How To Clean Caramelized Sugar Off A Pan

The Complete Guide to Caramelized Bananas

Published 1/xxx/2019, Last updated 4/vii/2020 by Stef

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Caramelized bananas are amazing on ice cream, French toast, cheesecakes and more. But, what is the all-time recipe? I tried three different methods – made in a skillet, oven, and microwave – and share my results here.

a skillet of caramelized bananas with a spatula

If yous've never had caramelized bananas, you are in for a treat! Bananas are naturally sweetness, but once they are caramelized, they accept on a more than robust flavor and course a assistant-flavored sauce that you tin cascade over merely about anything!

What Are Caramelized Bananas?

caramelized banana halves on a plate with whipped cream

Caramelized bananas are bananas that are cooked with butter and sugar. Two master transformations happen during that procedure:

The bananas soften and are coated with with the caramel sauce.
The caramel sauce thickens and takes on a banana flavor.

How Are Caramelized Bananas Served?

Caramelized bananas over vanilla ice cream in a glass dish with a spoon

Caramelized bananas are delicious served in so many ways:

I love warm caramelized bananas over vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.
They are perhaps well-nigh famous equally an ingredient in Bananas Foster where rum is added to the mix. The alcohol causes flames to shoot up while the caramelized bananas are cooking, making the dessert famous for showy table-side preparations at restaurants.
The sweet and buttery bananas are likewise amazing on French toast (like my brioche French toast) or equally a topping for pancakes, waffles, or oatmeal.
Make a filled cupcake using a assistant cupcake and caramelized bananas equally the filling.
Fill puff pastry or, fifty-fifty better, chocolate puff pastry, with them.

Should Y'all Utilize Overripe Bananas ?

Two yellow bananas with just a few brown spots on a cutting board

When yous bake with bananas like in my banana cupcakes or my banana oatmeal chocolate chip muffins, using overripe, virtually black bananas is really important. When y'all make caramelized bananas, the assistant peels should exist yellow with just a few dark-brown specks. If the bananas are overripe, they will turn to mush when y'all cook them.

How to Make Caramelized Bananas

In that location are iii different ways to brand caramelized bananas: fried on the stove elevation, in the oven, and in the microwave. Each 1 uses the same ingredients of butter, chocolate-brown sugar, and bananas, just the methodology is unlike.

Nosotros found that the stove top method produced the best results. It was the simply method where the sauce truly thickened up. That said, the other ii methods both produced delicious results. Permit'south wait at each i in more detail.

Stove Peak Fried Caramelized Bananas

Using a skillet on the stove superlative is the nearly common way of making caramelized bananas. It'due south a tried and true method and produces outstanding results.

To make stove superlative caramelized bananas, outset by melting butter in skillet on medium heat. I use unsalted butter, but in this instance salted butter would also piece of work only fine.

A pat of butter melting in a skillet

Next, add together sliced bananas and brown sugar to the skillet.

Brown sugar and sliced bananas in a skillet

Keep the heat at medium and start stirring. The sugar will melt and offset to coat the bananas almost immediately. Go along on stirring until the sauce starts to thicken – nigh three minutes.

Tip : Keep a close spotter on the sugar. You lot don't want it to start boiling. If that happens, it can burn inside seconds.

Caramelized bananas in a skillet with a yellow spatula

Oven-Broiled Caramelized Bananas

I beloved the ease of making caramelized bananas in the oven. They come out perfect every fourth dimension and they don't demand to exist closely monitored like the caramelized bananas made on the stove top.

The downside of oven-broiled caramelized bananas is that the sauce doesn't thicken as much as the stove elevation version because the heat isn't as high and direct. The dish tastes just as good, just the texture isn't the aforementioned.

To make oven-baked caramelized bananas, place bananas in an oven-safe blistering dish and dot with pocket-size pieces of butter.

Tip : As you see below, I sliced these bananas in long halves. Y'all can piece the bananas any which way and the recipe will still work.

bananas in a glass dish topped with butter

Sprinkle chocolate-brown sugar over the butter and bananas. It doesn't affair if some of information technology ends up in the pan and not on the bananas; there will be sauce in the pan at the end no thing how you sprinkle the sugar.

