Valentina's Corner
Need a recipe to use up your bananas, we got you covered! We share 15 Ripe Banana Recipes to try and you’ll never throw away bananas again. So, if bananas are a regular in your house, let’s learn all about bananas! How to pick, store, freeze bananas, and of course, how to use them.
RIPE BANANA RECIPES-
There are so many different ways to use up your ripe bananas! From making banana bread to a healthy smoothie, there is a recipe you can find! We always have bananas on hand and love using them for different recipes.
CHOOSING THE PERFECT BANANA FOR YOUR RECIPE-
There are several stages in a banana and you want to make sure that you choose the right one when purchasing.
different stages of a banana and uses:
- Green – underripe
- When your banana is all green this is the beginning of the ripening stage for a banana. You don’t want to use this for anything.
- Light yellow/green – starting to ripe
- When your banana is a mix of yellow and green then the banana has begun it’s ripening process. The banana is safe to eat, but it will be harder than when fully ripe.
- Yellow with light spots – ripe
- This is where you want your banana, when its a deep yellow and spotting has begun then your banana is ripe! This is perfect to eat for a snack and to enjoy them in fruit salads, and fruit boards!
- Yellow with brown spots – very ripe
- The spotting will start to become more and more all over the banana and the banana will become very soft at this point. This is the perfect stage for stuffed french toast, crepes, and smoothies!
- More brown than yellow – over ripe
- The banana is almost fully browned with barely any yellow. This is when people tend to throw away the bananas but they are still good and very sweet! These bananas are GREAT for banana cake, pancakes, and of course for banana bread!
HOW FAST DOES THE RIPENING STAGE OF A BANANA LAST?
Once your banana is starting to ripe the stages move fast! It goes from one stage to another in 1 day. Keep this in mind when buying your bananas!
STORING BANANAS-
You want to store your bananas at room temperature and away from any sunlight! Keep the bananas away from other fruits because as the bananas ripen, they will help the fruit around them ripe. We love using THIS banana hanger for storing our bananas.
Summer vs Winter– The fruit tends to ripen faster in the summertime and during the warmer weather than the wintertime!
HOW TO RIPEN BANANAS-
There are different ways to help quicken or slow down the ripening stages of a banana!
- Slow Down Process– To slow down the ripening process store the fruit in the fridge! The skin will turn brown but the actual fruit will not ripen.
- Ripen Bananas Quicker– There are two ways to speed up the ripening process!
- Room temp– You can store the bananas in a brown bag at room temperature or you can bake them!
- Bake– Place the bananas onto a baking sheet and bake them at 250F for about 10-15 minutes. Allow them to cool and they are ready for use!
HOW TO TO FREEZE BANANAS-
Bananas freeze GREAT! You can freeze the bananas peeled or unpeeled, sliced or whole!
- Sliced-Slice the bananas into small slices or chunks, and lay out on parchment paper and freeze. Once the fruit is frozen transfer to freezer safe ziploc bags and freeze for up to 3-4 months!
- Whole– Peel the bananas and lay them out on parchment paper and freeze. Once frozen solid, transfer to freeze safe bags and freeze for up to 3-4 months.
- Brown– You can freeze your ripe and overripe bananas too! Just peel and mashed them, then add to freeze bags and flatten for an even layer and freeze! When ready to use, just thaw and use. Unpeeled- You can even freeze them unpeeled! Just add it to a freezer bag and freeze! Thaw overnight in the fridge, peel and enjoy!
Pro Tip: When freezing bananas, label how many bananas are in the bag so you know how many bags you need to retrieve!
HEALTHY BANANA RECIPES-
Bananas are such delicious fruit and packed with potassium, fibers, and vitamins! We love making healthy banana recipes with our ripe, very ripe, and even overripe bananas.
BANANA DESSERTS-
The recipe possibilities are endless when looking for a way to use up your bananas, especially banana desserts! Use up your bananas and get a delicious dessert at the same time with these recipes:
OVERRIPE BANANA RECIPES-
It’s so tempting to throw away your overripe bananas, but DON’T, you can use them to make so many different delicious recipes! The most common overripe banana recipe is Banana Bread! We love all things banana bread! Check out our different banana bread recipes:
If you’ve enjoyed this Collection of Recipes for Bananas, be sure to check out our Soup Recipes roundup and the easy Shrimp Recipes roundup – so many recipes to be inspired by!