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<\/p>\nCaramelized bananas are amazing on ice cream, French toast, cheesecakes and more. But, what is the best recipe? I tried three different methods – made in a skillet, oven, and microwave – and share my results here.<\/p>\n
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If you’ve never had caramelized bananas, you are in for a treat! Bananas are naturally sweet, but once they are caramelized, they take on a more robust flavor and form a banana-flavored sauce that you can pour over just about anything!<\/p>\n
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Caramelized bananas are bananas that are cooked with butter and sugar<\/strong>. Two main transformations happen during that process:<\/p>\n Caramelized bananas are delicious served in so many ways:<\/p>\n When you bake with bananas like in my banana cupcakes<\/a><\/strong> or my banana oatmeal chocolate chip muffins<\/a><\/strong>, using overripe, almost black bananas is really important. When you make caramelized bananas, the banana peels should be yellow with just a few brown specks<\/strong>. If the bananas are overripe, they will turn to mush when you cook them.<\/p>\n There are three different ways to make caramelized bananas: fried on the stove top, in the oven, and in the microwave<\/strong>. Each one uses the same ingredients of butter, brown sugar, and bananas, but the methodology is different.<\/p>\n We found that the stove top method produced the best results<\/strong>. It was the only method where the sauce truly thickened up. That said, the other two methods both produced delicious results. Let’s look at each one in more detail.<\/p>\n Using a skillet on the stove top is the most common way of making caramelized bananas. It’s a tried and true method and produces outstanding results.<\/p>\n To make stove top caramelized bananas, start by melting butter in skillet on medium heat<\/strong>. I use unsalted butter, but in this case salted butter would also work just fine.<\/p>\n Next, add sliced bananas and brown sugar to the skillet<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Keep the heat at medium and start stirring<\/strong>. The sugar will melt and start to coat the bananas almost immediately. Keep on stirring until the sauce starts to thicken – about three minutes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Tip<\/span><\/strong>: Keep a close watch on the sugar. You don’t want it to start boiling. If that happens, it can burn within seconds.<\/p>\n I love the ease of making caramelized bananas in the oven. They come out perfect every time and they don’t need to be closely monitored like the caramelized bananas made on the stove top.<\/strong><\/p>\n The downside of oven-baked caramelized bananas is that the sauce doesn’t thicken as much as the stove top version\u00a0because the heat isn’t as high and direct<\/strong>. The dish tastes just as good, but the texture isn’t the same.<\/p>\n To make oven-baked caramelized bananas, place bananas in an oven-safe baking dish and dot with small pieces of butter.<\/p>\n Tip<\/strong><\/span>: As you see below, I sliced these bananas in long halves. You can slice the bananas any which way and the recipe will still work<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Sprinkle brown sugar over the butter and bananas<\/strong>. It doesn’t matter if some of it ends up in the pan and not on the bananas; there will be sauce in the pan at the end no matter how you sprinkle the sugar.<\/p>\n Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes<\/strong>. When you remove the bananas from the oven, use a spoon to cover all of the bananas in the caramel sauce.<\/p>\n There is do doubt that the microwave is the EASIEST way to caramelize bananas<\/strong>. Caramelized bananas made in the microwave are so quick to make for a last-minute topping for a breakfast or dessert dish. However, like the oven-baked variety, the sauce on the microwave bananas doesn’t thicken<\/strong>. Additionally, the bananas get mushy in the microwave<\/strong>. Microwaved caramelized bananas taste fantastic, but the texture just doesn’t stack up to either of the other two versions.<\/p>\n To make microwaved caramelized bananas, place sliced bananas in a microwave-safe baking dish, dot with butter, and top with brown sugar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Microwave on high for two minutes<\/strong>. Add more time if needed based on the power of your microwave.<\/p>\n It’s easier to slice a banana lengthwise before you peel it<\/em>. This helps to keep the banana from cracking. Slice through the whole banana, then cut off the ends and peel carefully.<\/strong><\/p>\n Caramelized bananas are perfect with just three ingredients. However, if you want some variety, there are several ways to vary the recipe:<\/p>\n\n
How Are Caramelized Bananas Served?<\/h2>\n
![\"Caramelized](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-18-428x642.jpg\")
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Should You Use Overripe Bananas ?<\/h2>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-01-428x642.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHow to Make Caramelized Bananas<\/h2>\n
Stove Top Fried Caramelized Bananas<\/h3>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-07-428x642.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Brown](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-09-428x642.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Caramelized](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-11-428x642.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOven-Baked Caramelized Bananas<\/h3>\n
![\"bananas](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-15-428x642.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Bananas](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-16-428x642.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"oven](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-19-428x642.jpg\")
<\/p>\nMicrowaved Caramelized Bananas<\/h3>\n
![\"Bananas](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-25-428x642.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Caramelized](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-26-428x642.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHow to Slice a Banana Lengthwise<\/h2>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/cdn.cupcakeproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Caramelized-Bananas-03-428x642.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCaramelized Banana Variations<\/h2>\n
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Best Tips for Making Caramelized Bananas<\/h2>\n
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If You Like Caramelized Bananas, You May Also Like…<\/h2>\n
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Did you make this recipe? Leave a review!<\/a><\/div>\n
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