Can mashed bananas be frozen? - The best way

Fresh bananas are one of the most satisfying fruits you can eat. Not only are they tasty and relatively easy to eat compared to many other juicy fruits, they are also packed with great nutrition. However, every banana consumer has a preference for the perfect degree of ripeness. Some like them green, others prefer them a bright sunny yellow.

But what do you do with your bananas once the dreaded brown spots start appearing? Many people choose to mash overripe plantains for baking. If you have more mashed fruit than you can reasonably bake at the time, you may be wondering if mashed banana can be frozen.

So can mashed bananas be frozen?

The answer is yes, you certainly can. The best way is to freeze the mashed banana in an airtight container or freezer bag, taking care that all the air has been squeezed out.

There are many ways to freeze bananas and this article will provide you with all the best practices, pros and cons of freezing mashed bananas and many other ways as well.

How to freeze mashed bananas

Freezing mashed bananas is very easy. Once you’ve peeled and mashed the bananas to the consistency you like, all you have to do is place the mash in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or Tupperware container.

Frozen bananas tend to develop more moisture than when fresh, so you don’t need to puree the banana before freezing, just mash it with a fork.

When thawed, it will be naturally softer and mix easily with whatever you are baking.

If you’re using a bag, squeeze out as much air as possible before carefully closing it. If you’re using a Tupperware container, it’s a good idea to place a layer of plastic wrap over the very surface of the bananas before sealing the container with its airtight lid.

This will protect your bananas from exposure to air, which can cause the surface to develop ice crystals, making your bananas soggy when they thaw.

If you know in advance what you’re going to use the mashed bananas for, it’s a great idea to store it in the proper serving size, so you don’t have to worry about measuring partial qualities of frozen banana puree , which can be, at the very least, a nuisance.

If you want another way to freeze mashed bananas, check out this video from ThrifyFun.

How long do bananas stay fresh in the freezer?

If stored properly, you can keep your bananas in the freezer for up to 6 months. It’s always a good idea to label your bags or containers with the freeze date so you know what the best-before recommendations are.

After about 3-4 months, your plantains will very slowly start to lose their flavor, so the sooner you can use them, the tastier your recipe will be. 

You can also label your container with a note about how ripe the bananas were when you froze them. The more ripe the banana, the sweeter it will be.

If you’re going to add banana to a recipe, this will affect the flavor of the end result, so it’s helpful to take notes when freezing so you know what you’re going to be working with when you thaw the banana.

Alternative Ways to Freeze Bananas

Before freezing your bananas, it’s important to note that once they’re in the freezer, they won’t ripen any further.  The peel will brown, but the banana itself will remain the same.

If you freeze a green banana, when you thaw it it will be just as starchy and chewy as when you put it in the freezer. It is important to pay attention to this, depending on the use you plan to give your bananas in the future.

1. Whole, with skin

If you have a bunch of bananas that attract fruit flies and make your kitchen smell sweet, the quickest and easiest way to freeze bananas is whole, unpeeled.

You can pop them in the freezer as is and they will freeze perfectly without any extra wrapping. 

The skin will turn brown in the freezer, but the fruit inside will maintain the same level of ripeness as when you first frozen it, regardless of the outside appearance.

When you thaw the bananas, the skin will become very soft and somewhat slimy, but this is completely normal and nothing to worry about. It won’t affect the quality of your bananas in the slightest, but it can be a messy process and a little nasty if you’re the squeamish type.

2. Whole, shelled

If you plan to use your bananas for baking and would rather take a few more minutes upfront to save yourself the slimy future work of peeling a previously frozen banana, you can freeze your bananas whole without the skin.

For best results, wrap each banana individually in plastic wrap, then place all together in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or Tupperware container. 

If you don’t wrap them individually, they will stick to each other and freeze together, forming a clump. They are also more likely to develop ice crystals this way, which will affect the texture and moisture levels of your plantains when you are ready to use them.

Try to lay the bananas flat, rather than randomly popping them into the freezer, to prevent them from getting squashed or smashed before they’re frozen.

3. In bite-sized pieces

If you plan to use your frozen bananas for smoothies, ice cream, or breakfast cereals, it may help to peel and cut the bananas into appropriately sized pieces.

• To make sure the pieces don’t stick together, start by lining a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the banana pieces out so they’re not touching each other.
• Pop them in the freezer uncovered for about 30 minutes until each piece is individually frozen.
• Afterwards, you can collect all the banana pieces and place them in a single freezer-safe Ziploc bag or an airtight Tupperware container.

Caution: Frozen bananas share their flavor

Before randomly popping the bananas into the freezer, take a few minutes to adjust the contents and make sure everything around the bananas is in a thick, somewhat impenetrable container, preferably glass, but good plastic is also acceptable. or silicone.

Unless you don’t mind your frozen foods having the slightest but noticeable banana flavor, be very careful to keep the distance between your frozen bread and pastries and your bananas.

All bananas like to share, but the riper the banana, the more flavor it will carry over to your other frozen items, so keep that in mind when stocking your freezer.

How to thaw frozen bananas

How you thaw the bananas will depend on how you decided to freeze them and what you plan to do with them.

To thaw frozen bananas for baking, you can choose any of the following methods to thaw the fruit:

1. Place the sealed frozen bananas on a plate or in a bowl on your counter and allow them to thaw at room temperature.
2. Keep the plantains tightly sealed in a container and let them sit in a large bowl, pot, or sink of warm (not hot!) water until completely thawed.
3. Remove the plantains from the container or bag and place them on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave in short 20-second bursts, stirring as best you can in between, until plantain is thawed.

If you’ve frozen the banana to use in a no-bake recipe or for breakfast cereals, etc., it’s best to avoid heating the fruit in any way before using it.

For best results, simply place the still-sealed bag or container on a plate on your counter and allow it to slowly thaw to room temperature before using.

If you’re adding the banana to a smoothie or ice cream mix, you can use it frozen and not worry about thawing it at all.

The best use of frozen bananas is to make banana bread. You can find the best flour for making banana bread in this article.

Related questions

How to ripen a banana quickly?

If you are going to eat the plantain as a snack, the best way to make it ripe fairly quickly is to place it in a paper bag somewhere warm, but not hot. Fold the top of the bag over so that some air can circulate, but the ethylene gas the fruit produces will help it ripen more quickly.

You can also add an apple to the bag to increase the amount of gas and therefore the speed of ripening, which can reduce the process from 3-4 days to overnight in many cases.

If you want the plantains to ripen instantly so you can bake with them, you can place the plantains, skin on, in the oven over low heat for about 15 minutes. You can also microwave them for short 30-second bursts until the banana is soft enough for your purposes.

How many cups does a medium banana hold?

To get 1 cup of mashed bananas, you’ll usually need about 3 medium bananas.

This is not exact and if your recipe is very particular you will want to measure each time, but for a standard loaf of banana bread, a little more or less banana will not noticeably affect the outcome of your bread.

Does freezing a banana reduce its nutritional value?

No, actually freezing the fruit is a great way to preserve its nutritional value. Bananas are interesting fruits; as they mature, their nutritional value changes slightly. The fruit itself becomes sweeter and less starchy because the starch is converted to sugar.

In general, this makes it easier to digest, although it will affect your blood sugar levels more. As soon as it is frozen, the nutrients are frozen as well, keeping the fruit as healthy as the day you put it in the freezer.