31 Banana Recipes for Breakfast and Dessert (Well, Mostly)

What to do with overripe bananas? You know the answer: Bake some banana bread—the best banana bread. But there are so many more banana recipes to be made, from hummingbird cake to strawberry-banana smoothies to yummy milkshakes to chocolate chip cookies with some mashed banana snuck into the mix.

Before we move on, let’s have a little lesson. Bananas are the fruit of the banana tree, a plant originating in New Guinea and cultivated in tropical regions such as the West Indies, Africa, and South America. The fruit was introduced to France by the Portuguese and became common in parts of Europe from the 18th century onward. Who knew? (Historians. Historians knew.)

Now back to the delicious recipes. Below you’ll find our very best banana recipes—ones we’re sure the whole family will love (not that you’re required to share with anyone).