Pan Fried Honey Bananas
These easy Pan Fried Bananas are caramelized in honey and cinnamon for a simple and delicious treat. You can enjoy them as is or pair with ice cream, yogurt, crepes, pancakes, french toast, and more. It only takes 10 minutes to make, with 5 ingredients!
While I’ve never been a big fan of eating bananas plain from the peel, caramelized bananas…bananas foster…oh, and those deep fried banana egg roll desserts…they all make me weak in the knees. These pan fried honey bananas were a snack I ate all the time as a kid, and I still love them today because they’re really easy, take less than 10 minutes to make, and only involve five ingredients.
You can eat the bananas on their own, you can pair them with french toast like in this bananas foster french toast, you can add them to oatmeal, overnight oats, pancakes, ice cream, a peanut butter sandwich, and more.
In my family, these are a favorite for my kids, and I love that they’re relatively healthy as a dessert. We’ve got our favorite desserts like Peanut Butter Cookies and Brown Butter Blondies, but for us those are treats only to be enjoyed on special occasions. However, you may certainly pair these bananas with vanilla ice cream for a special treat.
Tips for Best Results
Use *just* ripe bananas – For the best results, you’ll want to use bananas at the perfect time, which is when the peel is no longer green, but it’s also not covered in brown spots. The bananas will have the most neutral flavor when perfectly ripe, and also the best texture.
Use a nonstick pan – Honey is sticky, so you really want to use a nonstick pan here. An uncoated pan will give you a sticky mess, and the bananas won’t flip well.
Use good cinnamon – Ground cinnamon varies hugely in quality and potency, and ideally you want a good quality Ceylon cinnamon for this so the aroma and flavor really sing. My absolute favorite is King Arthur Flour’s Vietnamese cinnamon.
You only need five ingredients to make this: bananas, coconut oil or butter, cinnamon, salt, and honey:
Step by Step Overview:
Start by slicing up some ripe bananas, about 1/2″ thick:
You want bananas that are ripe, but still firm. There should be no black spots or bruising on the peel, but no green spots either.
Then add some honey, butter or coconut oil, cinnamon, and salt to a nonstick skillet:
My two favorite fats to use are coconut oil or butter, because they definitely have the best flavor. But you can really use any kind of oil you prefer here.
Recommended Types of Honey
Honey varies tremendously in quality. Try to stay away from the cheap stuff that comes in a plastic bear bottle, and instead select a raw, unfiltered honey to use here. The flavor will be a million times better. Orange blossom, wildflower, Acacia, and Tupelo are some of my favorite types.
Melt everything together until the honey mixture is bubbling.
Add all of the banana slices to the pan:
Cook for a few minutes until the bananas become deeply caramelized and sticky, like this:
Flip all the banana slices over and cook for another couple minutes on the other side.
How to Serve
Serve the fried bananas promptly, while the honey is hot and sticky, and even a little bit crispy. These are great on their own, or on top of yogurt or Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream.
These quick Stovetop Candied Pecans are very similar to this recipe, and also take about 10 minutes to make. It’s one of the most popular recipes on my site that you may enjoy as well. For more banana recipes, try Bananas Foster French Toast, Caramelized Banana Dutch Baby, or classic Banana Bread.
Here’s a full step-by-step video for how to make this recipe:
Recipe Tips and FAQ
Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes, in an airtight container for up to 3 months. However, when using them again, I recommend using for things like smoothies, as the texture will be inferior compared to when it was cooked fresh.
Microwave at 70% power in 30-second intervals, until warmed through.
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Pan Fried Honey Bananas
Ingredients
For the Bananas
- 2 ripe bananas
- 1 tbsp oil or butter*
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
Ideas for What to Serve the Bananas With (optional)
- On Whole Wheat Pancakes
- With Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
- As a topping for Fruit Pizza
- In a sandwich with peanut butter and marshmallow creme
Instructions
- Remove the peels from the bananas and slice them 1/2″ inch thick.
- Set a nonstick skillet over medium to medium high heat** and add the oil or butter, honey, cinnamon, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add the banana slices, and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden and caramelized. Be sure to watch the heat and turn it down if it browns too quickly. You want enough heat to caramelize and brown the slices, but you don’t want them to burn.
- Once the bananas are cooked you can enjoy them as is, or with marshmallow creme and peanut butter in a sandwich, with Bananas Foster French Toast, in oatmeal or yogurt, over ice cream, and more. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
100 Comments on “Pan Fried Honey Bananas”
I did the bananas but they got soggy and never crisped up. If I had cooked them any longer I would have made porriage. Yours looked great. What did I do wrong? Was medium heat on an electric stove top.
Hi Arian, thanks for sharing info about your cooking situation, that’s helpful. My feeling is that the pan may not have been hot enough from the start, so try to pre-heat the pan a bit first, and keep it higher throughout, maybe at a medium high for you. A good indicator is the bananas should sizzle when you add them to the pan, otherwise it’s not hot enough. Often times electric stove tops are not as hot or responsive as gas. Also, make sure you are using bananas that are just barely ripe. Err on the side of green with this.
You might have used bananas that were too ripe
They were too ripe, also temperature not high enough. Also dont cover with lid
Very interesting
OH MY…childhood tastes I haven’t tried in decades!!! Thanks for waking up “senior” taste buds!!!! Guess what’s on top of my shopping list ??!!
Easy, simple and so delicious! Filling as well! Try flavored yogurts instead of vanilla ice cream! Slightly lower intake of fat & sugar!
Did anyone figure the points
I loved this recipe! Cant describe it any other way!!!! Bomb!!!!!
That is so wonderful!!
Made these last night and put over vanilla ice cream – simply amazing!
I think we have found a new favorite!
Hi Jennifer, that’s wonderful to hear. Enjoy!
What about a banana that has some black spots on the peel ? Would it work with those ? I have two and am trying to figure out something to do with them. Thanks.
Hi Koressa, the bananas might turn out a bit too mushy. I usually save those bananas for banana bread or banana ice cream.
Can you store them? and if so, for how long? Or do you have to eat them immediately?
Looks great and I can’t wait to try them.
Yes, for a few days in the fridge. In my opinion they’re not as good as freshly made, though. Enjoy!
It was very good. I would make this again and again.
Hi Monica, that’s great!
Has anyone tried using plantains? I’m looking for a firmer consistency, the bananas were too mushy for me, unless I didn’t fry them long enough
I made this recipe and it turned out delicious. My family enjoyed it with me. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Kattie, that is wonderful. So glad you all enjoyed the bananas!
just wondering if you have tried freezing them after they are done, to eat later?
Hi Cindy, I haven’t tried freezing these since I think they taste best fresh, and you can scale the recipe up or down to make however you’d like.
Hi, maybe you can try with riped plaintin instead of banana, the taste will be better, this is how we made in my country Ecuador, riped plaintains are swetest and taste better whe they’re fried. Try and let me know. 🙂
Carmen by cooking them is the end result firmer fruit? I used bananas and didn’t like them so soft
Thanks for the idea!
Yes I made this recipe. I put it in warmed cereal with yoghurt. It was delicious ?.The bananas were very soft though ,not crispy .
That’s great Suzanne! And to clarify, the bananas are not supposed to be crispy, but caramelized on the outside. For a firmer banana, you can use a less ripe one, and make sure not to cook them too long (use higher heat to caramelize faster).
OMG I could eat these at any time of day!