9 Ways To Pair Banana And Coffee Beyond Lattes

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Be honest: How many banana bread lattes have you had this summer? We're not here to judge; you can never have enough of these sweet, creamy treats, especially when the weather is hot and humid. Chains like Dunkin' and 7 Brew have helped draw banana coffee out from the domain of specialty coffee shops, ushering the surprisingly delicious combination into mainstream consciousness. Plus, it's easy to make a banana bread iced latte at home, allowing you to adjust the sweetness and coffee-to-banana ratio as per your personal preferences.

If you've fallen in love with the banana-coffee duo, you shouldn't just limit yourself to lattes. Plenty of other opportunities exist to savor the sweet, creamy nature of bananas alongside the earthy, nutty, and acidic nature of coffee. To further indulge your banana coffee obsession, we've assembled a list of other ways you can combine the two ingredients, and provided some recipes to get the ball rolling. Many of these are baked goods, in which case, espresso powder is often responsible for providing a strong coffee flavor (Modern Mountain Baking Company's espresso powder is superb). Espresso powder is just what it sounds like: dehydrated and finely ground espresso. It's not instant coffee; after all, a shot of espresso packs more of a punch than a cup of drip coffee. Still, you don't need many special ingredients other than that to make most of these recipes.

There's nothing quite like the rich, nutty aroma of a coffee shop, except, perhaps, the sweet aroma of banana bread suffusing a kitchen. Combine the two, and you hit gold. Sure, you could sip on a cup of coffee while digging into a slice of banana bread, but why not go one step further and incorporate coffee into the batter? Of course, in addition to making coffee-infused banana bread loaves, you can also spoon the batter into muffin tins. And if you stir in chocolate chips, you'll have mocha banana bread vibes.

It's easy to wake up your banana bread with a splash of coffee using espresso powder. Although ground coffee and brewed coffee will do just fine, mixing espresso powder into the batter will ensure a more robust flavor and an ideal texture. If you're adding brewed coffee, reduce the amount of liquid elsewhere. The composition of your bread may change minimally due to coffee's acidity, but the result typically won't be earth-shattering.

Another way to combine coffee with banana bread is to buy or make a coffee syrup and use it as a glaze. For a great ready-made option, look no further than Dave's All Natural Coffee Syrup. However, you can also simmer strong coffee with sugar for only a few minutes for a homemade version.

There's a reason why bananas are a key ingredient in so many smoothie recipes: Their sweetness balances out other fruits' tart flavors and watery consistencies. Frozen bananas make smoothies lusciously thick, too. Likewise, if you're a fan of coffee milkshakes, frozen bananas might just be the healthier substitute for ice cream that you've been looking for. They can also reduce the need for so much sugar in your homemade Frappuccinos.

Mocha banana smoothie recipes are fairly common, though not all are as delicious as our frozen funky monkey banana mocha recipe. If you're not interested in making one yourself, though, you might find a mocha banana smoothie offered at your local smoothie shop. In addition to cocoa powder, other ingredients commonly added to banana-coffee smoothies include almond butter or peanut butter, milk or non-dairy milk, chia seeds, yogurt, cinnamon, and sweeteners like honey or agave.

Freshly brewed coffee, cold brew, or espresso shots are typically blended alongside bananas to make these beverages. Nevertheless, for some recipes, you could use a coffee-flavored protein powder instead (Orgain iced coffee-flavored protein powder is a nice plant-based option). For a refreshing protein shake, you don't need more than a scoop of coffee protein powder, a frozen banana, and a cup of milk.

Overnight oats might not be making the rounds as much now as they did 10 years ago, but they're still every bit as practical and tasty now as they were then. They're easy to meal prep and don't need to be heated, making them perfect for parents who are just trying to get their kids out the door. For an adult version, we recommend adding coffee to the mix. This same concept can be applied to chia pudding, too.

Use any banana-themed overnight oats recipe as the base, replace some of the liquid (typically milk or non-dairy milk) with coffee, and prepare to be amazed. If you don't want to brew a cup of coffee, you can use cold brew or stir instant coffee into the milk. Coffee-flavored protein powder works here, too, though you'll have to add more liquid. If you want to preserve the creamy texture of your oats, don't replace all of the milk with coffee; start by adding slightly less coffee than milk and then adjust future batches as necessary.

To make your overnight oats even more decadent, top them with caramelized bananas. Or, you can sprinkle each jar with nuts, chopped dates, or cinnamon powder. A drizzle of peanut butter or almond butter can go a long way, too.

Remember when nice cream was a thing? We still love it, especially when coffee makes an appearance. Nice cream is the vegan alternative to ice cream, and it's made by combining frozen bananas with a few flavorings in a high-speed blender.

A typical coffee nice cream recipe will call for frozen bananas and espresso powder, with optional ingredients like dates, maple syrup, and vanilla to amplify sweetness and add flavor. Any more than a splash of liquid coffee will negatively affect the texture of your nice cream, so it's best to use espresso powder or finely ground coffee. Try adding a few spoonfuls of espresso powder to our chocolate-banana (vegan) ice cream recipe for a mocha twist.

Dairy versions of banana-coffee ice cream are certainly possible, too, though you'll rarely find them being sold. If you don't own a Ninja CREAMi or don't want to go through the trouble of operating your old-fashioned ice cream maker, make it a sundae by pairing coffee-flavored ice cream with sliced bananas. Or you can flip this idea on its head and use banana ice cream in an affogato. Just make sure the ice cream is as cold as possible before pouring espresso on top. If neither coffee nor banana ice cream are on hand, you could sprinkle espresso powder atop a banana split with any other flavor of ice cream.

