I hopped on Instagram Stories this week and asked you all if I was crazy to buy all these bananas. 🙂 I’ve actually done it before, and was surprised to find that MANY of you do it too!
Here’s the story…
I was at Ebenezer Grocery Outlet, using my half-off deal from AvidDeals. (P.S. These usually go on sale on Thursday mornings around 7am, but its not every week!)
I happened to see cases of bananas for $8, and they were a little brown. Then right next to them, I found a case of perfectly yellow bananas, not even close to over-ripe yet for $10. I’ve never seen such nice bananas at this price, and I knew I didn’t have any bananas in the freezer for smoothies, so I grabbed it.Â
By the way, another reader messaged me and told me she finds them at Root’s for $3 sometimes! I have also found cases at Glennwood Foods and Green Dragon, so check those places too.
I then asked my followers how they think I should use my plethora of bananas. 😉 And a special thank you to everyone who responded with some fantastic ideas that I would have never thought of!! And some new recipes that we tried right away.
I compiled them all into a post so you can enjoy the ideas too. Enjoy!
8 Ways to Use Bananas
Sometimes I find a bulk box of bananas at Glennwood Foods, or Ebenezer Groceries, or Root's Farm Market or Green Dragon. You can pay anywhere from $3-10 for a 20-40 pound box of bananas when you find these deals!
If I have room in my freezer, I often decide to go ahead and purchase them at this price, especially if I haven't bought any in awhile.
But 40 pounds of bananas is a lot of bananas!
So here are 8 ways that I love to use them (some ideas have been shared by my readers for which I am very thankful!!!)
Freeze the Bananas
Freezing bananas is simple and efficient. I usually peel the bananas, and line them up in a gallon size freezer bag, but you can also cut them into 1 inch chunks, to make it easier to use them in smoothies. I prefer the whole banana method because its easier to take out 1-2 bananas when I'm making my banana bread recipes.
Here are some recipes that you can enjoy using frozen bananas in:
- banana bread
- smoothies
- banana milkshakes
- banana ice cream
- cornbread (did you know you can replace an egg with 1 banana?)
- bananas foster (serve over vanilla ice cream)
Really, I think you can use frozen bananas in place of fresh ones for almost any recipe that you would cook or bake with.
TIP >> I make sure to line my bananas up flat and carefully, so the bags can be easily stacked in the freezer for long-term storage.
Zucchini Banana Pineapple Bread
There are so many banana bread recipes you can make, just do a quick search on Pinterest or look in your favorite cookbook, but this one is our favorite. We originally found it in the Mennonite Country-Style Recipes cookbook, and adapted it to add some crushed pineapple. We were pleasantly surprised with the moist results!
Chocolate Covered Banana Popsicles
My mom made these for us every summer as a special treat. So simple too!! I think she bought a little packet mix usually found in the grocery store at the bananas, but the process is actually quite simple.
1. Cut the bananas in half.
2. Slide a popsicle stick in the bottom, where you cut the banana.
3. Freeze the bananas on a tray.
4. Melt some chocolate chips.
5. Dip the frozen bananas in the chocolate.
6. Freeze again.
Yum! A healthy and refreshing treat on a hot summer day!
You can roll them in chopped nuts too, like in this recipe.
Banana Pancakes
I love this recipe that a reader shared with me. It actually reminded me of a recipe my sister-in-law once gave me, but hers included some coconut flour. Experiment! See what works for you!
- 2 eggs
- 1 banana
- 1 tsp cinnamon
Bananas Foster
Oh my goodness, bananas foster is a must-make. I just made it recently for the first time, in fact I think it was over the pandemic for something fun, but it was SOOOOO worth it. I wish I would have done this years ago. Absolutely amazing!!
DIY Banana Face Mask
I would have never thought of this idea on my own, until a reader shared it with me. She said she has spa nights with her daughter, and they do banana face masks! Its such a simple recipe that I think we're going to try this on our next mother-daughter night. 🙂
- 1 banana
- 2 Tbsp honey
I found this blog post that gives you some other simple recipes for face masks with banana, including some that are specifically designed to help wrinkles and acne. Who knew!!!
Campfire Banana Boats
This is a hidden secret recipe for camping in my opinion. Not many of my friends have heard of it, so every time we go camping, we love to introduce it to whoever we are with! Definitely a crowd pleaser, and fun for the kids as they can make their own.
- Basically you set a banana in tin foil and slice it down the middle, but not the entire way through.
- Then, stuff it with marshmallows, chocolate chips, peanut butter, caramel or whatever you'd like really!
- Wrap it up in the foil and set it in the fire, or next to the fire, until its melted and gooey.
And no worries, if you aren't a campfire, we've done these over our grill or you could easily pop them in the oven for a few minutes too!
Banana Ice Cream
When I asked on Instagram Stories for ideas on what to do with my plethora of bananas, the most common answer by far was banana ice cream!! Probably because its so simple and delicious.
You can blend a banana, peanut butter, and milk, and then add a few chocolate chips and you're good to go! Last time we tried it, we added some fresh mint leaves from our garden, then we tried some basil leaves too. So much fun!
The blog post linked here was shared with me by a reader, and I love how creative the options are. We'll certainly be trying a few of these as we continue to use up our frozen bananas. 🙂
Extra Savings at Grocery Stores
Be sure to check AvidDeals for half-off offers to local discount grocery stores. I bought my deal for $10, used it for $20, so that basically made this case of bananas FREE!
You’ll also find deals for grocery stores like:
- Willow Creek
- Weiser’s
- Sensenig Poultry
- Weaver’s Nuts
