Name: Sweet Caramelized Bananas
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 6 min
Total time: 8 min
Cuisine: bananas
Ingredients: 2 ripe bananas; 2 tablespoons salted butter; 1 tablespoon agave nectar (honey or maple syrup); 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

This is an overhead image of a yellow mug with vanilla ice cream and caramelized bananas. An antique spoon is scooping some of the bananas. The mug sits on a white counter. — Caramelized Bananas are so sweet and simple to make in under 10 minutes! Once you make these fried bananas, you’ll put them on everything!

Caramelized bananas are the the best sweet treat for… pretty much everything! I can’t stop coming up with possibilities for how to eat and how to serve these bananas!

Caramelized Bananas are hard not to love!

So simple! We’re talking only four ingredients, people!! Plus it all comes together in under 10 minutes. What’s not to love?!

Really quick! Did you read what I said above? Under 10 minutes! It’s a quick treat that really elevates any dessert or dish you’re making!

Perfect on anything! I’m giving you tons of ideas below but truthfully, once you make these caramelized bananas, you’ll be frying them up to plop them on top of everything!

How ripe should my bananas be?

I feel like with bananas the inclination is to go for spotty, super ripe bananas because they’re sweeter. Using spotty bananas for caramelized bananas can make for a whole mushy situation.

Personally I like using bananas that are no longer green and have been yellow for a few days. It’s ok if the bananas have some brown on them but you don’t want to use the same kind of spotty over-ripe bananas as you would for banana bread.

Ingredients and substitutions for caramelized bananas

Bananas. Uh, don’t skip or sub this. We are here for the caramelized bananas so this is the main ingredient!!

Butter. Mm, we’re using two tablespoons to fry up those caramelized beauties. If you prefer to do ghee, vegan butter or refined coconut oil, those would probably work too!

Cinnamon. It’s adds to the warm, cozy, caramelized vibe! You could play around with pumpkin pie spice or even a pinch of paprika if you want caramelized bananas with a kick!

Agave Nectar. I mean, the bananas are pretty sweet to begin with but the extra tablespoon adds so much. Not only does it make them extra sweet, perfect for topping… anything! The agave nectar plus the butter and cinnamon also makes for the perfect delicate sweet sauce you can spoon on top of your bananas. If you don’t have agave nectar, you can sub in honey or maple syrup!

This is an overhead image of two bananas sitting on a white counter. The bananas are cut into 1/2 inch rounds.

This is a side view looking into a pan with bananas frying in butter. The top of the bananas are raw and haven't been sautéd yet.

How to make caramelized bananas

Cut the bananas. Easy peasy. You’ve done this before! You just slice them into little rounds about 1/2 inch thick.

Heat the pan. We’re putting a large pan over medium-high heat and melting the butter.

Fry the bananas. Place the bananas in a single layer in the melty butter and fry them for 3 minutes per side. You want them to be super golden brown and caramelized. I found it easiest to slide a butter knife under the bananas and used my fingers to help flip. I was having issues with my tongs and spatula but a butter knife worked like a charm!

Drizzle and sprinkle. Toward the end of frying, you’re going to sprinkle those bad boys with cinnamon and drizzle with agave nectar. This is going to give these bananas such a cozy, warm, sweet flavor and then extra sweet cinnamon butter at the bottom of the pan is perfect for spooning on top of your bananas!

Serve! I’m giving you tons of ideas below of how I like these caramelized bananas. I can’t wait to hear how you like to serve them!

How to serve caramelized bananas

Pancakes. We’ve all seen freshly cut bananas on top of pancakes but what about caramelized bananas?! I mean that’s an extra special kinda thing that is nothing short of delicious.

Ice Cream. Probably my favorite way! Vanilla ice cream with caramelized bananas and drizzled with the drippings of the sweet cinnamon butter from the pan is pure heaven. You can’t convince me otherwise.

Crepes. My favorite kind of crepe is loaded with a giant mound of nutella. But you know what else would be kind fab shoved in there with the nutella? Yep – these caramelized bananas.

Yogurt. Yogurt can get boring! Bump up the indulgence and give yourself something to look forward to with some caramelized bananas on top! Too delish!

Oatmeal. Mmm a warm bowl of oatmeal swirled with cinnamon and topped with a mountain of caramelized bananas. I can’t stop thinking about it.

Pie. Have a pie or banana cake that needs an epic topping? This recipe makes for the most beautiful topper!

This is a side view of a yellow mug with vanilla ice cream and caramelized bananas. An antique spoon is scooping some of the bananas. The mug sits on a white counter.

Storing extra caramelized bananas

Caramelized bananas are best the day of! We all know bananas can get brown and weird when they’re in the fridge so my personal preference is to eat them all immediately 🙂

If needed, they will stay in the fridge in an airtight container for about 2 days. When you’re ready to eat them, just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds to warm them through.

More banana recipes to try:

Did you make this? Leave a review below and tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!

Recipe

GF Gluten-Free DF Dairy-Free V Vegan VG Vegetarian EF Egg-Free NF Nut-Free