Freezing Bananas

This is a guide about freezing bananas. Bananas are best when fresh but can turn brown and mushy quickly. A good way to preserve them is to freeze them for later use in baking recipes or smoothies.

Video: Freezing Mashed Bananas

Save money on bananas! Those browning bananas on your counter don't need to get thrown away, even if you aren't ready to use them right now. Freezing them is a great way to use them later in banana bread or any recipe that uses mashed banana.

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Solutions: Freezing Bananas

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Freeze Bananas in Their Peel

When the last bananas in a bunch get over ripe, I just put them in the freezer "as is" to save for when I want to make banana bread. The bananas get horrid looking when they are frozen; black and wrinkly, but the insides stay perfectly good.

When I want to bake, I thaw the desired number of bananas until they are soft. Then I just break off the end and squeeze the banana pulp into a measuring cup, just as you would squeeze toothpaste from a tube. 1 cup banana pulp is right for a loaf of banana bread. This saves waste from unused bananas, but lets me bake when it's convenient for me.

By Karen from Huntington, WV

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Freezing Mashed Bananas

Those browning bananas on your counter don't need to get thrown away, even if you aren't ready to use them right now. Freezing them is a great way to use them later in banana bread or any recipe that uses mashed banana.

Supplies:

overripe bananas
lemon juice
freezer bag

Steps:

Peel the bananas and put them in a bowl. Using a fork, mash them up to the desired consistency.
Add 1 tsp. of lemon juice per 1 cup of mashed banana. This will help keep them from turning brown.
Place them into a freezer bag and don't forget to label them with the date. NOTE: Mashed banana is good for 3-4 months, if stored properly in the freezer.

By lalala...

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Freezing Bananas

When the bananas' skins start to get brown, I peel the bananas and wrap each one in plastic wrap. Once I have them all wrapped, I place them in a freezer zip bag and store them in the door of my kitchen freezer. If I only want one for a smoothie or need several to make bread or muffins, the whole bunch isn't frozen as one big chunk!

By Donna from Edmond, OK

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Bargain Frozen Bananas

What a treat! I found very ripe bananas for $1/5 pounds. Very few were soft, so I took a chance. I also bought some chocolate shell, because I remember frozen chocolate covered bananas from my days of working at Knott's Berry Farm. I peeled as many bananas as my large round plastic food container would hold, breaking each one in half. They got sprinkled with lemon juice to retain their color. Then they went into the freezer, carefully covered. The next day I poured chocolate shell over them, and it set up immediately. But there wasn't enough chocolate to cover them all, so I got on the net and found a recipe that is way cheaper than the $2.59 teeny weeny bottle.

You melt 3 tablespoons of butter and 2/3 cup of chocolate chips over low heat together. That's it. Pour it over ice cream of frozen bananas. That made enough to finish the batch. We have enjoyed frozen bananas since then, and there are enough for about 25 servings. That left a bunch of the ripest bananas. I mashed them up and made the equivalent of four loaves of banana bread. We had company for dinner on Sunday and ate some. I sent a loaf home with one of our guests. And the other half of the batch will be served tonight at our grandson's going-away bash. Since I had almost everything on hand, I spent only $1.10 for bananas and $2.59 for chocolate shell.

You don't have to use regular milk chocolate chips for the shell. Mine were the kind that are filled with peanut butter. I'll bet bittersweet would be really good. And it probably came out to a total of 65 servings of dessert. YUM! Now I'm watching for a sale on chocolate chips!

Coreenhart from Rupert, ID

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Freeze in Skins

Freeze medium ripe, skin-on, bananas in freezer bags. To use, allow bananas to partially thaw at room temperature, 5-10 minutes so skins can be easily removed. These bananas are excellent and handy for baking.

By Rhoda from Rock Rapids, IA

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Frozen Bananas Treat

I eat a banana every day, not only because it's delicious, but they are good for you. On these hot days, it's so refreshing to sit in the swing on the porch and eat a frozen banana.

