Cooking for One

Avocado Tartines With Banana & Lime From Apollonia Poilâne

March 11, 2021
4.7
21 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom, Food Stylist: Anna Billingskog. Prop Stylist: Brooke Deonarine.
  • Prep time 5 minutes
  • Makes 2 tartines
Author Notes

Another avocado toast recipe? We hear you. But this isn't anything like your run-of-the-mill avocado toast. Apollonia Poilâne's avocado tartines with banana and lime are the unexpected breakfast pick-me-up you had no idea you needed. For one thing, the pairing of banana and avocado is surprisingly perfect, with the sweetness of the banana and the greener flavor of the avocado bouncing off of one another.

And yes, a recipe so good that it doesn't need salt? We were just as skeptical as you—but trust Apollonia. The layers of seasoning in the form of lime juice and zest, chile flakes, and honey make the salt unnecessary. Try it before you add salt, we can almost guarantee you won't miss it.

A little tip from Poilâne for toast that holds well (especially good for making it ahead for a crowd): To achieve a crusty toasted side and a nice, soft interior that won't dry out, Apollonia recommends toasting just one side of the bread. Place the two slices together in one slot of your toaster, or toast just one side in a pan or griddle or under a broiler.

Recipe slightly adapted from Poilane (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, October 2019). —Genius Recipes

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Avocado Tartines With Banana & Lime From Apollonia Poilâne
Ingredients
  • two 1-inch/2.5-cm-thick slices sourdough
  • 1 ripe, medium avocado, halved, pitted, peeled, and coarsely mashed
  • 1 medium banana, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • Crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons (30 to 60ml) honey
Directions
  1. Toast the sourdough on one side until golden.
  2. Mash the avocado onto the toasted sides of the bread. Arrange the banana slices on top. Sprinkle with the lime zest, drizzle with the lime juice, and finish with a pinch or two of the pepper flakes. Drizzle with the honey and serve.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

Recipe by: Genius Recipes

15 Reviews

andrea S. February 7, 2022
I enjoyed the medley of flavors & textures in this. My avocado loving daughter switched back and forth between this and a regular avocado toast slice. Would definitely make again for a unique lunch.
Irene January 13, 2021
I’ve been so curious about this recipe and it did not disappoint. I didn’t have sourdough (used whole wheat), but followed the recipe other than cutting back a bit on the honey. It was delicious and I will definitely make it again!
Sophie July 27, 2020
Made this tartine and it is delicious. Sweet and tangy. The pairing of all the ingredients is perfect. Definitely this is on my list to make Again!Thank you Apollonia for sharing!
Amy May 18, 2020
Surprisingly tasty! Thank you :)
Alyssa May 8, 2020
What a delightful little treat! I especially enjoyed the lime zest and juice. I will definitely make this again.
SandraH January 16, 2020
This article came just in time! I made avocado toast this morning, mashing the avocado with lemon juice, kosher salt, cracked pepper and folding in a seeded chopped tomato. I spread it on grainy wheat toast which I first rubbed with a cut garlic clove. I didn’t like the taste of that bit, although I love cooking with garlic. Plus it still needed something. Now you’ve inspired me to add a bit of honey and red pepper flakes to this combo (but sans garlic rubbed on the toast) as I have a couple more ripe avocados to use. But when I have fresh bananas (have frozen ones right now for bread and smoothies) plus some limes, I’ll try this recipe too. Thanks!
Becky January 15, 2020
When I saw the video for this I knew I'd have to try it. Since I had a perfectly ripe banana and avocado today, I did. I only had wheat bread instead of sourdough and only lime juice but no zest, but I made it anyway. It was fantastic! I can only image that using a fresh lime with zest and sourdough bread instead of wheat would only make it better! I will definitely make this again.
Leah January 13, 2020
I improvised a little didn’t have runny honey or chilli but had Cajun seasoning - added honey and Cajun seasoning to a frying pan and carmelised the banana slices twas delicious
Judi January 12, 2020
We are holidaying in Mexico and if there is an abundance of anything here (other than tequila) it is bananas, limes and avocados! Instead of the chili flakes which I did not have I used the Tajin seasoning (I have found it at home as well) and it does have salt and I LOVE the flavour. It was just perfect and will be repeated tomorrow. And perhaps many other mornings. Thanks for wonderful idea.
Karen R. January 12, 2020
Intrigued by this combo, so had to improvise with ingredients I had on hand. In order to keep calories and sugar at a manageable level, here's what I did: 1 slice of whole grain bread (a normal slice from the package--about ½" thick. Toasted bread. Mashed ¼ of an avocado on top and drizzled with a little lime juice. Slice ½ medium banana vertically and placed on top of avocado. A teaspoon of honey drizzled all over and then lightly added fresh ground black pepper on top as I did not have hot pepper flakes. Totally delicious, satisfying and craveable! I eat this often for breakfast along with something that has protein, like a single hard boiled egg or a small yogurt.
ifjuly January 11, 2020
This was a delicious special-treat upgrade to our usual plain avo toast for weekend brunch. I love that it's a true tartine insofar as every good version named such I've made/had shares that wonderful quality of being a thoughtful balance of flavors and textures/"weights", and leaves one feeling healthful and glowy from its freshness (to me what distinguishes tartine from other toasts) but also content. I worried the lime juice would be too much given our bananas weren't super ripe, but equal parts lime juice to honey (we used a delicately hot honey, and yes still used the red pepper flakes, and it was great, not too spicy at all just special) was perfect. My partner licked his plate and said "no shame!" even though I'd already mentioned we could have it again tomorrow as we still had everything to make it again. Thank you for posting this.
Diane January 11, 2020
After watching the video, I decided to make the avocado tartine with bananas for breakfast this morning. I used 21 grain bread as I did not have sourdough. My usual go to is banana with crunchy peanut butter on bread so this was a delightful change. It was like a party in my mouth! So yummy! The combination of all of the flavors in one bite was so delicious. Thank you Ms. Poilane and Food 52.
Liz S. January 10, 2020
An unusual combination of things I love, but never thought to combine. I made this shortly after reading the initial article and watching the video. Delicious! I make my own sourdough which I had … but bought the cookbook to also try the Poilane recipe.
mr_tino January 9, 2020
Avocado Tartines With Banana is most of food favourites when I young. Thanks your sharing!
mr_tino January 9, 2020
Avocado Tartines With Banana is most of food favourites when I young. Thanks your sharing!