7 Ways With Bananas

Bananas slip easily into lunch boxes and bowls of cereal, but this favorite fruit makes a delicious contribution to hotcakes, desserts, and even a main dish salads. The next time you're in the kitchen, add an extra serving of fruit–and a punch of fresh flavor–to the menu.

5 Spot Banana Pancakes Recipe

Bananas make these highly-rated pancakes taste out-of-this world light and fluffy. Try them for brunch or breakfast, or put your PJs, plug in a DVD or favorite reality show, and dine on these fast-fix hotcakes for supper.

Brennan's Bananas Foster Recipe

This ultimate, and world-renowned, bananas foster recipe dates back to the 1950's, when it originated at New Orleans' Brennan's Restaurant. It's a sinfully good concoction of rum, banana liqueur, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and sliced bananas.

Banana Cream Pie Recipe

Homemade vanilla pudding and sliced bananas line a store-bought pastry crust to make a pie that looks like a bakery masterpiece. Need to make the recipe even quicker? Substitute instant pudding in place of homemade.

Chutney Chicken Salad Recipe

Sliced bananas, currants and bottled chutney add sweet flavor to this easy chicken-and-basmati-rice salad. While the recipe calls for leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, canned chopped chicken, or deli turkey will all work just as well.

Roasted Banana Bars with Browned Butter–Pecan Frosting Recipe

Part cake and part bar cookie, this dense banana-rich indulgence is sure to be a hit at pot lucks and large family gatherings. A tender moist crumb makes the cake stand out on its own, but the sweet buttery icing puts this dessert off the charts.

Burnt-Caramel Rum-Banana Tart Recipe

Store-bought puff pastry and sliced bananas make this tart easy to assemble, but the simple caramel sauce, made-from-scratch blend of heavy cream, sugar and dark rum, ramps up the homemade flavor. If you're running low on time, substitute a bottled caramel topping or chocolate sauce for the homemade one.

Sweet Coconut Tapioca Soup with Bananas (Che Chuoi) Recipe

A blend of coconut milk, sugar, tapioca, and bananas, this easy Asian dessert soup can be served chilled or at room temperature. Try it as a wonderfully sweet ending to a meal of stir-fried rice, pad Thai, or Kung Pao chicken.