5 Easy, Healthy Reasons I Keep Frozen Bananas On Hand At All Times
From breakfast to dessert, they’re convenient and delicious.
Bananas are a bit like avocados. You wait on them to reach peak ripeness and then you have a brief window in which to eat them before they start the quick descent into mushiness.
Freezing them at the peak of ripeness is a great way to make sure they won’t go to waste. It’s also a great way to give your future self a delicious present.
Once frozen and thawed, bananas end up mushy, so don’t expect them to maintain their integrity. They do especially well in recipes that call for mashed bananas — and I got you covered! Below are five of my favorite ways to use frozen bananas plus the ins and outs of freezing them.
Why Freeze Bananas?
It’s nice to have bananas on hand for recipes, and freezing them is the best way to ensure you always have a supply of ripe bananas ready for an impromptu Saturday banana bread party.
Frozen bananas work just as well as fresh spotty bananas in almost any recipe calling for mashed bananas. Keeping a few in the freezer takes the guesswork out of timing your recipes with the ripeness of your produce.
Since thawed bananas take on a mushy texture naturally, they’re already perfectly sweet and halfway to mush-town, which means less work for you.
Plus, how often do you actually get through a bunch of bananas before they go bad?
How to Freeze Bananas
Start out with ripe or slightly over-ripe bananas.
Peel them and then break them in half (or cut them up if you prefer) and put them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the freezer. This step helps keep them from freezing together into a giant lump of banana.
After about an hour, or once they’re mostly frozen, throw them in a freezer-safe container or bag and store them in the freezer for up to three months.
For a non-frozen recipe, thaw the bananas overnight in the refrigerator or thaw at room temperature for about an hour.
1. So Many Smoothies
Bananas are the perfect addition to any smoothie recipe, and frozen bananas work double time in a smoothie by keeping things cold.
You can use one half to one full banana for most smoothies, and more if you really love bananas.
Follow your heart. If you mix good ingredients (that taste good together) and add enough lubricant, you probably can’t go wrong.
Here’s a healthy banana smoothie recipe I love:
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (optional)
1 whole frozen banana
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1/2 cup ice cubes
Handful of spinach
Dash of cinnamon
1/2–3/4 cup of milk as needed for blending (almond, soy, or other)
Add all ingredients to the blender, adjust the milk or ice cubes as needed, and enjoy!
2. Satisfying Banana Oatmeal
Banana oatmeal is heavenly, and if you’re trying to cut back on the sugar in your diet, bananas can help sweeten things up.
I like to use one whole banana per serving of oatmeal, but you can use less or more depending on your tastes.
You’ll have to let the bananas thaw for this one. If you can remember to take them out the night before to thaw in the fridge, that’s best. If you can’t, no worries. Just let them sit out on the counter for 30–60 minutes or, in a pinch, let them thaw in the pan with the oatmeal and mash it in as you go.
How to make it:
Mash the thawed banana with a fork until it’s smooth and pasty. Then, make plain oatmeal on the stove according to the package directions. Stir the mashed banana into the oatmeal while cooking. Add cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla or maple extract. Serve with pecans, walnuts, or a healthy dollop of peanut butter.
TIP: If you want extra creamy and delicious oatmeal, use milk instead of water to cook it. I like to use unsweetened soy milk for added protein.
3. Amazing Lazy Banana Pancakes
This is a quick spruce-up for regular old boxed pancake mix using thawed frozen bananas. I’ve tried it with a few different brands of mix and it’s always delicious.
When adding bananas to boxed pancake mix, you’ll need to cut back on the water by a few tablespoons, so keep that in mind when preparing the mix.
Once the mix is prepared, mash 1–2 whole thawed bananas and add them to the bowl. Add a dash of cinnamon, a tiny dash of nutmeg, and pecans if you like a pancake with a little crunch. Mix thoroughly.
Cook as usual and serve with any toppings you desire!
If you’re in the mood for an easy, but slightly more in-depth banana oatmeal pancake recipe, this one by Modern Honey is incredible! I challenge you to get hungry before noon after eating a couple of these hefty, yet healthy pancakes at breakfast.
TIP: Toppings make pancakes special — try fresh bananas, peanut butter, berries, or nuts with these.
4. Healthy Banana Ice Cream
Your new favorite summer treat! All you need is a blender, 2 whole frozen bananas, 1/2 cup of ice, and 1/4 cup of almond milk (or any other milk).
This is a thick, banana ice-cream-like dessert, so use up to two frozen bananas for a serving of this.
After the bananas, add the ice cubes and about 1/4 cup of milk. You’ll probably need more milk while blending to keep things moving, but too much milk will make it a banana smoothie.
If you’re in the mood for chocolate (is it possible not to be?), add a few small pieces or chips of dark chocolate to the blender. I recommend chopping the chocolate first. Since things are so cold in the blender, whole chunks of chocolate won’t break up well.
Top with berries, nuts, dark chocolate, or eat as is. Either way, it’s a cold, healthy, refreshing treat that’s perfect for summer.
TIP: Fill an ice cube tray with milk and freeze it. Use those cubes in place of regular ice cubes in this recipe to keep things creamy.
5. Staple Banana Bread
The amazing thing about banana bread, besides its deliciousness, is that most of the ingredients are pantry staples. If you have frozen bananas, a spontaneous banana bread making event is certainly within your grasp.
Frozen bananas somehow end up sweeter by the time they’re thawed, so they fill that “soft spotty banana” role flawlessly in banana bread recipes.
To use frozen bananas, simply thaw the amount of bananas that your favorite banana bread recipe calls for and treat them like fresh in every other respect.
No one will know the difference, and you’ll save a trip to the store!
I’ve made this recipe from Simply Recipes with frozen bananas a few times with outstanding results. There may be healthier recipes out there, but this one wins for simplicity.
TIP: If you make banana bread regularly, portion out a few banana bread rations in the freezer so that you can easily grab a portion of frozen bananas when it’s time to make a loaf.
Takeaway
These are just a few tried-and-true reasons to keep frozen bananas on hand. Do you have any others? I’d love to hear them!
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