Food and Recipes Fruits Banana 25 Best-Ever Banana Recipes You Need To Bookmark Immediately By Kaitlyn Yarborough Kaitlyn Yarborough Part of the Southern Living team since 2017, Kaitlyn Yarborough is a Georgia native living in Austin, Texas, who covers a wide variety of topics for both the magazine and website, focusing on culture and lifestyle content, as well as travel in the South.She earned a B.A. in Journalism at the University of Georgia. She hopes to inspire your travel bucket list with her features on road trips through Texas Hill Country, bourbon tours in Kentucky, and the best beach getaways on the Gulf Coast. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Updated on October 19, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photo: Jennifer Davick, Prop Styling: Annette Joseph, Food Styling: William Smith We're very aware that bananas are just fine and tasty to eat as they come, similar to other divisive ingredients like Brussels sprouts and buttermilk. Just peel it back and reap the potassium-packed health rewards, right? But again, similar to raw Brussels sprout slaw versus caramelized bacony Brussels sprouts straight out of the oven, bananas just don't hit the taste buds quite the same out of the peel as they do inside a warm slice of banana nut bread or layered with whipped cream in classic banana pudding. And to that we say, let's get slicing and baking. We've rounded up 25 delicious ways to use up all your bunches of ripe bananas before they go bad, from nutella-swirled banana bread to banana pudding-inspired cheesecake to Elvis-approved peanut butter-banana pie. So you might want to grab an extra bunch or two—because these best-ever banana recipes will have you begging for more. 01 of 25 Banana Pudding Poke Cake Photo: Greg DuPree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Banana Pudding Poke Cake A poke cake topped with banana pudding? That's about as celebration-worthy as it gets—so make sure to enjoy every single banana-laden bite. 02 of 25 Banana Pudding Cheesecake Jennifer Davick Recipe: Banana Pudding Cheesecake You might never have known you needed this heavenly hybrid. Banana pudding gets an even creamier, more decadent twist with cheesecake filling. 03 of 25 Peanut Butter-Banana Icebox Pie Photo: Jennifer Davick Recipe: Peanut Butter-Banana Icebox Pie Elvis would definitely approve, and that's all we need to know. This cool, creamy chocolate-drizzled dessert is sure to have you coming back for more. 04 of 25 Banana Cake Micah A. Leal Recipe: Banana Cake In our opinion, a best-ever banana cake should be well spiced and frosted with a heavy layer of cream cheese frosting—and that's exactly the calling card of this insanely delicious sheet cake. 05 of 25 Mini Bananas Foster Sticky Buns Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Christine Keely; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos Recipe: Mini Bananas Foster Sticky Buns Your Saturday morning coffee is practically made to be paired with these adorably miniature caramelized sticky buns. The sweetness instantly melts in your mouth, which means you'll be wanting more than one. 06 of 25 Banana Bread French Toast Casserole Jennifer Causey Recipe: Banana Bread French Toast Casserole Tell your usual brunch casserole to watch out—because there's a new heavy-hitter in town. Banana bread meets French toast in this fan-fave breakfast bake. 07 of 25 Salted Caramel Banana Pudding Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Tami Hardeman Recipe: Salted Caramel Banana Pudding If you didn't think homemade banana pudding could get any better, do a double take. This indulgent rendition is layered with slightly spiced Biscoff cookies and a shortcut salted caramel drizzle. 08 of 25 Nutella Banana Bread Micah A. Leal Recipe: Nutella Banana Bread Now this is an upgrade to classic banana bread we can get behind. You'll be left dreaming about those swirls of Nutella after just one slice. 09 of 25 Coconut-Banana Pudding Hector M. Sanchez Recipe: Coconut-Banana Pudding A time-honored treat with a flavorful twist. From brunch-to-dessert, with an irresistible hit of coconut, this isn't your run-of-the-mill banana pudding. 10 of 25 Banana Ice Cream Greg DuPree; Prop Stylist: Mary Clayton Carl; Food Stylist: Margaret Dickey Recipe: Banana Ice Cream Homemade ice cream is a real treat, no matter the flavor. This recipe is extra creamy and custard-based and packed with the flavor of fresh bananas. None of that fake stuff! Banana split anyone? 