How to Ripen Bananas in the Oven

So you want to make banana bread but only have underripe bananas? Use this simple trick to take fresh bananas from unripe to perfectly sweet, ripe fruit in minutes.

Learn how to ripen bananas faster so you can bake delicious banana muffins, banana bread, or banana cake!

Brown bananas sitting on a foil covered baking sheet with one bananas peeled open.

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Why the Oven Method for Ripening Bananas Works so Well

If you have tried baking a loaf of banana bread with unripe, yellow or green bananas, you already know that nothing beats the sweet taste of bananas that are ripe or overripe and covered in brown speckles or spots.

The natural method of ripening bananas is to allow them to sit on the counter for several days until they ripen. Another method is to use the brown paper bag method, whereby you place a bunch of bananas in a paper bag.

This method can take a bit less time than leaving the bananas to ripen on the counter, as the amount of ethylene gas, an invisible gas, that's emitted naturally from the bananas is trapped in the bag, ripening all the fruit a bit faster.

The best way, however, to speed up the ripening process for unripe bananas to place bananas in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes. No more waiting days for your bunch of bananas to become overripe bananas, perfect for baking! Here are some reasons why this method works so well:

takes yellow bananas to ripe, sweet bananas in a quick way
allows you to purchase bananas from the grocery store and bake with them the same day
it's the quickest way to go from unripened bananas to extra-ripe bananas without sacrificing flavor

Yellow bananas sitting on a foil covered baking sheet

Recipe ingredients to ripen bananas in oven

To ripen bananas in the oven, you'll need a bunch of bananas, preferably yellow in color. I would recommend not using a bunch of green bananas for this method. Yellow works best here.

You will also need a baking tray and some foil or parchment paper to line the baking sheet.

Brown bananas sitting on a baking sheet that's covered by goil

How to Ripen Bananas in Oven

Here's how to make bananas ripen faster:

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC)

Step 2

Place unpeeled bananas about 1-2 inches apart on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.

Step 3

Bake for 15 minutes, or until evenly browned on the outside.

Step 4

Allow oven-ripened bananas to cool before peeling and scooping out the soft pulp.

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Recipe notes for how to ripen bananas in the oven

The best bananas to use for this method is yellow bananas rather than green bananas. The green bananas will not have developed any sweetness yet and tend to be quite firm bananas. Yellow bananas, on the other hand, have already started to develop a bit of sweet flavor. The oven method helps progress that, yielding the best banana flavor for using in baking recipes
After the bananas have been baked, allow them to cool for a couple of minutes. Steam is trapped in the closed fruit, so opening them right away could cause a sudden release of that steam, burning you
The ripened bananas will have a very soft texture and will yield mushy bananas, ideal for baking
This method is not recommended for producing bananas idea for eating. See bullet point above. This method is ideal for baking or for freezing for smoothies
Bananas ripened using this method are best used right away. To store, scoop out the flesh and discard the peels. Allow the banana to cool then place in an airtight container and store in the fridge up to 3 days.
Banana may be frozen. Scoop out the flesh and discard the peels. Freeze in a freezer-safeziplock bag or ice cube trays. Frozen banana is best used in smoothies or banana nice cream rather than using in baking recipes.