These frozen banana pops are the best desert ever! It brings together 3 of my favorite things - dark chocolate, peanuts and bananas. It's simple, quick and so tasty that you will keep making these all summer long or even all year long :). This healthy dessert is completely gluten free and vegan.
In today's time, when prices for groceries(and everything else) has gone up considerably this sweet treat won't break the budget. It uses all staples and I will also provide easy swaps for those of you with nut allergies. Its also a really fun project to do with kids! I mean messy food and making your own dessert..does it get better than that?
What are frozen banana pops?
These pops are just banana halves which are coated with chocolate , crushed peanuts and a smattering of peanut butter. Its cold, sweet, crunchy and really good! I used dark chocolate to skip the dairy and also to keep it low on the sugar. Bananas are naturally high in sugar and balance perfectly with dark chocolate. If you prefer milk chocolate, then go ahead and use it. Add crunchy peanuts to the mix along with some peanut butter and this will become your go to dessert. Of course if you are allergic to peanuts, a simple swap would be to use crushed almonds, cashews etc. If nuts are out of the question, I would suggest using desiccated coconut or even seeds like sunflower seeds that add some crunch.
I also used peanut butter because I love it but you can leave this out or sub with almond/cashew or sunflower seed butter. Well I could go on and on about these but let us just get in to how to make these.
Making the pops
Before you start, the most important thing is having all the ingredients in place. Since chocolate is temperature sensitive, you will have to move quickly to avoid reheating the chocolate.
First, we will cut the bananas in half cross sectionally as shown above. If you have ice cream sticks, gently press them in to the base and place them in the fridge for an hour. It is very important to get them cold. This is because when we coat it with warm chocolate, the chocolate will cool down and form a shell.
When you still have 20-25 minutes left to take the bananas out, heat a small pan on a stove filled with water. When the water starts heating up, place a small heat proof bowl over it. Break pieces of chocolate and place in the bowl to slowly melt in the heat proof bowl.
In a plate, place crushed peanuts. Keep the melted chocolate, nuts and a bowl of peanut butter on a surface covered with a towel or paper towels (to catch the spills). Remove the bananas from the fridge and dip it in the melted chocolate. Follow this this by lightly rolling it in the crushed peanuts and place on the same tray again.You have to make sure to do this as quickly as possible to ensure the chocolate is still liquid. Repeat this until all of the bananas are fully coated. Now take a spoon to scoop out the remaining melted chocolate and splatter on the chocolate covered bananas. Do the same with peanut butter.
Put the sheet with the bananas back in the fridge and let it chill for another hour. Then take them out and enjoy!
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Recipe
Frozen Banana Pops
Equipment
- 1 Sheet Pan
- 1 Parchment Paper to cover the sheet pan
- Paper towels
Ingredients
- 4 Bananas just ripened and firm; peeled
- 2 Peanuts chopped
- 4 oz Dark Chocolate substitute: milk chocolate
- 4 tablespoon Peanut Butter ensure it is not too thick or firm
- 8 Ice cream sticks optional
Instructions
- Cut the bananas cross sectionally right in the middle. Gently press the ice cream stick ½" in to the base. Repeat with all of the banana pieces and place on the sheet pan covered in parchment paper. Place in the fridge for an hour.
- When you have 20 minutes left to take the bananas out, heat a sauce pan filled with water at medium heat. Place a heat proof bowl over it and place the chocolate pieces in it. Let the chocolate melt completely.
- Place the bowl of melted chocolate, chopped peanuts on a plate and a bowl of the peanut butter on a covered surface to catch any spills.
- Remove the bananas from the refrigerator. Take one and dip it in the chocolate followed by rolling it gently on the peanut pieces. Place it back on the sheet pan . Repeat with all the pieces.
- Using a spoon or fork, splatter any remaining melted chocolate and the peanut butter on the coated bananas. Place back in the fridge.
- Enjoy these an hour later once the chocolate and peanut butter have set.
Notes
- I used 70% dark chocolate but you can use a lower or high cocoa percentage as preferred. You could also use milk chocolate.
- Swap with almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds or desiccated coconut instead of crushed peanuts and almond/cashew/sunflower butter in case of allergies to peanuts/nuts.
- Make this a salted chocolate banana pop! Sprinkle some kosher or flaky salt on top when the chocolate is setting or mix in with the melted chocolate.
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