Wondering what to do with ripe bananas on your kitchen counter? I love banana recipes, so I decided to put together a HUGE list of 55 things to make with ripe bananas!
(Psst! Be sure to check out our family’s very favorite Freezer-Friendly Banana Bread Recipe! We also really love these Homemade Breakfast Cookies!)
We love bananas at our house, but occasionally, life happens and it’s easy to let bananas go past their prime. Or, sometimes, I’ll find bananas marked down at the store because they are starting to get too ripe.
I’m really weird in that I prefer to eat bananas when they have some black spots on them, but the rest of my family won’t touch them once they are at the “Black Spot” stage.
When we have an abundance of over-ripe bananas, I either freeze them to use in smoothies and baking later, or I go ahead and make one of our favorite banana recipes with them.
What to Do With Ripe Bananas
I thought it might be fun to put together a list of some of my favorite things to make with ripe bananas!
The recipes on this list are a mixture of some of my favorite banana recipes right here on this blog, plus some other recipes I gathered from other sites that I hope to try soon.
Most of them are fairly healthful (with a few exceptions) and many of them are family favorites. Enjoy!!
Breakfasts:
- Homemade Breakfast Cookies
- Banana Walnut Oatmeal
- Fourth of July Toast
- Healthy Banana Pancakes
- Brown Sugar Banana French Toast Casserole
- Pan-Fried Cinnamon Bananas
- 3-Ingredient Banana Pancakes
- Peanut Butter & Banana Pancakes
- Breakfast Banana Split
- Banana Pancakes
- Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal
- Baked Banana Oatmeal Cups
- Healthy No Bake Banana Bread Breakfast Bars
Snacks:
- Chocolate Banana Roll-Ups
- Banana Coconut Pudding
- Breakfast Banana Pops
- Copycat Trader Joe’s Gone Bananas
- Baked Banana Chips
- Banana Chocolate Chip Energy Bites
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Yogurt Pops
- Nutella Banana Crepes
- Nutella & Banana Sushi
- Raspberry Banana Frozen Yogurt Popsicles
- Banana Ice Cream — 10 Different Flavors
- Peanut Butter & Banana Quesadilla
- Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas
Breads:
- Freezer-Friendly Banana Bread
- Freezer-Friendly Chocolate Banana Bread
- Whole-Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
- Gingerbread Banana Bread
- Honey Cinnamon Banana Bread Scones
- Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Banana Scones
Muffins:
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Gluten-Free Banana Chocolate Muffins
- Banana Crumb Muffins
- Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal Muffins
- Whole-Wheat Banana Coconut Muffins
Smoothies:
- Clean Eating Banana-Coconut Smoothie
- Pick-Me-Up Smoothie
- Blueberry Banana Green Tea Smoothie
- Green Monster Spinach Smoothie
- Cinnamon Roll Smoothie
Desserts:
- Chocolate Bottom Banana Bars
- Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cake
- No Bake Banana Split Cake
- 4-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Double Chocolate Banana Cake
- Brown Sugar Banana Blondies
- Whole Wheat Banana Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies
- Magnolia Bakery Banana Pudding
- Healthy Chocolate Banana Fudge
- Banana Fritters with Vanilla Caramel Sauce
- Chocolate Banana Tart
What are YOUR favorite ideas for what to do with ripe bananas? Tell us in the comments!
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I love ripe bananas in green smoothies, pancakes, bread, cookies, and many other recipes. Thank for the 55 ways to use ripe bananas.
You’re so welcome! -Olivia, MSM Team
Thank you for these awesome ideas!!
Yay! So happy that you like them! -Jordan, MSM Team
Thank you for sharing all recipes 😊
You’re welcome! -Jordan, MSM Team
You won’t believe how happy I am getting a hold of this post!
I recently moved in to a closed-in apartment with free banana plantation… I mean, bananas everywhere!
Have been trying to come up with some recipes but this list is so exhaustive.
Great job dear!
Yay! We are so glad that we could help! -Jordan, MSM Team
I LOVE buying several bunches of bananas and letting them all ripen until they’re super ripe. Then I break them in half and put them straight into a freezer bag (I find they won’t stick together that way). Perfect for smoothies! Oh, and the cheapest place I’ve found organic bananas is at ALDI—even cheaper than Costco! 🙂
Great ideas! Thanks for those tips! -Meg, MSM Team
We went to an ice cream shop once and asked for a banana split. The one banana left from the last bunch was brown and the server was about to throw it out. I asked him for it and he looked at me puzzled and asked why.
