Easy Brown Butter Baked Bananas Foster

There’s something warm and cozy and comforting about simple Fall desserts. Like this Easy Brown Butter Baked Bananas Foster, topped with toasted hazelnuts and pecans, vanilla yogurt, and a delicious brown butter rum sauce! 

I have also included instructions on how to adapt this recipe for a crowd, and to make it vegan or paleo.

Hello Fall, you beautiful.

I’ve been hoping to Fall right back into your arms ever since… the last time we met. Yes, summer was kinder to me than usual this year, and I do like frozen dessert recipes even more than the next person, but there’s really nothing like a warm, cozy, spiced, delicious Fall desert.

And bananas are always an easy and delicious vehicle for some cozy desserts like this banana cream pie, homemade banana pudding, banana layer cake, and even banana cupcakes!

But when it’s as easy as this Brown Butter Baked Bananas Foster? I’ve found my new BBBBF.

This baked bananas foster is one of my favorite easy dessert recipes to make (and fall in love with too). There’s minimum prep work and time involved, and the rest of the work is done by the oven, and it’s pretty darn foolproof.

And all you need is some ripe bananas, butter, hazelnuts and pecans and a couple of other common ingredients in your pantry. And some rum, of course. Rum adds a perfectly complementary warming, boozy flavor to this banana dessert.

What I also really like about this baked bananas foster recipe is that it can easily be adapted for a crowd or just two (say, as a romantic Valentine’s day recipe), or even for just one person, when you’re craving for a little treat.

Brown butter has always been one of my weaknesses, and I almost always keep some brown butter stored in the fridge. It’s basically caramelized butter and has a delightfully nutty, toasty flavor that elevates any sweet or savory dish.

I frequently use brown butter in sweet and savory dishes like this madeleines recipe, or these oreo popsicles, or brown butter pasta or roasted vegetables and pan fried salmon. You can find out how to make brown butter in this post, with a handy visual guide where you can see the different stages of browning butter.

But if you’re not like me, and don’t want to spend time caramelizing your butter, then you can use regular unsalted butter for this recipe instead. It will still taste delicious!

Perfectly ripe (but not overripe) bananas with little to no brown spots on the skin work well for this baked bananas foster recipe.

The bananas are baked in a parchment and foil pouch with some brown butter, spices, raw sugar and rum, and then topped with vanilla yogurt and roasted hazelnuts and pecans. No wonder this baked bananas foster is so easy yet so addictive.

The bananas soften and caramelize as they bake, and become infused with the flavors of brown butter, sugar and rum. The crunchy, toasted hazelnuts and buttery pecans add another depth of texture and flavor.

You can serve this baked bananas foster with vanilla ice cream, but I also LOVE serving it with some tangy yogurt. Or you could even use some whipped cream instead. You can’t go wrong either way.

It’s important that you don’t overbake the bananas because you want them to retain some texture and not turn into mush. But since the bananas are baked IN the peel in this bananas foster recipe, it’s a little more forgiving, since the peel helps to hold it together. And I also feel that serving it like this with the peel, kinda looks fancy too. 🙂

Amazing to think that I used to hate bananas as a kid that were cooked or prepped in any way! 🙂 I used to eat them only when they were fresh and perfectly ripe. My family on the other hand used to love eating banana fritters, a dessert that I took way too long to learn to appreciate. But I like to think that I’m making up for lost time now!

I bake these bananas in parchment paper to prevent any sticking, and I generally try to avoid baking directly in foil. Having said that, I have baked these bananas directly in foil before, and also only wrapped in parchment paper, and it works just fine either way.

So you can use whichever you have at hand, or wrap in parchment paper first and then in foil, like I have done here.

You’ll know that you’re in for a treat when you start smelling the wonderful aromas of the caramelized bananas and the sweet, nutty brown butter rum sauce, while still in the oven. 🙂

Make sure to spoon that brown butter rum sauce all over the bananas before you serve this baked bananas foster. The rum flavor is subtle as I only use just enough to add a layer of boozy deliciousness and didn’t want it to be overwhelming.

This baked bananas foster is best eaten while it’s nice and warm, as the cool, tangy yogurt (or ice cream if you prefer) gives it a really lovely contrast.

How to make baked bananas foster for a crowd

I wouldn’t recommend making more than 2 bananas (4 halves) in a “pouch” to prevent crowding, BUT you can make multiple pouches, OR line a baking sheet with parchment paper, place the bananas with the other ingredients and tightly cover the top of the entire tray with foil and bake as directed.

This way you can easily make it for a crowd too.

How to make vegan baked bananas foster

If you want to make this vegan, skip the butter. Instead, you can either use regular vegan butter or coconut oil instead. To mimic the browned butter flavor, you can add about 1/2 tsp of toasted ground hazelnut. But that is optional.

And serve it with vegan yogurt or ice cream instead of regular.

Want to make a Paleo Baked Bananas Foster?

Use coconut sugar instead of raw sugar. Maple syrup is great too!

Coconut yogurt instead of regular yogurt.

There is conflicting information with regard to rum for paleo diets. Some articles say rum is OK because it’s a distilled alcohol, but I’ve also read that colored alcohol isn’t appropriate for a paleo diet. But you do have the option of using WHITE rum if you want to, as well.

So go ahead and give yourself a warm comforting dessert hug by treating yourself to this simple but amazing baked bananas foster. 🙂 It’s a somewhat “healthier” dessert (if you skip the ice cream), so you, your tummy and your sweet tooth will all be happy after enjoying this. 😉

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