t tell PB and J, but we might like PB and B even more. This one is ready before you even roll out of bed.
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Photo: Nico Schinco/Styling: Erin McDowell
4. Miniature Banoffee Cobblers
Banoffee pie, a traditional British dessert, combines all our favorite things: gooey caramel, soft bananas, airy whipped cream and crisp graham cracker crumbles. Swoon.
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Lomelino’s Pies: A Sweet Celebration of Pies, Galettes and Tarts
5. Banana Tarte Tatin
Baked in your trusty skillet, a crispy puff-pastry crust cradles buttery, sticky bananas. What could be bad about that?
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The Full Helping
6. Old-fashioned Vegan Banana Cake With Creamy Cashew Frosting
It turns out bananas are especially useful in binding together this egg-free vegan cake. Leave it on the counter so you can snack all day.
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Lomelino’s Pies: A Sweet Celebration of Pies, Galettes and Tarts
7. Banoffee Pie With Honeycomb
The DIY honeycomb topping is crispy, sweet and tastes like caramel, but it’s actually much easier to make.
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8. Salted Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie
Whip up this recipe for breakfast, as a post-workout snack or, heck, even for dessert. (Tip: Stash your ultra-ripe bananas in the freezer so you’re always prepared for smoothie time.)
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Karen Wise/Tiki with a Twist
9. The Lono Tiki co*cktail
You’ll need a fully stocked bar for this one (it’s kind of like a zhuzhed up piña colada), but boy is it worth it.
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Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell
10. Paleo Almond Butter Blender Muffins
Just like a fruit smoothie, you toss all your ingredients into a blender and puree away. But unlike ordinary muffin recipes, there’s no flour or whisking required—wahoo!
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Erin McDowell
11. Green Smoothie With Avocado And Apple
The combination of apple, avocado, spinach and banana (plus a splash of coconut water and a bit of honey) makes for a not-too-sweet drink that’s fit for breakfast or a snack.
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12. Protein Pancakes
What has no refined grains, no refined sugar and comes together all in the blender? This guy.
Spoon Fork Bacon
13. Grilled Baby Banana Splits
Psst: You don’t even have to wait for super ripe bananas to make a delicious sundae. The grilling brings out their natural sugars, even if they’re still a little green.
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14. Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
If banana bread and peanut butter cookies had a very delicious baby, this would be it. Plus, they take just 20 minutes to make.
15. Banana Scones With Maple Glaze
If you’re convinced that all scones are dry and hard as a rock, try these and reconsider. They’re tender, moist and don’t even get us started on that glaze.
16. Banana Pudding Pie
We know you want to dive right in, but we promise the hour-long rest in the fridge is worth it. (That’s when the magic happens.)
17. Paleo Protein Chocolate-chip Banana Bread Doughnuts
Thanks to coconut flour, these babies are paleo-diet friendly and, not to mention, delicious. We wouldn’t mind a dozen or two.
18. Easiest Coconut Banana Cake With Fudgy Chocolate Frosting
Single-layer cakes might not have the same pro-baker energy as multi-tiered ones, but when they taste this good, it doesn’t matter.
19. Grilled Nutella Banana Sandwich
With this recipe in your back pocket, at-home lunches are looking up.
20. Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream
Would you believe us if we told you it’s only two ingredients and surprisingly pretty healthy?
21. Three-ingredient Strawberry Banana Popsicles
Bet still our 8-year-old hearts. We’re buying popsicle molds just for the occasion.
22. Vegan Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls
We bet your local bakery doesn’t have these on the menu. The banana isn’t just for flavor here: It also makes the rolls soft and fluffy, just the way we like them.
23. Banana And Chocolate Chip Baked French Toast
So you’ve made banana bread, and now you need something to do with all of it. Look no further.
24. Gluten-free Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread
No one will know that it’s gluten-, dairy- and egg-free. The real question is, is it breakfast, dessert or both?
25. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Bliss Balls
Keep a batch of these raw energy bites in your fridge so you’re ready when the dreaded 3 p.m. slump inevitably hits.
26. Coconut Banana Pancakes
These taste like a tropical vacation, and we’re not mad about it at all. In fact, we might never go back to the boxed mix.
27. German Chocolate Banana Bread
The good news about banana bread? There are about a billion ways to riff on it. This decadent version is next on our list.
28. Healthy Soft Banana Bread Cookies
Confession: You had us at cream cheese frosting, but the gluten-free factor isn’t bad either.
29. Banana Cupcakes
Memorize this rule: The riper the bananas, the better the cupcakes. The recipe calls for a few spices, but you could also just use vanilla extract and they’ll turn out better than fine.
30. Banana Bars
They’re ideal for breakfast, snack time, dessert, second snack time, you get the idea.
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Katherine Gillen
Senior Food Editor
Katherine Gillenis PureWow’s senior food editor. She’s a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City...
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