If you’re craving a banana-flavored treat but the bunch of bananas you bought isn’t ripe yet, I have the perfect solution for how to ripen bananas four different ways! Depending on how much time you have and how ripe you want them, ripening bananas can take anywhere from 5 minutes to a day or two.
While you can let bananas ripen naturally in a warm spot on your kitchen counter, my hacks are perfect for when you need to turn green bananas into ripe bananas in a matter of minutes. Using heat is a much faster method for softening bananas enough so that they’re easy to mash for use in batters and dough. If you don’t need the bananas urgently and want to maintain their texture, try the paper bag method. For more easy tutorials, check out how to soften butter, how to make brown sugar, and how to toast coconut.
How Do I Tell If A Banana Is Ripe?
Bananas range in ripeness from unripe to ripe to very ripe. The kind you need depends on what you’re planning to use the bananas for.
Unripe bananas are either fully or partially green. They are quite starchy, firm, and not sweet. If you’re a fan of bananas that are less sweet, you can eat underripe bananas, but I don’t recommend using them for baking.
Ripe bananas are yellow or just starting to develop a few brown spots and have a sweet flavor. Yellow bananas are perfect for snacking on or to use when you want the banana to maintain its shape or texture, like in bananas foster or banana pudding.
Very ripe bananas have lots of brown spots, or the peels have turned completely dark, almost black. These bananas are also very fragrant. The flesh of very ripe bananas is soft, mushy, and extremely sweet. By this time, the bananas are not usually the most enjoyable eaten raw, but their intensified flavor makes them excellent for baking! Recipes like banana bread or banana chocolate chip muffins are best when made with very ripe bananas.
How To Ripen Bananas In the Oven
1. Place the unpeeled bananas on a parchment paper- or foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean up.
2. Bake at 300°F for 15 to 40 minutes (depending on their size and level of unripeness) until they are dark brown and very soft to the touch. Let the bananas cool completely before peeling.
How To Ripen Bananas In the Air Fryer
1. Place the bananas in the air fryer basket, leaving space between each one.
Air Fry at 275°F for 10 to 30 minutes (depending on the ripeness of your bananas at the start) until the peels are dark brown and the bananas feel soft when pressed.
2. Check the bananas periodically during cooking, and add a few tablespoons of water to the bottom of the basket if the peels start to feel crispy at any point. Let the bananas cool completely before peeling.
How To Ripen Bananas In the Microwave
1. Place the bananas in a single layer on a microwave-safe plate. Prick each banana all over 3 to 4 times with a fork.
2. Microwave on high heat in 30-second intervals until the bananas are soft to the touch. Let the bananas cool completely before peeling.
Can You Ripen Bananas In A Paper Bag?
Yes! This is slower than the other methods but is a great way to speed up the ripening process if you purchase green bananas that you plan to use in a day or two.
Place the bananas in a paper bag. Seal the paper bag to trap the ethylene gas , a natural plant hormone that ripens fruit. They should be ripe within 1 to 2 days, though if they are very green, it can take a bit longer. You can also add an apple or avocado to the bag to speed up the ripening process if you have one! Both of those fruits emit lots of ethylene gas, which will help the process.
Do not use a plastic bag, as it can trap moisture and promote mildew or mold formation.
What Is The Best Method To Use?
Choosing which method for how to ripen bananas quickly really depends on how much time you have and what you plan to use the ripened bananas for.
The paper bag method is faster than just setting the bananas on the counter, but it still takes a couple of days. The oven method and air fryer method take under an hour. If you want to know how to ripen bananas in 5 minutes, the microwave method is your best bet, as it’s the fastest way.
Keep in mind that, texture-wise, using heat to quickly ripen bananas will make the fruit softer and cause it to release some of its natural moisture. These methods are best used if you plan to mash the bananas for your recipe, like for banana oatmeal cookies. The mushy bananas will not be the most pleasant eaten out of hand, so I’d advise against trying to snack on them.
A bag-ripened banana is better for slicing to top banana waffles or in banoffee pie filling. You can also snack on these sweet bananas by themselves as bag-ripening will develop the bananas’ natural sugars without turning them soft and watery.
How To Use Ripe Bananas
There are so many ways to use ripe bananas, like in quick breads, muffins, and cakes! Here are some of my favorite banana recipes:
Breakfast treats:
Desserts:
How To Store Ripe Bananas
Refrigerating: Store ripe bananas in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. They will continue to turn very brown on the outside, but the inside will stop ripening due to the fridge’s cold temperature.
Freezing: Line a sheet tray with parchment paper and place peeled bananas in a single layer. Freeze for about 4 hours or until solid. Place the frozen bananas in zip-top plastic freezer bags or an airtight container and store them in the freezer for up to 6 months. Thaw before use in baked goods, draining off any excess liquid. If you’re using frozen bananas to make a smoothie, use them frozen for an incredibly creamy drink!
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- A soft, ripe banana can easily be squeezed from the peel. Cut off one end and apply pressure to the other end of the skin to pop the banana out of the skin.
- Be sure to let the bananas cool before you try to peel them. If you use one of the heating methods, the ripe fruit will be very hot and will burn if you try to handle them immediately. Cool them to room temperature first.
- These methods can be used for any type of banana! If you have baby bananas, red bananas, or even plantains.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can bake with overripe bananas immediately. Or, to store them, refrigerate them for up to a week or freeze them for up to 6 months. See the How to Store Ripe Bananas section for detailed instructions.
No, oven-ripened, air fryer-ripened, and microwave-ripened bananas won’t taste quite the same as naturally-ripened bananas. Quick-ripened bananas are a bit less sweet because the fruit didn’t have time to naturally develop the sugars, but they still taste fantastic in baked goods!
I don’t recommend it unless you follow one of my methods to ripen them. Green bananas are starchy and astringent when raw. They are also very firm and won’t mash well to incorporate into batters or doughs. In addition to being less sweet than ripe bananas, unripe bananas are less flavorful overall. Save them for snacking on if you aren’t a fan of sweet fruits, or ripen them before baking.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this how to ripen bananas tutorial, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
How To Ripen Bananas
Ingredients
- Bananas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F.
- Place the bananas on a parchment or foiled-lined baking sheet (for easy clean up). Bake for 15 to 40 minutes (depending on their size and level of unripeness) until they are brown and very soft to the touch. Let cool until warm, then peel and mash.
Notes
- A soft, ripe banana can easily be squeezed from the peel. Cut off one end and apply pressure to the other end of the skin to pop the banana out of the skin.
- Be sure to let the bananas cool before you try to peel them. If you use one of the heating methods, the ripe fruit will be very hot and will burn if you try to handle them immediately. Cool them to room temperature first.
- These methods can be used for any type of banana! If you have baby bananas, red bananas, or even plantains.
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