52 4048

Banana Leather

March 9, 2010

banana-leather.jpg

One of Kenya's favorite snack foods is Trader Joe's "Nothing But Bananas, Flattened". As the name clearly states, there's nothing in them except for bananas. As much as I truly adore Trader Joe's, I wanted to see if I could save a little money and make a similar version to this treat on my own. When I tell you my attempt took no effort or time, I mean it. All I did was slice the bananas, lay them on a cookie sheet and bake for just over an hour. It was so easy and I think they're even better than the Trader Joe's version.

But, don't take my word for it. Let your family do a taste test and see for yourself. When Kenya saw these come out of the oven, he proceeded to eat the entire tray's worth. Good thing I had more bananas on hand to make another batch!

P.S. This is a great teething snack for babies.

Like this post Comment on this post

Banana Leather  (Makes Approx. 12 Strips)

  • Cook Time: 1 hours, 15 minutes,
  • Total Time: 1 hours, 15 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 2 bananas

Preparation

  1. 1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
  2. 2. Slice the bananas lengthwise into 1/8 inch strips.
  3. 3. Place the banana strips on a Silpat or parchment lined baking sheet and cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
  4. 4. Cool and serve.
+ Recipe Box + Print 52

Related Recipes

Comments






1 2

  1. Allison Cordova

    February 28, 2013 at 4:11 pm

    Reply

    Just wanted to stop by and say “thank you” for this great website! It is a wonderful tool and resource for me! I also love your cookbook (I pre-ordered it) I have two girls. A four yr old and a nine month old. I try hard to feed them healthy, though it’s not always easy :)

  2. cicero01

    January 2, 2013 at 11:40 am

    Reply

    my son is six months, has no teeth yet, but has been teething for about 2 months. is he too young for these?

    • catherine

      January 2, 2013 at 3:34 pm

      Reply

      If he loves to chew on things this would be great! Definitely watch him closely when you’re first introducing any new food, flavor or texture!

  3. Courtney

    December 22, 2012 at 12:33 pm

    Reply

    My daughter is eight months old and has 5 teeth, but three of them aren’t all the way out, do you think these are a good idea for her?

    • catherine

      December 26, 2012 at 1:46 pm

      Reply

      This should still be okay. Watch her closely when you give her the first one to see how she handles it!

  4. Pingback: Roasted Banana LeatherNurture & Nourish | Nurture & Nourish

  5. Tiffany

    October 9, 2012 at 6:56 pm

    Reply

    What age do you recommend these for? I made them today, gave them to my baby while supervising and pieces broke off. I had to finger sweep her mouth. Very scary!

    • catherine

      October 10, 2012 at 11:13 am

      Reply

      It really depends on your baby and what stage she’s at! I gave these to my kids while they were teething. Good job making sure to supervise when offering a new food!

  6. Sara J

    September 17, 2012 at 11:29 am

    Reply

    I just made these last night, and the house smelled great while they were baking, like banana bread, and they tasted great!. But, some of the pieces came out a bit crisp, and others were still a little mushy. Maybe some were too thin and others too thick? They also kept falling apart while cutting. What do you recommend as the perfect ripeness of the bananas? Mine were starting to get brown spots and little too soft (in my opinion) to eat.

  7. Sarah

    September 9, 2012 at 9:25 am

    Reply

    If I bake two batches at once will it change the time?

    • catherine

      September 10, 2012 at 11:47 am

      Reply

      Probably not, but I would switch the trays halfway through. Rotate them and switch their positions!

  8. Ruth

    August 27, 2012 at 12:28 pm

    Reply

    I made these this weekend (along w/ strawberries) and brushed them lightly with a dilute honey glaze. I baked on a silpat at 195 deg (also had a pan of strawberry rollups in there) and it took a VERY long time – about 3.5 hours for the bananas and strawberries to become crispy. I thought they were fantastic – which is a good thing, b/c nobody else in my family would touch them. Yum, more for me!

  9. Lisa

    August 10, 2012 at 5:59 pm

    Reply

    I tried these and they didn’t come out right. I cut them thin and they broke apart, and the ones that were slightly thicker were gooey and mushy. I don’t know what I did wrong but I followed the directions. Is it possible that they need more time in the oven? The crispy thin ones were delicious but I dont think I would give them to my baby. Any tips?

  10. Esther

    July 25, 2012 at 11:30 am

    Reply

    Have you tried this in a dehydrator?

