How To Ripen Bananas Quickly

There is more than one way to ripen bananas quickly, which is great news for those of us who only ever see green bananas at the grocery store! It’s rare to find ripe bananas in the produce section, and unripe bananas can be a problem, especially if you wanted to make banana bread, banana muffins, or any recipe that might call for overripe bananas.

Luckily, I’m no stranger to clever baking hacks, including those you can use to ripen bananas fast! I did some research and discovered a bunch (get it?) of ways to speed up the ripening process, and I’ll share the best ones with you in this post.

Check out this quick banana-ripening hack in action in my video at the end of the post!

Understanding How Bananas Ripen

Bananas are harvested while they’re still green and chilled in transit to prevent them from ripening. Once they’re stored at room temperature, bananas produce ethylene gas that causes them to ripen. The green chlorophyll in the banana peel will degrade, revealing the yellow color from carotenoids, and the starches in the fruit will break down into sugars and make the banana sweeter. 

Depending on how green they are and how warm your house is, bananas can take 4 to 5 days to ripen naturally. But rather than waiting days on end for fresh bananas to get ripe enough to use in banana bread, keep reading to learn some easy ways to ripen bananas fast!

How To Quickly Ripen Bananas In The Oven, Microwave, Or Air Fryer

Keep in mind that all of the techniques below will work better with bananas that are already yellow. Green bananas just won’t have the sweetness you’re looking for, no matter which ripening method you try!

How To Ripen Bananas In The Oven

This method takes about an hour from start to finish, and it’s the best way to ripen bananas in a hurry (at least in my opinion!)

• Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.
• Take a bunch of yellow bananas and separate them.
• Place unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet and bake them for about 30 minutes, or until the skins are shiny and black.
• Remove and let cool for at least 30 minutes before using (or toss them in the fridge to speed things up.)

The heat of your oven will help bring out the sugar in the bananas, leaving you with super soft and sweet bananas, perfect for banana bread, banana muffins, or banana pancakes!

Quickly Ripen Bananas In The Microwave

Need to know how to ripen a banana instantly? This is about as close as you can get!

• Use a fork to poke several holes all over the peel of an unpeeled yellow banana.
• Put the banana on a piece of parchment paper and place it in the microwave. (Parchment paper won’t stick to your microwave if the peel bursts!)
• Microwave in 30-second bursts until the banana is as soft as you’d like.

Ripen Bananas In The Air Fryer

It only takes about 7 to 8 minutes to ripen a yellow banana in the air fryer!

• Preheat your air fryer to 300°F.
• Put a piece of parchment paper or foil into the basket, in case of banana leaks.
• Put the banana(s) in the basket and cook for 7 to 8 minutes until the skins are shiny and black.

After using the oven, microwave, or air fryer method to ripen bananas faster, cut or tear a small piece off the bottom of each banana and squeeze out the fruit like you’re squeezing toothpaste out of a tube. Easy!

3 Quick Ways To Ripen Bananas Naturally 

1. Ripen Bananas In A Paper Bag

Bananas need to be kept above 59°F in order to ripen naturally, which is why you shouldn’t put bananas in the refrigerator. Bananas produce quite a lot of ethylene gas, which causes fruit to ripen by turning starch into sugar. All that ethylene will make other fruits ripen faster as well, which can be a good or bad thing, depending on the situation. Keep that in mind when you store bananas!

One way to ripen bananas naturally it to put them in a closed brown paper bag to trap the ethylene gas. (Don’t use a plastic bag, which will will trap moisture too.) The paper bag will cause your bananas to ripen quickly — possibly even overnight, depending on how ripe they were to begin with.

2. Take Off The Plastic

Did you ever wonder why the stem on a bunch of bananas is wrapped in plastic? It’s because the stems release the ethylene that ripens the fruit. Take off that plastic and the bananas will ripen faster.

3. Separate Them

I haven’t personally experimented with this, but a lot of people swear that bananas ripen more quickly when bunches are separated into individual fruits. Give it a try!

How To Store Ripe Bananas

If the bananas you bring home are green, hang them on the hook over your fruit basket (which is the best way to store fruit). This will keep them from bruising each other as they lie in a bunch. They can keep for several days this way, especially if they started out green and a bit hard. 

You can refrigerate ripe bananas by peeling them and putting lemon juice on them. After giving them a nice splash of lemon juice, wrap the bananas tightly in plastic wrap. They won’t last long, but it will give you a bit more time to eat them or get them in the freezer.

If your bananas ripen more quickly than you can eat them, you can freeze them so you don’t waste food. Just peel and slice your ripe bananas, then freeze the slices on a sheet pan lined with with parchment paper. Once frozen, transfer the frozen bananas to a zippered freezer bag — they’re perfect for making smoothies!

Looking to store bananas long-term? Try dehydrating them! Bananas are one of the many foods you can dehydrate, and homemade banana chips make a great snack.

What To Do With Overripe Bananas

There are plenty of uses for overripe bananas, and that’s in addition to making banana bread! If you can’t use them right away, freeze brown bananas by squeezing the fruit into a zippered freezer bag, or seal the bag with a vacuum sealer. Once thawed, you can add your overripe banana puree to baked goods and smoothies as an easy way to eat more fruits.

What’s your favorite way to eat bananas?