Pan Fried Cinnamon Bananas is a quick and easy recipe to cook bananas, perfect for a special breakfast, an afternoon snack, or even a healthy dessert! It's super easy to pan fry a banana and uses items you probably already have. Gather the 3 simple ingredients, grab a skillet, and get ready to gobble up this delicious banana recipe in 10 minutes!
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👩🏻🍳 Why You'll Love This Recipe
This recipe was inspired by the age-old problem, how to use up overripe bananas. And now this is one of my favorite ways to fix a banana treat. These pan fried bananas are super delicious, yet healthier and so much easier than deep fried bananas.
No matter how hard I try to buy the right number of bananas for my family, I can never seem to get it right. If one week I don’t have enough, I try to buy a few more the next week, but then it seems I have too many!
That's when I need to figure out what to make with my extra bananas. This recipe is so quick and simple, and it is perfect for a special breakfast, an afternoon snack, or an easy banana dessert.
And it's made in one skillet, so clean-up is a snap!
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- bananas - slightly overripe. If there are big brown patches on your bananas, they are too ripe and will just become mushy.
- sugar - you can also use a sugar substitute like granulated Splenda
- ground cinnamon - tastes great and contains antioxidants, too!
- nutmeg - optional
🔪 Instructions
- Slice the bananas into rounds.
- Combine the cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg in a small bowl and set aside.
- Spray a skillet with nonstick spray, heat over medium, then add the banana rounds.
- Sprinkle about ½ of the cinnamon mixture, then cook for 2-3 minutes until the rounds start to warm.
- Flip the rounds over.
- Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon mixture, then cook for another 2 minutes or so until the bananas are warmed through.
👪 FAQs
Yes and no. Banana fritters are battered and deep fried in hot oil. These banana pieces are not battered or deep fried, but they are warm and sweet and are a great healthier alternative to banana fritters!
Pan fried bananas are definitely a lightened up alternative to deep fried bananas. In addition, in this recipe I really tried to minimize the oil and sugar used to keep it a heathy as possible. Bananas are rich in potassium which is really good for supporting a strong heart and muscles. They also have many other essential vitamins and nutrients.
This banana recipe produces warm, cinnamon-y banana slices that rival any dessert! They are sweet and slightly sticky, just like any decadent sweet treat. This recipe is a great way to serve dessert while feeling good knowing that you aren't giving your family completely empty calories!
I don't advise using green bananas, because they aren't as sweet and in fact can be a little on the bitter side. You can use yellow but firm bananas, which are just ripe but not yet overripe. However, I prefer using slightly overripe bananas in this recipe, because they produce the sweetest result.
Place your bananas in a brown paper bag and fold it closed. That will help your bananas ripen faster.
💭 Expert Tips and Tricks
- Use bananas that are slightly overripe. It's OK if there are a bunch of small brown spots, but if the surface of the bananas are mostly brown spots or big brown patches, they are too far gone and will just turn out mushy.
- When cooking a banana, do not overcook. If they start to get too soft, they are definitely done. This might happen quickly if your heat is a little too high so pay attention to them as they cook.
- Use good quality nonstick oil spray, or skip the spray and use a good non-stick pan. Poor quality oil could affect the taste of your banana rounds.
- Sugar works best but you can also use granulated Splenda (or equivalent) if you prefer.
📌 This recipe can also be used as a quick and easy method for caramelized bananas! If that's what you are going for, add a little butter into the pan while it is heating and let it melt before you add in the banana rounds.
📖 Substitutions and Variations
- Use honey instead of sugar for natural sweetness. Simply drizzle on the honey and then sprinkle the cinnamon on top of that.
- Pile on top of pancakes, waffles, or French toast for a unique and tasty twist to breakfast.
- Serve over store-bought angel food cake and drizzle with chocolate syrup for a delicious yet simple dessert that will satisfy every sweet craving.
- For some fun variations for kids, top with a dollop of whipped cream, dust with confectioner's sugar, or sprinkle with colored jimmies.
- Add on top of ice cream for a healthy yet delicious topping.
- Drizzle some maple syrup over your rounds for an extra sweet breakfast treat!
🔊 What readers are saying...
"Just made these. Yum! Easy, fast and delicious. I served them in small dessert bowls with a dollop of fresh whip cream on top and sprinkled a little bit of the leftover sugar mixture on the whip cream (mostly for looks). It was impressive looking and took just minutes, start to finish. Thanks for the great recipe!"
- MJ
🥫 Storage and Reheating
These really are best when eaten right away, however if you have leftovers they should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will last up to 3-4 days. To reheat, place them in a skillet over medium heat until warmed up.
It's not recommended to make these ahead of time and freeze them.
