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.
This is How They Look Coming Out of the Freezer
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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I wish I had an extra freezer because I would be freezing more things for later use. i usually peel and chop the bananas if they are already ripe and I am only going to use them in baking. Then I can take out the number of pieces I need for the recipe .
This is something I have to try. We always buy a lot of bananas because my mom eats them for the potassium. Sometimes we end up throwing them out, because she won’t eat any that are discolored or bruised inside. This might be the solution to my problem. I don’t just hate wasting money, but it’s a shame to waste food, when you know so many are hungry. Thank you for this info!
It just never occurred to me that you could freeze bananas! This is great information!
This is good info to know. I love to add bananas to smoothies, and this is perfect. Instead of having your freezer full of ice cream, have frozen fruits!
I know this is going to sound weird but I think my quick breads and my banana muffins & pancakes taste a whole lot better when I use bananas that were frozen. They just have a richer “banana” flavor to them. You can freeze them out of the peel too, but I prefer freezing mine whole and in the peel. Just my personal preference on that.
I’ll be doing a lot more of these types of posts on how to freeze this or that…because I have 3 freezers and I’m always freezing things for later use.
OK, now I can buy more than one or two bananas at a time. It’s surprising how one can go through life not knowing simple things like this. Thanks.
I have frozen bananas but am always freaked out by the way they look in the skins ! I habe frozen them without the skins on too just fine, but as you say the texture is different. I think they are best in smoothies after being frozen. The other thing I have done with them is make ‘monkey tails’ – insert the skewer and dip in chocolate and freeze for a healthy warm weather treat
Thank you so much for posting this one. I always wondered how to do this properly. My best friend always freezes her bananas and I wondered how she did that properly I just never asked. I like that you included that you need to lay them on a tray until they are frozen then you can place them in a bag in the freezer. I also liked that you includes that they last 3-4 months frozen. Thank you and have a great weekend.
This is brilliant, I did not know this. My son lives on smoothies and is mr banana.