Don’t Toss Those Overripe Bananas!

If only our weather would cooperate, we'd plant a banana tree or two in our yards. That's how many bananas our families eat. However, we still occasionally end up with overripe bananas.

Banana bread is a wonderful standby, but we've been wondering what else we can do with excess bananas that are past their prime. Fortunately, we found a bunch of delicious ideas we can't wait to try. We hope you'll be as excited about them as we are!

Make Banana Crepes With Overripe Bananas

Crepes sound fancy, especially if you pronounce it like the French with a short E instead of a long A. But this recipe from Mommy Snippets shows how simple they can be. We love how there's no sugar added, which means we can spread jam or honey on these crepes, guilt-free.

Make sure you have a large  nonstick skillet on hand to help ensure your crepes release easily. Or try a crepe pan, designed especially for flipping crepes, omelets and pancakes.

Make Banana Fritters With Overripe Bananas

We're so happy we found the blog Cook Like a Jamaican, and not just because of this recipe for banana fritters. Read the story, and we bet you'll smile like we did -- especially if you were a fan of 1980's-era game shows.

While these fritters are fried in oil, you'll be pleasantly surprised by how little oil you need. Just be sure to watch it carefully, and let the fritters cool slightly before digging in. Then browse the rest of Fay and Angela's blog for more authentic Jamaican recipes. We're hooked.

Make Banana Raita With Overripe Bananas

We looked through a lot of Banana Raita recipes before deciding on this one from Spice Up the Curry. Blogger Kanan is from Ahmedabad, a few hundred miles north of Mumbai, and she reminisces about eating her mother's Banana Raita as a snack. It's also great as a side dish for biryani or curry.

Don't be intimidated by this recipe; refer to the step by step photos, which will walk you through the process. It's actually quite simple. Then check out her other raita recipes -- we're eyeing the pomegranate one.

Note: Kanan advises using ripe bananas instead of overripe ones so your raita doesn't get too sweet. However, "ripe" and "overripe" are subjective; the bananas shown in her photo are past the point where our kids would eat them, so we think they qualify as overripe. In short, if you can slice your bananas, they're probably fine for raita.

Make Bananas Foster With Overripe Bananas

If you've never eaten at Brennan's in New Orleans, you really ought to add it to your life list. This place is famous, and with good reason. Whether you go for breakfast, brunch or dinner, you'll want to save room for Bananas Foster. Or, thanks to this recipe, you can make it at home.

As with the Banana Raita recipe above, you'll want your bananas to be firm enough that you can slice them. If you aren't cooking with gas, you can flambé your Bananas Foster using a long lighter or grill match. Be sure to have a lid handy to cover the pan, should the flames get too high. Or if the thought of open flames in your kitchen makes you hyperventilate, you can skip this step. Your Bananas Foster will be less dramatic, but just as delicious.

Make Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies With Overripe Bananas

This recipe from Mom on Timeout is a must-try. You'll notice it isn't too different from most chocolate chip cookie recipes, with a few small tweaks. For one, there aren't any eggs -- only bananas. In fact, vegan baking uses bananas as an egg substitute.

Follow the recipe exactly, refrigerate the dough, and let the cookies cool on your baking sheets before transferring to a cooling rack or serving plate. If you could use a refresher on avoiding baking fails, check out our three-part series. Remember: cooking is an art, while baking is a science.