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Not Sure What to Do with Ripe Bananas? Here Are 30 Delicious Recipes to Inspire You

It happens every time: We buy a bunch of green bananas with the intent of eating every single one, then we blink twice, and they’re all verging on black. And as much as we love banana bread (truly, we do), we’re going to need to add a few more recipes to our repertoire so we don’t get bored. Thankfully, they’re as plentiful as our stash of fruit. Not sure what to do with ripe bananas? Behold, 30 recipes to inspire your taste buds.

How to Keep Bananas Fresh for Longer


1. Chocolate Banana Bread Babka

Even the best bakery babkas can be a little dry. Thanks to bananas, this one is moist and sweet every time.

2. Upside-down Banana-caramel Bread

Banana bread, but make it fancy. The best part is, you don’t even have to make a caramel sauce.

3. Overnight Oats With Peanut Butter And Banana

Don’t tell PB and J, but we might like PB and B even more. This one is ready before you even roll out of bed.

4. Miniature Banoffee Cobblers

Banoffee pie, a traditional British dessert, combines all our favorite things: gooey caramel, soft bananas, airy whipped cream and crisp graham cracker crumbles. Swoon.

5. Banana Tarte Tatin

Baked in your trusty skillet, a crispy puff-pastry crust cradles buttery, sticky bananas. What could be bad about that?

6. Old-fashioned Vegan Banana Cake With Creamy Cashew Frosting

It turns out bananas are especially useful in binding together this egg-free vegan cake. Leave it on the counter so you can snack all day.

7. Banoffee Pie With Honeycomb

The DIY honeycomb topping is crispy, sweet and tastes like caramel, but it’s actually much easier to make.

8. Salted Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie

Whip up this recipe for breakfast, as a post-workout snack or, heck, even for dessert. (Tip: Stash your ultra-ripe bananas in the freezer so you’re always prepared for smoothie time.)

9. The Lono Tiki Cocktail

You’ll need a fully stocked bar for this one (it’s kind of like a zhuzhed up piña colada), but boy is it worth it.

10. Paleo Almond Butter Blender Muffins

Just like a fruit smoothie, you toss all your ingredients into a blender and puree away. But unlike ordinary muffin recipes, there’s no flour or whisking required—wahoo!

11. Green Smoothie With Avocado And Apple

The combination of apple, avocado, spinach and banana (plus a splash of coconut water and a bit of honey) makes for a not-too-sweet drink that’s fit for breakfast or a snack.

12. Protein Pancakes

What has no refined grains, no refined sugar and comes together all in the blender? This guy.

what to do with ripe bananas grilled baby banana splits recipe
Spoon Fork Bacon

13. Grilled Baby Banana Splits

Psst: You don’t even have to wait for super ripe bananas to make a delicious sundae. The grilling brings out their natural sugars, even if they’re still a little green.

Get the recipe

14. Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

If banana bread and peanut butter cookies had a very delicious baby, this would be it. Plus, they take just 20 minutes to make.

15. Banana Scones With Maple Glaze

If you’re convinced that all scones are dry and hard as a rock, try these and reconsider. They’re tender, moist and don’t even get us started on that glaze.

16. Banana Pudding Pie

We know you want to dive right in, but we promise the hour-long rest in the fridge is worth it. (That’s when the magic happens.)

17. Paleo Protein Chocolate-chip Banana Bread Doughnuts

Thanks to coconut flour, these babies are paleo-diet friendly and, not to mention, delicious. We wouldn’t mind a dozen or two.

18. Easiest Coconut Banana Cake With Fudgy Chocolate Frosting

Single-layer cakes might not have the same pro-baker energy as multi-tiered ones, but when they taste this good, it doesn’t matter.

19. Grilled Nutella Banana Sandwich

With this recipe in your back pocket, at-home lunches are looking up.

20. Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream

Would you believe us if we told you it’s only two ingredients and surprisingly pretty healthy?

21. Three-ingredient Strawberry Banana Popsicles

Bet still our 8-year-old hearts. We’re buying popsicle molds just for the occasion.

22. Vegan Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls

We bet your local bakery doesn’t have these on the menu. The banana isn’t just for flavor here: It also makes the rolls soft and fluffy, just the way we like them.

23. Banana And Chocolate Chip Baked French Toast

So you’ve made banana bread, and now you need something to do with all of it. Look no further.

24. Gluten-free Vegan Chocolate Banana Bread

No one will know that it’s gluten-, dairy- and egg-free. The real question is, is it breakfast, dessert or both?

25. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Bliss Balls

Keep a batch of these raw energy bites in your fridge so you’re ready when the dreaded 3 p.m. slump inevitably hits.

26. Coconut Banana Pancakes

These taste like a tropical vacation, and we’re not mad about it at all. In fact, we might never go back to the boxed mix.

27. German Chocolate Banana Bread

The good news about banana bread? There are about a billion ways to riff on it. This decadent version is next on our list.

28. Healthy Soft Banana Bread Cookies

Confession: You had us at cream cheese frosting, but the gluten-free factor isn’t bad either.

29. Banana Cupcakes

Memorize this rule: The riper the bananas, the better the cupcakes. The recipe calls for a few spices, but you could also just use vanilla extract and they’ll turn out better than fine.

30. Banana Bars

They’re ideal for breakfast, snack time, dessert, second snack time, you get the idea.



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Former Senior Food Editor

  • Headed PureWow’s food vertical
  • Contributed original reporting, recipes and food styling
  • Studied English Literature at the University of Notre Dame and Culinary Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education