Yes, the following is better than peanut butter.
I know, you’re all rolling your eyes right now, saying, “How can anything (besides chocolate) be better than peanut butter?” Hear me out; this spread has the one-up on regular pb because it:
- is easier to spread
- is lower in calories (more about this at the end of the post)
- tastes sweeter, without any added sugar, and has a serving of fruit
Above, spread on top of Banana Bread for One.
Another bonus: This recipe doesn’t make as much of a mess as trying to smush sliced banana into a sandwich. As usual, the recipe is so simple that I feel a little silly writing it down.
Banana Butter
- 1 medium banana
- 2 to 4 tablespoons peanut butter, depending on how pb-y you like it (or almond, cashew, walnut butter, etc.)
- optional: I like to add a little cinnamon
My favorite ratio is 4 tablespoons peanut butter to 80 grams (without peel) banana (about 1/2 a large banana). And I often use a frozen banana, which makes this spread taste like peanut butter ice cream!
Procedure: Whir the two ingredients in your food processor or blender until smooth. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge. (If possible, it’s best to let the mixture sit for a few hours before enjoying, as the taste becomes more robust with time.)
Above, spread over a Breakfast Pizza Cake.
Other Ideas for Use:
This creation can be used anywhere you’d use regular peanut butter—warmed up and drizzled over oatmeal, as a sandwich spread, dip, or pudding, as a smooth-and-velvety topping for waffles or pancakes, on vegan ice cream, or simply eaten plain off a spoon (or out of the blender, depending on your level of self-restraint!).
As for calories… Ok, so I’m having a bit of a dilemma: Recently I’ve been getting quite a few requests from readers asking if I can add calorie counts to my recipes. I don’t count calories, but I know that a lot of you (readers and fellow bloggers) do count. So, since I really try hard to make my recipes—and my blog in general—suitable for everyone, and since it’s not hard for me to figure out the calorie counts anyway, I thought I’d ask: Do you want me to add calorie info to my recipes? Please vote; either way, I’m interested in hearing your opinion. And until I figure this dilemma out, here are the nutritional stats for the banana butter:
Banana Butter Calories:
Serving Size: 1 tablespoon (based on my favorite combination)
Calories per serving: about 40 calories
(As a reference, regular peanut butter has about 100 calories per tablespoon.)
Variations:
Yes, there is a chocolate version.
🙂
i really like the calorie count because knowing there arent that many calories makes me feel okay for eating it. If i didnt know how many calories were in them then i would feel guilty the entire time for eating them. PLEASE KEEP THE CALORIES!!!! if you dont want to know, just dont read the link.
Could you melt the banana in the microwave before to give it a caramelly flavor? Or would it mess up the texture?
I’ve tried it last week and it was sooo delicious but the banana turned brown after a few hours. It wasn’t bad but it didn’t look nice anymore. Is it because I didn’t use a food processor but a fork?
I did the same thing again but with homemade applesauce, it is at least just as delicious as this one! 🙂
You mentioned 80gms of banana without peel, why would anybody be so stupid enough to put peel (banana) in anything, execpt?.
Quick question…I made this with a higher banana-to-pb ratio than you seem to use and it tasted and looked great straight out of the food processor. But after a few hours in the fridge, the top is black (which is what happens to unpeeled banana parts in the fridge, obviously). Is this normal or is it because there is too much banana in the mixture? I used 2 large bananas and 4 tbsp peanut butter. Like I said, it was perfect right off the bat and it still tastes fine, it just starts to blacken on top and needs to be stirred (but then those black parts get stirred into the rest…so I’m not sure if that’s bad). Unfortunately, that’s the ratio that results in 41 calories per tbsp. I’m not sure how you’re getting only 40 or so calories per tbsp with a 4 – 0.5 ratio of pb and bananas…for reference, how many 1 tbsp servings do you get out of that? Thanks!
What attachment do you use on your food processor? I can’t see using my blender because that goopy mix will be a challenge to clean out of the bottom and off the blades.
No need to use an attachment piece. Just use the basic food processor.
I have a question instead of comment… how long does this typically last refrigerated and can I can this? Thanks for your help!
Re calories listings, forget it. I write vegan cookbooks and I’d hate to have to figure them out for all my recipes. If I did, I’d have to make sure every measurement was absolutely exact so they’d be correct, which doesn’t allow for the small changes that occur every time you make a recipe.
Add the calories please! I would really appreciate, if it’s not too much trouble, because I count calories and it makes me anxious when I don’t know how many calories are in something.
Putting calories makes me feel more comfortable… :S