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How to Freeze Bananas

banana three

Bananas are $.19/lb at Jewel this week. And Tony’s has them for $.39/lb. And you will probably find them around that price at other stores as well. No matter where you buy them, Checkout 51 has $.25 cash back on bananas.

overripe bananas

So many of us will buy a nice big bunch of bananas for next to nothing this week and end up with this in a few days, right? This is actually an entire bunch that had been sitting on my counter, untouched, since it was purchased. I know we don’t go through them but I like to have them around for baking, smoothies, etc. Update: And as Rachel reminded me, dairy free chocolate peanut butter banana ice cream! So I happily let them get like this, perfectly sweet, but not the greatest texture to just eat as is. They apparently last a little longer if you separate them, but I actually wanted this bunch to ripen quickly as I was out of frozen bananas I like to have for smoothies.

Most of us know we can use them after this point, but making that practical isn’t so obvious. You could just throw them in the freezer in the peel. That isn’t terrible if you are going to bake with them and let them thaw before peeling, but if you want to use them frozen, it won’t work as well.

The solution: peel and freeze! That way you can use them as they are for a smoothie or let them thaw and make banana muffins or whatever is on your menu. They also still break apart easily in their frozen state so you can use partial bananas with no trouble if that is what you need.

bagged bananas

I could have fit the last two in there, but I let the first four freeze completely first before I added them on top. That way, I still got away with using one freezer bag, but they didn’t freeze in a big mass and were still easily separated. As you can see below, I removed one from the top layer without any trouble:

second layer

So buy those extra bananas without worrying about whether they will be eaten before they pass the level of ripeness you like. And save yourself a trip to the store next time you want a baked or frozen treat!


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Be sure to check back each week for something new! I will be bringing you how-tos, advice, and articles on everything pertaining to easy frugal living: From DIY, to recipes, to practical tips and tricks. To help balance out the couponing and deal chasing we do a lot of here, I’ll talk about easy ways to incorporate frugality into everyday life and to do more from scratch.

letsshop

Saturday 13th of September 2014

Yes very big pain to peel after frozen !

jen

Saturday 13th of September 2014

you can throw whole bananas in the freezer then just take them out when you need them. I always have a bannanas in the freezer

trish

Saturday 13th of September 2014

You absolutely can! But as I mentioned above, they are hard to peel frozen so if you want to use them for ice cream or smoothies, where the frozen texture is important, peeling them first saves some frustration :).

kitty

Friday 12th of September 2014

If you just want your bananas to last longer on the counter, I highly recommend the Debbie Meyer green bags. Yes, they are $9.99 at Bed Bath and Beyond, but you can use each one over and over and over by turning the bag inside out and shaking off the moisture. If the bag gets sticky, just wipe it off with a damp rag and let it dry. The bags are also great for extending the life of strawberries and many other fruits and vegetables as well.

rachel

Friday 12th of September 2014

You can also make banana ice cream out of frozen bananas!

http://www.mashupmom.com/two-ingredient-dairy-free-chocolate-peanut-butter-banana-ice-cream/

Kerri

Friday 12th of September 2014

How long can you freeze them for?

letsshop

Saturday 13th of September 2014

If you open bag every day to take one or two out they start to turn brown quicker ! And frost also seems to build up quicker .So I put them in smaller bags since its just mean and my husband .Also even tho they get brown after while they are still fine . Been doing this for years ,Produce store where I shop use to shop would have large amount of ripe bananas in a box reduced for $2.00 (:

trish

Friday 12th of September 2014

At least a few months, although they never last that long around here.

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