40+ Delicious Recipes To Use Up Bananas Before They Go Bad
Because you can only make banana bread so many times...
Is it just us, or are bananas just as aggravating as avocados? You buy them with good intentions to use them up, then you blink, and BAM! Too many overripe bananas. We’ve all been there—don’t just watch them go brown. Do the right thing and add them to peanut butter banana pie, make a classic banana split, or wake up to a killer smoothie. Check out our list of 40+ banana recipes—there’s so much more to the fruit than banana bread (but we've got SO many recipes for and inspired by the classic loaf, so no worries). You just might wish you had picked up more bananas on your grocery trip.
To be fair though, banana bread IS the classic way to bake with bananas, and our classic recipe is incredible. We love it so much, we've used it as inspiration for our crème brûlée banana bread, our blackout banana bread, and our banana bread cinnamon rolls. They're maybe only beaten by the banana recipe runner-up, banana pudding. We love our original recipe—with its only slightly sweet, hint-of-vanilla flavor—so much, we’ve made tons of spin-offs inspired by it. Check out our banana pudding cheesecake, our banana pudding lasagna, or our banana pudding icebox cake you’re looking to shake things up too. Looking for something a little more high-brow than quick breads or pudding? Bananas really do dessert right too! Try our banana chocolate chip cookies, our banoffee pie, our hummingbird cake, or our bananas Foster. They’re sure to impress your guests (and trust us, you can flambé at home 😉).
Are your bananas teetering on that precipice of just right and too ripe? Not to fear—freeze those babies! A frozen banana can be used for any of our recipes that call for mashed bananas
, or can be turned into a creamy, dreamy frozen treat, like our peanut butter banana "ice cream", our açaí bowls, or a variety of smoothies.
For more fruity inspiration, check out our best summer peach desserts, lemon blueberry desserts, and strawberry desserts too.
Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
If you've been wondering what to bake with bananas and chocolate chips, we've got the answer: banana chocolate chip cookies. They're perfectly chewy on the interior with just-right crispy edges, and are packed with puddles of gooey chocolate and delicious banana flavor. They're basically chocolate chip banana bread in cookie form.
Get the Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe.
Hummingbird Cake
This classic Southern-inspired dessert is filled with bananas, pineapple, and shredded coconut and frosted with a creamy buttercream. The moist cake is reminiscent of both carrot cake and banana bread. In other words: EVERYONE will love it.
Get the Hummingbird Cake recipe.
Crème Brûlée Banana Bread
Why have just a classic banana bread when you can have one with caramelized sugar on top? This quick bread gets frosted with a simple cream cheese frosting to slightly mimic the custard of a crème brûlée, then topped with sugar so that it can be torched into a beautiful crackly top.
Get the Crème Brûlée Banana Bread recipe.
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Instead of the rich, buttery base of a classic banana bread, these muffins use plain whole-milk yogurt as the primary source of fat. The yogurt also lends a lightness to balance the naturally sweet bananas and the brown sugar. It’s basically a breakfast parfait in muffin form!
Get the Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins recipe.
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
The combination of banana and peanut butter is totally iconic and is really well suited for a smoothie. After your first sip you're going to be wondering if you're eating dessert or drinking a tasty and healthy breakfast (hint: it's the latter!).
Get the Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie recipe.
Bananas Foster Cheesecake
Bananas Foster is a classic dessert that should never go out of style, and now we’re bringing it back in with this bananas Foster cheesecake. Boozy caramelized bananas are piled over a fluffy banana cheesecake for a classy, show-stopping dessert that’s sure to be the belle of any ball you bring her to.
Get the Bananas Foster Cheesecake recipe.
Banana Cake
This banana cake takes the classic flavor of banana bread, and adds a cakier texture and an irresistible cream cheese frosting. Similar to carrot cake with its hint of warm cinnamon and crunchy walnuts, this is the perfect not-to-sweet, feel-good cake for any occasion.
