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.
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
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
Kids love to make their own snacks! Poke the handle end of plastic spoons into bananas and freeze them for about half a day.
By Jodi from Aurora, CO
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
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
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
Can I freeze mashed, ripe bananas for future use?
By Sandy from Memphis, TN
By Lilac
04/12/2010
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.
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
By graymare47
12/28/2011
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!
If you freeze the bananas in their skins are they still alright to use or are they bad?
By Peg
By profile.php?id=100000872590419
08/15/2011
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.
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.
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
By Alph
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