31 Banana Recipes We Love a Bunch
What to do with overripe bananas? You know the answer: Bake some banana bread—the best banana bread. But there are so many more banana recipes to be made, from hummingbird cake to strawberry-banana smoothies to yummy milkshakes to chocolate chip cookies with some mashed banana snuck into the mix.
Before we move on, let’s have a little lesson. Bananas are the fruit of the banana tree, a plant originating in New Guinea and cultivated in tropical regions such as the West Indies, Africa, and South America. The fruit was introduced to France by the Portuguese and became common in parts of Europe from the 18th century onward. Who knew? (Historians. Historians knew.)
Now back to the delicious recipes. Below you’ll find our very best banana recipes—ones we’re sure the whole family will love (not that you’re required to share with anyone).
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Kat Boytsova. Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca1/31Classic Bananas Foster
Vanilla ice cream is the classic accompaniment for this king of banana recipes, but you could also spoon the saucy mixture over waffles, crepes, French toast, or even toasted slices of banana nut bread. Toasted pecans add a warm crunch.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie De Luca2/31Double Banana Cake
Photo by Alex Lau3/31Caramelized Banana and Almond Nice Cream
For this riff on the popular dairy-free treat, you’ll cook the bananas first to caramelize them and concentrate their flavor. Once frozen, you’ll blend the fruit with coconut milk and almond butter for richness. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and toss on a heap of raspberries for an extra special sundae.
Photo by Ted + Chelsea Cavanaugh, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Kalen Kaminski4/31Banana Cream Pie
Cheesecake, who? This is the creamy, yellow-colored dessert we would choose any old time: a showstopping, peanut-studded banana cream pie with sky-high whipped cream.
Photograph by Victoria Jane, Food Styling by Mallory Lance, Prop Styling by Alexandra Massillon5/31BA’s Best Banana Bread
Alex Lau6/31Banana Almond Smoothie
Here’s a trick we like: Peel your overripe bananas and put them in the freezer, then use them to make super creamy smoothies (and banana bread) whenever you want.
Photo by Emma Fishman, food styling by Kat Boystova, prop styling by Allie Wist8/31Classic Banana Pudding
With homemade vanilla pudding, sweetened condensed milk (the secret ingredient no one talks about), and mascarpone, this truly is the best (and easiest) banana pudding recipe.
Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling and Prop Styling by Emilie Fosnocht10/31Mochi Waffles With Maple–Brown Butter Bananas
Adding mochiko, glutinous rice flour, to your batter will give your waffles a subtle sweetness, a chewy texture, and a supremely crispy exterior that actually lasts. It makes us want to find a mochi muffin recipe, mochi brownies, mochi coffee cake...
Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Sue Li11/31Overnight Oats With Banana, Maple Syrup, and Tahini
If you’re looking for a filling but healthy gluten-free breakfast, you’ve found it. The recipe makes four servings of tahini sauce, so keep a couple of ripe bananas handy and eat this all week.
Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Sue Li13/31Quinoa-Banana Muffins
There’s a bonus to this banana recipe: It includes our approach to cooking quinoa. (Call us persnickety, but we generally disagree with the instructions on quinoa packages, which tend to call for too much water.)
Alex Lau15/31Buckwheat Banana Cake With Yogurt-Espresso Frosting
Whole wheat flour and other nutrient-rich whole grain flours give this banana bread recipe (which, shh, is really a cake recipe) some depth. And three cheers for the cream cheese frosting with tangy yogurt and peppy espresso powder.
Photo by Heidi's Bridge16/31Caramelized Banana Pudding
The classic we all know and love—but better. Roasting the bananas cut-side down in their skins concentrates their flavor, adding a layer of complexity.
Photograph by Isa Zapata. Food Styling by Cyd McDowell. Prop Styling by Paige Hicks17/31Torched Banana Cake
Inspired by pineapple upside-down cake, this leveled-up recipe has you bring in your kitchen torch to finish the job: The top will have a glossy crust that shatters with the back of a spoon.
Alex Lau19/31Acai Power House Bowl
This healthy breakfast falls into two categories: It’s an easy recipe and, of course, it’s a banana recipe. There’s no cooking involved and frozen banana helps thicken the acaí mixture.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, styling by Claire Saffitz21/31Blackout Chocolate Banana Bread
Think of this recipe as a cross between your very favorite banana bread and a crowd-pleasing blackout cake. (The batter could work for chocolate banana muffins too.)
Alex Lau22/31Banana-Oat Snack Cake
Loaded with oats and bananas, this is a great treat to have on hand after soccer or baseball practice. Or, you could consider it a breakfast cookie or brownie.
©Romulo Yanes23/31Banana Tartes Tatin
Who said tarte Tatin had to be made with apples? This recipe is delicious, quick, and requires just four ingredients: butter, light brown sugar, bananas, and store-bought frozen puff pastry.
Antonis Achilleos25/31Caramel-Banana Bread Puddings
You read that right: It’s puddings, plural, because everyone gets an individual serving. Why? We can’t have you fighting over bread pudding at the dinner table.
Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Sophie Strangio26/31Tropical Trifle With Coconut and Rum
27/31Banana-Chocolate Chip Cake With Peanut Butter Frosting
This cake is perfect for beginners because it’s forgiving and easy. And you don’t need to get fancy with your peanut butter for the frosting: Creamy Jif is our favorite.
