10 All-American Banana Recipes You’ll Go Bananas For

For many of us in the test kitchen who grew up in the U.S., snack cake was a one-layer affair cut into squares and packed into our lunchbox or ready for us to eat when we got home from school. That’s because it’s simple to make, doesn’t require decoration (aside from perhaps a smear of frosting) and—most importantly—there doesn’t need to be a special occasion for us to enjoy it. [GET THE RECIPE]

What’s better than buttermilk pancakes? Buttermilk pancakes that have your favorite ingredient stirred in, that’s what. We sprinkle the mixture of banana and walnuts over each pancake as they’re still forming for even distribution. [GET THE RECIPE]

Some banana cream pie recipes call for you to add banana extract or banana liqueur to the pastry cream. We liked the idea, but the extract tasted artificial, and it wasn’t worth buying a $15 bottle of liqueur for the small amount we'd need. We found a cheaper, better-tasting alternative: two sliced bananas added to our pastry cream, which we then strained to minimize the unappealing color change. [GET THE RECIPE]

Iconic American dishes come from every corner of the map, but no city's food has more flourish than that of New Orleans. Take Bananas Foster—it quickly became, and remains, a mainstay at many restaurants in its hometown.

With a short trip to the supermarket, we were able to create a rich, creamy, sweet, buttery, rum-flavored sauce that pairs perfectly with ripe leftover bananas and vanilla ice cream. [GET THE RECIPE]

Americans love their instant meals. Yet, the choice between a bowl of creamy, plump, pleasantly chewy, slow-cooked steel-cut oatmeal and the gummy stuff you get from those just-add-water instant packets is a no-brainer. Our recipe gives you superior steel-cut oatmeal with pleasant banana flavor, all in just 30 minutes. [GET THE RECIPE]

Bananas, peanut butter, and chocolate chips are great on their own, but these ingredients form a magical partnership whenever they’re mixed together. With just two steps, our recipe provides you with four-dozen tasty treats. [GET THE RECIPE]

For our Chocolate-Banana Milkshake recipe, we process a ripe banana until smooth and then add some cocoa powder and malted milk powder for a complex, round chocolate flavor. TIP: Serving milkshakes in chilled glasses helps the shakes stay colder longer. [GET THE RECIPE]

Roasting intensifies the flavor and sugars of fruits and vegetables, so we put the bananas in a 325-degree oven for about 20 minutes until their skins turned black, then placed the peeled bananas in the food processor. Instead of utilizing the cumbersome step of pushing the pudding through a fine-mesh strainer, we process the vanilla pudding right in there with the bananas. [GET THE RECIPE]

Most fruit salads—even those made with great summer fruit—are disappointingly dry and bland. The problem? Many cooks just toss fruit together in a bowl. What’s needed to add both moisture and flavor is a dressing. We use our simple syrup recipe, which uses ½ cup sugar and ¼ cup of water to make this fruit salad superior. (The rum helps, too.) [GET THE RECIPE]

Instead of throwing out those overripe bananas, use them for this recipe. In fact, the browner they are, the better the bread will taste. (Read more about Banana Ripeness in Banana Bread.) [GET THE RECIPE]

When you get a chance, check out our article that highlights 10 Leftover Ingredients You Didn’t Know You Could Freeze. (Spoiler Alert: Bananas are one of them.)