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Banana recipes - Our favourite banana recipes so you can make the most out of your organic bananas

banana recipes

Here's a collection of banana recipes from our weekly newsletters, and some lovely ones you've sent in. If you'd like more please have a look at our recipe index! To find out about our banana producer and order yours click here.

Banana and Walnut Loaf
Banana Muffins
Pan Fried Bananas with Banana Ice Cream
Banana Bread and Butter Pudding
Banana Crumble
Buttery Bananas
Caramelised Bananas
Oaty Banana Cake
Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding
Chocolate Banana Cinnamon Shake
Honey, Banana, Tahini Loaf
Fairtrade Banana Flapjacks
Banana Inspiration

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Banana and Walnut Loaf

75 g soft margarine
110 g caster sugar
1 egg
225 g plain flour
4 medium bananas
Grated orange rind
Grated lemon rind
50 g walnuts

Preheat oven to 180°C. Mix the margarine, sugar and egg together in a large mixing bowl. Sift the flour and baking soda into the mixture. Whisk this all together until thoroughly combined. You may want to use an electric whisk. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas into a pulp. Add this, the lemon, orange rind and the walnuts into the bowl and whisk again. Transfer the mixture into a greased and lined loaf tin. Bake the loaf on the centre shelf on the oven for around 50 minutes or until the loaf is golden and springs back when pressed. Leave to cool in the tin and then turn onto a wire cooling rack. Serve spread with lashings of butter!

Banana Muffins

3 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup apple juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1& 1/4 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup wheat germ
1& 1/2tsp ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup raisins or chopped dates
1/2 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 organic free range egg whites

Preheat oven to 375°F. Blend together the bananas, apple and orange juice, oil, and lemon juice until smooth. Combine the flour, wheat germ, cinnamon, and baking powder in a mixing bowl and then stir this into the banana mixture to make a thick batter. Next stir in the raisins and nuts. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff then gently fold them into the batter. Spoon the batter into 18 greased muffin cups. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the tins immediately.

Pan Fried Bananas with Banana Ice Cream

8 bananas, firm and ripe
50 g butter
3 tablespoons soft brown sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
200 g golden caster sugar
570 ml whipping cream

First prepare the ice cream. Peel and roughly chop 4 of the bananas. Place together with half of the lemon juice and the brown sugar in a food processor and blend. Pour in the cream and continue blending. When smooth, pour the mixture into a plastic freezer box with a capacity of around 1.75 litres (an old ice cream tub is useful). Place in the freezer. As the mixture starts to freeze, ice crystals will form around the outside (usually around 2 hours later). When this happens, beat the ice cream with a fork or electric hand whisk, then return it to the freezer for a further 3–4 hours, or until frozen. Leave to thaw for around 15 minutes before serving to allow it to soften. Peel the remaining bananas and slice them in half lengthways. Melt the butter in a large frying pan, add the rest of the lemon juice and the caster sugar. Once the mixture had started to bubble, add the bananas. Fry over moderate heat for about 10 minutes, turning once, until golden and soft. Serve with dollops of the fresh ice cream.

Banana Bread and Butter Pudding

A gorgeous variation on the classic. Add chopped walnuts, dried apricots or figs for extra texture and richness. Serves 4.

5 slices wholemeal bread, crusts removed
25 g (1 oz) butter
50 g (2 oz) sultanas or raisins
3 bananas, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
450ml milk

Preheat oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas mark 4. Butter the bread slices, and cut into large chunks. Combine the bananas and sultanas, and place half the mixture in a medium ovenproof dish. Combine the sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle one third over the fruit. Cover with half of the bread, then the remaining fruit, and another third of the cinnamon–sugar. Place the rest of the bread pieces on top, with the buttered sides facing up. Beat the eggs and milk together, and pour over the bread. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar on top, and bake for 30–40 minutes, until set.

Banana Crumble

Add more fruits if you like, and serve with cream. Serves 4.

4 large bananas, sliced in rounds
30 g flour
50 g light brown sugar, plus 50 g sugar
80 g oats, plus 1 handful crushed almonds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
50 g cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 200°C, 400°F. Grease a baking dish, and layer the bananas inside. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, then massage in the butter until the mixture is crumbly –— spread over the bananas, pressing down slightly. Bake 10-–15 minutes, until golden. Serve warm.

Buttery Bananas

2 tablespoons butter
2 bananas, peeled
1 pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon brown sugar or maple syrup
2 tablespoons orange juice

Place the bananas on a cutting board and slice in half, down from the top to the bottom. Put the butter in a large frying pan, and melt it over medium heat. Place the bananas in the melted butter, and sprinkle the nutmeg on top. Then sprinkle the brown sugar, or maple syrup, over them too. Cook the bananas for 5 minutes, turning them once. Add orange juice, and let it bubble for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat, and serve the bananas with the sauce on top.

Caramelised Bananas

Bananas
Granulted sugar

Preheat the grill. Peel the banana, and slice it down the middle from top to bottom, so you have two long pieces of banana. Now lay them on a baking sheet, and sprinkle some sugar on top of each slice. Place the tray under the grill and wait until the sugar turns brown. Eat them with ice cream or drizzled with chocolate - or add to porridge, cake, yoghurt, pancakes, eggy bread, whipped cream or fruit salad.

Oaty Banana Cake

More of a sweet bread than a cake - great for desserts, picnics, or breakfast! Try it lightly toasted with butter and a drizzle of honey; or with cream cheese and a dollop of strawberry jam.

