You Should Definitely Air Fry the Banana
People are always trying to turn bananas into ice cream, and who can blame them. Ice cream is really that bitch. It’s sweet and rich, cold yet comforting, and one of the first things to take away when starting a diet. Those approximations aren’t too bad – the frozen banana ” soft-serve ” that almost smashed Pinterest is admittedly delicious, and shared by TikTok user Jen Jones , this air-fried banana went viral for some reason. Bananas are delicious, but they are not ice cream.
All of which goes to show that there is beauty in air-fried bananas. Jones slices and stuffs it with natural peanut butter, walnuts, chocolate and cinnamon, then deep-frys it at 400 degrees for “five to six minutes.” She finishes it with yogurt and calls it “the healthier version of a banana split.”
While there’s no ice cream here, the end product is appealing, like the air-fried version of the campfire banana boats that were so popular on Pinterest a few years ago. (What’s wrong with Pinterest and bananas?) I (obviously) had to make my own air-fried split banana, but before I tried Jones’ recipe, I wanted to dial it back and let the banana speak for itself.
All you need is a spoonful of sugar
As Heather Martin of USA Today points out in her review of Jones’ recipe , hot bananas take time to get used to. “Cooked bananas may seem odd at first glance, but you may have tried Foster bananas before , and bananakyu (a bag of bananas and BBQ) has been a staple of Filipino street food for decades.” The caramelization you get with a dessert like bananas, Foster is what I liked about air fried bananas, so I cut one in half, dusted it with sugar until it shone, then put it in the deep fryer at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.
I finished it with cinnamon and served with some whipped cream. That was great. I ate it all. The air fried banana was softer and sweeter than its raw counterpart, and the sugar on top really caramelized. And while it wasn’t as crispy as torched brulée, there was enough textural contrast that it didn’t read like a “soft, warm banana.” I would eat it again, especially as a base for a real banana split (with ice cream).
No need to gild the banana lily
I followed Jones’ recipe pretty closely when I made my first air fried banana split. I added a scoop of peanut butter, then sprinkled on the chocolate chips and pecans, and finally added a bit of cinnamon. I then cooked it in a deep fryer at 400 degrees for seven minutes.
When I pulled it out, I noticed that some of the pecans were burnt and some of the chocolate chips were burnt too (one bite confirmed this). The banana underneath was also not as soft and sweet as the one sugar banana, which made sense since that banana was completely split in two, exposing more of the pulp for the heating element.
Dissatisfied with the burnt nuts and chocolate, I made another one, this time stuffing the stuffing deeper into the banana slot and coating it with a layer of brown sugar to protect the nuts.
There was less burning, but as you can see in the photo right above this sentence, there was still burning. (Here, foil-wrapped campfire bananas have a slight advantage—the foil protects the stuffing, so they can melt and merge without burning while the banana is fully softened.) The banana was also still a little hard and “raw” in taste during time for preparing. bottom, which I think is fine, especially if you’re not keen on the idea of a warm banana. I didn’t have yogurt, so I ate my split with whipped cream (and sprinkles).
It was good, even pleasant, but I was craving that first banana without sugar. I do think the cold yogurt would have helped give it an ice cream vibe, but the addition of chocolate, peanut butter, and nuts hid the beautiful banana underneath and prevented it from reaching its full air-fried potential. The toppings blocked the heating element from most of the pulp, leaving only the edges exposed, so only the edges caramelized.
If you want to try a fried banana, I recommend starting simple. Cut a banana in half, sprinkle sugar on top, and let that sugar brown, bubble, and caramelize in a 400-degree deep-fryer. It may not be as spectacular as a “split”, but you can always build a real split on top of it. However, I encourage you to try it without ice cream at least once. I think you will be surprised at how wonderful a banana can be, especially if you let it be itself.