Frozen Banana Treats 3 Ways
It’s summer where I live and this week has been brutally hot. I have a surplus of bananas to use up so frozen banana treats 3 way it is! Now I like a good ice cream as well as the next person, but you can only have so much ice cream without feeling guilty, right? Well I came up with a solution for that with a selection of treats using mostly bananas, well….to be honest chocolate and bananas. But that’s our little secret.
When I say I had a surplus of bananas to use up I mean a LOT. I bought a case of bananas (40 lbs) because they were on special for an unbelievable price. Now we love bananas, and I love to make banana bread, banana muffins and all sorts of other baking with bananas, but it’s so hot right now I don’t want to turn on my oven for hours. That’s when I decided I would fill the freezer with banana treats that don’t require any heat!
I started out with just making frozen banana slices, everyone likes them (including the dog) especially when it’s so hot outside. But let’s face it, frozen banana slices are pretty boring. So I decided I would jazz them up a bit with some chocolate. Who doesn’t like chocolate right! Although I used dark chocolate in the recipes below, you could absolutely use milk chocolate or even white chocolate.
I’ve heard about Trader Joes “gone bananas” frozen banana treats and well I haven’t had the opportunity to try them, I figured they look like chocolate covered banana slices, how hard can that be to replicate…Well it turns out not hard at all. With just a few ingredients and some time you can make your own!
Once I had the Bananas down, I decided I needed to make more than one kind of treat. Something hand held would be perfect. Banana pops came to mind. Frozen half banana with a chocolate coating and rolled in nuts (optional of course). I decided to jazz them up a bit by coating the frozen bananas in peanut butter or Nutella before the final chocolate layer. Yum.
I also had some fresh strawberries so I decided to include them in a treat, so Strawberry Stars came to mind. They only have one piece of banana in them so they’re more of a frozen strawberry treat than a frozen banana treat but oh well! Here we go.
What you need for Frozen Banana Treats 3 Ways
- Bananas
- Dark chocolate wafers (I use Ghirardelli) or whatever chocolate you prefer.
- Coconut Oil (the solid kind) this is a must for the chocolate to get set and crunchy (almost like a shell topping for ice cream)
- Peanut butter (if making pops)
- Nutella (if making pops)
- Chopped peanuts (if making pops-or if you want some on any of the treats)
- Fresh strawberries (if making the strawberry stars)
- Flaky salt (optional-but delicious)
Chocolate covered Frozen Banana Pops
Equipment
- 1 half sheet tray
- parchment paper
- 8 popsicle sticks or chopsticks
Ingredients
- 4 large Bananas (not green)
- 12 ounces dark chocolate wafers
- 4 Tbsp Coconut Oil (solid)
- ¼ cup Nutella
- ¼ cup smooth peanut butter
- ½ cup salted peanuts, chopped
Instructions
- Peel and cut the bananas in half so you have 2 pieces about 3-4" long
- Carefully insert the popsicle stick (or chopstick) into the flat (cut) end of the banana being careful not to split the banana (i find it best to firmly grasp the banana at that end while putting the stick in).
- Lay the bananas on a parchment lined half sheet tray or pan and place in the freezer for an hour to freeze.
- Once the bananas are frozen, using a small knife or spatula, coat half with a thin coating of peanut butter and the other four with a thin coating of Nutella (or however many you like of each flavor) then return them to the freezer for at least 30 minutes to freeze.
- In a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup, add the chocolate and the coconut oil and microwave for 60 seconds, remove and stir to melt the remaining chips (if necessary you can microwave for an additional 15 seconds to melt any chips that didn't melt.
- Chop the peanuts into small pieces to make a crumble and put them on a plate so that you can roll the dipped bananas in them.
- Remove the bananas from the freezer and one by one, dip in the melted chocolate and then roll in the chopped nuts. Return them to the parchment lined tray. Once they are all coated, put them back in the freezer for 1 hour
- Place frozen banana pops in an airtight container or freezer bag to enjoy when you like.
Chocolate Covered Frozen Bananas
Equipment
- 1 sheet tray
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 2 large Bananas (not green)
- 12 ounces dark chocolate chips I use Ghiradelli
- 4 Tbsp Coconut Oil (solid)
Instructions
- Slice the bananas into ¼" coins and lay them on a parchment lined sheet tray then place into the freezer for 1 hour
- While the bananas are freezing, add the chocolate to a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup and add in the coconut oil.
- Heat in microwave for 60 seconds and stir until the chocolate completely melts. If needed microwave for an additional 15 seconds being careful not to over heat the chocolate.
- Remove the bananas from the freezer and taking one slice at a time drop it into the melted chocolate, then using a fork pick it up and let the excess chocolate drip off. Set on the tray and repeat with the rest of the slices.
- Note-because of the coconut oil the chocolate will set up quickly once it touches the frozen bananas, so move swiftly when dipping.
- Once the bananas are all coated, return them to the freezer for an additional 30 minutes to an hour to set and freeze. Once done, remove from the tray and put into a freezer safe bag until you are ready to enjoy.
Notes
Strawberry Banana Frozen Treats
Equipment
- sheet tray
- parchment paper
Ingredients
- 10 med strawberries, sliced into 5 slices each
- 1 med-sm Banana, cut into ¼" coins
- 12 ounces dark chocolate chips or wafers I use Ghiradelli
- 4 Tbsp coconut oil (solid)
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- flaky salt (optional)
Instructions
- Slice each strawberry into 5 slices and lay on the parchment lined sheet tray in a star pattern with each strawberry touching
- Slice the banana into 1/4" coins and lay in the center of the strawberry stars
- In a microwave safe bowl or measuring cup, add the chocolate and coconut oil and heat for 60 seconds, stir until the chocolate wafers have melted. If necessary, heat an additional 15 seconds ONLY to melt any chips that didn't melt.
- pour about 1 tablespoon of melted chocolate over the banana in the center of each star (it should fill in any gaps).
- Place the tray in the freezer for 30 minutes to an hour to freeze
- In a small microwave safe bowl, add the peanut butter. Then microwave for 30 seconds to melt to a pouring consistency.
- Once the stars are Set/frozen, remove from the freezer and drizzle some of the melted peanut butter over the chocolate center in a zig zag pattern, then, if using, sprinkle with a small bit of flaky salt then return the tray to the freezer to set the peanut butter.
- After 1 hour, you can remove the stars from the parchment and tray and place them in an airtight container or freezer bag until you want to enjoy them.
- The kids love these, and if you use the flaky salt, the adults will too!
Notes
You can make just one of the above frozen banana treats or all three, it’s up to you. If you want a small pop in your mouth treat, then I suggest making the banana slices first. Then fill a freezer bag with them for a convenient but small refreshing treat. If you’re feeling like something more substantial then make the banana pops, they’re amazing. The strawberry banana treats are tasty too, just a little prettier…but still delicious. If you’re really adventurous and have the freezer space you can make all 3 like I did.