Do you have bananas that are a little too ripe? Don't let them go to waste! Make these delicious Baked Bananas instead! Bananas are oven-roasted with butter, brown sugar and cinnamon to create a flavorful fruit dessert that you will crave!
With just a handful of ingredients, this is a snack or dessert recipe your whole family will love! Or you can use it in other recipes in place of regular bananas.
This is one of my favorite quick and easy desserts to make when I don't have a lot of ingredients in the house.
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You Need to Make Baked Bananas
Let me start off by saying that baked bananas look terrible. I get it. But the flavor...
Roasting is my favorite! With just a simple preparation (a little oil, a little spice) you can create delicious food for your family that is really hands-off.
Roasted vegetables are my favorite thing to make as a side dish for dinner. I love the sweet flavors that come out when you bake produce (especially sweet potatoes) in the oven.
One day I saw some overripe bananas on the counter and I wondered what it would be like to roast them. We all know how amazing grilled pineapple is...
I figured roasting bananas would bring out their sweet goodness too. And I was right.
Although my kids and I aren't huge fans of bananas, we all instantly devoured the oven-roasted bananas.
So if you have bananas that are about to go bad and don't have eggs to make banana bread, you should absolutely make these oven-roasted bananas!
And if you don't have time to bake or want to turn on your oven, these Battered Bananas with pancake mix is another great option! YUM!
Benefits of roasting bananas
Bananas are full of fiber and potassium (and other things) but are there benefits of roasting bananas?
Aside from bringing out a little more depth to the sweetness, there is no added benefit to roasting bananas. But interestingly, the heat shouldn't decrease the amount of potassium too much as sometimes happens when cooking produce.
Ingredients
Baking bananas in the oven couldn't be easier! Grab your favorite baking dish and a few easy pantry items and get cooking!
- Overripe bananas - I make one banana for each person
- butter - I prefer salted butter in my desserts
- cinnamon
- brown sugar
- vanilla
I'm not a fan of bananas, but when you roast them and smother them with butter, brown sugar and other flavorings, they are decadent.
The way the butter melts and mixes with the brown sugar creates a caramelized effect that enhances the baked banana flavors even more.
This is one of those recipes that you can tailor-make depending on the flavors that your family loves and with what you have on hand.
You could easily add sliced almonds or coconut to give it texture and crunch. Or leave the vanilla out if you don't have any. I wouldn't skip the butter or brown sugar, but otherwise, make this your own!
How to Make Roasted Bananas
Here I made these Baked Bananas with brown sugar in individual baking dishes. But you can just as easily bake a bunch in one larger baking dish!
Pile your toppings right on top of the banana. Then roast in the oven!
It's stupid easy.
Yes, I am aware at how awful the finished roasted bananas look... I'm sure there was a better way to take the final images. But I'll be honest that would have taken a bit of effort.
And with such a simple dessert, I really didn't want to take the time to style the heck out of it.
I'm so sorry if you've had an adverse reaction to the sight of these delicious oven-roasted bananas. I know once you taste them you'll feel better.
While I love to eat these baked bananas as is, they are also a great way to change up the flavor in some of your other favorite banana desserts. Can you imagine the taste of your banana bread with this?!
As you can see from the oil in the pan, the butter doesn't mix completely in. I always go heavy-handed with my ingredients but if you think this is too much, you can always pull back a little.
Especially if you are using these in another recipe. I would go a lot lighter with the spices when roasting so they don't compete with the flavors from your recipe.
You're going to love these easy Baked Bananas! It's so easy to oven roast them with the simple caramelized toppings. It's pure comfort food.
Frequently Asked Questions
Let the baked bananas cool then cut into chunks. Lay them out on a cookie sheet and freeze until solid (a few hours). Place them in an airtight container or bag for storage in the freezer. Then just take out what you need when you're ready to use them for smoothies, bread or other recipes.
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Related Recipes
If the idea of this easy dessert sounds tempting to you, I bet you'll also like some of the other sweet treat recipes I have on my site.
- Ginger Peach Shortcake - If you're a fan of shortcake recipes, you need to try this delicious twist! Ginger Peach Shortcake uses store-bought angel food cake to keep this recipe super quick and easy.
- Berry Basil Sugar Cookie Bruschetta - Dessert bruschetta is a thing and it's delicious! Start with a base of store-bought sugar cookies and make delicious berry basil topping. This Fruit Bruschetta is a treat you'll be eating all summer long.
- Easy Strawberry Snack - Looking a quick snack idea to curb that sweet tooth? This sweet Easy Strawberry Snack needs just a few ingredients and comes together really fast!
- This Banana Oat Smoothie is filling and a great easy breakfast idea.
- An Avocado Banana Smoothie is full of great heart-healthy fats and a delicious taste.
- Banana Bites make another great, last-minute snack idea that your kids will love.
Easy Baked Bananas with Brown Sugar
Ingredients
- Overripe bananas 1 per person
- 1-2 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Sprinkle of cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Unpeel the banana and place in a baking dish.
- Place a pat of butter right on top of the banana.
- Sprinkle on cinnamon and sugar trying to cover the whole banana.
- Finish with a drizzle of vanilla on top.
- Bake for about 10-15 minutes.
- Repeat with additional bananas.
Cynthia says
These are amazing! Thank you very much. It’s a great way to use up overly ripe bananas. We served ours with toasted coconut and whip cream. It be amazing over ice cream.