Should You Use Frozen Bananas For Banana Bread?

Whether your secret is adding chocolate chips, shredded coconut, or a splash of orange juice, all bakers know that the secret to formulating the perfect loaf of banana bread is to decode your bananas. No one knows this better than Erin Jeanne McDowell, cookbook author and host of Happy Baking on YouTube, who agrees that overripe bananas are the only correct answer for moist banana bread.

"Yes, it's best to use very ripe bananas — they mash easier and contain more natural sweetness, making for a more flavorful bread overall," she said. If that bunch of bananas on your counter begins to brown before you're ready to make banana bread, stick it in the freezer until it's time to bake. Freezing bananas can extend their shelf life, much like freezing cucumbers or freezing avocados, but it doesn't always mean that your banana bread is going to turn out any better.

"I only freeze bananas for banana bread or smoothies out of convenience. Once they are too ripe, if I don't have time to use them, I'll peel and freeze them in the quantity I use for a recipe (individually for smoothies or in packs of 4 bananas for banana bread)," said McDowell. "It's not necessarily better to use frozen bananas in banana bread, but freezing does alter the cell structure of produce dramatically — and the bananas will be softer and very easy to mash after freezing and thawing."

As a banana freezes, the freezing process breaks down cell wells, releasing more of the natural sugars in the fruit and yielding a sweeter baking ingredient. Fresh bananas have moisture that's kept in place by those cell walls, and if used for baking, will slowly and evenly distribute that moisture into your delicious banana bread. Since the freezing process breaks down the cell walls, frozen bananas accumulate more liquid while thawing, which means you'll need to "juice" your bananas before baking with them. Even after draining the excess water, frozen bananas are still mushier than fresh ones, making them easier to mash.

Technically, freezing overripe bananas with the peel is fine, but it can make the thawing situation harder. It's recommended to peel the banana and slice it into usable portions before putting it in a sealable freezer bag. Frozen bananas will remain fresh in the freezer for up to three months but will begin to lose their flavor and texture after about one month. To thaw, place the frozen banana on the counter at room temperature in a colander with a bowl beneath to catch excess water. You could also take similar steps and place the banana in the refrigerator or pop it in the microwave in 30-second intervals until thawed. Although we're all eating clones of the exact same banana (yes, really), there's no denying that a fresh loaf of banana bread can make your day infinitely better.