Quick & Easy Ways To Use Up Black Bananas

Use up those black and overripe bananas with these clever zero-waste ideas and recipes to help you cut your food waste – from cookies to pancakes, smoothies and more.

The best way to avoid food waste is to plan ahead and use up food before it has a chance to go off. But life happens. Sometimes, it feels like that bunch of bananas in your fruit bowl went from not quite ripe, and not yet edible, to overripe and no longer edible in the blink of an eye.

If you’ve ever wondered whether a very spotty banana is still usable, then worry not. As long as there’s no visible mould and it doesn’t smell fermented or unpleasant, a banana that’s gone black on the outside is usually absolutely fine on the inside – and often at its best for baking.

Black bananas are the best bananas to use in cooking and baking, as they are so much sweeter than just ripe bananas. This is because a lot of the starch has been converted to natural fruit sugars. It also means you can often use less added sugar in recipes, which is always beneficial.

But what to make with them? Well, I’m always on the lookout for something quick and easy to make with black bananas. As such, I’ve come up with a few tried-and-tested techniques and recipes that my family loves, that are perfect for using what you already have, and can be easily adapted to whatever you have in your cupboard.

I’ve also found some great recipes online that I come back to again and again.

Clever Recipes To Use Up Black Bananas

So don’t bin those bananas and let’s get baking with my tried and tested recipes:

Zero-Waste Banana Cookies

Something I like to make from black bananas are these vegan, and gluten-free banana oat cookies, which are made using only four basic ingredients. They take 15 minutes to make from scratch, and I’ll bet you have many of the ingredients in your cupboard already!

Because the bananas provide sweetness and moisture, and the oats act as the structure, there’s no need for flour, eggs, or sugar in this recipe. This makes it ideal for low-waste, last-minute baking.

They are a bit bland as a stand-alone cookie, so I use the recipe as a base for whatever other ingredients I have to hand that need to be used up.

Some dried apricots or raisins that need to be used up? Yup. Some desiccated coconut reaching its expiry date? Yup. Some chocolate chips found lurking at the back of the cupboard? Toss them in! It’s a great way to use up black bananas and all the other odds and ends that need using up, too.

Ingredients

• 2 large black bananas
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 240 g oats
• Any additions you want to add (e.g. coconut, chocolate chips, dried apricots, raisins, etc).
• 1 pinch salt
• A 12-capacity muffin tray to keep your cookies in a circular shape

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C / Gas Mark 6 / 400°F
2. In a large bowl, mash the peeled black bananas with a fork until it forms a paste.
3. Add the peanut butter and mix well with the fork to combine.
4. Add in your oats a little bit at a time, mixing well until it’s all combined. If your bananas are on the small side, you may not need to use all of the oats.
5. Add in your salt and any additional ingredients you want to use, and mix well.
6. Spoon a little bit of the mixture into each muffin hole (to around 1cm depth) until all 12 holes are filled.
7. Place in the oven for 5-10 minutes until gently browned on top.
8. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before eating, or transfer to a tub in the fridge for storage for up to three days.

Whatever you’ve got to hand, these make a great zero-waste snack at any time of the day.

Flourless Banana Pancakes

If you’ve got a solitary banana left in the fruit bowl that’s gone black, then don’t bin it. Just grab two eggs and get frying with this easy flourless banana pancake recipe.

The black banana acts as a substitute for flour and milk in this recipe. The texture isn’t 100% pancake-like, but it’s pretty darn close. Think French Toast, and you’re pretty much there, texture-wise!

Ingredients

• 1 Black Banana
• 2 Eggs
• 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon of Desiccated Coconut
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil for frying

Method

1. With a fork, mash up your banana until fairly smooth. You still want some lumps in it, otherwise your pancake will be a little flat!
2. In a separate bowl, beat your eggs, then add them to the mashed banana.
3. Add the cinnamon and desiccated coconut and mix well.
4. Gently heat the coconut oil in your frying pan until hot and fry your pancakes.
5. Serve with maple syrup or honey.

Notes On Cooking

An important word on frying these bad boys. Because they don’t contain any flour, they handle a bit differently to their floury counterparts.

You want to fry the pancakes very, very slowly, on a very low heat. Slow and steady definitely wins the race here.

