31 Banana Recipes to Put That Ripe (Or Overripe) Bunch to Work
Sure, we love a nice loaf of banana bread, but there are many other creative ways to use that spotted yellow bunch. Our best banana recipes include breakfast favorites like pancakes and strawberry-banana smoothies to start your morning right. There are desserts aplenty, including a refreshing take on British favorite banoffee pie and a simple skillet cake recipe with a sticky glaze. You’ll also find a few fun twists on banana bread here, like crumb-topped muffins and a vegan version loaded with chocolate chunks and glazed in caramel.
Many of our favorite banana recipes call for overripe bananas, and we’re here for it. Despite our best efforts to slice the fruit over cereal or slather it with peanut 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.
Photo 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.
Photo 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 by spiking the whipped cream with a splash of bourbon.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Gerri Williams, Food Styling by Judy Haubert3/31Banana Milkshake
Photo by Travis Rainey, Prop styling by Gerri Williams, Food styling by Erika Joyce4/31Lucious Banana Pudding
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kaitlin Wayne5/31Banoffee Pie
If you prefer slightly less sweet desserts, take a page out of British baking icon Prue 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.
Photo by Travis Rainey, Prop styling by Sean Dooley, Food styling by Kaitlin Wayne6/31Classic Easy Banana Bread
This banana nut bread will forever be our favorite way to use a pile of overripe bananas. After testing round after round of the classic loaf, this version stood out for its supremely moist, tender crumb. (Looking for a chocolate-packed twist? Try our chocolate chip banana bread.)
7/31Bananas 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 the vanilla ice cream.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou8/31Banana Pudding Cheesecake Bars
Banana pudding meets cheesecake in these sliceable banana bars, featuring a Nilla wafer crust, velvety fresh-banana cheesecake, and fluffy sour cream whip.
Photo and Styling by Joseph De Leo9/31Plátanos 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.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Drew Aichele10/31Sticky 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 a non-stick pan and is topped with caramelized bananas and vanilla cream.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton11/31Vegan Banana Bread With Chocolate and Miso
Miso adds 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.
Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Micah Marie Morton12/31Khao Niao Ping Sai Kluai (Grilled Sweet Sticky Rice With Banana Filling)
For this traditional Thai recipe, seek out nam wa bananas, which are sweeter and tangier than other varieties you’ll find at the grocery store.
Photo by Oriana Koren13/31Hummingbird Cake
Now a staple of the American South’s baking canon, the hummingbird 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.
Photo by Evi Abeler14/31Almond Butter and Banana Pancakes
Mashed bananas and smooth almond butter form the base of this four-ingredient, gluten-free pancake batter. Top the finished flapjacks with sliced bananas and cocoa nibs.
