Easy Bananas Foster Recipe [Banana Flambe] - The Kitchen Girl (2024)

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10-minute Bananas Foster recipe made with bananas, easy caramel rum sauce, and vanilla ice cream. New Orleans-inspired banana flambe might become your date-night secret weapon!

What is Bananas Foster

The story goes during the 1950's in New Orleans, Brennan's restaurant owner, Owen Brennan, asked Chef Paul Blange to create a dessert with bananas, a locally imported commodity. So he cooked bananas in a caramel rum sauce, ignited it, and topped it with vanilla ice cream. It's such a romantic dessert, no wonder it was born in New Orleans.

How to make bananas foster

1. Make the easy caramel sauce by heating butter, brown sugar, vanilla, pecans, and cinnamon in a skillet.
2. Add bananas - saute until softened
3. Flambe - (optional) see details in recipe card below
4. Baste - cook bananas in the sauce
5. Serve - top with ice cream, and devour!

What is banana flambe?

Flambe is when alcohol is added to food and ignited. When you make bananas foster flambe, rum or bourbon is added to a buttery, brown sugar mixture and set alight briefly. You can make bananas foster as a banana flambe, or not. Either method will make a delicious caramel rum sauce.

I'll state the obvious here, but ALL precautions MUST be taken to avoid injury and prevent fire. As with any cooking activity, a fire extinguisher or fire blanket should be on hand at all times.

Can you make Bananas Foster ahead of time?

You could make the caramel sauce ahead of time and refrigerate until needed. However, unless you're hosting an event, I find it just as easy to make the sauce as needed because it comes together in a snap. You wouldn't want to make banana flambe ahead because the bananas will become mushy.

Is Bananas Foster alcoholic?

Alcohol is a key ingredient of classic bananas foster. The flambe process happens very quickly and 75% of the alcohol is retained even after cooking. So, if a person is avoiding alcoholic desserts, omit the alcohol entirely and enjoy this dessert without it.

Can you substitute the alcohol in bananas foster?

If you want to substitute an ingredient for the alcohol in this recipe, you can substitute equal amount of apple juice, pineapple juice, or heavy cream. It might not be a classic bananas foster recipe and you won't be able to flambe (ignite) it, but it will still be delicious.

Recommended Tools

• 8” cast iron skillet or any small skillet
• paring knife
• fork or whisk
• silicone spatula
• matches or fireplace lighter (if igniting)

How to serve bananas foster

One of my favorite things about this dessert, besides everything, is that you can serve it in the skillet you cooked it in. I used this cute8" cast iron skillet, which serves 1-2 people. You can serve bananas foster in any dish other than a skillet, I just have a soft spot for iron skillet desserts.

Easy dessert recipes

• No Bake Peanut Butter Pie
• Blueberry Zucchini Bread
• Triple Berry No Churn Ice Cream
• Chocolate Eclair Icebox Cake
• Strawberry Frozen Yogurt
• Blueberry Crisp [Vegan Gluten Free]
• Pear Apple Cranberry Crisp
• Orange Olive Oil Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

More Banana Recipes

• Double Chocolate Banana Bread
• Ridiculously Moist Banana Walnut Bread
• Fruit Yogurt Breakfast Bowl

📖 Recipe