These air fryer bananas are caramelized with brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon for the most amazing easy snack or dessert recipe. All you need are just 4 simple ingredients and an air fryer to get started!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
If you love deep, caramelized flavor, you’re going to be head over heels with this air fryer bananas recipe! Not only does this recipe make the most amazing roasted and caramelized banana slices, but it also takes just 10 minutes and uses just 4 ingredients.
The secret to getting the most amazing flavor from naturally sweet bananas is to coat them in a mixture of melted butter, brown sugar, and a touch of cinnamon. Then, add them to your air fryer to get everything warm, toasty, and caramel colored. Once the time is up, the magic has happened and you’re ready to enjoy this amazing dessert!
Don’t put yourself in a box, though! You can totally get creative and serve these caramelized banana slices any way you can think of. You could serve them with some whipped cream and chopped nuts if you want to keep things simple. They also make a delicious topping for a bowl of ice cream, OR even mixed into some Greek yogurt as a quick protein packed snack.
The thing I love most about embracing intuitive eating is that I can enjoy a yummy sweet treat if I want, when I want. I’m free to enjoy something sweet and creamy (like ice cream) when my body is craving it. And since I’m not restricting, I’m able to tune into my body and know when I’m craving something with some gentle nutrition instead. Read this to learn more about what I do as an Intuitive Eating dietitian: What Is An Intuitive Eating Dietitian, Exactly?
These roasted air fryer banana slices are perfect, since they are totally delicious and can be served in so many ways. They are sweet, satisfying, and the best way to use up an extra or banana or two.
Ingredients
- Bananas: Select bananas that are ripe with just a few spots. You don’t want them to be very ripe, but you don’t want them to be underripe either!
- Butter: A little bit of melted butter adds flavor, and helps the brown sugar and cinnamon stick to the bananas during cooking. If you don’t have butter you could also use melted coconut oil (but I think butter is tastier!)
- Brown sugar: This helps the bananas caramelize a little quicker, and adds a gorgeous color.
- Cinnamon: This is totally optional, but strongly encouraged. It adds a warm flavor, and I wouldn’t recommend skipping it unless cinnamon isn’t your thing.
How to Make This Recipe
Step One: Start off by preheating your air fryer to 400F for 3-4 minutes, or according to your manufacturers instructions.
Step Two: Slice your banana into ~3/4″ slices and add them to a medium sized bowl.
Step Three: Add your brown sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon to the bowl.
Step Four: Toss everything super well to combine and coat the bananas.
Step Five: Place a small circle of aluminum foil in the basket of your air fryer, making sure there is still room for air to flow around the sides. Spray it with some non-stick cooking spray.
Step Six: Add your prepared banana slices to the air fryer basket, on top of the aluminum foil. Spread into an even layer.
Step Seven: Cook for 10 minutes, making sure to flip halfway through for even cooking.
Step Eight: Remove from the air fryer and enjoy with your favorite toppings. Whipped cream and chopped nuts are a few of my favorites!
FAQ’S
Fruit makes a delicious snack or easy dessert when you add it to the air fryer. Any fruit that tastes good roasted, is a great fit for the air fryer! All you have to do is toss it with your favorite warm spices (like cinnamon), some melted butter, and some brown sugar for sweetness. Then air fry until toasty, warm, and perfectly caramelized.
Since bananas have a lot of natural sugars, they caramelize really easily! Adding brown sugar to your bananas will help them caramelize even better, and give them a gorgeous color and deep flavor.
It is highly recommended to preheat your air fryer before cooking your food in it. This ensures your food is being added to a hot surface, which helps it crisp up more readily than if you were to add it to a cold air fryer basket or tray. Since foods don’t cook for very long in the air fryer, ensuring it is preheated beforehand will give you the most consistent results.
Variations
Whole banana: If you would prefer to make an air fryer whole banana, you can totally do that! Just peel and slice the banana in half lengthwise, coat with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar, and cook in your air fryer for 10-12 minutes. Make sure to flip halfway through to get everything perfectly caramelized.
Air fryer banana split: To make a banana split, you can easily cut your banana in half lengthwise (instead of into slices) and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Then, place the banana halves in a long ice cream dish or bowl, and add in ice cream, and the toppings of your choice. Top with nuts and maraschino cherries if you want to get extra fancy!
Expert Tips
- When prepping your foil for use in the air fryer, make sure to cut a small enough size. You want to make sure there is plenty of room for air to flow around the sides of the basket. If your foil is too large, just scrunch up the edges with your hand to make it smaller.
- Spraying the foil with cooking spray is an essential step to prevent the bananas from sticking. If you don’t have cooking spray, you can spread a fine layer of oil or melted butter on it instead.
- Top your air fryer bananas with your favorite toppings, or enjoy as is! Whipped cream and chopped nuts are my favorite dessert-style toppings. If you wanted to make it a delicious snack, I suggest serving some with a bowl of vanilla Greek yogurt. It would also make a delicious ice cream topping!
- If you want to store your bananas, allow them to cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
If you love this recipe, be sure to leave a star rating on the recipe card and leave a comment below!
Don’t forget to pin it on your Pinterest board for later, or tag me on IG @no.food.rules if you try the recipe and love it!
XOXO
-Colleen
Air Fryer Bananas
Ingredients
- 2 bananas medium sized
- 1/2 tbsp butter melted
- 1 tbsp brown sugar packed
- Dash of cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Slice your banana into ~¾” slices and place in a medium-sized bowl.
- Gently toss banana slices with butter and brown sugar, cinnamon optional.
- Take a piece of aluminum foil and spray it with non-stick spray. Place your aluminum foil into the heated air fryer (make sure it doesn’t cover the entire base and air can still flow around the sides).
- Place your banana slices on top of the aluminum foil so that they lay flat and are not overlapping.
- Cook for a total of 10 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
- Remove from the air fryer and enjoy!
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