  11. Brandy Alley

    July 16, 2012 at 1:02 pm

    Reply

    I attempted to make these for the first time today and found that I didn’t cut them very well and had trouble with getting them off the parchment paper as well. =P I’ve never really liked bananas even as a kid and all through my entire life but there are so yummy! Absolutely addicting!

  12. Judy

    July 3, 2012 at 11:05 pm

    Reply

    OMG, I can’t wait to try making these! I live in Canada, where there are no TJs, and my mum just came up from the States for her summer visit and brought me only 2 packs of Flattened Bananas! I was hoping to find a recipe that didn’t require a dehydrator, so I’m very excited and will let you know how I make out. Cheers!

  13. Nikki

    July 2, 2012 at 11:15 am

    Reply

    This is great! I’ll do anything to make my own stuff rather than buy Trader Joe’s – there’s so much plastic packaging per serving of snack food! I’m excited to try this.

  14. J. Darling

    March 29, 2012 at 11:43 am

    Reply

    I love you! Tried this tuesday and LOVE them. My 2 & 4 year old call them candy and mommy and daddy love them too. I’ve never liked banana chips but these are nice and soft. Hubby used to by dried bananas whole from the natural food store as a treat but I think mommy can make them now, thanks to you! Which is great because the last batch needs returned to the store as something is wrong with it…

  15. Doris

    September 10, 2011 at 10:40 pm

    Reply

    Two techniques might make slicing the bananas lengthwise a bit easier. One would be to briefly freeze the bananas. The second would be to slice the bananas with the peeling left intact. I would use a serated bread knife for slicing in either method.

  16. J-Bo

    April 13, 2011 at 12:10 pm

    Reply

    what age would you say baby can have these?

    I made my daughter your teething cookies the other night and she loved them!

  17. Michelle

    March 30, 2011 at 2:37 pm

    Reply

    Trying this tonight! Perfect for the baby

  18. Robyn

    March 9, 2011 at 3:28 pm

    Reply

    Sadly no, I can’t :( My guess is that it doesn’t work in convection ovens then?

    • catherine

      March 9, 2011 at 7:23 pm

      Reply

      Try setting the oven at a lower temperature and see if it works that way. Convection ovens cook things faster than a regular oven. So I would either set the temperature lower or cut the cooking and check on it to make sure it does not burn.

      • J. Darling

        March 29, 2012 at 11:39 am

        Reply

        Try checking every 10-15 min after 30 min…

        I have a convection oven too and was baking banana bread a 350, when the first tray of bread came out I started my first tray of bananas and checked ever 15 min till they were getting brown on edges…they were still stoft in center when I took them out but stiffened to leather as they cooled. Ones that were dry ended up being more like chips…

  19. Robyn

    March 8, 2011 at 10:27 am

    Reply

    I tried this today too- and it was an epic FAIL. I have a convection oven, so the fan is too much I think. They were dried, shriveled and not tasty. Not sure what I did wrong :S

    • catherine

      March 8, 2011 at 3:04 pm

      Reply

      Can you turn the convection off in your oven? I think that may have been the problem.

  20. Casey

    February 17, 2011 at 5:54 pm

    Reply

    I tried this today, used a ripe bright yellow banana and my mandolin set to 1/8″ The strips were so thin they broke apart before I could get them on the silicone mat, and then 20 minutes before the timer went off I checked on them and they were little crispy bits, they shattered when I tried to get them off the silicone mat which they were very much stuck to. I am guessing they need to be thicker?

  21. terra mfadin

    February 16, 2011 at 3:59 pm

    Reply

    Do I use a ripe banana with spots on the peel or a fresh banana still with pretty yellow peel?

    • catherine

      February 17, 2011 at 6:30 pm

      Reply

      You can use any kind :)

  22. Barb

    February 16, 2011 at 3:45 pm

    Reply

    Can they be microwaved?
    An hour is a bit long just for bananas.

    • catherine

      February 16, 2011 at 3:48 pm

      Reply

      unfortunately no, you really need the oven to dehydrate the bananas.

  23. Eve

    October 24, 2010 at 11:56 am

    Reply

    How do you slice them so thin? Do you place them in the freezer first? I just made these but they didn’t coome out well :( I think its because they are too thick. Any tips are appreciated!

  24. Pingback: I have a problem | And Baby Makes Eight

  25. Pingback: TASTY THURSDAY: Banana Flats | Momsense in NJ's Blog

1 2


Manage your shopping list and search for recipes from across the web at ZipList.com

Sign Up for Free Daily Recipes