Freezing Bananas

Why would you freeze a banana? To save it for later, of course! No need to throw away bananas when they get too ripe to eat. Even when they are completely brown you can still freeze them to use later.

There are multiple ways you can freeze bananas and all of them work splendidly. You could simply put the whole, unpeeled banana(s) in a freezer bag. Toss them in the freezer. The peel will turn completely brown and they look absolutely awful. When you want to use them, they are easy to peel when frozen and just as easy when they are thawed.

You could peel them before you put them in the freezer bag to freeze. Works just as well, although I think you need to use them sooner, since they are more susceptible to freezer burn without the peels to give them that little extra protection.

Another option is to slice them up and arrange them in a single layer on a sheet cake pan or cookie sheet. Cover with plastic and put in the freezer for just long enough to freeze them, about an hour or two.

Transfer the frozen banana slices to a freezer bag and store it in the freezer. Since they are individually frozen slices, you'll be able to take out as much or as little as you want, instead of having a frozen mass of banana.

Frozen bananas are great when making banana smoothies. You won't need to use as much ice, since the bananas are frozen. I really am not a fan of ice in my smoothies. I'd much rather use frozen fruit. Sometimes I buy the bananas and other fruit just so I can freeze it for smoothies later.

Banana Smoothie

1 or 2 frozen bananas (or equivalent in slices)

1 cup milk (or more if you like it thinner)

1 teaspoon vanilla

*1 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Combine in a blender and whir it up!

Variations:

Chocolate Banana Smoothie - use chocolate milk instead!

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie - add about a tablespoon of peanut butter

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie - use chocolate milk and add a tablespoon of peanut butter

Add thawed frozen bananas to pancake batter. Make as you would any other pancake. Delicious!!

Possibly my favorite use for frozen bananas is to make Banana Bread. Thawed bananas slide easily out of their peels. I put them in a bowl and use a potato masher to mash them. They are so much easier to mash after they've been frozen than when they are fresh. So easy to stir into banana bread batter. Mmmmm.....

Try freezing bananas and use them in this wonderful Banana Bread recipe from the Worldwide Ward Cookbook. This recipe is from the Secret Recipes Cookbook.