Banana Recipes

By Food & Wine
Updated March 07, 2018
Christopher Testani
From the best-ever banana splits to an easy banana ice cream, here are incredible banana recipes for every occasion.
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Blueberry-Banana Pancakes

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Tyler Florence made these pancakes at home one weekend morning with his son Hayden. They're a slight variation on a recipe from his book, Tyler Florence Family Meal.

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Best-Ever Banana Splits

PHOTO © TINA RUPP
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What makes these banana splits so good is the insanely fudgy chocolate sauce coupled with the light, crunchy almond topping.

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Banana Cake

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Is there anything more quintessentially homemade than a perfectly baked banana cake? This delicious treat is equal parts tradition and innovation, with copious amounts of lemon zest for an added punch.

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Banana Pudding with Vanilla Wafer Crumble

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Inspiration comes from the unlikeliest of sources. David Guas, a New Orleans native, remembers this comforting dessert from the buffet spreads at family funerals.

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Old-Fashioned Banana Bread

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This extraordinarily simple and tasty banana bread (with a moist center and crispy crust) is a Ritter family heirloom. "The recipe has been in our family for generations," Lisa Ritter says.

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Roasted Bananas with Spiced Syrup and Candied Nuts

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"We didn't have much in the way of spices growing up, but you can't tie everything to terroir," Michel Bras says about the ingredients available to him in the Aubrac mountains. Here the chef uses an international array of ingredients, studding bananas with cinnamon sticks, vanilla beans and coffee beans, then serving them, roasted, with a cinnamony syrup scented with the Moroccan spice blend ras el hanout.

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Caramelized Banana Tart

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Good store-bought all-butter puff pastry forms the base of this banana tart glazed with a simple caramel sauce.

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Bananas in Coffee Bean Syrup

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For breakfast, Marcia Kiesel tops yogurt with these bananas steeped in warm, bittersweet coffee syrup; they're also delicious over vanilla ice cream for dessert. Make sure the bananas you choose for this recipe are ripe but still firm, so they don't get mushy.

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Grilled Banana Splits with Coffee Ice Cream and Mocha Sauce

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Pastry chef Johnny Iuzzini describes his home cooking as "lazy." For these splits, he marinates bananas in rum, coats them with sugar, and grills them until the outsides get hard and crackly.

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Banana Layer Cake with Mascarpone Frosting

© Quentin Bacon
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Mascarpone is an Italian cheese that's superrich, delicate and creamy. Here, it's simply blended with confectioners' sugar to create a sublime, snow-white frosting. For the best results, try to buy mascarpone that's very fresh.

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Chocolate Chip and Banana Muffins

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Like banana bread, these especially moist muffins by Grace Parisi are a great way to use up overripe bananas. Chopped toasted pecans would be a delicious addition too.

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Easy Banana Ice Cream with Milk Chocolate Chunks

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We'd be hard-pressed to find a better dessert combination than chocolate chunks and banana ice cream. A refreshing finale in any season, this variation is simplicity at its finest, using only a handful of ingredients.

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Banana-Nutella S'Mores

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A nostalgic staple of adolescence, S'Mores are made that much tastier with the added globs of Nutella and roasted hazelnuts.

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Dulce de Leche Roasted Banana Split

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Certainly not skimping of flavor, this mouthwatering recipe combines cinnamon sticks and dark rum, topped with vanilla ice cream for a cooling sensation.

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Milk Chocolate Banana Pie

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This incredible pie has a hazelnut crust, which balances out the sticky, sweet filling.

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Banana Sticky Toffee Pudding


Christopher Testani
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Overripe bananas add flavor and decadence to this classic cake-like dessert. Serve with unsweetened whipped cream to balance the sweet dates and toffee sauce.

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