200 g brown sugar
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 egg whites, plus 1 whole egg
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
100 g porridge oats
120 ml milk
200 g plain flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 180°C, 350°F, gas 4. Combine the sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl and whisk them together. Combine the banana, oats, and milk in a separate bowl then add them to the sugar mixture, beating well. Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add them to sugar mixture too, beating the ingredients until they are just mixed. Spoon the batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake it for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a wooden stick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool the cake for 10 minutes in the pan on a rack, then remove from pan and cool the cake completely on the rack before slicing it up and eating it all.

Banana Chocolate Bread Pudding

A great, fun recipe for all the family to join in with! Use any kind of bread - like baguette, white loaf, croissant or brioche. Stale bread works very well, so check the bread box before buying new stuff. Serves 4-6.

300-400g of bread, cut into cubes or ripped into chunks (use enough bread to cover the bottom of a large baking dish)
3 eggs
700ml milk
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ripe bananas, peeled and sliced
1-2 handfuls chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat the oven to 180C, 350F, gas4. Spread the bread cubes in the bottom of a large baking dish (like the kind that you use for lasagne). Sprinkle on the banana slices and the chocolate. Put the eggs, milk, sugar, salt and vanilla in a large bowl and whisk until they are all blended. Pour the mixture over the bread. Carefully put the baking dish into the oven and bake for 35 minutes, or until the bread pudding is firm.

Chocolate Banana Cinnamon Shake

My son is currently obsessed with ice cream cones. When I can, this is what I give him as an alternative. It's diary- and sugar-free and is utterly delicious. Drink from an old-fashioned milkshake glass, with a stripy straw. Serves 2.

3 ripe bananas, cut into 1inch hunks and frozen for at least 30 minutes (I always have a few tubs of frozen bananas - I simply ripen a few each week for this purpose and then pop them in the freezer once the skins start to blacken a bit!)
300-400ml soya milk
2 tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon

Simply place all the ingredients in a blender (add 300ml of soya milk to start, then add more if the shake is too thick and won't blend) and whiz up until smooth and creamy. Serve ice cold on a hot day.

Honey, Banana, Tahini Loaf

This recipe is a marriage of my favourite muffin recipe and one of my favourite breakfast dishes: a parfait made of natural yogurt, honey, tahini, banana slices and cinnamon. Dish slices out at breakfast or tea time. Serves 8.

75g wholewheat flour
50g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
a pinch of sea salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra to dust over the top
3 tbsp clear honey
1 large, or 2 smaller, ripe banana(s)
2 tbsp butter, melted
1 medium egg, lightly beaten
100ml natural yogurt
2 tbsp tahini (ensure it's well stirred before measuring out)
1 tbsp oats

Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the first six ingredients in a bowl. Stir in the honey. Finely chop the banana and add, along with the melted butter. Fold in the yogurt and whisked egg. Butter a large, or two mini, loaf tin(s). Place half the batter in the tin. Carefully spoon in half the tahini and swirl through the batter using a knife. Add the remaining batter and do the same thing with the last tablespoon of tahini. Sprinkle the oats over the top and dust with cinnamon. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer or a knife comes out clean. Serve warm with a spread of mascarpone cheese, or serve cooled at room temperature. Best eaten within 48 hours.

Fairtrade Banana Flapjacks

These sugar–free flapjacks are great for children; adults will love them equally. Wash them down with Fairtrade tea or coffee. Makes 12 flapjacks

3 tbsp Wildflower honey
100g butter
3 tbsp sunflower seeds
1 tbsp pumpkin seeds
375g jumbo porridge oats
1 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp sultanas
3 ripe bananas

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C, gas mark 4. Line a square cake dish or baking tin with parchment paper, or use one with a removable base and just give it a little rub of butter to prevent sticking.
2. Put the butter and honey in a saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted.
3. Grind the sunflower and pumpkin seeds in a food processor (leave them whole if you like but ground is better for younger children ‐ it's easier for them to digest). Combine the oats, seeds, sultanas and bananas.
4. Pour the melted butter and honey over. Stir to combine. Spread mixture out evenly to fill the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden in the centre, brown at the edges.
5. Cool for 10 minutes. Cut into 12 squares. Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in the fridge if you don’t eat it up within 24

Banana Inspiration

Bananas are Britain's most wasted food, according to a new survey by Retail Active. Worse, 77% of the people polled said they didn't consider the global impact on the environment when buying or throwing away food. Campaign group Love Food Hate Waste says, "if we stopped wasting the 8.3 million tonnes of food we throw away each year, the effect would be comparable to taking 1 out of 4 cars off the road." Please don't bin. Give these ideas a spin...

The creamist smoothies

Over‐ripe bananas can be cut into ice cube‐sized hunks and frozen – just break into pieces and pop into a freezer‐safe container. The frozen hunks make lusciously thick and creamy smoothies. Blend with natural yogurt and apple juice.

Instant ice cream

Use frozen banana hunks to make an instant, sugar‐free ice cream. Simply blitz with a splash of cream or full‐fat milk in a food processor until thick and creamy. Experiment with flavours; try adding cocoa powder, peanut butter, honey, cinnamon, tahini or vanilla.

Instant ice cream

Whisk 1 large egg until frothy. Add 150g flour, 3 tsp baking powder, 200ml milk (try with coconut milk!) and 1 tbsp sugar. Finely slice 1-2 ripe bananas or slice a whole (or hunks of) frozen banana. Set aside. Warm a large frying pan over high heat. Coat with 1-2 tsp olive or sunflower oil. Drop about 50ml of batter into the pan (enough to make a circle about the size of a tea saucer). Lay a few (4-5) banana slices over the top, gently press into the cake. Turn down the heat. Once the batter becomes bubbly throughout (it will start at the edges and then start to set in the centre), gently flip the pancake and cook on the other side. Continue with remaining batter. Makes 8-12.