To freeze them, I peel the banana and wrap it in plastic wrap. When I eat it, I just unwrap a portion of it and have the plastic wrap to hold it by.

By Litter Gitter from NC

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Questions

Here are questions related to Freezing Bananas.

Freezing Bananas

Can I freeze mashed, ripe bananas for future use?

By Sandy from Memphis, TN

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Most Recent Answer

By Lilac04/12/2010

You can freeze them without peeling them if you want but I like to peel them then slice them thinly. They make a wonderful frozen snack and the kids love them that way. I slice them and lay the slices on an acrilic cutting board. A small one. I freeze the slices on the board then put them in plastic bags. This keeps them from sticking together before they freeze.

Disadvantages of Freezing Bananas

What is the disadvantage of freezing? My teacher says we can't freeze bananas.

By Harish

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Most Recent Answer

By thriftyvicki12/05/2012

Yes, you can freeze bananas. You can't thaw them out and eat like you would right out of the peel, but they can still be frozen and used inside other dishes (banana bread, for example) or they make delish treats. You can freeze them right in the peel and then open up the peel, remove them and eat or run through a food processor a bit and have "ice cream". Frozen bananas dipped in chocolate, carob, peanut butter etc. are delicious.

Freezing Bananas

If I dip bananas in lemon juice prior to freezing to prevent them from turning black, will the lemon juice ruin the taste of the banana?

By June

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Frozen Bananas Watery

I pulled my bananas out of the freezer and let them sit out overnight. The next day they were watery; can I still use them for banana cake?

By Becky from New Prague, MN

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Most Recent Answer

By graymare4712/28/2011

The liquid in the bananas, when they thaw, does not affect your recipe. I frequently freeze my bananas and use them for banana bread. Sometimes, I don't even peel them!

Freezing Bananas in Their Skin

If you freeze the bananas in their skins are they still alright to use or are they bad?

By Peg

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Most Recent Answer

By profile.php?id=10000087259041908/15/2011

The best way to freeze bananas for recipes or smoothies is to peel them first, cut up in one inch chunks and toss in a bowl of carbonated lemon-lime beverage briefly (cheaper and less messy than lemon juice and still keeps them from browning so fast) and then spread them on a cookie or baking sheet and freezes solid.

When frozen, put into a ziptop bag. Then you can take out as much as you need for what you are doing and leave the rest for later. Each chunk is about a tablespoon. Great way to use the really ripe bananas that you can catch on sale at the produce section, and you will always have them on hand when you need them.

No, the frozen ones are not good for a fruit salad, so make your fruit salad the day you buy them, but still toss them with some carbonated lemon-lime soda to keep from browning. I can't remember who taught me that but it works for peaches too.

Freezing Bananas in the Peel

How long can bananas in their peel be frozen for?

By Beth

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Freezing Bananas

I have a few bananas that are starting to turn. I want to use them in a recipe, but can't make it till Sunday. If I put the bananas in the freezer will they be alright to make the recipe Sunday?

Tia,
Michele from Syracuse, NY

RE: Freezing Bananas

I freeze bananas often and use them when I make banana bread. I just take them out of the freezer early enough so they are not frozen when I use them. I peel them and put them in Ziploc type bags when I freeze them. (05/09/2007)

By Daved

RE: Freezing Bananas

You sure can freeze bananas. I do it all the time. Toss them in the freezer with the peel on, and defrost them when needed, What I do when thawed is, I snip the end of the banana and squeeze the banana out into a bowl. It is perfect for banana bread. One of our local grocery stores here in Canada, sell their very ripe bananas. You can buy 10 bananas for 9 cents. So I get a bunch and freeze them. I try to be thrifty.

