How to Freeze Bananas
Freezing ripe bananas are very simple and easy! Majority of us tend to waste banana, just because they don’t cost too much. Still I would freeze them since they are so easy to freeze.
Banana is one of my favorite fruits for daily green smoothie. I use banana for green smoothie recipes, but one can use these frozen bananas for other recipes, for example in bread.
Whole Banana
Frizzing bananas is always a good idea, but when? Do not freeze unripe bananas, wait until you start seeing brown spots on the peel.
There are different ways to freeze banana, but if you are planning to use them in green smoothies then I recommend to freeze the whole banana.
Step 1: Peel ripe bananas.
Step 2: You can freeze the whole banana or cut them into half. Place bananas in freezer bags or container. Make sure to space them out, just to make sure they don’t freeze as big chunk.
You can use these frozen bananas later as needed. You can use frozen banana directly in blender for smoothie to make it cold. Personally, I thaw frozen banana for my green smoothies just to be easy on blender blades.
Also, it is always a good idea to label the freezer bag or container with the date.
Banana Slices
If you are not freezing bananas for smoothie and not sure about the future use in your recipe then I recommend to slice bananas before you freeze them. It’s also very easy!
Step 1: Peel the banana
Step 2: Slice them in small 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch round slices.
Step 4: Arrange them on wax paper and flash freeze them for two hours.
Step 5: Transfer those frozen slices in to frozen safe bag or container for future use.
What is Flash Freeze?
Flash freeze is the method to freeze anything individually without getting them freeze into one big chunk.
If you slice bananas and freeze them together in freezer safe bag or container then they will stick to each other and get frozen into one big chunk. It makes it difficult during future use.
Instead, you need to arrange sliced banana separate from each other, freeze them first individually and then throw them into container or bag.
Flash freezing help at the time of future use, as you can easily get the desired quantity for the recipe.
Can I freeze bananas in the Peel?
Yes, you can freeze bananas in the peel. But I do not recommend to freeze bananas in the peel.
It will be difficult to remove the peel from the banana at the time of use. Plus, frozen peel reduces the quality of the frozen banana.
So, in my opinion, remove the peel before freezing banana.
Money Savings
Even though bananas are not expensive, you can still save some money by freezing bananas if you use them heavily. Keep eye on deals in fresh market, buy them more when they are on sale. Freeze them for future use in your daily smoothies or any recipe.
Once frozen you can use bananas for months. But it is best to use frozen bananas within six months.
You may also like my posts on top secret smoothie hacks for everyday and superfoods for green smoothies.