The Easy Swap For Making Bananas Foster Without The Liqueur

Say you've been wanting to make a delicious bananas Foster or Miriam Hahn's tasty bananas Foster French toast recipe this week, but you don't have any banana liqueur at home. It's just not a very common ingredient to stock in one's pantry, for sure — but before you order some online or run out to the store to grab a bottle, note there's an easy swap.

Tasting Table spoke to chef Michael White at the Nassau Paradise Island Wine & Food Fest. White advised that you look in your pantry for two ingredients to use as alternatives for the banana liqueur in your bananas Foster. "You can just use a little bit of sugar and brandy," he said, adding that you can "flambé with a little bit of brandy if there's not banana liqueur for sure."

While there's significant history behind bananas Foster and the person it's named for, swapping banana liqueur with brandy and sugar will do the dish justice. If you're still unsure, White shared exactly how he'd execute this tip.

When Tasting Table asked chef Michael White about other steps involved with this bananas Foster substitution, he said, "Some butter, sugar, bananas, sauté, deglaze with a little bit of brandy. Pour it right over ice cream. Amazing." In other words, you should melt butter in a hot pan, sprinkle in sugar, and let it melt into a buttery caramel sauce. Add the bananas to sauté them until they are glossy and browned. The splash of brandy at the end will deglaze the pan and loosen the caramel sauce. 

Poured while still hot over a scoop of ice cream — preferably a high-quality vanilla, so the boozy banana flavor really shines through — this brandy-infused caramel sauce will provide you with a fun contrast of temperatures, melty, rich ice cream, and warm bananas. However, if you don't have brandy at home, you can reach for another spirit. Since you can consider brandy as a substitute for bourbon when baking, you can use bourbon or whiskey to make bananas Foster as well.