11 of 25 Banana Pudding Pie Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: Banana Pudding Pie No one ever said no to pie, right? So we made a sliceable banana pudding complete with a brown butter vanilla wafter crust and perfectly thick and creamy custard filling. 12 of 25 Banana Pancakes Micah A. Leal Recipe: Banana Pancakes Lightly spiced with cinnamon and just a little salty, these banana pancakes are guaranteed to take lazy Saturday morning breakfasts up a notch. 13 of 25 Banana Nut Cake Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Emily Hall; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas Recipe: Banana Nut Cake An even fluffier, slightly sweeter version of banana bread, this cake recipe has all the things you love about the classic dish—but shifts it decidedly more into the dessert category. 14 of 25 Banana Cream Pie Southern Living Recipe: Banana Cream Pie Learn how to make this old-school diner dessert with almost as much panache as those waitresses in roller skates. 15 of 25 New-Fashioned Banana Pudding Victor Protasio; Food Styling: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis Recipe: New-Fashioned Banana Pudding Tired of the same old banana pudding over and over again? This one is packed with flavors from homemade vanilla custard, real vanilla bean whipped cream, and a hint of nutmeg. It's so good, it might just rival your Mama's traditional recipe. 16 of 25 Strawberry-Banana-Peanut Butter Smoothie Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall Recipe: Strawberry-Banana-Peanut Butter Smoothie This might be the only healthy breakfast smoothie we actually want to make again and again. Peanut butter and banana make a dynamite duo. 17 of 25 Amy Grant's Banana Nut Bread Southern Living Recipe: Amy Grant's Banana Nut Bread This classic banana bread recipe hits the spot every time. Plus, only 20 minutes of hands-on time makes it quick and easy enough to whip together on the fly. (If Amy Grant has time to make this, so do you.) 18 of 25 Brennan's Bananas Foster Photo: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Karin Olsen Recipe: Brennan's Bananas Foster Brennan's in New Orleans perfected this warm, caramelized classic treat over 60 years ago—and now you can, too. No travel required. 19 of 25 Caramelized Banana Pudding Photo: Jennifer Davick, Prop Styling: Annette Joseph, Food Styling: William Smith Recipe: Caramelized Banana Pudding This toasted version of banana pudding almost tops Nana's famous recipe. (We said almost.) Caramelized bananas and meringue makes banana pudding feel even more special . 20 of 25 Bananas Foster Coffee Cake with Vanilla-Rum Sauce Alison Miksch Recipe: Bananas Foster Coffee Cake with Vanilla-Rum Sauce This is a special-occasion coffee cake if we've ever seen one. It takes a lesson from Brennan's famous bananas foster and tops it off with a sweetened rum glaze. 21 of 25 Nutter Butter®-Banana Pudding Trifle Jennifer Davick Recipe: Nutter Butter®-Banana Pudding Trifle We took two classics and combined them into one delicious dessert, then brought in Nutter Butter® sandwich cookies to add more flavor in lieu of the traditional vanilla wafer. 22 of 25 Strawberry-Banana Pudding Icebox Cake Iain Bagwell; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Hadas Smirnoff Recipe: Strawberry-Banana Pudding Icebox Cake You won't meet a fruit dessert as show-stopping as this perfect warm-weather icebox cake. Strawberries and bananas make a refreshing duo in the beloved graham cracker-layered dessert. 23 of 25 Quick & Tasty Banana Pudding Van Chaplin, Charles Walton IV Recipe: Quick & Tasty Banana Pudding Ready in just 10 minutes and with only four ingredients, this super easy banana pudding recipe will save you in a pinch. 24 of 25 Banana Daiquiri Antonis Achilleos Recipe: Banana Daiquiri You know what they say: If you like piña coladas...then you'll love these banana daiquiris. Well, maybe that's not what they say. But they will now. We can practically hear the ocean breeze already. 25 of 25 Hummingbird Bundt Cake Photo: Jennifer Davick Recipe: Hummingbird Bundt Cake We couldn't leave this Southern delicacy off the list. Make the classic Hummingbird Cake—or go with this fuss-free Bundt cake version instead. Either way, pineapple-studded, nutty heaven awaits with just a hint of extra moistness from your ripe bananas. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! 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