3 tasty things to cook using frozen bananas.

A freezer full of bananas is a head start on three of the easiest crowd-pleasers there are. Here's how to make each one.

01Classic banana bread

Heat the oven to 175°C and line a loaf tin. Mash the thawed bananas with their liquid, then stir in the melted butter, sugar, egg and vanilla. Sprinkle over the bicarb soda and salt, then fold in the flour until just combined. Don't overmix. Bake for 55–65 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out.

02One-ingredient banana "nice cream"

Put 2–3 frozen bananas, in chunks, into a food processor or high-powered blender. Blitz, stopping to scrape down the sides. It will look crumbly, then pasty, and then suddenly turn smooth and creamy, like soft-serve. This takes about 2–5 minutes. Add a splash of milk only if it's stuck.

Eat it straight away as soft-serve, or freeze it for an hour for a firmer scoop. Flavour ideas: a spoonful of peanut butter, a tablespoon of cocoa, a handful of frozen berries or mango, or a pinch of blue spirulina for a striking blue scoop.

03Quick banana pancakes

Whisk everything together into a loose batter. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-low heat with a little butter or oil. Spoon in small rounds, about 2 tablespoons each, and cook until bubbles appear and the edges set, then flip carefully and cook for another minute. Keep them small, since they're more delicate than regular pancakes. Serve with berries, yoghurt and a drizzle of honey.

04Tip

Freeze bananas in pre-measured bags (for example, three bananas for one loaf) so they're ready to go. See how to freeze bananas for the best method.