If you have a lot of bananas that are almost ripe but you can’t finish them all, instead of throwing them away, try freezing them. Frozen bananas make delicious shakes, and smoothies, and can also be used in baking. If you plan to make banana shakes or smoothies, cut the bananas into rounds and place them on a baking sheet to freeze. If you plan to use bananas in baking, it’s easier to freeze them whole.
Freeze Sliced Bananas for Shakes and Smoothies
Wait until the bananas are ripe before freezing them. When a banana is ripe, its skin will turn yellow. You can wait until dark spots appear on the skin or turn brown before freezing, but do not freeze green bananas.
Peel off the banana skin. Do not freeze bananas with their skins on, as the peels will turn black and become slimy when frozen. Although you can peel the skin off with a knife, it’s still a lot more troublesome than peeling a fresh banana.
Cut the banana into 2.5 cm thick rounds. If you cut the bananas thicker, the freezing time will be slightly longer, but you will spend less time slicing the bananas, so the thickness of the slices is up to you. You don’t have to be too precise when it comes to thickness when cutting bananas.
Arrange the banana slices in a layer on a baking sheet. Space the banana slices as far apart as possible so they don’t stick together after freezing. If you have a lot of banana slices to freeze at once, prepare a few extra baking sheets.
- To make it easier to remove the banana slices from the baking sheet, you can line the baking sheet with baking paper, but even without baking paper, the banana slices will easily separate from the baking sheet.
- Spread the banana slices on a baking sheet and freeze them to prevent the bananas from sticking to hard clumps after freezing.
Freeze the bananas for one hour, or until firm. Place the baking sheet covered with banana slices into the freezer compartment of the refrigerator. You may need to slightly adjust the position of other foods in the freezer to place the baking sheet. Check the status of the banana slices after an hour. If the banana slices are not frozen hard yet, keep freezing them and check again after half an hour.
- Choose a banana and poke it with your hand. If it feels soggy, it means you need to continue freezing.
Put the banana slices into date-labeled bags. Prepare a plastic freezer bag and add banana slices. Squeeze the air out of the bag and seal the bag tightly. Write the day’s date on the Ziploc bag so the banana slices don’t sit out for years.
- You can use a spatula to lift the banana slices off the baking sheet.
If you use frozen banana slices to make smoothies or milkshakes, try to use them within 6 months. Next time you’re making a drink in your blender, grab a ziplock bag from the refrigerator grab a handful of banana slices, and throw them in. Turn on the blender and you have a smooth, sweet cold drink.
Freeze Bananas for Baking
Allow bananas to ripen or until overripe. Frozen bananas will not continue to ripen, so green bananas cannot be used for freezing. Bananas suitable for freezing must have yellow skin or black spots. Overripe bananas are the best choice for baking because they are very sweet, so they can be frozen even if the skin turns brown throughout.
- Bananas that are overripe and watery cannot be reused and should be thrown away.
Peel the banana. Bananas cannot be frozen with the skin on! When frozen, banana peels turn black, become slippery, and look disgusting. At that point, you can only peel off the skin with a knife. So it’s better to peel it off now, you just move your fingers and save yourself a lot of trouble later.
- If you have a compost bin, throw banana peels in it.
You can freeze whole bananas or puree them and freeze them. If frozen whole, the bananas can be easily pureed in the future when thawed. You can mash the bananas now if you like. Place the bananas in a bowl and mash them with a fork until they turn into a paste.
- If you want to maintain the existing color of the mashed banana, add a few drops of lemon juice. The mashed banana will be used for baking, so the color is not important.
- If you have a lot of bananas to puree, it’s easier to use a food blender, but bananas are soft enough to mash with your hands.
Freeze bananas in freezer bags labeled with the date. Spoon mashed bananas into freezer bags, or place whole bananas in freezer bags. Before sealing the freezer bag, squeeze as much air out of the bag as possible. Use a permanent marker to write the day’s date on the bag so you can easily figure out when to freeze the bananas. Finally, place the bag in the freezer.
If using frozen bananas for baking, be sure to use them within six months. An hour before you start baking, take the bananas out of the refrigerator and place them on a plate on the counter to defrost. Bananas that have been frozen for more than 6 months cannot be eaten anymore and must be thrown away.
- Thawed bananas can be turned into cakes or muffins.
- Whole frozen bananas defrost and are easily pureed with a fork.
Tips
- If you like a healthy dessert, turn frozen bananas into ice cream. Coat frozen banana slices in melted chocolate and return to the freezer. This chocolate banana chip is so delicious.