Get the Banana Cake recipe.
Fluffy Banana Pancakes
These are by far the fluffiest pancakes we've ever made (Jack Johnson would absolutely approve). If you don't like bananas (which we highly doubt, because you're here), you can skip them. Don't have sour cream? Sub in full-fat plain yogurt.
Get the Fluffy Banana Pancakes recipe.
Chocolate Chip Banana Oatmeal Bars
Sick of grabbing the same super-sweet, processed granola bars every morning? Studded with banana chunks and chocolate chips, these hearty oat bars will satisfy your breakfast cravings and sustain you through those long late morning meetings.
Banana Cream Pie
Is there anything as lovely as a homemade pie? We think not, and banana cream pie is just the treat for special occasions all year long. It's layered with dreamy vanilla pastry cream and slices of banana, all topped with clouds of whipped cream.
Get the Banana Cream Pie recipe.
Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls
Want to switch things up from plain ole banana bread? Try making these banana bread cinnamon rolls. They're made extra-soft and sweetened with mashed overripened bananas. Walnuts give them a banana nut bread vibe, but feel free to skip or swap.
Get the Banana Bread Cinnamon Rolls recipe.
Banana Ice Cream
There are no eggs and no dairy in this ice cream, yet it's got a flavor and texture everyone will LOVE. The secret? Frozen bananas!
Get the Banana Ice Cream recipe.
Banana Nut Bread
We all love classic banana bread, but on days when I’m craving a little something extra, I turn to this trusty banana nut bread recipe. Here, toasted walnuts and a dash of cinnamon join forces for a (slightly) fancier loaf that still celebrates the banana first and foremost.
Get the Banana Nut Bread recipe.
Banana Pudding Lasagna
Bananas, all about ‘em. Pudding, love it. Lasagna… wait, what? Stay with us! It’s true that this isn’t a true Italian lasagna, with layers of pasta, sauce, and cheese. Instead, we’ve layered Nilla wafers, cheesecake filling, and bananas into the perfect no-bake dessert to make for a crowd.
Get the Banana Pudding Lasagna recipe.
Banana Bread Waffles
This is our dream breakfast, and surprise, it's made using almost the same exact batter as our favorite banana bread! Don't own a waffle iron yet? Check out our best waffle irons to buy too.
Get the Banana Bread Waffles recipe.
Peanut Butter Banana Pie
This is a nostalgic-feeling pie that’s rich and creamy and easy to make. It feels like the peanut butter and banana sandwich you’d make after school, but so much better. The filling is no-bake, too, making this almost too easy to make (and eat).
Get the Peanut Butter Banana Pie recipe.
Blackout Banana Bread
This banana bread has the same moist-crumb texture and banana-forward flavor as our best banana bread, but the addition of cocoa powder and chocolate chips make it a chocolate lover's dream. Make it for an extra-special breakfast, then snack on it (or enjoy it for dessert!) in the days to come.
Get the Blackout Banana Bread recipe.
Banana Pudding
Banana pudding is one of our all-time favorite desserts. It's a classic Southern recipe, and for good reason; luscious layers of pudding, whipped cream, ripe bananas, and wafer cookies are completely impossible to resist.
Get the Banana Pudding recipe.
Blended Baked Oats
The true genius behind this recipe is the blending of the oats to create a powder that resembles flour. This allows the baked result to feel more like cake than breakfast, while still providing all the benefits of having a bowl of oats in the morning. Like the sounds of that? Check out our blended overnight oats next.
Get the Blended Baked Oats recipe.
Banana Bread
Banana bread is the epitome of simple home baking, but that doesn’t mean it can’t also deliver maximum deliciousness. Our tried-and-true favorite banana bread does just that. If you’re looking to make the ultimate loaf—moist, dense, and absolutely jam-packed with banana—look no further than this recipe.
Get the Best-Ever Banana Bread recipe.