If you wake up on the weekends humming that iconic Jack Johnson song, "Banana Pancakes," you'll love this combo. You can add espresso powder to just about any banana pancake recipe without needing to change the ratios of the other ingredients. If you have a favorite pancake recipe that doesn't call for bananas, you can follow that, too, adding a few teaspoons of espresso powder to the batter for a more coffee-forward stack. Then, top your pancakes with sliced bananas, or better yet, caramelized bananas for additional sweetness and depth of flavor.

If you don't want to experiment with altering the batter, you could prepare our fluffy banana pancakes recipe as is, before topping them with an espresso-infused whipped cream or a coffee-infused maple syrup (we suggest Runamok's Coffee Infused Maple Syrup). Of course, other traditional pancake toppings, like chopped pecans and walnuts, would pair spectacularly with this combo, too. Even a smear of espresso-infused nut butter would work double duty as both a texture and flavor enhancer. Finally, chocolate chips, whether incorporated into the batter or sprinkled on top, can make your pancakes more mocha-like. Chocolate syrup would have the same effect.

It's easy to incorporate coffee and bananas into brownies, whether you're using a boxed mix or baking from scratch. Depending on your experience level, you can either doctor up the brownie batter or get creative with the toppings — or both.

As always, espresso powder tends to yield the best results in baked goods, but we've also seen success with adding espresso shots and strongly brewed coffee to brownie batter. If using liquid coffee, accommodate the extra moisture by adjusting the other ingredients. When in doubt, refer to a recipe designed specifically for liquid coffee. Alternatively, when using espresso powder, start with 1 to 2 teaspoons per batch to test flavors; coffee lovers may find that a full tablespoon is ideal. Unless you're planning to eat the whole tray, you won't be getting much caffeine from these brownies, though, so don't hesitate to enjoy them at night. When you layer sliced bananas on top, you'll get an extra dose of natural sweetness.

Now, on to banana brownies. When following a standard recipe, you can add mashed bananas to the batter and reduce the amount of oil or butter. We recommend following our chocolate banana brownies recipe for a tried-and-true method. Banana brownies may need a longer bake time, so always test them with a knife before removing them from the oven. To bring in the coffee element, either mix in espresso powder or top the cooled brownies with mocha frosting.

If you prefer soft cookies over crispy ones, try making a batch of our banana cookies. Banana cookies often tend to turn out cakey, but using just the egg yolk helps circumvent that issue. Meanwhile, you may be able to marginally reduce the amount of sugar in your recipe, depending on how ripe your bananas are (lightly spotted bananas are the best because they are amply sweet yet texturally sound thanks to the starch). Banana cookies often taste and feel distinctly healthier than their traditional counterparts, and they might even be enjoyed at breakfast time alongside a cup of tea or coffee.

In addition to drinking coffee alongside your banana cookies, there are a few other ways to incorporate rich, java flavor into the cookies themselves. Adding espresso powder to the batter is a breeze, just as you would for other baked goods. Frequently, banana cookies are laden with cocoa powder or adorned with chocolate chips. It follows that if you mix in espresso powder, you'll end up with banana mocha cookies. Yet another option is to chop a coffee-flavored chocolate bar into tiny pieces and use them in place of the morsels. Omnom and Galerie au Chocolat both offer stellar options.

Lately, restaurant cocktails have become inordinately expensive — all the more reason to return to your pandemic pursuit of becoming a home mixologist. First up: Banana mudslides. One of our taste-testers recently reviewed Cutwater's banana mudslide, a drink that proves bananas, chocolate, coffee, and vodka can be the best of friends. To make one at home, you'll need ingredients like Kahlúa, Irish cream, and vodka, along with your choice of either ice cream or heavy cream. And, of course, a banana, which should be completely blended so as not to provide a distracting texture.

Martinis are in vogue, so we'd be remiss not to recommend shaking up a banana coffee martini, too. You'll need ingredients like vodka, banana liqueur, coffee (or espresso for a stronger flavor), and Irish cream for this drink. Instead of banana liqueur, you can also use banana syrup. Check out our Irish coffee martini recipe for inspiration, then add your choice of banana flavoring.

Finally, folks have been drinking dirty bananas for years, so it's not difficult to find recipes for this cocktail, which contains rum, coffee liqueur, and banana liqueur. Variations might include Irish cream or fresh banana, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup brings an extra level of decadence.

There are plenty of ways to bring the sweet, fresh flavors of banana to an earthy cup of coffee without making a latte. The sky is the limit, and to save you the trouble of guesswork, we've experimented with several methods of combining the two ingredients. Banana syrup can be added to just about any style of coffee, including hot brews. Meanwhile, cold coffees provide even more space for creativity.

If you're enjoying the cold foam craze, try infusing a homemade version with banana. Simply blend together a ripe banana and heavy cream, then use it to top iced coffee. Adding cinnamon or nutmeg can bring on the banana bread vibes, and vanilla is always welcome, too. If you don't have heavy cream, great results can be achieved with half-and-half or regular milk as well. Finally, top the glass with graham cracker crumbs for a banana pie-like effect. You can also make a banana-flavored dalgona coffee by using banana milk as the base and topping it with a whipped mixture of instant coffee, sugar, and hot water.

Alternatively, try foregoing the layered coffee altogether and pouring all your ingredients into a blender. You can use several ingredients to upgrade your banana coffee, including spices, date syrup, and flavored extracts. Play around with using different roasts and brands of coffee, too. Calling upon the smooth, rich flavors of a high-quality dark roast, for example, will yield a far better beverage than one made with a cheap coffee like Folgers.