How to Freeze Bananas (for smoothies and baking!)
Published 1/28/2019 • Updated 3/22/2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Okay, I am totally the type of person who can’t stand throwing whole bananas in the freezer — peel and all. They turn brown and freak me out 😂 That’s why I came up with this simple tutorial for how to freeze bananas (THE RIGHT WAY) so that you don’t have gross bananas sitting in your freezer.
This year is the year of NO BANANA LEFT BEHIND. So, instead of letting them turn too ripe and throwing them out, be proactive and freeze them for later! I specifically like freezing bananas for smoothies, but there are so many different ways you can use them
We have developed a SUPER easy system for leftover bananas in the Fit Foodie kitchen and we wanted to share it with all of you! It is a very simple system that seems like overkill, but when you have a perfect bag of frozen bananas in the freezer that isn’t freezer-burned, isn’t mushy, and doesn’t stick together, you are going to thank us.
What You Need to Freeze Bananas
- Perfectly ripe bananas
- Sharp knife
- Parchment paper
- Baking sheet
- Gallon-size bag
Step One- Prepare a Baking Sheet
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper so that you can lay your banana slices down flat and freeze them before you prepare them for storage.
Step Two- Peel, Slice, Slice, and Freeze Bananas
Grab your bananas and peel them. Now, we don’t discriminate against any nanner- yellow or brown, you decide. All you have to do is slice your bananas into 1/4-1/2 inch rounds and place them on the parchment paper.
Place the sliced bananas into the freezer for at least 30 minutes or until your bananas are completely frozen.
Do I have to freeze them on a baking sheet first?
The short answer, YES. If you skip this step, they will all freeze together in a big mushy clump and when you’re ready to make a smoothie in the morning, you will have to thaw them out or ice pick your way through a clump of frozen nanner. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Step Three- Store Banana Slices for Later
Remove baking sheet from the freezer and use a spatula to remove the bananas from the baking sheet. Immediately transfer the frozen sliced bananas into a freezer-safe bag. Remove as much air as possible from the bag, seal it, and store them in the freezer for easy access to perfectly frozen bananas!
How long will bananas last in the freezer?
Your banana coins will last up to 3 months in the freezer. Make sure to write the date on the bag so that you know how long it has been!
How to Use Your Frozen Banana Slices
Any recipe that calls for banana puree or any smoothie recipe that calls for frozen bananas! You have endless options! Check out some of our favorite banana recipes below.
- Chocolate Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Banana Oatmeal Pancakes
- Peanut Butter Banana Cold Brew Protein Smoothie
- Banana Soft Serve Recipes
- Layered Chocolate Banana Protein Smoothie
- Peanut Butter Cup Banana Soft Serve
- Banana Smoothie
How to Freeze Bananas (for smoothies and baking!)
Ingredients
- 4 large bananas, peeled
Instructions
- Prepare a baking sheet by laying a piece of parchment paper flat onto a baking sheet.
- Next, slice bananas into 1/4-1/2 inch rounds and place them on the parchment paper. Make sure all bananas are laying flat and not overlapping with each other.
- Place into the freezer for at least 30 minutes or until bananas are hard and completely frozen.
- Remove from the freezer and use a spatula to scrape frozen bananas off of the baking sheet.
- Place bananas into a freezer safe bag. Remove all air from your freezer safe bag and seal tightly.
- Finally, store bananas in your freezer for easy access to frozen bananas throughout the week!
Tips & Notes
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #fitfoodiefinds, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
My grandfather recently passed away and my grandmother has been totally distraught. They were definitely hoarding and particularly with food storage. Luckily, we found a good dumpster rental company and got ourselves a dumpster for the week and got all of the trash and old food taken care of. Now we’re trying to help her better manage her food storage and your freeze dried bananas recipe has been a true miracle. It was incredible to see her light up again as we made them together, and she definitely felt a little more secure after she made them. Now the trick will be making sure she eats them at the right time. Thanks for sharing this. It’s truly helped us all through this difficult time.
Love this simple fix, but one quick question:
Would the frozen banana slices be able to be used in a Nutrobullet type blender, straighth from the freezer, or would they have to be partially thawed for them to be blended easily?
My frozen banana have turned dark brown can I still u them?
yes sure…. if they are not very sweet in taste
Would dipping the bananas in fruit juice help with the discolouration?
Hi Mala! You can use lemon juice for that if you want. If you peel yellow bananas and freeze them immediately, they won’t discolor at all in the freezer!
Can you add frozen bananas to porridge, muffins or cook them with oats and other frozen fruit? Or even just bake them plain with oats?
Do you need to always thaw them?
You can totally add them frozen, if you want!
How to freeze bananas. Way to complicated!!!!!!!!!
Smarty pants way:
Once ripe
Peel
Cut in half
put in plastic throwaway type bag
close bag with tie twist.
Place in freezer.
Line em up: as good as ice cream.
While this is effective as well and serves purpose for different recipes that ripe to very ripe bananas are excellent for…I am a banana snob and only like the freshest just turned ripe taste and texture of bananas…(like stem is still green and hombres down a tad to the body of the banana)…yeah, its like that xD…this is smoothie type heaven for me and so THIS method is a must for myself and im sure others cuz, i cant be the only one :O
I can’t believe I haven’t frozen bananas before this I can’t believe how many bananas I’ve thrown away. It looks so easy to freeze.