Deep-Fried Bananas Recipe

When you think about it, bananas are basically the perfect food. They're delicious on their own, but they work incredibly well in a number of recipes. Blended into smoothies, used to make bread, as part of a fruit salad, bananas have a place! It's pre-wrapped and portable thanks to nature. It can be frozen (and for several months, no less) and then blended into a healthy take on ice cream. Yes, the banana is pretty great. But how to make it even better? Easy: deep-fry it. And in a sweet batter.

Chef and recipe developer Susan Olayinka of The Flexible Fridge has come up with a quick and easy fried banana recipe that's so tasty she says they should come with a warning. "They're so good — I could only have two then I had to stop myself from eating them all," she raves. Just be sure to prepare these fried bananas when you have some friends or family on hand to enjoy them with, because Olayinka also warns they'll get soggy if not eaten fresh. Or, you know, just go ahead and eat them all yourself!

This recipe calls simply for bananas, batter (which you'll make, of course), and oil for frying. So, all you need is the fruit itself, all-purpose flour, some sugar, some salt, some baking powder, and a good deal of vegetable oil. However, it's a good idea to also have some powdered sugar on hand to sweeten up your finished creation. And it's a great idea to also consider sprinkling on some cacao powder or ground cinnamon — whatever sounds tastiest to you.

Begin the recipe by peeling the bananas and then chopping them into approximate ½-inch discs. Next, grab a mixing bowl and into it place the all-purpose flour, the granulated sugar, the baking powder, and the salt, and mix all of these dry ingredients together. Note that you can always double this recipe (or triple it) if you have a crowd on hand — just don't try to fry the banana pieces in batches bigger than your pot can handle.

Pour the vegetable frying oil into a medium-sized pot (higher walls are better to stop splatter) and put it onto a stove burner. Turn the heat up to a medium-high setting and let the oil warm up. Meanwhile, add the milk and egg into the flour mixture, and mix everything together to form the batter. Now, coat the banana discs in batter and get ready to fry them.

Now, using tongs, begin to place the battered banana pieces directly into the pot with hot oil. "Just be sure to remove excess batter properly so you don't get the stringy bits and get a nice shape," says Olayinka. Fry each piece for two minutes on each side, working in batches as space requires. After pieces have fried for the four minutes, transfer them to a paper towel-lined plate. Now, sprinkle the bananas with the optional powdered sugar, cacao, cinnamon, cocoa, or whatever else sounds great. Serve up and enjoy this tasty little delicacies.