A Quicker-Than-Quick Bread Way to Use Up Bananas

When there are bunches of browning bananas sitting in my fruit bowl, my first instinct is banana bread. Not a bad choice any day of the week, but sometimes I don’t have time to make a banana bread during the week. It’s easy enough to freeze old bananas and save them for the weekend when I have more time to bake, but sometimes I'd rather just mash them up and turn them into a quick after-dinner snack.

I got the recipe for these banana fritters from my grandma. My grandpa had a good appetite, and after dinner, he often felt like he needed something extra. Gran would reach for browning bananas and whip up a batch of banana fritters, making quick work of mashing bananas, mixing in some flour, milk, and eggs, and frying up a warm, satisfying, banana-y treat.

Though it was hard to get the recipe (like most grandmas, this was made with just-this-and-that), from my memory of watching my grandma make these, I’ve turned out a version that I think is pretty close. Yes, nothing tastes as delicious as when your grandma cooks for you, but this is pretty darn close.

These fritters are soft and fluffy and almost taste like a banana doughnut—if such a thing exists! If you want to turn these into pancakes instead of fritters, just increase the amount of milk until you have a looser batter. My grandpa always liked his fritters topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. They are equally delicious topped with powdered sugar, a drizzle of maple syrup, or some sweetened yogurt.

How do you like to use up browning bananas? Let us know in the comments!