Aim for around 4 minutes on the first side, but do check to ensure they’re not burning on the bottom. They do colour up darker than pancakes made with flour, so don’t be alarmed if they quickly begin to look a little on the dark side!

Once the pancakes have started bubbling on the top a little, you then want to get in with a spatula and flip them over. If you’ve cooked them for long enough, they will flip over in one piece. Promise! 

You’ll then want to cook them for around 3 more minutes before serving. As they take a little longer to fry than normal pancakes, I find it best to have multiple pancakes on the go. Around three or four to a pan helps reduce cooking time and saves energy!

Vegan Banana Ice-Cream

If you’re looking for an easy and vegan-friendly way to use up black bananas, then try this vegan banana ice cream recipe. All it needs is one frozen banana to make, or you can get creative and add any other ingredients you may have.

This is also a great option if your bananas are teetering on the edge, but you don’t have the time or energy at that precise moment to bake with them. Simply peeling and freezing them buys you time and stops them from ending up in the bin.

It doesn’t taste like full-fat sugar-laden ice cream, but if you’re looking for something light and healthy, then it’s a delicious and refreshing way to use up those overripe bananas lingering in your fruit bowl. Just make sure you peel the bananas before popping them in the freezer, as otherwise they are a pain to peel when frozen.

Ingredients

• One frozen banana
• Optional: frozen berries, peanut butter and/or dark chocolate.

Method

• Remove your banana from the freezer about 15-20 minutes before you start, unless you have a really powerful food processor.
• Place the frozen banana in a blender or food processor, and give it a whizz for a minute or two until smooth and creamy.
• Eat straight away – do not refreeze. This is because the banana has already been frozen and then partially defrosted.

Optional Variations

I like the taste of this ice cream on its own, but you can add extras to it to create a whole different dessert. Some of my favourites include berry banana ice cream and peanut butter, dark chocolate and banana ice cream.

• For berry banana ice cream, add the banana and a large handful of frozen berries to your food processor, and pulse for a couple of minutes or until you’ve got a smooth consistency. This one is my kids’ favourite!
• For peanut butter, dark chocolate, and banana ice cream, add a teaspoon of peanut butter to your food processor along with the banana, and blend for around two minutes, or until you reach a smooth consistency. Slice up a square of dark chocolate into small slivers and sprinkle over the top for a decadent treat.

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Banana Bread

Whilst 2020 was the year we reached peak banana bread, there’s still very much a place for banana bread today. I like this chocolate banana bread recipe from Butternut Bakery – it’s never failed me yet.

Banana bread can also be easily made vegan. Mostly it’s achieved by adding extra banana, as banana acts as a binder. This conveniently replaces the need for eggs, whilst enhancing the banana taste.

If you’d rather not work out vegan swaps, then Simply Veganista has a great recipe for vegan banana bread, as well as heaps of variations. This includes Blueberry Banana Oat Bread, Buckwheat Banana Bread, and Carrot Banana Bread, should you be looking for a little variation!

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Fruit Smoothies

Fruit smoothies are a great way to use up any black or overripe bananas you have lurking in your fruit bowl. Plus, you can generally add most other fruits or vegetables you have that have also seen better days to make a tasty and refreshing drink.

Even better, you can freeze any fruit until you want to use it. When making smoothies, there’s no need to defrost it before use – you just need to bung it in your blender. I keep my fruit in a reusable freezer bag until I’m ready to make smoothies, for a zero-waste approach.

When it comes to using bananas, I particularly love this vegan banana smoothie recipe from Cooking With Elo. It’s super simple to make, and needs just one overripe banana and a handful of ingredients you probably already have in your fridge. And if you’re not vegan, you can easily substitute the ingredients.

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Banana & Chocolate Muffins

Finally, for a bit of a variation on the banana bread theme, banana and chocolate muffins are another quick and easy way to use up any bananas that are turning black.

This muffin recipe from BBC Food calls for 3 ripe bananas, so it’s ideal if you have a bunch of unused bananas in your fruit bowl. They can be ready in just 20 minutes, and can even be stored in the freezer for up to two months.

Your Tried And Tested Recipes

What are your tried and tested recipes? I’d love to hear – do share in the comments below!