This post was originally published on October 30, 2012. It was updated on April 28, 2020.
Bananas are a perfect pre-packaged snack. They are tasty, and they come in their own biodegradable packaging. 🙂 However, bananas can go from being perfect for eating to mushy and gross very quickly.
Today, I am going to tell you how to freeze bananas, so you can use them later for things like smoothies, banana bread, and even banana ice cream.
Back in 2012, when I first wrote this post before seriously updating it today, someone gave my mom a box full of very ripe bananas. She shared six bunches with me which meant I had to figure out what to do with 40 bananas. It was definitely a good problem to have, and I ended up freezing almost all of them.
How to Freeze Bananas
Method 1:
To freeze bananas, you need to peel them, cut them into chunks, place them on a baking sheet, and freeze them for a few hours.
After the banana chunks are frozen, put them into zipper bags or some other storage container. Place them back into the freezer until you are ready to use them.
Method 2:
Another way to freeze bananas it to peel them and mash them. I used my mixer to make quick work of this task, but you could do it by hand as well.
After you have mashed the bananas, put them into zipper bags and place them on a baking sheet in the freezer. Once frozen, they will stack nicely in your freezer without the baking sheet.
I recommend putting the amount of mashed bananas you need for your favorite banana bread recipe into each bag. My recipe calls for almost two cups of mashed bananas, so that is how much I placed in each bag.
3 Ways to Use Frozen Bananas
One of our favorite ways to use frozen banana chunks is for smoothies. I usually use a few chunks of frozen banana, another frozen fruit like strawberries, almond milk (A few of us are dairy-free.), and a little cinnamon and stevia.
If you would like to learn a tip for making individual smoothies without having to use the big jar that came with your blender, you can use regular mouth pint or quart mason jars on your blender. Game changer!
Banana bread is a other great way to use frozen bananas. As I mentioned above, I often mash the bananas before freezing them.
However, if that seems like too much work, you can also use frozen banana chunks. Just thaw them out for a little while before using in your favorite recipe.
Another way to use frozen bananas is to make banana ice cream. You can technically make this with just frozen bananas, but adding a little chocolate makes it even better.
Freezing bananas is a great way to preserve overripe bananas when you don’t have the time to do something with them right away.
Here are a few other foods I like to freeze to make meal prep easier.
- How to Freeze Ground Beef
- Quick Freezing Fruits and Vegetables
- Cooking and Freezing Dried Beans
- Make Ahead Thanksgiving Recipes
- Homemade Frozen Pizza
- How to Freeze Pumpkin
- How to Freeze Corn
- How to Freeze Zucchini
Do you have a favorite banana recipe?
