14 Banana Recipes Great No Matter How Ripe Your Bananas Are

Bananas for breakfast, dessert, and everything in between.

Updated June 19, 2024

Side view of a slice of banana pie on a plate — Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

Craving bananas? Or did you get a little overzealous in the produce aisle? Fear not, we have just the solution to your perceived problem. Bananas work well in breakfasts, desserts, and even snacks, and we've got a great selection of banana recipes from our archive. Recipes aside, check out Stella's method for efficiently turning underripe bananas into bread and other baked goods. Also: for a fascinating, banana-centric deep dive, read Jason's piece on fruity esters, the late Gros Michel, and artificial banana flavorings.

Chè Chuối (Vietnamese Banana, Tapioca, and Coconut Milk Dessert)
Serious Eats / Vy Tran
This delightfully rich and creamy, coconut milk–based soup makes a great snack for a mid-day sugar craving or a heady dessert to cap off a meal. Pisang awak bananas are perfect in this dish, but you may substitute ripe plantains as well.
Chè Chuối (Vietnamese Banana, Tapioca, and Coconut Milk Dessert)
Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
Made with just a handful of ingredients, this strawberry banana smoothie tastes like a sippable version of strawberries and cream. Using frozen strawberries chills the smoothie without diluting its flavor with ice.
Strawberry Banana Smoothie
Bananas Foster Oatmeal With Walnuts and Peanut Butter
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
For this high-energy, full flavored breakfast treat, bananas and walnuts are cooked in butter with brown sugar. Half of the mixture is mashed and added to creamy, nutty steel-cut oats, along with a big spoonful of peanut butter. Each bowl of the oatmeal is then topped with more of the caramelized banana-walnut mixture and dusted with cinnamon, nutmeg, and orange zest.
Bananas Foster Oatmeal With Walnuts and Peanut Butter
Turon (Filipino Fried Banana Rolls)
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This sweet variety of lumpia is filled with slices of Saba banana that have been tossed with brown sugar. The turon are fried twice: First until the wrappers are golden brown and the bananas are meltingly tender, and once again in brown sugar–spiked oil for a crispy, caramelized finish.
Turon (Filipino Fried Banana Rolls)
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Banana Granola
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This recipe combines everything we love in banana bread—its mellow flavor, gentle spice, and nutty crunch—into a tender yet crisp granola that's loaded with dried fruits, whole grains, crunchy seeds, and macadamia nuts.
Banana Granola
Creamy Banana Pudding
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
All the fruit and custard flavor we love in a scoop of banana ice cream reimagined in a warm and cozy format for a comforting dessert.
Creamy Banana Pudding
Classic Banana Bread
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
The key to making the best-tasting banana bread is using a blend of spices to amplify the banana flavor, along with a few other tricks to keep the crumb moist and tender.
Classic Banana Bread
Banana Cream Pie
Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez
This banana cream pie is silky, creamy, and full of fresh banana flavor. Kristina's recipe starts with baking a buttery pie crust until golden brown and then filling it with alternating layers of thinly sliced ripe bananas and a rich vanilla pastry cream. Finally, the pie is topped with brown sugar whipped cream.
Banana Cream Pie
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Jamaican Banana Fritters
Serious Eats / Karina Matalon
Tired of turning overripe bananas into banana bread? Use them to make Jamaican banana fritters instead. They are tender yet slightly chewy—and even simpler than basic pancakes.
Jamaican Banana Fritters
Light and Silky Banana Crémeux
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
This whipped banana custard is rich, creamy, and thick, with an intense flavor developed by thoroughly infusing the milk with sliced bananas. The banana pulp is carefully strained out and pressed to expel all its goodness, keeping the texture of the custard soft and light.
Light and Silky Banana Crémeux
Plum, Date, Banana, and Maple-Bacon Salad
Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik
For this fruit salad, Stella pairs creamy bananas with crispy pecans, chewy dates, juicy plums, and a fragrant scattering of tarragon leaves. The salad is dressed with maple syrup and a spoonful of bacon grease, which adds a hint of richness.
Plum, Date, Banana, and Maple-Bacon Salad
Banana Oatmeal Cookies With Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips
Serious Eats / Carrie Vasios Mullins
Inspired by Elvis' favorite sandwich, mashed banana is mixed into oatmeal cookie dough. Peanut butter chips and chocolate chips are then folded in.
Banana Oatmeal Cookies With Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chips
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Rum Glazed Banana Bundt Cake
Serious Eats / Yvonne Ruperti
Bananas, shredded coconut, and cashews make this moist cake truly special. The dark rum glaze is a perfect tropical pairing with the banana and coconut flavors of the cake.
Rum Glazed Banana Bundt Cake
Grilled Banana Boats With Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Marshmallows
Serious Eats / Joshua Bousel
Filled with mini marshmallows, peanut butter chips, and milk chocolate chips, these stuffed bananas are a wonderful way to end a cookout.
Grilled Banana Boats With Peanut Butter, Chocolate, and Marshmallows

14 Banana Recipes Great No Matter How Ripe Your Bananas Are

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