These Banana Fritters are a delicious way to use up your ripe bananas. Fried to golden perfection, they are full of flavor and perfect for any meal.
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Full Recipe/Instructions are available in the
recipe card at the bottom of the post.
You can find important tips/tricks in the
blog post.
Growing up in a Jamaican household has its perks. Every Saturday morning there was Beres Hammond or Bob Marley playing in the house as we cleaned and if we children were good, mom made us these delicious fritters.
Move over banana bread, you’ve got some competition. I’ve been told I have a pretty amazing banana bread recipe (took lots of trying out recipes to get that one perfect) but I can’t believe I haven’t written about these banana fritters before.
They were a huge yummy part of my childhood and I’m excited to share them with you today. They are the perfect way to use those ripe bananas before they go bad.
How to make Banana Fritters
First, grab three ripe bananas and smash them together with a fork until they are mashed and a little watery.
Then add your vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar, and salt to bananas. Next, add your all purpose flour. I use a sifter to add my flour. If you don’t have one, no worries, you can still make the recipe. I just find the sifter allows my flour mixture to incorporate into my mashed bananas easier.
Stir with a spoon until your mixture is fully combined. Your batter should not be too thick or thin but should flow easily off a spoon.
Pour about ¼ cup oil in a 10 inch skillet and heat it over medium-high heat. Once your oil is hot, pour the fritters in pan by the spoonful.
Once bubbles appear in the top of the fritter and the bottom is golden brown, flip the fritters and cook until the other side is brown as well. Mine take about 2 minutes per side to brown.
Remove fritters from skillet and drain on paper towel. Ya mon 🙂
Looking for more Jamaican recipes? Try these out:
- Saltfish fritters
- Ackee and Saltfish
- Jamaican Carrot Juice
- Cornmeal Porridge (Stovetop)
- Pressure Cooker Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge
- Callaloo and Saltfish
- Sweet Potato Pudding
Watch this video tutorial and see how I make these fritters from start to finish.
Easy Jamaican Banana Fritters
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas medium size
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 3 Tablespoon brown sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- Oil for frying.
Instructions
- Mash bananas with fork in bowl.
- Add brown sugar, vanilla, extract, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt. Sift in flour and stir with spoon until fully combined.
- Add oil to a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, drop banana fritter batter in oil by the spoonful. Once one side is golden and bubbles appear on the top, flip fritter and cook until the other side is browned as well.
- Remove fritters and drain on paper towels. Enjoy 🙂
Video
Notes
- The riper your bananas are, the sweeter your fritters will be. Modify sugar amount to your preference.
- The fritters are not meant to be fluffy like pancakes or bread. They are to be thinner and moist.
- If using a cast iron skillet, reduce heat to medium rather than medium high.
SE says
Thank you Tanya for this wonderful and simple recipe from my childhood. I've tried other ways, but yours is perfect. I used 3 medium bananas as you stated. I want to try 4 bananas to get a softer consistency. Also, I used a nonstick ceramic coated pan, aluminum on the outside. I fully understand the issues with sticking, that's why I tried it your way 😍
Tanya says
Thanks SE! So happy you liked the recipe 🙂
Trudy says
What brand pan do you use. I tried three non stick pans and they all stuck and burned. I have a gas stove. Does that make a difference. Flavor was still good but they looked like they went through a battle field. Would love to make them looking as beautiful as yours.
Tanya says
Hi Trudy, I think the gas stove and the pan may be making a difference. I've made this recipe in different non-stick pans, the one in the photos I picked up from Marshalls, and I cannot remember the brand name. I've also used the T-fal nonstick pan, the one I used in the video of me making this. Both pans operated differently, with the one from Marshalls way easier to work with. But with the T-fal, I just found I needed to lower the heat to stop the fritters from browning too quickly. Either way, I would try lowering the heat a bit on your gas stove and see if that works. I always start with 1 fritter to test and then adjust based on how quickly or slowly that one browns. Sorry for the long explanation lol. Hoping your next batch comes out beautiful and golden.