Nancy (05/10/2007)

By skiggyNT

RE: Freezing Bananas

I freeze them and put them in my smoothies with frozen strawberries. I find it easier to peel and wrap in plastic than to carve off the peel. But if you don't need them to be frozen, keep them in their peels like the others said. It is a natural preserver, I like that. (05/10/2007)

By Starchild in VT

RE: Freezing Bananas

Peel them before freezing or live to regret it. (05/10/2007)

By cookwie

RE: Freezing Bananas

I throw my bananas in the freezer peel and all. Before I use them, I just microwave defrost them for a bit if I want them to be partially frozen for smoothies and micro a it longer if they need to be thawed. I then (as others mentioned) cut one end off and push the banana out whole. It is kinda funny how it just "falls out" of the peel in tact. Trying to peel them frozen is a nightmare. Don't even try it. Good luck. (05/10/2007)

By Andjerm

RE: Freezing Bananas

I got mad at myself for buying too many bananas (or not eating enough) so now when they start to turn, I slice them onto an aluminum foil sheet and put the sheet into the freezer for a couple of hours. Then they go into sandwich bags and back into the freezer until needed. One banana is enough for a bowl of cereal or yogurt. I've found that the taste is definitely "ripe" but not overripe, even if the bananas were technically overripe when I froze them. (05/10/2007)

By Nancy from Nokomis

RE: Freezing Bananas

I freeze bananas without the peel. I wrap them in plastic wrap and put in plastic bags. I slice them and they taste like banana ice cream. Really good. I also use them in smoothies. (05/10/2007)

RE: Freezing Bananas

I just put the whole banana with peel in the freezer and my trusty OXO potato peeler has no problem getting the frozen peel off the banana. (05/10/2007)

By Heather

RE: Freezing Bananas

If you are only trying to hold the bananas a few extra days, you can just put them in the refrigerator. The skin will turn black, but the inside will not ripen any further. I have never frozen bananas, but I am certainly going to try it. (05/11/2007)

By bettyboop5382

RE: Freezing Bananas

I just throw the whole bunch in the freezer, unseparated, unpeeled. When I want one I just break it off from the bunch and just set it on the stove (I have a gas stove) while I'm doing other things and soon it's ready to peel. If I'm in a hurry I microwave it for about 10 seconds and peel it. I usually use them frozen in a smoothie or just to eat frozen on a hot day. (05/11/2007)

By Anna

RE: Freezing Bananas

If I am in a hurry, I just put them unpeeled into a Ziploc bag, and then let them sit on the counter to thaw for a few minutes when I am ready to use them. But if I have the time, I peel them, mash them and measure them into Ziploc snack size bags, press as much air out as possible, label them, and freeze them.

I put 1/2 cup into each bag because I regularly make banana bars and the recipe calls for 1/2 cup mashed bananas. That is about one banana. When I find over-ripe ones on sale, I buy several pounds, and instead of mashing them with a fork, I cut them up and put them all in my mixer bowl and turn it on medium speed until they are mashed. (05/11/2007)

By Harlean from AR

RE: Freezing Bananas

I peel bananas, cut them in half, wrap each half in plastic wrap, and then into the freezer. On a hot day, I eat it like a Popsicle very sweet and delicious. Maybe I need to stick a Popsicle stick in each one before I freeze it, hmmm. (05/19/2007)

By katiebkool

Frozen Bananas

First, peel open a banana. Next, place a popsicle stick in the banana. Then, place banana in a ziploc bag. Freeze banana for at least 15 minutes. Next, melt milk chocolate chips in a dish in the microwave. Now, take the banana out of the freezer and out of the bag. Roll banana in melted chocolate. Finally, hold banana in freezer to harden chocolate. Enjoy!

By Maggie from Macungie, PA

RE: Frozen Bananas

Sounds great! Couple of variations I'll probably try as well: cut the bananas in half cross-wise and insert sticks into the cut (blunt) end. If I had lots of bananas I'd probably use one 12-oz. package of semisweet morsels, one can sweetened condensed milk, and 1 1/2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla extract, microwave on MEDIUM for 3 - 5 minutes, stirring once or twice, until chocolate is melted and everything is incorporated. I haven't tried this on bananas but it should work nicely. (I'll try this in a small batch first; if I wasted that much chocolate I could never forgive myself!) (07/02/2007)

By Alph