You’re ready to bake, but your bananas aren’t. The fix is simple: your oven can ripen bananas in 15-25 minutes depending on size, with results just as good as naturally ripened ones.
Here’s the science: heat converts the starch in unripe bananas to sugar, mimicking the natural ripening process in a fraction of the time.
Try this method next time you don’t have ripe bananas for a banana-based recipe – I use it for my Thermomix chocolate chip banana bread and Thermomix banana oat cookies with chocolate chips.
Step-by-Step Directions
- Use yellow, ripe bananas – firm enough to eat as a snack, with no spots or just a few. Avoid green bananas; they won’t be sweet or soft enough for baking, even after roasting.
- Place the unpeeled bananas on the lined baking tray, spaced apart so they’re not touching, and transfer to the oven.
- Your bananas are ready when the skins are completely black and shiny – they’ll feel very soft and may have released some syrup onto the tray, which is completely normal. Timing will vary depending on size; these large bananas took 25 minutes.
- Allow the bananas to cool – they’ll be very hot. Once cool enough to touch, snip off one end with scissors and squeeze the flesh straight out into a bowl.
- The flesh will be soft and easy to mash.
- Mash with a fork, then allow to cool completely before adding to your recipe.
