When I grocery shop, I try to buy two bunches of bananas…one that’s about to be perfectly ripe, and one that’s super green. That way they ripen in stages and we finish the one bunch by the time the next bunch is ready to eat.
But, sometimes I miscalculate and we eat fewer than usual or they ripen faster that I expect. If I catch the bananas in time, I like to slice and freeze them for use in yogurt smoothies…frozen bananas give the smoothie a rather soft-serve-ish texture which is quite lovely.
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What is the best way to freeze bananas? I have some that I’m pretty sure I won’t get to in time and I use them in protein shakes.
That’s what I did with the bananas that I bought on sale at Sam’s. It was 3 lbs for 50 cents, but they were pretty ripe…so I sliced some and froze them and then used the rest to make banana bread.
I run a frozen banana through the food processor with a heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder and a teaspoon or two of sugar … sometimes a dash of cinnamon. At first it looks like a hot mess, then it switches to a sand consistency and then finally! The creamiest chocolate ice cream ever. It’s magic every single time!
Just got a banana bread tip from someone who I was chatting to at ALDI’s!
She puts her peeled bananas in the microwave and cooks them for three minutes. She puts the entire contents of the bowl into her banana bread, juice and all, and she says that it has made all of the difference. I’m going to try that the next time I make banana bread.
Is there such a thing as too many bananas? (I LOVE them but don’t buy them much as they are NZ$2.99 a kilo!)
I mash my bananas before I freeze them in an old margarine container or the like. Then, I can use them in smoothies or pop them in the microwave for a few moments and use them for baking banana bread, muffins, etc.
These are super tasty, and great for using up on-their-way-out bananas. I skip the dates and add dried cranberries and chocolate chips; not quite as healthy, but oh, so good, and not too bad for you
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/healthy-banana-cookies/detail.aspx
I put my over-ripe bananas directly into the freezer whole. When making banana bread, I slide the whole banana right into the mix after thawing. If the batter is a bit wet, I add more flour. The slicing seems good for smoothies. I might have to try that.
Great ideas. I’m not a fan of mushy bananas and will start freezing my extras. Thanks for the tips.
try feezing bananas whole in skins. When you want to make banana bread or banana muffins, take our 4 and let them defrost, open and squeeze out fruit (it will look kind of gross and a right mush) but it is absolutely fine to use…trust me. I live in Natal, South Africa where we produce some of the largest export quantity and quality, best tasting bananas on this planet!!