Five Ways to Deal With Those Overripe Bananas On Your Counter
There are two, and only two, ways bananas exist in my home. One is, “Oh crap what am I going to do with all these bananas?!” and the other is, “How on EARTH do I not have any bananas?!?!” There is no middle ground, there is no perfect amount that will solve this. There are too many, or too few. As a banana fan, I would rather have too many, particularly because I have found a wide variety of uses for Too Many Bananas.
Freeze/Smoothie
This is the most low-effort solution, but there’s a right way to go about it. I keep various fruits in my freezer for smoothies, and bananas love being in smoothies. It’s also convenient to have a bag of frozen bananas in the freezer in case you’re in a “Suddenly I’ve realized I don’t have enough bananas” baking crisis. Tossing a banana, frozen or not, into a smoothie is pretty self-explanatory, but did you know there’s a right way to freeze bananas? I used to slice them up and throw them in a bag, then put that bag in the freezer, and I would end up with clumps of banana, all coated in ice crystals. They were usable, kinda, but not ideal, particularly if I was trying to use them for baking. Instead, take a few extra seconds to slice your bananas and lay them in one layer on a baking sheet (I line mine with parchment paper), then put the pan in the freezer. Once the bananas are frozen (An hour? I don’t know. I put mine in there till I remember them and then take them out, so it could be one hour or twelve), put them in a freezer bag and back in the freezer. This prevents massive banana icicles and makes it MUCH easier to grab bananas as needed.
Banana bread
Banana bread is the classic way to use up bananas. There are a lot of recipes out there, but my favorite is Ultimate Banana Bread from Smitten Kitchen. Fair warning, though, it uses a LOT of bananas. This is also a good endorsement for having some (properly frozen) bananas in your freezer, as I have often realized I needed more bananas than are browning on my countertop. I also recommend using a scale, as opposed to the vague “four bananas” or “two heaped cups” which could be interpreted all kinds of ways. (A scale is a necessary baking tool anyway, and they’re not expensive, so get one). I also recommend not measuring the raw sugar for the topping. You cannot have too much but I’m sure you can have too little, so just follow your heart and go wild. As if you needed any other endorsement, I grew up with one banana bread recipe, which was fine, but this one is superior and I have convinced my mom and grandma to start using this one instead.
Breakfast Balls
The actual recipe is called Peanut Butter Fudge Balls, but I call them Breakfast Balls because I eat them at breakfast. I would also NOT describe them as remotely fudgy, but in re-reading the recipe to post here I have realized it calls for 16 dates, which is vastly different from the half cup that I use (the recipe says 1/2 cup, about 16 dates). Do I buy freakishly large dates? Is the half cup measurement completely wrong? I have no idea. But then again, I’ve also kind of changed this recipe to suit my needs. This is the recipe that led me to break two food processors last year, so I made some adjustments to make it less destructive and easier to whip up in a flash. Here are my recommendations:
Cut up the dates and soak them in boiling water before draining and adding to your food processor. I put the kettle on to boil while I pit and chop the dates, then prep other ingredients while they have a little bath.
Don’t mess around with oats and oat bran. I just use oats.
I tend to up each measurement by 1/4 cup and use 1.5 to two bananas if I want to use up more bananas, or have enough breakfast balls to last me longer until I need to make them again. This recipe is very pliable and you can get away with a lot of guess-y measurements
Use a cookie scoop to get the mix out of the food processor, and if the mix is sticky, run your hands under some water to make the ball rolling easier. I scoop a bunch out onto a lined cookie sheet, then roll into balls, wash my hands, and start the process over if I have any remaining mixture.
Once the balls are rolled, coat them in unsweetened shredded coconut. This is a modification I came up with solely becasue they were too sticky to eat with my hands while I looked at my phone/iPad in the morning. BUT, it’s also delicious.
Once they’re rolled and coconut coated, put the tray in the fridge so they can firm up a bit, then transfer to an airtight container and keep in the fridge. Happy breakfast!
Chocolate Banana Muffins
These used to be my go-to decadent way to use up bananas. I even wrote about them when I recommended a silicone muffin pan. These are like little chocolate banana cakes, and they are so delicious I actually stop myself from making them, because I will eat nothing else. If you are looking to use up bananas, but also make a chocolatey, fudgy (actually fudgy!), decadent dessert, look no further.
Banana Coffee Cake
My favorite food is cake. My favorite kinds of cake are coffee and birthday. I was walking the dog a few weeks ago, thinking about how I was going to use up some rapidly browning bananas, and, like I usually am, daydreaming about coffee cake, when I thought, “I bet there’s a banana coffee cake recipe out there.” Turns out, there are a lot! I made this Cinnamon Streusel Banana Coffee Cake, and OH MY GOD. It is a life changing discovery. If it weren’t a pandemic, and if I was the kind of person who had guests come stay for the weekend, and I was ALSO the kind of person who made breakfast an event, I would serve this. The finished product seems like something difficult and skillful, but you don’t even need an electric mixer to make it. I ate my last slice while I was typing this and I already miss it. I may need to make another one this afternoon. I did end up having to bake it about 10 minutes longer than the recipe suggests, so be ready to do a lot of toothpick testing, and I think next time I make it I’m going to slice it first, THEN do the icing so I get icing down the sides of each slice. Okay now that I’m thinking about it, and I know that I don’t’ have any more, I need to go make this coffee cake again, immediately.
