I was freezing some of our brown bananas the other day and decided to take a few snapshots of the process and do a quick little “How to Freeze Bananas” tutorial. Why? Because while a lot of people know you can make banana bread with brown bananas instead of letting them go to waste, you don’t always have time to make banana bread right when the bananas are ready, and sometimes you don’t have enough bananas all at one time. Freezing your overripe bananas will help you reduce your food waste even further, and makes sure you have ripe bananas on hand all the time for things like banana bread, smoothies, and more.
Can I Freeze the Bananas Whole?
You may be asking yourself, “Can I just toss the banana in the freezer, peel and all?” and the answer is yes, but that’s not the best way to do it, IMHO. While you can freeze a whole banana with the peel, the banana becomes very soft after thawing, making it very difficult to peel without making a mess. Just go ahead and peel it first and thank yourself later.
I also prefer to slice my bananas before freezing, instead of freezing the whole peeled banana, because it makes them easier to measure (thaw only what you need), faster to thaw, and easier to blend into a smoothie.
How Long do Frozen Bananas Last?
Frozen bananas will continue to brown in the freezer, just at a much slower rate than on the counter top. I find that they’re best when used within 3 months of freezing, but your milage may vary. To make sure you’ve got plenty of ways to use those frozen bananas before they get too brown and shriveled, I’ve got several recipe ideas for you listed below.
What Kind of Container Should I Use?
I like to use zip top freezer bags because they can hold a varying amount, I can remove as much air as possible, and it’s easy to write the contents and date on the front. If you prefer to not use plastic, you can freeze your bananas in glass meal prep containers or glass jars and simply add some freezer tape or a freezer label for writing the contents and date. Always write the contents and date on your frozen goods! :)
How to Keep Frozen Bananas from Turning Brown
Bananas continue to turn brown in the freezer, just like they do at room temperature, but at a much slower rate. To slow the browning almost to a halt, you can dip the frozen banana slices into lemon juice before freezing, but that’s just waaaaay too much work, IMHO. Instead, I freeze the banana slices as-is, and just make sure to use them within a few months. Nothing lasts forever and you’re already extending their life a lot by freezing them.
How to Thaw Frozen Bananas
You can use the frozen bananas in recipes while still frozen (see list below) or thaw and mash them before adding to a recipe. To thaw the frozen bananas, simply leave them out at room temperature for about 30 minutes. Or, if you froze them in a freezer bag, you can drop the freezer bag (still tightly closed) in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes.
Thawed frozen bananas will let off some liquid. You’ll want to stir this liquid into the bananas as you mash them. Mashed bananas are often used in recipes to add moisture, so you don’t want to lose that liquid that seeps from the bananas as they thaw.
What Can You Make with Frozen Bananas?
You can make so many yummy things with your frozen bananas! Here are some ideas:
Uses for frozen bananas (not thawed):
Uses for frozen bananas (thawed and mashed)
How to Freeze Bananas
Ingredients
- 1 brown banana (or more)
- parchment paper
- baking sheet
- freezer safe containers
Instructions
- Peel the banana(s) and cut them into ½-inch thick slices.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay the banana slices on the lined baking sheet in a single layer. Freezing the bananas individually first helps prevent them from sticking together in one large clump when frozen.
- Freeze the bananas for 1-2 hours, or until solid, then transfer to an air-tight, freezer-safe container, like a freezer bag, glass meal prep container, or glass jar. Label the container with the contents and date.
- For best results, use within three months.
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Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Freeze Bananas – Step by Step Photos
Peel your banana(s) and slice into ½-inch thick slices.
Line a baking sheet with parchment, then lay the banana slices on the lined baking sheet in a single layer. Freezing them individually like this first prevents them from sticking together in one large clump in your container later. Transfer the banana slices to the freezer and freeze for 1-2 hours, or until the slices are solid.
Once solid, transfer the banana slices from the baking sheet to an air-tight, freezer-safe container, like a freezer bag, glass meal prep container, or glass jar. Keep frozen up to 3 months for the best quality.
