Air Fryer bananas with cinnamon sugar

Name: Air Fryer Bananas with Cinnamon Sugar
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 7 min
Ingredients: 2 bananas (Ripe); 2 tablespoons of brown sugar; ½ tsp of ground cinnamon

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The air fryer bananas not only make an elegant accomplice to desserts but a wholesome dessert on its own. They are a sweet, soft, caramelized, and aromatic banana treat that you can make in a matter of minutes. Use them to top a healthy and delicious breakfast granola bowl or enjoy them on your banana fosters.

These healthy air fryer bananas are a great make-ahead dessert that you must try.

Ditch your skillets and make this banana dessert using your air fryers. Air fryers are great to cook all sorts of food, and this fruit-based dessert recipe is no exception. Do check this air fryer pear recipe.

air fried banana place on bagel with peanut butter to make a breakfast bagel sandwich

Why should you try this air fryer banana dessert?

It is not a fancy recipe with loads of ingredients. It is a simple quick healthy dessert that you can whip when low on time and otherwise as well. Let me tell you why you will love this recipe.

Approachable recipe. You just need 3 ingredients to put together an air fryer banana and most of them you have sitting in your pantry.
Easy. Undoubtedly this air fryer-baked banana recipe is very easy.
Healthy dessert. This air fryer banana is a healthy dessert that is not high on calories and can satisfy the sweet tooth of weight watchers.
Delicious caramel flavor. This simple air fryer banana recipe with cinnamon sugar will please one and all.

Lift your simple desserts like ice creams.
Great way to use the ripening bananas.
This recipe is gluten-free. You have to just top with your favorite gluten-free toppings and enjoy.
Easily modifiable into a vegan recipe. Use maple syrup instead of brown sugar and top on vegan ice cream or coconut yogurt.
Make-ahead dessert recipe. Air fryer bananas are a great make-ahead dessert that can be quickly warmed to serve or even served cold with other desserts.

Ingredients with substitution notes to make banana in air fryer

Banana

How to choose the right banana for baking or air frying.

The banana should be ripe but firm. Do not pick a raw, hard banana, or an over-ripe mushy banana.
The banana should be clean, in terms that it should not have any blotches or soft spots.

Brown sugar

I have used brown sugar to keep this recipe approachable. You can use whichever sugar or sweetener you like. You can use cane sugar, maple syrup, sucanat, muscovado sugar, or any other low glycemic sweeteners like agave or coconut palm sugar. You can also use honey if you want. Use vegan sugar or unrefined sugars, if you are a vegan.

Ground cinnamon

I am using half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon to add some flavor to these air fryer bananas. Though caramelized brown sugar gives it a good flavor of its own, cinnamon helps to brighten it up.

You can any flavor of your choice. A few suggestions are:

Pumpkin spice mix
Nutmeg and allspice
Green cardamom
Vanilla

I like to keep my recipes lean, but you can also add butter to make them more decadent if you want.

Equipment

Use whichever air fryer you have. Be it basket style air fryer or an oven-style air fryer, both would work fine.

Instructions to make air fryer bananas

This easy air fryer recipe will barely take 2 minutes of prep time and 5 minutes of cook time. Let us discuss the steps.

Step 1 Select and cut the banana

Select ripe bananas. (Read the ingredient notes on how to choose the right banana)
Peel and slice the banana. You can keep the skin intact and slice the bananas lengthwise into two halves if you like it that way. I am not a fan of the banana skin, so I am just removing it and cutting elongated banana rings. You can also slice the banana vertically into 2 halves and make thin slices horizontally.

Step 2 Coat the cut banana in spices

Transfer the banana rings or banana slices into a bowl. Then add brown sugar and ground cinnamon.
Coat the banana with the cinnamon sugar nicely.

Step 3 Cooking banana in air fryer

Pull out the air fryer basket, and gently place cinnamon-sugar coated bananas in it.
Set the air fryer temperature to 350 ⁰F and let the bananas air fry for about 5 minutes.
At 3 minutes, gently lift each slice with a silicone tong and give them a flip.
When done, gently lift them from the air fryer onto a plate.
Serve on a scoop of vanilla ice cream or top on some yogurt and granola. (Read below for more service suggestions)

imageshowing banana slices place in air fryer basket

How to serve air fried bananas

The air fried banana can be served warm or cold. It tastes equally good both ways.

