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How to Freeze Bananas

Since bananas turn very quickly from ripe to overripe, sometimes almost overnight, it becomes good practice to learn about freezing bananas. Keeping bananas in the freezer will ensure that the ripening process stops and bananas remain exactly the same as the day they were frozen.

Right now you might be wondering why you would even want to know how to freeze bananas. What would you do with a frozen banana anyways?

Well, outside of making banana bread, we think it’s a great way to salvage overripe bananas and save them from an unnecessary trip to the compost or landfill.

How to Freeze Bananas

Freezing Bananas is Simple

The absolute best bananas to freeze are those that are overripe. Not to the point of blackness, but speckled with brown dots on their exterior (similar to the following picture). These are not the most pleasant for most people to eat fresh, as they are mushier in texture and less appealing to the eye. But, they are also more robust in flavor. You could just throw them into a smoothie or make a nice banana bread. But, if you just want to get them off the counter before you have to throw them away, then look no further than your freezer. They will again look young and beautiful once peeled and frozen.

Instructions to Freeze Bananas

It turns out that bananas are one of the easiest things to freeze and also to use while still frozen. They will no longer ripen once frozen, so you’ll always have bananas on hand. Besides being useful to make a quick and creamy smoothie, they can be transformed into a healthy dessert (recipe to follow soon).

Peel the bananas.
The first step to freeze bananas is to peel the bananas. If you don’t, which you don’t have to – you can stick them straight into the freezer and they will freeze… but it’s extremely difficult to remove the skin once they’re frozen and you try to actually use them.

Place them into freezer safe bags.
Next, stick them into freezer safe bags (or use a vacuum sealer if you’ve got one). Hold and squeeze the air from the bag as you seal it up. If you prefer to have bite sized frozen bananas, then slice them before sticking them into the bag. Some pieces may stick together when freezing, but it’s far easier to cut a fresh banana than a hard frozen one.

Label and separate the bananas.
Label the bag with the date so you can use the first in, first out inventory process when using the bananas. Lay the bag flat into the freezer, this makes it easy to just reach in and grab one banana at a time whenever you like. If you don’t have freezer bags, you can just wrap them in plastic wrap. A nice “skin” of ice will form around each banana, making it easy to remove just the number that you need.

How to Freeze Bananas

Additional Info

These frozen bananas pop quickly into smoothie recipes enhancing the texture and flavor, but we think that their true calling is a quick transformation into one bite banana splits once frozen.

For more on the shelf life of bananas, see our banana page.

Many people also question ones ability to freeze potatoes, so we have a post dealing with freezing potatoes.

To find out how long other foods are good for, please visit the Dairy, Drinks, Fruits, Grains, Proteins, Vegetables and Other sections of Eat By Date or use the search function below.