We all buy bananas with the best intentions of eating them before they go bad, but one morning, you walk into the kitchen, and your bananas have gone from ripe to overripe. This isn’t such a tragedy if you have a handful of recipes in your back pocket that make something delicious from leftover, overripe bananas. Read on for some recipes and ideas for using up bananas—that aren’t banana bread.
Bananas Foster
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
“Incredible! I made this for friends and they raved about it! One friend said this was the best dessert she has had in her life!” —Alyson Jones
Salted Caramel Banana Icebox Cake
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
“Perfect as is. We had half a pan leftover so I put it in the freezer. Sliced it first. Everybit as good frozen and don’t have to worry about the bananas going bad” —SturdyStir7726
Banana-Pumpkin Bundt Cake
“This was a nice “bread” cake with not much sweetness.” —Ashley
Frozen Banana Ice Cream
Allrecipes/Kim Shupe
“I was a bit skeptical that this would taste good with only few ingredients, but it turned out much better than expected! I like that it depended on the sweetness of the bananas alone, with no added sugars.” —Kim
Banana Crumb Muffins
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
“OH MY WORD!!!! I rate this 10 Stars!!!!! Made it exactly to recipe and it is outstanding! Hubby said that this is a must recipe for when we open a Bed and Breakfast. ” —Butterfly Flutterby
Homemade Banana Upside-Down Cake
Allrecipes / Julia Hartbeck
“I made the recipe as instructed. The only changes I made were to add a bit of fresh ground nutmeg (because I like it), and I could only fit 2 cut bananas for the topping.” —ThinkSnow
Banana Cream Pie
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
“Fantastic! This will be my new “gift dish.”I used a splash of lemon in the custard and a graham cracker pie crust. Super easy to make!” —Misterbynum
Sour Cream Banana Cake
Kim S
“This turned out wonderful! Only changes I made were to add homemade banana chips & added a few tablespoons more sour cream to the frosting, also used 1/4 cup or so less of sugar.” —cindipeterburs
Banana Cheesecake with Banana Cream Pie Topping
“Soooooooo good!!!!! I just created an account here BECAUSE of this recipe and put it in my favorites! Absolutely delicious! Layers of rich flavors that will have you savoring it!” —Shannon Tallman
Banana Milk Coffee
“I use Stumptown Cold Brew Coffee, and omit the simple syrup. I use very ripe bananas and don’t need any extra sweetness. I’ve tried this with soymilk, coconut milk, and almond milk- all of which were great!” —Olivia
Banana Pancakes
“I needed to use up some bananas, and a double batch of these pancakes was a good choice!” says Allrecipes member Sarah Stanford. “The whole family enjoyed it.”
Southern-Style Baked Banana Pudding
“Delicious, perfect spring dish, just made 1 little change, instead of vanilla wafers, I added hazelnut wafers.” —r7t2cjnry6
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
DOTDASH MEREDITH FOOD STUDIOS
“Yummy! Delicious! I just made it and the taste reminds me of the peanut butter & banana sandwiches my mom used to make me for lunch.” —Lori Haynes
Whole Wheat Banana Waffles
“I made this for 2 people, and I had enough to freeze for another meal. I used bananas that had been frozen, and I just thawed them in the fridge and then mashed them. ” —ACE
The Best Banana Pudding
Dotdash Meredith Food Studios
“Absolutely amazing! I decided to mix things up a little and used cheesecake-flavored pudding instead of vanilla pudding, and it turned out just perfect.” —Nichole
Grandmas Banana Cookies
“For my new addiction, I chocolate dip them :). I make half the recipe to limit how many I eat.” —ritacindy
Easy Banana Brownies
“These are so tasty! A little odd at first because they look so fudgy and the banana flavor pops. I like to drizzle some caramel sauce on mine and it is sinfully delicious!” —tayza
Banana Boats
“This was so fun to make with the kids, not to mention easy and delicious!” —fabeveryday
Peanut Butter and Banana Pancakes
Rachel Marek / Food Stylist: Addelyn Evans / Prop Stylist: Gabriel Greco
“I followed the recipe as written and these came out amazing! They’re the perfect blend of peanut butter and banana that you can individually taste but don’t overpower each other,” says vwturbochick. “They came out on the thicker side which is fine by me! My 2 year old even gobbled them down!”
Banana Pudding Bars
Kim Shupe
“These banana pudding bars have a baked banana filling that features real bananas for optimal flavor,” says recipe contributor Kim. “That filling then sits atop a vanilla wafer crust, and gets finished off with a lightly sweetened whipped cream.”