Bananas sliced longways in a glass baking dish covered in butter and brown sugar

Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. When you lot remove the bananas from the oven, apply a spoon to cover all of the bananas in the caramel sauce.

oven baked caramelized bananas in a glass baking dish

Microwaved Caramelized Bananas

At that place is do incertitude that the microwave is the EASIEST way to caramelize bananas. Caramelized bananas made in the microwave are so quick to make for a terminal-minute topping for a breakfast or dessert dish. Still, like the oven-broiled variety, the sauce on the microwave bananas doesn't thicken. Additionally, the bananas get mushy in the microwave. Microwaved caramelized bananas taste fantastic, simply the texture just doesn't stack up to either of the other two versions.

To brand microwaved caramelized bananas, place sliced bananas in a microwave-condom baking dish, dot with butter, and superlative with brown sugar.

Bananas slices in a glass baking dish topped with butter and brown sugar

Microwave on high for two minutes. Add together more fourth dimension if needed based on the power of your microwave.

Caramelized Bananas in the Microwave

How to Slice a Banana Lengthwise

A knife slicing a banana

It'due south easier to slice a banana lengthwise before you peel it. This helps to keep the banana from cracking. Slice through the whole banana, then cutting off the ends and peel carefully.

Caramelized Banana Variations

Caramelized bananas are perfect with merely three ingredients. Nonetheless, if you desire some variety, there are several ways to vary the recipe:

Add together a couple of tablespoons of rum, brandy, or other liqueur. We love it with Grand Marnier effectually hither!
- If you are making the bananas in the oven or microwave, just cascade the booze over the other ingredients before cooking.
- If you lot are using the stove top method, add the booze last. To give a great show, step back and tip the skillet over the stove's flame or use a culinary torch to set the alcohol on fire for a moment or two.
Add a couple of tablespoons of orange or pineapple juice. The juice adds depth to the caramel sauce.
Try calculation some spices similar cinnamon or cardamom.
Go for a major twist and make honey caramelized bananas like the ones from Fifteen Spatulas.

Best Tips for Making Caramelized Bananas

Close up of caramelized bananas in a pan

If you have the fourth dimension, use the stove summit method. The results are the best!
Utilise bananas that are merely ripe – without too many brown spots. This helps to ensure that the bananas don't turn to mush.
When using the stove top method, don't step away from the stove while the bananas are cooking. The sugar can burn down actually quickly.

If You Like Caramelized Bananas, You May Also Like…

Strawberry banana staff of life (While this recipe doesn't telephone call for caramelizing the bananas first, it would be amazing it yous did!)
Banana cupcakes (You could top them with some caramelized bananas!)
Bananas Foster cheesecake from Restless Chipotle (This sounds incredible!)

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Fried Caramelized Bananas

Perfect caramelized bananas to use over ice cream, French toast, pancakes, oatmeal and more!

Course Condiments

Cuisine American

Prep Fourth dimension 2 minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes

Total Fourth dimension 9 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 224 kcal

▢ 2 tablespoons butter unsalted and salted both work
▢ iv ripe bananas sliced in pocket-sized rounds or in halves lengthwise
▢ 1/3 cup brown saccharide

Melt butter in a small skillet on medium heat.
Once the butter is melted, add the bananas and dark-brown sugar.
Stir continuously to coat the bananas in the brown sugar and butter. The brownish sugar should cook virtually immediately.
Keep stirring for virtually 3 minutes or until the caramel sauce thickens. Remove from the oestrus as soon every bit it thickens equally it can quickly burn if kept on the heat for too long,
Serve immediately.

If you have the time, use the stove superlative method. The results are the best!
Use bananas that are just ripe - without too many brown spots. This helps to ensure that the bananas are sweet, merely don't turn to mush.
When using the stove top method, don't step away from the stove while the bananas are cooking. The sugar can fire really chop-chop.

For An Oven-Baked or Microwave Culling:

Utilise the same ingredients.
Place bananas in an oven-prophylactic or microwave-prophylactic baking dish, cut the butter into minor pieces and distribute them evenly over the bananas.
Height with the brown sugar.
Broil at 400 F for 20 minutes or microwave on high for ii minutes (microwave fourth dimension may vary based on the power of your microwave).
Employ a spoon to cover any bare spots on the bananas with caramel sauce before serving.