How to Ripen Bananas Faster

You’re at the grocery store browsing the produce. Stopping at the bananas, you realize they’re all either bright green or slightly bruised. You can’t use either right away — sound familiar?

Learning how to ripen bananas is a useful trick whether you want to eat them as a snack, throw them in a smoothie, or bake your favorite treat. There are many ways to ripen bananas, though not all are equal.

How Long Does it Take for Bananas to Ripen?

If you buy a green bunch of bananas, it will typically take them 3-5 days to ripen naturally at home. As bananas ripen, they produce more ethylene. They also respond to ethylene in the environment, so if they’re placed next to fruits that produce ethylene, they’ll ripen faster.

This isn’t the case for all fruits. Take pineapple for example. Pineapple’s sugar content doesn’t increase much after being cut, so while you can try to “ripen” pineapple in a few different ways, its texture will change, but it won’t become sweeter. 

In addition to placing bananas near ethylene-producing fruits, you can also put them in a warm place, like a sunny spot next to the window, to expedite their ripening. This will encourage them to ripen in 1-3 days, depending on how green they are.

How to Ripen Bananas Faster

There are multiple ways to ripen bananas. The paper bag method makes the bananas the sweetest, but it takes the longest. To quickly ripen bananas for banana bread, we suggest using the oven.

In a Paper Bag

Best for: eating raw, baking in a few days

Time: 12-48 hours

If you have time to spare, the paper bag method is the best. It’ll encourage the bananas to ripen the natural way, increasing their sweetness over the course of a day or two. 

1. Place the bananas in a paper bag.
2. Add an ethylene-producing fruit. See the list below.
3. Fold the top of the paper bag and leave in the bag until ripe. This should take anywhere from 12 hours to 2 days.

Ethylene-Producing Fruits

These ripe fruits produce ethylene, and will help bananas ripen faster.

• Apples
• Ripe bananas
• Pears
• Tomatoes

In the Oven

• Best for: baking the same day
• Time: 15-20 minutes

If you want to ripen bananas without a paper bag, try the oven! Ripening bananas in the oven is useful if you need them for baking right away. The bananas should be slightly yellow. Green bananas won’t ripen well. The bananas won’t be quite as sweet as if you ripened them naturally, but this method will do in a pinch.

1. Preheat the oven to 300℉.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place unpeeled bananas on the sheet.
3. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. When ready, the bananas should be blackish-brown with some yellow spots.
4. Let cool and then scoop the bananas out of the peel. They will be mushy.

In the Microwave

• Best for: baking the same day
• Time: 30 seconds – 2 minutes

While microwaving bananas is the quickest way to “ripen” them, you’re really just softening the bananas and they won’t get sweeter. I don’t recommend using this method.

1. Use a fork to poke holes on all sides of the banana peel.
2. Place on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave in 30 second intervals until soft, typically 30 seconds – 2 minutes. The peel will turn slightly brown.
3. Let cool and use for baking.

How to Freeze Bananas

If you have more ripe bananas than you know what to do with, freeze them for later! You can either freeze them whole or in slices. We explain how to freeze bananas here. They’ll keep in the freezer for a few months.

How to Use Ripe Bananas

There are endless ways to use ripe bananas, and they’re a natural sweetener! A few our our favorite recipes are:

• Banana protein pancakes
• Flourless banana bread
• Chocolate banana protein muffins
• Banana oatmeal cookies

Whether you’re baking or snacking, we hope these tips on how to ripen bananas make your life a little easier. Let us know your favorite ways to use ripe bananas in the comments!

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How to Ripen Bananas

Need to quickly ripen bananas for baked goods? Try using the oven!

Course Snack

Keyword bananas, how to ripen bananas

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 0 minutes

Ingredients

• Unpeeled bananas

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 300℉.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place unpeeled bananas on the sheet.
• Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes. When ready, the bananas should be blackish-brown with some yellow spots.
• Let cool and then scoop the bananas out of the peel. They will be mushy.

Notes

It’s best to use slightly yellow or yellow bananas if ripening them in the oven. 

This method is only useful if you need the bananas for baking.