What To Do With Old Bananas: Our Top 6 Easy Recipes

Bananas have always been a favorite food in my house. When my kids were little, it was easy to tempt them to eat bananas even when they were picky about nearly everything else. But there comes a time in every household when the bananas go bad. They start getting spots. They start smelling like old bananas. And then, seemingly overnight, they’re dark brown and attracting fruit flies.  

I’ve heard lots of recommendations over the years for what to do with overripe bananas, but there’s never just one easy answer for me. I try a little of everything just to make it interesting. My personal favorite is banana muffins, but I’m a big believer in shaking it up every once in a while so we don’t get bored with just one recipe. So, where do I start?  

Fresh Smoothies  

With the kids headed back to school every weekday, it’s nice to throw together some fresh fruit, peanut butter, honey, flax seed, ice, and almond milk into our blender for a few quick seconds. It’s a fast and easy breakfast while we get ready in the morning, or even a quick snack after school. 

Frozen Bananas 

When the bananas are almost too far gone, I peel them, cut them up, and put them in the freezer in a Ziploc. The frozen bananas make a great addition to our fresh fruit smoothies, and I can also use them in a myriad of other recipes. 

Banana Muffins 

These are one of my favorites, but my oldest also likes to have them for breakfast. I know some people call them “happy cakes,” and there are a ton of recipes and variations to make them. One of my favorite recipes is from AllRecipes, though we sometimes add chocolate chips, etc. I can also thaw my frozen bananas and throw them into a batch if I don’t have any fresh ones left.

Banana Bread 

Banana bread has always been a favorite for us as well. It’s a quick and easy breakfast or snack, much like the muffins. I can use thawed bananas in the recipe as well. But banana bread is not quite as easy to handle and we tend to like the muffins better. We’ve tried lots of recipes over the years, and one of our favorites is the one from Taste of Home.  

Banana Soft Serve 

I know it’s probably not the first thing you think about with old bananas, but we love banana ice cream, particularly in the summer months. With the Yonanas Original Fruit Soft Serve Maker, it’s super easy to just insert the frozen bananas and presto, we’ve got a healthy dessert that’s delicious too!  

Chocolate-Dipped Frozen Bananas 

This concoction takes a little more planning ahead, because it works best when you have uncut bananas. But, I can set aside at least a few that I don’t cut up all the way. It’s easy to put them on a stick, dip them in chocolate, and then let them freeze into a banana popsicle (of sorts). 

It’s another fun summer treat that’s great tasting too. And the variations are delicious, with options for creating a frozen banana split or experimenting further with the dipping and toppings. There are so many possibilities. 

I know. There are a ton of other ways that we can use up our bananas. We can make fruit bowls. We love banana splits. Or we can make banana cake or mash the bananas up (that was better suited when my kids were still too little to eat solids). We could make Bananas Foster with just a little butter and brown sugar.  

Bananas really are one of the most versatile foods that I know of. If all else fails, we can feed leftover bananas to the birds and butterflies, if they happen to be around. We can throw them in the compost heap or even use them to help get rid of fruit flies. There’s always some way to make use of bananas!

Are you ready to find ways to use those old bananas? What’s your favorite banana recipe? Comment below!

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