Fried bananas with sweet cinnamon butter sauce is an irresistibly delicious, sweet fruit dessert, especially with a scoop of ice cream on top. It only takes 10 minutes to make this easy banana dessert recipe!
Ripe bananas may be well known for their ability to pack flavor into a loaf of banana bread, but they are also great for making many other things.
Thanks to a food science known as the Maillard reaction, fried bananas have an elevated flavor. Adding a blanket of warm cinnamon butter sauce and a scoop of vanilla or mango ice cream on top transforms them into a crave-able sweet treat!
Fried bananas
Although this is an easy banana dessert, you can also enjoy it for breakfast. Add them over the top of a stack of churro waffles or fluffy griddle cakes.
Actually, the sweet cinnamon butter sauce is tasty even without the bananas! You can make a jar full and keep it on hand to use as a dipping sauce for Banana Pumpkin Bread or soft breadsticks.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
Gather up the following ingredients:
- Ripe but firm bananas – Look for bananas that aren’t overly ripe. Those that still have a tinge of green color are best, but steer clear of those that are completely green. They do need to be slightly soft, but not mushy, so also avoid the ones with a lot of black spots.
- Butter – I like to use salted butter because salt is a flavor enhancer. If all you have is unsalted butter, go ahead and use it.
- Honey – If you don’t have any honey on hand, you can use maple syrup instead. But please, use real maple syrup, not bottled pancake syrup. Your fried bananas will taste MUCH better with the real thing.
- Ground cinnamon – Any variety of cinnamon will work, but I recommend buying a good quality brand. Be sure to check the expiration date too. The freshness of the cinnamon definitely affects the flavor of the cinnamon butter sauce.
- Lemon juice – Fresh squeezed juice will give you much better flavor than concentrated juice from a bottle.
Video: Making fried bananas
Pan frying bananas is incredibly easy to do, and so quick that it’s ready to serve in only 10 minutes!
Watch the video in the recipe card at the bottom of this post to see the process from start to finish!
Recipe notes
- Leftovers– If you have any leftovers, refrigerate them in a covered container and use them up within 3 to 4 days. After that, they’ll become too mushy. Unfortunately, fried bananas don’t freeze well.
- Reheating– Under refrigeration, the cinnamon butter sauce will thicken, and may even harden. However, it will thin out as it reheats.
PRO TIP
To prevent the butter sauce from scorching, be sure to reheat it over medium-low heat, and stir occasionally until the bananas and cinnamon butter sauce are warmed through.
Fried Bananas FAQ
Fried plantains is a popular banana dessert in the Caribbean. Plantains are a great substitute for bananas!
Plantains are a different variety of banana than the ones you may be used to eating. The peel is much thicker, and the flesh is a bit starchier. Like yellow bananas, plantains are the sweetest when they are fully ripe.
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This post, originally published on Kevin is Cooking Sept. 4, 2020, was last updated with new content on Dec 7, 2021.
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Fried Bananas with Cinnamon Honey Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas peeled
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Cut the bananas into 1/2″ inch thick slices.
- In a skillet over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the honey, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt to combine.
- Add the banana slices, and pan fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden and caramelized all over. Lower heat if they brown too quickly.
- Serve warm over ice cream or on top of fluffy pancakes or waffles.
Notes
- Use firm bananas, but not green. They need to be ripe, yet firm, and not mushy. I do not recommend using thawed, frozen bananas. They get too mushy for this recipe.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Nutrition
I was just wondering what the Lime juice adds in terms of the flavour because mine turned out a little sour and I’m not sure if I added too much juice or something was wrong with the bananas. Thanks!
Actually, it’s lemon juice, and it’s for a nice balance of flavors. I haven’t tried it with lime juice, but I would think it might be sharper.
classic, excellent, easy to do recipe. should be a staple in everyone’s dessert repertoire.
I cannot wait to try this! I just looked as I’m writing my comment and happen to have two bananas that are ready for this dessert. Off to get me some of our favorite vanilla ice cream and this is dessert tonight. Another fabulous recipe, Kevin. <3
SO delicious! But in your notes you say you prefer to use salted butter because salt is a flavor-enhancer. But in the list of ingredients you have 1 tblsp UNsalted butter. Hmm?
Not quite sure how the “unsalted” was in the ingredients list as I never buy it myself Kathleen. Recipe card updated to reflect. Sorry for any confusion.
The best dessert! It’s so tasty and the bananas are perfect in that sauce!
My kids would absolutely LOVE this!! Such a fantastic treat! 🙂
Oh my, this sounds amazing!! The perfect treat!
My kid will go crazy over this recipe for sure! He loves bananas!
This is absolutely amazing! It was a huge hit at my house!
What a delicious dessert, I want this all the time now! So sweet and tasty
You won’t report me if I make this and plop yogurt on it for breakfast, right?