3 Amazing Ways to Use Frozen Bananas

Freezing bananas is an amazing way to save money and add more convenience to your life. I am always looking for easy and effective ways to save money. So buying nutritious food, like bananas, on sale and preserving them in convenient ways for later use is right at the top of my list. Aside from all the incredible things you can make with them!

In this article, I’ll share my three favorite ways to use frozen bananas, as well as how I prepare and store them.

Why You Should Freeze Bananas

Frozen bananas are one of those versatile foods that can be used for so many things. They add a wonderful velvety texture and flavor to whatever you add them to and can be substituted for dairy, oil, and even eggs in your recipes!

They are also high in potassium, antioxidants, and fiber, giving a nutritional boost to whatever you choose to put them in.

I don’t know about you, but I am always looking for ways to be more efficient with my money. Buying food on sale and preserving it for later use is an incredibly easy and effective way to achieve that goal. I save thousands of dollars a year by doing just that. 

Having healthy, nutritious food on hand whenever you need it at a fraction of the price is wonderful, but it is also very convenient and saves a tonne of time later on prep and clean up. 

And you don’t have to worry about your bananas going off before you use them.

How to Store and Freeze Your Bananas

If I have a bunch of black frozen bananas in the back of my freezer, they are unlikely to be used, which is a waste. Just the thought of thawing and peeling them puts me off cooking with them altogether. I tried peeling them while they were frozen, but it’s not as simple as it sounds.

The best and easiest way I found to freeze my bananas is to peel them, break them into different-sized pieces, and layer them into a large glass or plastic container before I freeze them. That way, you can easily access the right amount you need for whatever recipe you are making. All you have to do is pop them out with a spoon—no more disgusting black mushy banana peels to deal with!

I have found that as bananas freeze, they ripen and get sweeter. So, I always peel mine when they are a little on the greener side.

3 Amazing Ways to Use Your Frozen Bananas

There are so many great ways to use frozen bananas, and these are some of my favorites:

Smoothies / Shakes

My very favorite way to use frozen bananas is in my Chocolate Health Shake, which I make every day as my first meal. For years I used soft, room temperature bananas, but I will never go back. The frozen bananas add an incredibly thick, velvety, and creamy texture to the shake, making it quite decadent! They also improve the temperature of the shake. It is just so easy and convenient; all I have to do is pop them out of the container and away I go!

You can add them to any type of shake you want; the same principles apply. They work great in my green smoothies too!

Ice Cream

I know we all love ice cream and a cold treat on a hot day. But it is getting harder and harder to find real ice cream these days that is not chalk full of chemicals and who knows what else. 

So I began experimenting with frozen bananas as an ice cream base, and it works fantastically! You can add frozen berries, cocoa powder, coffee, peanut butter, you name it, to your base recipe, and it is delicious and way healthier! I like to make mine with coconut milk or organic half and half.

However, you must use pre-frozen bananas; I tried using soft bananas and mixing everything together before freezing, and the end result was completely different.

I know a lot of these recipes instruct you to slice up your bananas before you freeze them, but they just stick together if you do that. Frozen bananas are very easy to slice or chop up later if you don’t have a very powerful blender. I really love the convenience of the larger chucks and how easy they are to work with.

So have fun, play around, make some new flavors of your very own, and nourish your body at the same time!

Baked Goods

Bananas are versatile and can be used in a wide range of recipes, including cookies, quick breads, coffee cakes, bread rolls, chocolate mousse, pancakes, and the list goes on. They also prove to be an excellent substitute for oil and eggs in baked goods, (one ripe banana for every egg in the recipe) . Another reason they’re useful to have on hand in the freezer.

When using frozen bananas in baked goods, it is best to defrost them before using them for the best results. Leave them on the counter for an hour or two, or pop them in the fridge the night before you want to use them.