Beyond banana bread: What to do with your overripe bananas

Every week or so, I stock up on a “bunch” of ripe bananas, stashing them alongside the apples and oranges in my fruit bowl, only to forget about their existence within a few short days.

The consequence?

Brown-speckled bananas that are soft to the touch, nauseatingly sweet and bring forth a few pesky fruit flies. For someone who loves her bananas barely ripe — when the peel is a beautiful ombre of green and light yellow — I’m now incapable of enjoying them raw. But that doesn’t mean they’re completely and utterly useless, only destined for the trash.

The irony of me detailing this entire saga is that, currently, as I type, I’m sitting across from my fruit bowl, which is empty save for three sad-looking bananas. Luckily, I happen to love a spotty banana — or two, or more. They just need to be cooked and flavored with more sweeteners.

We’re all well-familiar with banana bread, which seems to be the number one suggested recipe for using up our overripe bananas. Same with a creamy banana smoothie. But the possibilities go way beyond those recipes and are often much simpler to whip up.

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If you’re like me and are constantly falling victim to brown bananas, fret not. Here are a few of my favorite ways to do more with those overripe bananas, from pancakes to a sticky, caramel cookie bar.

Mash ‘em and stash ‘em with overnight oats

The best part about this recipe is that you only need one overripe banana per serving of oats. Of course, if you have multiple bananas that need to be eaten ASAP, you can make multiple servings for the week and store them in the fridge. This is one of my go-to options for easy yet nutritious weekday breakfasts.

To start, peel and cut a whole banana into small yet thick slices. Pour the slices into a mason jar or glass container and mash with a fork. I like my mash slightly chunky, with small bits of banana that add a nice chew to the oats.

Add in the old-fashioned oats (½ cup) along with milk (¾ cup of your favorite kind, whether it’s dairy or non-dairy), a teaspoon of maple syrup and a handful of semisweet chocolate chips. Stir everything together and stash your oats overnight in the fridge. I like to play around with my toppings, sometimes swapping chocolate chips for fresh berries and adding nuts (like almonds and walnuts) and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

I prefer to enjoy my oats cold, but they’re also quite delicious warm, too. Just heat your oats in the microwave, making sure your choice of container or bowl is microwave-safe.

Turn ‘em into pancakes

I love a pancake breakfast, but I especially love a banana pancake breakfast. Fluffy, undeniably moist and sweeter (courtesy of those natural sugars) than your traditional pancake mix, banana pancakes require only a few steps and are ready within minutes. I like to make a large batch and store extra pancakes in the freezer to enjoy throughout the week.

You’ll need several bowls to make these pancakes. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, lightly mash your bananas (I like to use two large bananas) before beating them together with eggs. Add in milk and the dry ingredients, whisking them together in batches. Using a ¼ -cup measuring cup, scoop and pour the batter into a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Flip the pancakes when bubbles start to form on top. Cook until both sides are golden brown.

As for toppings, I like to add more bananas, preferably barely ripe or ripe, along with cut-up strawberries, slivered almonds and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.

Dip ‘em in chocolate and freeze

Remember when I said I don’t like to eat overripe bananas unless they are cooked? I should’ve added that I also like them frozen — and dipped in dark chocolate.

Inspired by my brief yet intense obsession with Trü Frü’s Frozen Fresh Bananas with Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter, these mini treats make for the perfect snack to help you overcome that mid-afternoon slump. They also work as excellent toppings on granola bowls, yogurt bowls and ice cream bowls.

Start by peeling and slicing your bananas. Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper, making sure they are evenly spaced. Pop them into the freezer and let them sit for three to five hours.

Chop and melt a bar of dark chocolate (you can also use milk chocolate, if that’s what you prefer) alongside refined coconut oil in a double boiler. Stir the chocolate until it’s smooth with no lumps. Remove the chocolate from the heat. Using a spoon, scoop and pour the melted chocolate over the frozen banana slices, completely covering them. Once all the slices are coated, sprinkle them with flaky sea salt and put them back in the freezer. Freeze for an additional three hours before enjoying.

Bake ‘em into sticky cocoa bars

I recently tried and loved Carlos C. Olaechea’s recipe for sticky banana-cocoa bars, which calls for four very ripe bananas, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds. This dessert is decadent and is baked with sweetened condensed milk that’s reminiscent of dulce de leche. There’s also cocoa powder and pecans. Truly, this recipe takes an often-wasted food and transforms it into something unrecognizable and magnificent.

“Later addenda to this recipe included: a dusting of cocoa powder for some bitterness to offset the sweetness of the cookie base, and nuts for a little crunch to contrast the gooey condensed milk and soft banana,” Olaechea wrote for Food52. “It tasted wonderful.”

“The best part? I haven’t wasted a banana since.”

Check out the full recipe here.

Pan fry ‘em with a dusting of cinnamon

We should all be enjoying our bananas pan-fried. I love to eat them on their own or topped with vanilla ice cream.

Simply fry your sliced bananas in a large pan with a cooked mixture of butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook until both sides are caramelized. They’re best enjoyed straight off the pan.

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