How to Freeze Bananas
on Mar 26, 2014, Updated Aug 21, 2024
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This is the Best Way to Freeze Bananas! Stock up while bananas are on sale and keep your stash in the freezer for smoothies.
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How to Freeze Bananas
Frozen bananas will change your smoothie life and I’m here to show you how I do it.
When you freeze bananas and blend them, they almost have the consistency of homemade ice cream. Some kind of magic happens and they just get amazingly smooth and creamy. Frozen bananas are a great base for smoothies and for tossing into Homemade Strawberry Milkshakes! They are very sweet, they are a pretty inexpensive fruit, and that texture just can’t be beat.
To start your frozen banana collection, I would buy 3-4 extra banana bunches for the week and let them rest on the counter until they get nice and ripe. Then freeze them all at the same time and you’ll have a nice stash for when you need them. I like to keep two bags in the freezer. One I am using, and one I am adding to. Once I have a stash built up, then I’ll just buy an extra bunch of bananas a week and put them in the freezer as they ripen. When I empty the “using” bag, I start using the bag I was adding to, and then that first bag becomes the bag that I add to. It’s a simple way to rotate through your supply.
My kids are also awful about getting a whole banana by themselves and then eating 3 bites and leaving the rest somewhere for me to find. So now instead of trying to save the banana and get them to eat it later (and in Southern Utah they end up dehydrating on the counter before they eat them), I just break off the top where they bit it and then throw the rest of the banana in my frozen banana bag in the freezer.
Sometimes I can get overripe bananas for free or on major discount and I always take advantage of that. I like to peel them all and break off any parts that are really black. I took this picture to show you what I do and don’t keep. If you can see, some of the bananas are a bit soft and bruised looking but the parts that I’m throwing out are definitely black and getting slimy. I’m sure you could use them I just don’t like to. I think that they start to have a rotten flavor to them that I can even taste in banana bread, so I give those pieces to the chickens.
Then I break all of the bananas into pieces. If you have a high power blender you could break them into 2 to 3 inch pieces. If you have a more traditional blender then I would recommend breaking them into smaller 1 inch pieces. This is a great job for your kitchen helpers.
We just stack them on a baking sheet, add a lid, and stick them in the freezer for at least 4 hours.
After they have started to freeze, we break the banana pieces apart and stick them in freezer bags.
I’ve skipped the baking sheet step before and just chucked a whole lot of ripe bananas in a freezer bag. They were quite hard to get apart because they were all frozen together. I had to chisel then apart to use them! That being said, it is ok to add a banana or two worth of pieces to the bag of already frozen bananas without pre-freezing them (this is how I keep my supply up, remember).
We have smoothies 5-6 days a weeks and so we use a whole lot of bananas!
My husband asked me if I could freeze bananas for Banana Bread and I have no idea. Do any of you freeze bananas for banana bread? Do you let them thaw first?! I’d love some more information on it if you do.
Now run out and stock up on some bananas, because I have a huge smoothie post and a Blendtec blender giveaway planned for Friday (UPDATE… I’m a month off, check back at the end of April… oops)! You’ll want to be prepared.
For your eating pleasure, here’s a few smoothie recipes you’ll love:
- Workout Recovery Smoothie
- Orange Pineapple Banana Smoothie
- Healthy Strawberry Kiwi Smoothie
- How to make freezer smoothie bags (the easiest smoothies ever!)
- Healthy Tropical Smoothie
- Good, Better, and Best Smoothies
- Healthy Key Lime Pie Smoothie
- Workout Recovery Smoothie
- Healthy Pumpkin Protein Smoothie
- Cold Killer Smoothie
- Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Smoothie (no weird powder needed)
I hope you enjoyed learning about the Best Way to Freeze Bananas!
I use frozen bananas in banana bread regularly. Just let them thaw, smash them with a fork, and add them in. I rarely use bananas that have not been frozen in the bread. Use a yellow cake mix and add two thawed frozen bananas for a great banana cake also.
I just cut up each banana and wrap the whole banana in saran wrap, that way I pull just one out of the freezer and put in my smoothie. Works great for me. My freezer is full so I don’t have room for a whole pan of bananas.
We’ve been using frozen bananas for years to make banana bread. Works no differently, just thaw the bananas and wa-la!
Love this! I’ve always wondered if there was an easier way than chiseling them apart and here it is 🙂 Also, I’ve used my smoothie stash for banana bread! Sometimes, it’s even tastier!
America’s test kitchen actually says to microwave your bananas to get the watery goodness out of them – it ups the banana flavor without adding density. If they’re frozen you get the water as they thaw. Good stuff – don’t discard!
Question: Do the bananas you put on the cookie sheets stay white?
Yep, after they are frozen I put them in freezer bags then they look like that for a good long time. I found an old bag in the freezer a week or so ago and it was probably 6 months old and bananas were just starting to brown. Use them frozen in your smoothies. If you let them sit at room temperature to thaw then they turn to brown goo.
I get frosty bananas when I freeze them. I usually break into thirds and double bag, yet they always have the frost. I’ve turned up the setting in my freezer too. Any suggestions?
Hmmm. I’m not sure. Does the extra frost bug you? In my mind it doesn’t really hurt anything. Most of the time if your freezer is getting extra ice accumulation it is because it doesn’t have a tight seal which allows it to suck in air for the outside which condenses and makes the ice. I have a freezer that does this really bad right now but everything gets really icy and I have to defrost is every few months.
Pinned! I need to start freezing in bulk for smoothies. They just aren’t the same unless the banana is frozen! Thanks for the inspiration.
I found you researching if I should run electricity to my coop a few months ago….and now I found this I needed when my Mr brought home 5 bunches of bananas. Lol
I guess I need to check in with you and look around here more! Lol
Love this post, I also have kids who partially consume some of the banana and then don’t want to finish it! I will cut it and freeze it to make cakes instead of finishing everyone’s leftover bananas. I love them but don’t always feel like eating them.