“Brown bananas make the best banana bread,” I told him. “I actually put them in the freezer so they turn brown faster just so I can make bread and muffins with them.” The server said he never knew that and would have to try it.
I walked out of there with my split… and a free banana. 🙂
I love that story!!
I am not vegan, but was looking for a recipe to make for a new mom who is and found this: https://foodwithfeeling.com/vegan-muffins/
It only makes six muffins, but was so much easier and quicker than the chocolate chip banana bread loaf I usually make, so I wanted to share. My family (also not vegan) thought it was just as good as, if not better than, our traditional chocolate chip banana bread which we love.
Thank you for sharing!
Crystal, this was so good. But my hubby is allergic to bananas. 🙁 I thought some of the ideas looked delicious and then remembered his allergy. Oh well…. Thanks for sharing a practical thing like this, great idea for an article.
Aw, bummer! Glad you liked the tips, though! -Meg, MSM Team
I learned something interesting about bananas with dark spots on the peel. Bananas like this contain TNF (Tumor Necrosing Factor), which kills breast cancer cells. I was diagnosed with breast cancer and has a mastectomy in late October, 2016, and read about this shortly after my surgery. Since then, I’ve tried to eat 2 or 3 “spotty’ bananas a day. Also, okra is a cancer fighter, as are several other vegetables. I just couldn’t resist posting about the bananas, though. (Even if fruits and vegetables don’t have cancer-fighting properties, they’re good for you. And a plate looks so much prettier with colorful food on it!)
Banana pineapple jam, or banana nut butter are awesome.
Thank you so much for the time you spent for this post!
I am making the whole wheat banana coconut muffins right now! Great list – I am pinning this. I always have extra ripe bananas!
I’ll be pinning this list as a resource! Even with 7 people in the house, we always have a couple of bananas sitting around that no one wants. This will be a nice alternative to our usual banana bread. 🙂
Yay! Thank you! -Meg, MSM Team
Hi Meg of MSM Team! I’d love other posts like this regarding other kinds of food. For ex. I usually buy too many greens to eat in salads but when they start to wilt I don’t know what to do with them. I put lettuce in vegetable soups but other than that? I’d love if you could make me discover other uses for that 🙂
thanks
all the best
Thanks for this idea! -Meg, MSM Team
We buy a large container of spinach every week. By the end of the week, it’s looking a little wilty, so I throw it in the freezer and then use it for smoothies! We do it all the time!
Love this list!
Amazing! The amount of bananas I’ve just thrown away and now I don’t have to. Great resource for reducing household waste!
http://www.nappiesandnailpolish.com
This moist and delicious one bowl banana bread is the best I have ever made and it is so easy! http://www.homeecathome.com/the-home-economist/moist-and-delicious-one-bowl-banana-bread
What a great list! One thing I didn’t see on your list is to cut the bananas into slices and freeze. After they are frozen, you can put them into a food processor along with 1 TBSP of cocoa, a dash of vanilla, and 2 TBSP Natural Peanut Butter. Process until smooth a creamy like ice cream. We call it Banana “ice cream.” Very delicious!
We do this all the time! I just do bananas and peanut butter and let the kids put sprinkles on top. They don’t even know the difference. We have a blend tec and it does an awesome job!
I also love to have extra bananas in the house, and often buy more just to freeze for smoothies and baking. I most often make green smoothies, because now that my family is used to the greens, it’s so much more healthy. I almost always include bananas in smoothies, because they improve the texture and add natural sweetness (which means I rarely add sweeteners). I actually wrote a blog post about freezing bananas, too.
By the way, you are not weird for liking bananas with brown spots. According to a couple of websites, they have added health benefits when they are ripe!
I love your list of 55 ways to use bananas! I’m looking forward to trying some of your banana recipes soon.
I freeze bananas right in their peels!
I’ve been doing that for years. As soon as the bananas get too ripe I throw them right in the freezer as is. I have so many right now that I’m wanting to make a few different things.
I have banana bread baking in the oven right now.
My favorite is definitely Nana Anna’s Banana Bread – I made 4 loaves this week! It freezes great and is egg free. http://www.myjoyinchaos.com/home/2016/3/nana-annas-banana-bread-recipe
Thanks for the recipe Katie. I am going to try it. My youngest is allergic to eggs and wheat so I just have to swap out the flour. The less ingredients an have to change the better it usually turns out.
Thanks for sharing my breakfast banana split! I’m with you, I like a few brown spots on my bananas, they’re nice and sweet that way.