The Easiest Way To Make Banana Bread Whenever You Want

Banana bread is arguably one of the best pastries out there — you can have it for breakfast with your morning coffee have it as a midday snack, or dress it up with ice cream and have it for dessert. Because of this versatility, it's tempting to want to make banana bread all the time. But having bananas that are perfectly ripe (leaning into overripe territory) ready to bake at a moment's notice is no easy task — or is it?

It turns out there's a trick to have ripe bananas ready to go instead of having to wait for fresh bananas to ripen: freeze ripe bananas. Next time you're at the store, buy some extra bananas, then wait till they're perfectly ripe — but not too ripe for banana bread — then pop those in the freezer.

You can either peel the bananas (and keep them in an airtight container) then freeze them or put them in the freezer unpeeled — either works (although peeled bananas thaw a little bit quicker, if that makes a difference to you). Additionally, it's best to freeze them whole instead of slicing them, as it will be easier for you to measure them out for the banana bread recipes when you're ready to start baking. The bananas will keep in the freezer for about three to six months — beyond that, you risk the bananas getting mushy when thawed.

There are two ways to thaw those frozen bananas when you're ready to make some delicious banana bread. Firstly, you can just let them thaw over time, either at room temperature or in the fridge. The thawing process will take about two hours at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

Secondly, you can use the microwave to thaw the bananas at a faster rate. You can put all the bananas you need in the microwave at once — use the defrost function on your microwave at 50% power for about three minutes. From there, your bananas will be ready to be added to the banana bread batter.

All that's left to do is choose a banana bread recipe. If you need somewhere to start you can opt for Tasting Table's brown butter banana bread, olive oil chocolate chip banana bread, or for a more unique option, spiced chocolate rum banana bread.