Easy Banana Porridge

So, I don’t know about you, but I hate letting perfectly good food go to waste.  In this post, I’m going to share one of the ways I use overripe bananas: easy and delicious banana porridge.

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Personally, I’m not a huge fan of plain bananas.  When I was little, my mom would slice them into bite-sized rounds and add dollops of peanut butter.  To this day, I still prefer my bananas with peanut butter instead of plain.  And I won’t even touch them if they’re overripe and mushy (blech!).  But when I buy them, they often ripen faster than I can eat them.

You see the problem?

My mom taught me how to use overripe bananas for sweet and tender banana bread (a recipe I could share at a later date, if y’all would like).  To prep bananas for bread, she would freeze them whole (peel and all) and thaw them before using them in the recipe.  This method results in nasty, slimy banana mush that slips right out of the peel, but it’s the perfect consistency for mixing into a banana bread dough.

For me, though, I don’t want to stock my freezer full of overripe bananas that I may or may not use in the near future.  Instead, I wanted to find a way to use them up now. 

That’s when I remembered: the FBI.

In my hometown, the local Thai restaurant makes a dessert called an FBI: fried bananas and ice cream.  They take small, ripe bananas, wrap them in eggroll skins, deep fry them, and serve them over coconut ice cream with a drizzle of honey and a dash of cinnamon. 

It is absolute heaven.

So, with that in mind, I made my own rendition of the FBI—without eggroll wrappers, deep frying, or ice cream.  I know, I know… that removes all the best parts of the dish.  But the result—which comes out more like a porridge than a dessert—is an amazing and nutritious breakfast.

Start with your overripe bananas (two is enough for my breakfast).  Melt some coconut oil in a pan over low heat.  While it melts, slice your bananas into bite-sized rounds.  Add the bananas to the oil and allow to cook, low and slow, so that the natural sugars caramelize (about 5-10 minutes; don’t overcook, or the bananas will get too mushy).  Sprinkle with cinnamon (not cinnamon sugar!).  Flip the bananas halfway through.  Once they’ve caramelized, add coconut milk, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.  Once the coconut milk is almost boiling, remove the porridge from heat.  Pour into a bowl and enjoy!

So that’s it!  The resulting porridge looks ugly and unappetizing… but it tastes great! 

Recipe

Ingredients

1 Tbsp coconut oil

2 overripe bananas

1-2 tsp cinnamon (or more to taste)

¼-½ cup coconut milk (or more to taste)

Directions

1. Melt 1 Tbsp coconut oil in a pan over low heat. 

2. While oil melts, slice bananas into bite-sized rounds.

3. Add bananas to oil and cook 5-10 minutes on low heat, allowing the natural sugars caramelize (don’t overcook, or the bananas will get too mushy).

4. Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Flip bananas halfway through cooking time.  

5. Once bananas have caramelized, add coconut milk and bring to a near boil.

6. Remove porridge from heat.  Pour into a bowl and enjoy! 

Have you tried this recipe?  What do you think?  Are there any other ways—besides banana bread and porridge—that you use your overripe bananas?  Let me know in the comments!