For The Absolute Best Bananas Foster, You'll Need To Light Up Your Grill

You can't go wrong serving up a sweet, boozy plate of bananas foster for dessert. Topped with vanilla ice cream and the classic sugary sauce, making bananas foster is a culinary accomplishment that needs little in the way of improvement — that is until you've experienced the added caramelization of using grilled bananas in the recipe.

If you've tried feasting on a banana split made with grilled bananas, you understand how such a small move can make a big difference when it comes to the taste and overall impact on a finished dish. Roasted bananas offer a boost of flavor that can complement the sweetness of the sauce in a bananas foster recipe while building smoky, roasted layers that can provoke feelings of nostalgic comfort. Grilled fruits offer a deliciously sweet upgrade to dishes, and roasting bananas to make this crowd-pleasing treat is no exception, regardless of whether you're on a camping trip or sitting in your dining room.

Choose firm bananas to grill so that the fruit can hold up to the heat as the natural sugars caramelize. You can place unpeeled bananas directly onto the grates of your grill or wrap them up in a tent made of aluminum foil if you are making this dessert at a fire pit next to your camping site. The bananas should soften around the 10-minute mark of cooking but may need extra time depending on the strength of your fire and the distance from the grill to the fruit.

If you don't have access to a grill but would still like a bit of smoky flavor in your plated dessert, reach for liquid smoke to add to your butter and brown sugar syrup. Add chopped walnuts or pecans to the simmering mixture and flavor your sauce with vanilla extract and ground spices like cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice for a seasonal touch. Of course, rum is the final gem in this recipe's crown before the oozing sauce is poured over the grilled bananas and served with vanilla ice cream. Plates will appear to clean themselves once this treat is served.