Easy Caramelized Bananas {With Cinnamon}
Quick and easy pan fried caramelized bananas recipe, homemade with simple ingredients in 15 minutes. Flavored with cinnamon, vanilla. Great on ice cream, pancakes, waffles.
As always, this is a simple and delicious recipe to add to your own favorite recipes. But don’t stop here! I have many other great banana recipes you can try next time, including Frozen Chocolate Covered Bananas, Easy Ripe Banana Recipes (Banana Desserts), and Banana Upside Down Cake.
How to make easy caramelized bananas recipe from scratch?
- Heat butter– In a skillet.
- Add in– Banana slices.
- Sprinkle and coat– Them in brown sugar and cinnamon.
- Cook bananas– Uncovered for a few minutes then flip and repeat.
- Remove skillet- Off the heat.
- Drizzle on- Vanilla extract. Enjoy!
Can you make caramelized bananas in oven?
Yes! Place the bananas in an oven safe pan, turn your oven to 350F, and cook until caramelized, about 10-15 minutes.
What to pair with caramelized bananas (banana caramel dessert)?
- Pancakes- Chocolate Chip Pancakes, Lemon Blueberry Pancakes, Fluffy Cinnamon Pancakes
- French toast or French Toast Sticks
- Waffles- Chocolate Waffles, Lemon Blueberry Waffles
- Ice cream
- Yogurt parfait
- Homemade granola
- Cakes- Banana Upside Down Cake, Easy Crumb Cake
- Cupcakes- Yellow Cupcakes, Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes, Brownie Cupcakes, or Chocolate Chip Cupcakes
- Smoothies
- Frostings- Brown Sugar Frosting, Caramel Frosting, Peanut Butter Frosting, Maple Frosting, or White Chocolate Buttercream
- Dips- Chocolate Fruit Dip or Cream Cheese Fruit Dip
- Banana Bread or Chocolate Banana Bread
- Pies- Banana Cream Pie
- Pudding- Warm or cold Chia Seed Pudding or Banana Pudding
- Oatmeal
- Crisps and Crumbles- Banana Crumble, Strawberry Crumble, Banana crisp, or Apple Crisp
- Mini Dessert Pizza
- Scones
- Crepes- Fill or top off Chocolate Crepes or these Easy Crepes
- Muffins- Chocolate Chip Muffins
Variations for cinnamon bananas
Add some rum– For a fun addition at those adult get togethers.
Add other extracts– For slightly different flavors, such as lemon, maple, or almond extracts.
Use coconut sugar– This is similar to brown sugar with a lighter flavor and adds a healthier touch than regular.
Add no sugar at all– If you are sugar free or just feel that the bananas are great on their own, you can simply omit the sugar altogether.
Try honey or maple syrup– Another healthy sweetener option would be to try honey or maple syrup in this recipe, which also tastes great!
Give it a spicy kick– Believe it or not, if you toss in a bit of tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper it gives this a whole new taste that you might just love.
Add other spices– Like star anise, nutmeg, cardamom, or ginger. Play around with them and adjust amounts to get your favorite flavor.
Tips and techniques for pan fried bananas
Don’t use unripe bananas– Because they have a chalky texture and are not as sweet.
Don’t use overripe bananas– Because they will be too soft and turn into mush instead of individual slices.
Bananas must be somewhat in the middle– The skin should be yellow with a few black spots to show they are ripe but not underripe or overripe.
Use unsalted butter– However, you can use some salted butter to balance out the sweetness, just not all of it because this recipe is more sweet not savory.
Make sure bananas don’t overlap when cooking- Because you want each slice to get fully coated and cooked without sticking to the others.
Storage
Fridge- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 1-2 days and reheated in the microwave or can be enjoyed cold too.
Freezer- Don’t freeze these, because they will just stick together and become mush. However, you can freeze the sauce and unthaw it in the microwave.
More easy banana desserts (I have a lot!)
- Banana Cream Pie (No Bake)
- Homemade Banana Pudding (No Bake)
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
- Chocolate Banana Popsicles Recipe
- Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Easy Banana Bread (With Cake Mix)
Easy Caramelized Bananas
Ingredients
- 2 Bananas, Peeled, Cut into thin circles that are about half an inch thick
- 2 tbsp Butter, Unsalted
- 2 tbsp Brown sugar
- 1/8 tsp Cinnamon powder, Can add up to 1/4 tsp if you want a stronger cinnamon flavor
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat butter in a large nonstick pan over medium heat.
- Once the butter is fully melted, add banana slices and make sure that they are not overlapping.
- Then sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon powder.
- Toss gently to coat each slice.
- Cook bananas uncovered for about 3-4 minutes on one side.
- Then, flip and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes or until the slices are nicely brown and caramelized on both sides.
- Remove from heat and drizzle vanilla extract.
- Shake the pan slightly so that the extract mixes into the sauce and you are done. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for 1-2 days and reheated in the microwave or can be enjoyed cold too.