10+ Good Ideas for How to Use Overripe Bananas
Bananas become overripe with time, especially if you store them the wrong way, like in the fridge. But don’t throw them away. There are many possible uses for overripe bananas that include banana bread, face masks, wood polish, and even flower fertilizer.
5-Minute Crafts is sharing some ideas about what you can do with overripe bananas.
1. Baked bananas with chocolate
Ingredients:
- 4 bananas
- 60 to 70 grams of chocolate or thermo-tolerant drops (for pastries)
- Vanilla ice cream
How to make it: Heat the oven to 390°F (350°F with a fan). Make a cut on one side of each banana skin (but don’t cut the bananas themselves). Add the chocolate drops or ground chocolate into the slits. Put each banana on a separate sheet of tin foil and wrap them. Put them into the oven and bake them for 25 minutes until they get dark. Serve them with ice cream.
2. Banana bread
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (and a little more to rub the mold)
- 6.7 ounces of brown sugar
- A bit more than 500 grams of sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 1 tsp of salt
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 tsp of baking soda
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 9 ounces of flour
How to make it: Heat the oven to 350°F degrees. Rub the baking mold with butter. Peel the bananas and make a mash. Melt the butter in a big bowl, add some sugar, and whip it. Add the banana mash. Whip the eggs and the vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, mix salt, cinnamon, soda, and baking powder, and then evenly cover the egg mix with it. Add the flour and mix again. Pour the dough into the mold and make sure there is around half an inch left to the edge.
Put the mold into the oven and bake it for 55-65 minutes. Use a toothpick to check if the bread is done. Let the bread cool down before taking it out of the mold.
3. Meatballs
Ingredients:
- 1 pound of minced beef
- 1 carrot
- 1 onion
- 1 banana
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper
- Oil (for frying)
How to make it: Grate the carrot and cut the onion into cubes or grate it. Mash the banana. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients with an egg, along with the meat. Make ball shapes with the mixture. Put your frying pan on medium heat and add some oil. Cook the balls for 5 minutes on each side. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and put the balls into the oven for 20 minutes. You’re done!
4. Smoothie
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of milk
- A handful of prunes
- 1 tsp of cinnamon
- 1 banana
How to make it: In a blender, mix milk, prunes, cinnamon, and banana. Pour the drink into a bottle and cool it down before drinking. You can store this drink in the fridge for 2 days.
5. Face mask
Face masks based on overripe bananas are great for people with dry, oily, and sensitive skin. Bananas contain natural antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that nourish and moisturize the skin and protect it from damage and aging.
- Face mask to treat acne:
Get a ripe banana, 1/2 tsp of baking powder, and 1/2 tsp of turmeric. Peel the banana and make a mash. Add the dry ingredients and mix. Put the mix on your skin and leave it there for 10-15 minutes. It’s a peeling mask, so don’t use it every day or too often. - Mask for aging skin:
Get a ripe banana, 1 tsp of orange juice, and 1 tsp of thick yogurt. Mix all the ingredients to make a paste. Put it on your face, rub it into the skin a little, and leave it on for 10-15 minutes. Wash it off with cool water and put some moisturizing cream on your face.
6. Hair mask
You can use bananas to make a hair mask to make them look better, less dry, and give them a beautiful natural shine.
You need:
- 1 glass of water
- 1/4 glass of apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 avocado
- 1 egg
- 1/2 banana
- 1 tbsp of olive oil
How to make a mask:
Mix apple cider and water in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, mash the bananas and avocado, then add oil and egg.
Massaging the scalp, put the mash on the hair, put on a shower cap (or a plastic bag), and leave it for 20 minutes. After that, remove the hat and wash the hair with cool water.
After that, wash the hair with shampoo, wash it off and dip your hair again into the water and vinegar mix. Wait for a few minutes and wash your hair with water again and apply a hair conditioner.
7. Improving the look of leather items
If the leather on your shoes or bag looks dull, use a banana peel. You just need the inside part of it. Rub the leather to make it shiny again and make all the dents less visible. After that, use a microfiber cloth to polish the leather and remove the banana peel pieces.
8. Wood polish
Use a ripe banana to make wood shiny again. Mash a bit of it in your hands and rub it on a wooden surface. Use a microfiber cloth to polish the leather and remove the banana peel pieces.
9. Fertilizer for your plants
You need:
- 2.2 lb (1 kg) of overripe bananas
- 2.2 lb (1 kg) of brown sugar
How to make it: Keeping the peel on the bananas, cut them into small pieces. Add sugar on the top, mix them, and put them into a container that you can close. Leave at room temperature for 2 weeks.
Use the fertilizer for roses and other blooming plants to help them develop big flowers. Use 10 ml of the fertilizer and add it to 1 liter of water. After that, water the plant with it.
10. Healthy dog treats
- 1 small sweet potato
- 1 finely cut carrot
- 1 medium-sized banana
- 1/2 glass of apple cider vinegar (organic and sugar-free)
- 2 glasses of whole wheat flour
- 1 glass of oat flakes
- 1/3 glass of water
How to make it: Cook the sweet potato in a microwave oven for 8-10 minutes (until the middle is soft). Put it aside and let it cool down. Heat the microwave to 250°F. Put a banana and the sweet potato in a big bowl and make a mash.
Add the carrot, flour, and oat flakes. After that, add water and apple cider to make the dough soft but not liquid. Put some flour on your working area and roll the dough so that it’s 3-4 mm thick. Cut the dough into strips and bake them in the oven for 25 minutes.
Let the treats cool down before you give them to your dog. Keep them in a closed container in the fridge for no more than 2 weeks.
11. To help unripe fruits and vegetables