Tammy says
How much oil? Enough to cover the bottom of the pan? Or more like enough to deep fry?
Tanya says
Enough to cover the bottom of the pan. It's a shallow pan fry, it should cover half of the fritter.
Krystle says
The banana fritter taste brought back the nostalgia of being in the kitchen and my dad making it as a Saturday afternoon treat❤️. This recipe is a definite keeper. Thanks myforkinglife!
Tanya says
Thanks so much, Krystle! So happy you like the recipe and the memories it brings 🙂
Carol says
This turned out perfect I used 3/4 c flour! Thnx for the recipe!
Tanya says
Thanks Carol, so happy you like the recipe 🙂
Donald says
Agree with Natilies comment. To much flour my batter was to thick will cut down amount of flour. My fritters stuck to my frying pan . The taste was good just as I remember them from years and years ago. Did use maple syrup and butter on them.
Tanya says
Hey Donald, thanks for the feedback. For this recipe, using a non-stick pan or cast iron will help with any sticking issues.
Natalia says
Should have read the other reviews before making - way too much flour and turned out too dry 😢 Half a cup would have been better and maybe another banana as well. I’ll try that next time but disappointed
Tanya says
Hello Natalia, Thank you for your feedback. While many have had success with the recipe as written, it's important that it works well for you too. The batter should flow easily off a spoon, as shown in the photos and video tutorial. It sounds like you may have added too much flour, or your bananas may be a smaller size. In that case, adding another banana could help or you can a little water or milk until the batter flows off the spoon.
Leanne D'Aguiar says
Delicious! So simple to make. I added less flour and less sugar. Will make again thank you
Tanya says
Thanks so much Leanne! So happy you like the recipe 🙂
Helen says
Do you have an Air Fryer recipes?
Tanya says
Hi Helen, For this recipe, I prefer to fry it on the stovetop since the batter is thin. I haven't tried it in the air fryer.
Angela says
Recipe is delicious as is but i added toppings to mine. I was able to make 4 plain, 5 with coconut flakes, 5 with coconut and chocolate chips and two with coconut and honey roasted pecans. All were excellent . I did not have brown sugar so i mixed my turbinado with two tablespoons of coconut milk so the sugar would dissolve easier in the batter 😋.
Tanya says
Thanks, Angela! That sounds delicious!
Catherine says
So amazingly simple and absolutely delish!! Thank you ever so much for this.
Tanya says
Thanks so much, Catherine! So happy you liked the recipe 🙂
Tyler says
Really good recipes I love itp
Joe G says
Believe your recipe is missing eggs that will hold the batter together when cooked. Unsure if flour and banana alone will do it. The Enid Donaldson (Jamaican cooking bible) uses eggs. Curious to see if your no-egg recipe will work but not willing to risk wasting ingredients.
Tanya says
Hey Joe G. There are no eggs in this recipe and I've never had a banana fritters recipe that uses eggs. If you're still in doubt, this recipe has step-by-step photos, a full-length video of me making this recipe (see video link before the recipe card), as well as over 80 people who have made the recipe as is and have left reviews. You should try both and see which one you prefer. I'd love to hear your results.
Gemma says
Fab recipe, they are delicious, make them often now instead of banana cake 👍 Thank you for the recipe
Tanya says
Thanks so much, Gemma!
Cal says
These are so good! I nearly didn't make them because I was so hungry, but I'm really glad I did, they are delicious. Plus, I just had to dribble some Maple syrup on them. These are also really filling. It's nice to feel satisfied. Thank you for this wonderful recipe, it's fabulous 😍
Tanya says
Thanks Cal! So happy you liked them 🙂
Katie says
These are SO GOOD. I was tired of banana bread for ripe bananas… Reddit post I found mentioned this recipe. Thank you ☺️
Tanya says
Thanks Katie! So happy you liked the recipe.