7 Things to Do With Ripe Bananas

By UBCO Food Services Staff

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We've all been there: Bought half a dozen bananas with the best of intentions, made it through half of them, and now the others are quickly turning brown, spotted, and sweet in the fruit bowl. You could throw them into the freezer until you have enough to use for banana bread, or you could think outside the box and try one of these seven easy and delicious ideas for ripe bananas.

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1. Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie

Suggested Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana, cut into pieces
• 1 ½ cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or regular milk)
• 3 pitted dates, or 1 tbsp of honey
• 1 cup ice cubes
• 1 tbsp peanut butter, nut butter or WOW! Butter
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. In small bowl, cover dates with warm water. Let soak for at least 30 minutes, then drain.
2. In blender, combine dates, almond milk, ice, banana, peanut butter and cinnamon. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

Experiment with flavours by adding one of these extra ingredients to the blender:

• ¼ cup rolled oats
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ ground flax
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• Handful of kale or spinach
• Protein powder
• Greek yogurt
• Mini chocolate chips

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2. 2-Ingredient Banana Pancakes

Suggested Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• Butter or oil for cooking
• Topping of your choice

Instructions

1. Use a fork to thoroughly mash banana until it has pudding-like consistency.
2. Pour the eggs over the banana and stir until completely combined (the batter will be runny).
3. Add oil or butter to a warmed frying pan, and drop in about 2 tbsp of the batter. Repeat by dropping more batter into the pan, leaving at least an inch between pancakes.
4. Cook until the bottoms look browned and golden (about 1 minute). With a thin, flat spatula, carefully flip the pancakes, then cook for another minute or so.
5. Serve warm and enjoy!

Experiment with flavours by adding one of these extra ingredients:

• For fluffier, lighter pancakes, add 1/8 tsp baking powder to the batter
• To the batter, whisk in 1/8 tsp of salt, 1/4 tsp vanilla, 1 tbsp cocoa powder, or 1 tbsp honey
• To the pancake before doing your first flip, add 1/2 cup chopped nuts, chocolate chips or
• granola
• Top with fresh fruit like blueberries, raspberries or chopped apples
• Drizzle with maple syrup, fruit syrup or a dollop of Greek yogurt

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3. Banana Ice Cream

Suggested Ingredients

• 1 large ripe banana

Instructions

1. Peel the banana and chop into small pieces. Place in a glass Tupperware or Ziploc bag, and freeze for at least two hours (or overnight)
2. Transfer the frozen banana into a small food processor or high-speed blender (food processor works best), and pulse until it looks smashed.
3. Switch to blending, keeping this going until the banana becomes smooth.
4. As banana smooths out, the mixture will become creamy, much like soft-serve. Blend for a few more seconds to aerate the ice cream.
5. You can eat the ice cream immediately, or transfer back into a container and freeze it until solid, like traditional ice cream.

Experiment with flavours by adding one of these extra ingredients in Step 4:

• Spoonful of peanut butter
• Drizzle of honey
• Handful of chocolate chips
• A few almonds
• Dollop of Nutella
• Tbsp of cocoa powder
• ½ tsp of cinnamon, cardamom, or ginger

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4. Banana Sour Cream Waffles

Suggested Ingredients

• 1 ripe banana, mashed
• 1 cup of your favourite waffle mix (and appropriate amount of milk and egg)
• 1 cup sour cream
• ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted

Instructions

1. Spray a waffle iron with nonstick spray, then preheat.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, measure out the waffle mix (dry ingredients only).
3. In another bowl, whisk together sour cream, banana, egg, milk and butter.
4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the banana mixture. Mix with a spatula with just a few strokes to evenly moisten batter -- do not over-mix.
5. Pour batter into the waffle iron and bake until toasted and browned.
6. Serve immediately, drizzled with your favourite topping.

Experiment with flavours by adding one of these extra ingredients:

• Add ½ tsp cinnamon or cocoa powder to dry ingredients
• Top with strawberries, blueberries, or more sliced banana
• Add dollop of sour cream and jam to the top

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5. Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bites

Suggested Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup natural peanut butter
• ½ cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 tsp coconut oil

Instructions

1. Peel and slice bananas into rounds about ¼ inch thick.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place about ½ tsp of peanut butter on a banana slice and top with another banana slice to make a little banana peanut butter sandwich. Keep doing this until all banana slices are used. Place bites on two parchment-lined platters or plates, and place in the freezer to harden (about 1 hour).
3. Once banana bites have frozen, melt your chocolate by adding chocolate and coconut oil to a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, stir, and microwave in additional 30 second increments until chocolate is completely melted.
4. Once chocolate is melted, remove one platter of your frozen banana bites from the freezer. Dip each frozen banana bite into the melted chocolate.
5. Place banana bites back on the parchment lined platter, and return to freezer. Continue until all the bites have been dipped. Let both platters of chocolate covered bites harden in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
6. Serve and enjoy!

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6. Banana-Nut Oatmeal Bowl

Suggested Ingredients

• 1 cup plain almond milk
• 1 ripe bananas (1/2 diced, 1/2 thinly sliced crosswise)
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp honey or agave nectar
• ¼ cup toasted and chopped walnuts
• pinch of cinnamon

Instructions

1. Bring the almond milk, 1 3/4 cups water, diced bananas, the extracts, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat.
2. Stir in the oats, cocoa powder and half of the honey, and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, until the oats are fully cooked to desired consistency, 6 to 7 minutes.
3. Transfer to a bowl, top with the sliced bananas, walnuts, the remaining honey, and cinnamon, and serve.

Experiment with flavours by adding one of these extra ingredients:

• Add ¼ cup of unsweetened apple sauce
• Top with caramelized bananas (recipe here)
• Replace the vanilla extract with almond extract
• Top with 2 tbsp semisweet chocolate chips
• Add a dollop of Nutella

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7. Frozen Banana Balls

Suggested Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas
• ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ⅓ cup unsweetened almond or rice milk
• ¼ to ⅓ cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1½ cups granola-based cereal

Instructions

1. In a food processor combine the first five ingredients, cover and process until well combined. Transfer mixture to a large bowl, add the oats, and mix well.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the cereal in a small bowl.
3. Using the large end of a melon baller or a small spoon, scoop up a small chocolate ball and drop it into the cereal. Roll ball with a spoon or your fingers to cover completely with cereal. Gently place the ball on the prepared baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining chocolate mixture and cereal.
4. Place baking sheet in the freezer until the treats are frozen. Eat and enjoy!