Guides

What to Do With Overripe Bananas

Brown, spotty bananas are sweeter and softer than yellow ones, which makes them perfect for baking and blending. Don't toss them.

First: store it safely

• Keep bananas at room temperature until ripe. Once ripe, the fridge slows further ripening (the peel darkens, but the inside is fine).
• Freeze overripe bananas peeled, whole or in chunks, in a bag. Frozen bananas keep well for a few months.
• Throw away bananas that are moldy, leaking, or smell fermented.

For more detail, see the FoodSafety.gov cold storage chart.

1. Banana bread

The classic use for very ripe bananas: Banana Bread.

2. Banana oat pancakes

Mash with eggs and oats for simple pancakes: Banana Oat Pancakes.

3. Smoothies

Frozen banana chunks make smoothies thick and cold: Strawberry Banana Smoothie.

4. Overnight oats

Mash half a banana into Overnight Oats to sweeten them.

5. Baked oatmeal

Add mashed banana to Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal or use it in place of some of the honey.

6. Yogurt parfait

Slice ripe banana into a Greek Yogurt Parfait.

Crave recipes that use it

• Banana Bread
• Banana Oat Pancakes
• Strawberry Banana Smoothie
• Overnight Oats
• Apple Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal

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Add your leftovers and whatever else is in your kitchen on the Crave home page. It's free and shows which of its 75 recipes you can make now and what, if anything, you're missing.

Questions

Are brown bananas safe to eat?

Yes, brown spots just mean the banana is riper and sweeter. Discard if moldy or fermented-smelling.

How do I freeze bananas?

Peel first, then freeze whole or in chunks in a sealed bag. Thaw for baking or blend straight from frozen.

How ripe should bananas be for banana bread?

Heavily speckled or mostly brown bananas give the sweetest, moistest bread.