Thank you friend gave me alot of bananas . So I’m freezing them. For fana as nut bread. We love banana nut bread. So thank you for this and sharing it
Fastest, easiest way to freeze bananas for later use is to peel and place bananas in ziploc, then gently press bananas flat with palm and press air out of bag. I’m able to smoosh and evenly distribute a thinnish layer of smashed banana. Easy to store in freezer and when I need banana I’m able to break into chunks as needed. Faster than cutting into coins and skips the tedium of cutting and sheet freezing coins.
That is so smart! Thank you for sharing!
Did you know you can blend up the peel as well for use in cakes and muffins. Take off the hard ends first. It actually gives more fibre to the cake and makes it a bit richer. Saw a taste test done with children – one cake made with skins and one made without skins and the preference was the cake with the skins. Try it for yourself.
Thank you for this! We freeze bananas all the time and I’ve learned the hard way that peeling is necessary.
Slicing them is a revelation to me. (Duh). I’ve always peeled and frozen whole but run into the problem that they end up sticking together and sometimes freeze into a solid lump which is annoying.
I would also recommend using several smaller bags instead of one big one, which is what we’ve done and I think contributes to the frozen banana block problem.
I like to peel mine, snap in half, then add to my banana bag in the freezer. 2 halves = 1 banana. Bananas seem to brown as they get older, so I use up the brown ones first. Great for smoothies, unthawed. I have a vitamix, which chews up large banana chunks no problem.
Wow. This is way more complicated than it needs to be.
I freeze them whole, in the skins. To use, just thaw them out in a bowl and then snip the end off. The inside banana slides right out. No mess, no fuss. No unnecessary plastic waste, they don’t get freezer burn as quickly and the peel can go straight into the compost bin.
I’m too lazy to even bother slicing my bananas before freezing. I’ve found that breaking the bananas in half is good enough portion sizing for my needs. Plus they’re decently easy to slice up frozen once they’ve softended up for a few minutes. So…. I guess just delaying the work until later. 😂
Yes, not many people know that freezing banana helps to retain the nutrient content of it. Keep sharing useful information like this. Good work!!
Love frozen bananas for my smoothies. Not only do they thicken, but function as ice cubes. I rarely add ice cubes to my smoothies. Like you, I peel and slice before freezing. I always slice them into 8 pieces: cut in half, then cut each half in half again, then halve each section again. Takes guess work out of measuring 1 banana.
Yes–I came here to say the same thing! I make a breakfast shake every day and using only frozen banana slices (instead of fresh) makes it taste more like a milkshake which is a delightful trick.
Bananas are also an item that I go through the most quickly, so freezing them (I started doing this early-COVID) really stretches out how frequently I need to go grocery shopping.
I make ice cream with my frozen banana pieces. Just put them in a food processor, add a little maple syrup or honey and some heavy cream or half and half. Pulse until smooth. You can use any frozen fruit as long as the pieces are small.
Same! Why would I ever use my over ripe banana any other way? 😂 My go to flavor mix-ins are cocoa powder and peanut butter. I’ve found normal milk is just about as good as cream. Plus it sets up faster! Maybe because of the lower fat content? But if I have cream, I’m definitely using it. 😉
Been doing it just as you do for the past several years–I fix lots of smoothies and it’s wonderful both to cut waste and to have some on hand when I run short before shopping day. I always use them up in a few weeks after freezing. I consider frozen bananas to be free when I otherwise would have had to add them to the compost pile.
I also use frozen bananas in smoothies!
When I was single and living on my own for the first time, I called my mom and left a message on her answering machine asking if you could freeze bananas. Later I got home to a message of her singing “Yes! You can freeze bananas! 🎵” (clearly to the tune of “Yes! We have no bananas” 😂) Thank you for dusting off that memory today!
Hahaha, I love that so much! :D
Yes, or you could just peel cut throw in the bag and then bang it on the floor like a crazy person to separate when needed..😆 my mistake for not freezing before throwing in the bag. Oops.
Hahaha, I think we’ve all been there!
Haha! When I was newly on my own and didn’t have a computer or internet, I froze a who,e banana without peeling or slicing. It was a very bad idea. I learned to peel and cut them first by trial and error. Then I passed my knowledge onto my kids. We always have frozen bananas in the freezer for use in smoothies.