How to Easily Freeze Bananas
We love bananas and buy them in bulk when they’re on sale. We use bananas to make homemade smoothies, ice cream, quick breads, muffins, cupcakes, pudding and all kinds of other things.
Because I buy my bananas on-sale and in bulk, I have to freeze them until I’m ready to use them. Today, I’m going to tell you how to do that and give you some tips, so that you can do it successfully too!
You will want to use bananas that are ripe or overly-ripe. If they’re not ripe yet, hold off on freezing them until they are. If they are mushy or damaged, discard.
How to Freeze Whole Bananas:
Keep the peel on the banana and lay them across a baking sheet. Make sure they are not touching one another. Place the baking sheet into the freezer for 30 to 45 minutes. Remove once they are partially or completely frozen.
Place 3-4 whole bananas into a large zipper-closure plastic freezer bag. Purge out the air and zipper it close. You’ll want to label the outside of the bag with the date that you froze them or the expiration date.
Typically, I find that mine will last a good 3-4 months when properly frozen.
How to Use:
If you’re going to use them in a smoothie, milkshake or ice cream recipe…you can blend them in while partially frozen. I like to thaw mine at room temperature for 10-15 minutes, cut into chunks and then toss into my blender container or ice cream maker.
If you’re going to use them in a baked goods recipe (muffins, cake, bread or cupcakes), you’ll want to thaw them at room temperature for a little bit longer, around 20 to 25 minutes. Cut into chunks and then mash them down before placing them into your batter.
Additional Tips:
The peel will turn black or a brown/black color when frozen. That’s totally normal! Your banana inside is perfectly fine to use and eat!
When it comes to mashing them…you can use a fork, but I find it easier to use a small potato masher. You can use a blender too!
I personally find it easier to freeze smaller bananas, than larger ones. Reason being…smaller ones are easier to fit into the plastic storage bags!
When storing them in the freezer, store them on a shelf on the freezer door or on top of other things! Make sure they don’t get buried, so that they don’t get squashed!
After thawing…they are best used in various recipes! They taste fine if you want to eat them plain, but they’re texture will be mushy and cold.
Once thawed, do NOT refreeze them again! You’ll need to use them up immediately, so only thaw out what you need.
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