💡 What To Serve With This Dish
This banana breakfast recipe would be perfect accompanied by this Strawberry Smoothie Bowl! Or brighten the morning with this delicious and citrus-y Orange Smoothie with Pineapple, jam-packed with healthy fiber and vitamin C. These fried bananas are also great with these Chocolate Crunch Raspberry Waffles!
For dessert ideas, serve your cinnamon bananas on top of Mom's Refrigerator Cake, next to this Maple Bacon Ice Cream Cake, or drizzle them with this amazing Homemade Chocolate Sauce!
🍌 More Things To Make With Bananas
- Eggless Banana Bread - Easy, delicious, and full of banana flavor. Just a few basic ingredients and 50 minutes are all it takes to enjoy this delicious treat!
- Kiwi Banana Matcha Smoothie - The perfect way to start your day with nutrients and just the right amount of caffeine! The green tea and kiwi give this smoothie a refreshing green color and the bananas make it nice and creamy.
- Banana Pudding Cheesecake Bars - A super creamy dessert with a cheesecake filling made with banana cream pudding mix and real banana on top of a decadent crust made with vanilla wafers and butter.
- Coconut Banana Matcha Muffins - Healthy green tea muffins take less than 30 minutes to make and are a great grab-and-go breakfast option. They freeze well, so make a big bunch and keep them on-hand for any time you want a healthy snack!
- Easy Banana Cookies- A great alternative to banana bread, you definitely want to add this to the list of recipe options when trying to use up overripe bananas. You only need 5 ingredients and 20 minutes to make these delicious treats!
- Banana Spinach Smoothie With Kiwi - Start your day with something sweet and healthy. The kiwi adds great refreshing flavor to this green smoothie, which is perfect to enjoy for breakfast or as a snack to keep you full and energized throughout the day!
- Banana Cinnamon French Toast - Sweetened with bananas and perfectly grilled until golden brown with crispy fried edges, this is a meal everyone loves and I know you're going to want to make it soon!
Pan Fried Banana and Cinnamon Recipe
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📋 Recipe Card
Pan Fried Cinnamon Bananas
Ingredients
Instructions
- Slice the bananas into rounds, approximately ⅓ inch thick.2 bananas
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg (if desired). Set aside.2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Lightly spray a large skillet with nonstick oil spray and warm over medium-low heat and add the banana slices.
- Sprinkle half of the cinnamon mixture on top. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
- Flip the rounds, then sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon mixture. Cook for 2-3 more minutes until the bananas are soft and warmed through.
Notes
- Slightly overripe bananas work best. If your bananas are too overripe, they will still taste good but they may be mushy.
- If they start to get too soft, they are done. Be careful to not overcook them!
- The quality of the oil can affect how the banana rounds taste, so make sure your oil is fresh and a good quality brand. Coconut oil is a good choice.
- If you don't have oil or prefer not to use it, you can substitute butter for the oil.
- You can substitute granulated Splenda (or equivalent), however white sugar works best.
- You can also substitute brown sugar or honey.
- Note that this is not a actually a substitute recipe for the fried bananas that are cooked by immersing them in oil in a fryer. These are just a tasty way to do something a little different with your bananas by cooking them in a pan or skillet.
- Serve plain, sprinkle with powdered sugar, spoon them over vanilla ice cream, or drizzle them with chocolate syrup!
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate. The nutritional values for your final dish may vary based on measuring differences and products used.
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Happy cooking!
Pat
Sounds delicious but is there any way I can cook these a few hours in advance?
Kristin King
Sure, you can! But then they will get cold and in my opinion they taste best fresh out of the skillet. 🙂
Taydra
Hey there Kristin, would a non stick pan work just as well as an oiled pan? or would the sugar risk burning?
Kristin
A non stick pan should work, I would think!
Faron Brindley
I can’t wait to try making tomorrow. I being able to try something “different” so appreciate the thought process behind these. I did have a stroke a couple of years ago so always 👀ing at ways to avoid hand movements. (I’ve made more messes than I can count but I’m alive and still going, so it’s a met win overall) Just wondering if the banana rounds could be pre-coated with the cinnamon sugar mix? Not a big deal but if I have one of my all-to-frequent muscle jerks I could easily spread the sugar ALL OVER the kitchen! LOL
Kristin
Yes, I think you could do that. Wishing you blessings and peace as you navigate life with the challenges left from your stroke. I hope the recipe works for you and you enjoy the results! 🙂
Ty at Two Healthy Kitchens
I made this recipe as a snack during my mid-day break. It was SOOO delicious! Great recipe, Kristin!
Kristin
So glad to hear that! 🙂 This is still one of my favorite snacks to this day. Thanks for stopping by!