The classic way is to top the cooked banana on Greek yogurt and granola. Add some maple syrup and breakfast is served.
Serve the air fryer roasted bananas with whipped cream, toasted pecans, or sliced almonds.
Use them as a topping for your bagels. And make yourself a breakfast bagel sandwich stuffed with air fryer bananas.
Serve with chocolate ice cream and top with some chocolate chips or sprinkles. You can also use chocolate syrup or simple syrup over them.
My girl loves her air-fried bananas with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.
Serve them on pancakes. Make banana foster pancakes.

Variations of air fryer bananas recipes

This air fryer-baked bananas recipe is more of a quick fix and makes for a great breakfast banana. But it has enormous possibilities.

1. Breakfast air fried banana granola bowl:

Use your favorite granola, top with Greek yogurt and then dress with some air-fried bananas.

2. Air fryer banana bagels:

Start by toasting the bagel in air fryer. Then prepare a bed of nut butter of your choice. Lay down the air-fried bananas, and top with toasted nuts and a drizzle of maple syrup. Place the top of the bagel and enjoy!

3. Banana Fosters:

Serve as banana fosters. Serve these sweet and caramelized bananas with vanilla ice cream.

4. Vegan air fried banana:

To make this recipe vegan, choose vegan sugar or you can also use some unrefined sugar. The rest of the recipe remains the same.

How to store the air fried bananas

These healthy air fryer bananas are a great make-ahead dessert. They make up for a great dessert accomplice or a great breakfast on their own.

The best way to store the air fried banana is by gently putting them in an airtight container. And then they can be refrigerated for 3-4 days. Do not garnish and store. The ideal way to store them is as such.

They are great when served cold, but in case you want to serve them warm, reheat them in an air fryer at 350 ⁰F for 2-3 minutes.

I did not have success freezing them. They do not stand freezing well and become soggy on thawing.

oped bagel sandwich that can air fried bananas on it

Tips

You can also use butter if you want. Dice cold butter into small pieces. Place one tiny dice on every slice of cooking banana.
Do not overcrowd the air fryer basket. Place them at a distance from each other.
Give them a flip halfway through.
Be gentle while lifting the air-fried bananas, do not just flip the air fryer basket to get them on to plate. Use a spatula to lift them one by one.
If your bananas are more on the raw side, they might take 7-8 minutes, whereas the ripe bananas will cook faster.
Use the parchment paper and avoid the mess in the air fryer by putting a silicone mat or parchment paper.
Reheat them in an air fryer at 350 ⁰F for 2-3 minutes.
The best way to store the air fried banana is by gently placing them in an airtight container. And then they can be refrigerated for 4-5 days.
You can also cook bananas in the instant pot. Use the sauté mode. But you will have to use butter there.

air fried bananas place in a white plate

Frequently Asked Questions

How to air fry banana chips?

Choose barely ripe bananas and slice them very thinly. Coat them in olive oil nicely. Then place it on the rack or basket of the air fryer. Sprinkle salt on them. Then air fry at 350 ⁰F for 10 minutes in a preheated air fryer. Do not forget to flip them halfway through the cooking duration.

Is it possible to fry bananas?

People fry bananas all the time. It does not mean deep frying though, but the conventional way of cooking a banana is to shallow fry it in a skillet with some butter with or without caramelized brown sugar. Choose a cast-iron skillet to get the best-caramelized pan-fried bananas. You can call them banana fosters.

Do I need to preheat the air fryer for cooking bananas?

No, there is no need to preheat the air fryer. Just spread the banana slices in the cold air fryer basket and air fry them for 5 minutes. If your bananas are less ripe, they might take more time.

Is air fryer banana a healthy dessert?

Yes, an air fryer banana is a healthy dessert in its totality. Half the sweetness comes from the banana itself, and the rest comes from the brown sugar, which can be further replaced with low glycemic sweeteners. And not to forget that since these are made in an air fryer, we need not use any butter or other fat at all. When we sear bananas in a skillet, butter is a must. But in an air fryer, we can skip the fats.

air fried bananas served on a granola bowl

If you want to try more banana recipes, do not forget to try making air fryer banana chips, air fryer banana fritters, and plantain chips in an air fryer.

More air fryer recipes

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Till then,

Make it quick and delicious!