For years, Banana Fritters was the only Jamaican recipe I knew how to make.I can’t even recall when my mother taught me how to make them. What I do remember though, is almost burning down the house when I was making some one day after school. So, I feel like sharing “my recipe” with you is an opportunity for redemption!
I must’ve been about 12 or 13 years old, and I’m not sure why I was home alone. All I remember is that I was craving some banana fritters and decided to make a batch while I waited for everyone else to get home. Problem was that I was watching TV at the same time … in another room! Beyond my better judgement, I placed a frying pan with oil on the stove to heat up while I raced to the family room to continue watching Love Connection.
I could smell the oil heating up, but I didn’t budge. I was waiting till after the commercial to find out how the show’s date went … probably disastrous, which is why I couldn’t peel myself away from the TV. When I finally turned my head to go back to the fritters I saw smoke bellowing out of the kitchen! I ran in to find a black frying pan with a flickering flame on the handle … and a large black “swoosh” of soot that went from the backsplash to the middle of the ceiling in front of the stove.
Well, the kitchen not only had to be cleaned, it had to be re-wallpapered, too. And, of course, for years I was forbidden to cook anything more than toast when no one was at home. What was worse was that, every time soot was found in an unexpected place, I had to live through being reminded that I almost burned down the house.
Today, I still love banana fritters, but I wonder about two things: What would’ve happened if I went into the kitchen five minutes earlier when the fire was raging (I consider myself lucky) and … whatever happened to Chuck Woolery?
- 1 ⅔ cup mashed overripe Bananas (about 3-5 medium bananas)
- 2-3 Tbsp Brown Sugar
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Pinch Salt
- 1 cup all-purpose Flour
- 4-5 Tbsp Cooking Oil
- 1 Tbsp granulated Sugar
- Mash bananas with sugar and spices; stir flour into banana mixture
- Heat 1 or 2 Tbsp cooking oil on High and, using a serving spoon, spoon batter into pan
- Fry fritters until crisp and brown on both sides; you may have to add more cooking oil.
- When you press them if no batter oozes out they’re done.
- Remove fritters from pan and place on paper towel.
- Sprinkle with white sugar and eat warm.
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OK, I just received the email for the banana fritters and coincidence– I had 3 over-ripe bananas that were about to become a smoothie! I ran downstairs, whipped up a batch of these and tested them on the only two children who were awake yet. The consensus–YUM!!! The only ingredients I didn’t have were the vanilla and confectioner’s sugar. So, the next batch can only be better. Keep these coming, Fay. Not only am I learning new recipes, I am filling my children’s tummies with good. nutritious treats. Thanx!!!
I really love your website, Im from Suriname, but I live in Amsterdam the Netherlands , and those recipes remind me of my birthland Suriname thank you for all those recipes God Bless
Hi Fay (and Angela),
As a young girl, my two sisters and I were raised by a Jamaican woman (our nanny) who loved us very much! As we also adored her! Alice used to make us some wonderful banana fritters and I’ve never been able to copy her recipe (you know how it goes… it’s tradition to just throw in a pinch of this, a bunch of that). So, finding your (measured) recipe should become very helpful to me 🙂
I love to cook Jamaican food at home for my own children, and I’ve been learning from Fay’s Youtube videos! Yay! I’m very thankful for her help, for the videos, and now for this website.
Thank you very much, I can’t wait to try these fritters!
As I had said, I couldn’t wait to try these, so I made some this morning. They were nice! I’d forgotten how yummy they were with the nutmeg and cinnamon combination, topped with a little sugar. My son and I both really enjoyed them.
Thanks again, Fay.
Wow, looking at those banana fritters is making me very hungry! I will be trying some of your recipes beginning this weekend. Angela, I tell you the honest truth, I thought about the love connection yesterday. I was remembering a particular show and I don’t know why it crossed my mind, but I was definitely hooked on the show, too!! Hmmm, don’t know what happened to Chuck Woolery though!
I love banana fritters! How about a recipe for salt fish fritters next? YUM!
Hi Angela and Fay!
I’ve just come accross your blog, while looking for some spicy yummy food… And guess what? Some jerk chicken in the fridge for tomorrow’s lunch and we’ll try the banana fritters for today’s evening dessert. But I was surprised when reading the recipe, there’s no egg. Over here, in France, we would have used at least one! lol
Thanks for the idea of this blog!
Hi Nefertiti,
All the best with the chicken! Banana fritters are simple food. You can add an egg but the texture will be like a pancake. Authentic Jamaican banana fritters are dense not fluffy… but so good. Let me know you like them. Blessings, Fay
Hi Fay!
Everyone enjoyed the chicken, even if I probably made it less hot than it should be… a real treat that I served with some rice and beans.
I didn’t add egg to the fritters mixture and they were just great that way!
Next tries: coleslaw, beef balls, beef patties and bread pudding.
Thanks!
Hi,
I made these last night and they were great – thank you. And so easy.
Your recipe/website was shared with me by a friend, who is Jamaican. I am Somali. Loved them.
Thanks again.
Hi there! I made these today and they came out very chewy. Can you tell me what i did wrong? Thanks!
Hi AJ,
I don’t think you did anything wrong. Out of the pan they will be crisp on the outside and dense and chewy inside. When they cool they lose the crispiness… but they’re still delicious
Awesome recipe! I used 1/4 cup all purpose flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour. Turned out great. Followed the measurements. Thank You for such a simple and clean recipe!
How did you know I have very ripe bananas laying around :). I just received the recipe and will try them tonight with dinner. I am sure they are great, just like your other recipes. Funny my sister in-law is still trying to figure out how I know these recipes…she is Jamaican. Thank you once again
Thank you so much for such a easy and quick and lovely recipe! It made a big hit in my family and soon it will make a hit around my friends!
Thank you and Please give us more!!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I made the banana fritters this morning and they turned out great! Surprised my boyfriend with them (he is originally from Clarendon, JA) and he loved them. I enjoy all of the recipes that you share and am glad to be able to cook meals that he grew up with. Thanks again!
Hi Fay,
Thanks for this recipe. It was fantastic! I had tried a similar recipe previously but yours has less steps and tasted a whole lot better. Instead of using the all-purpose flour, I used half cup each of whole wheat flour and almond flour and it did not take away from the taste at all. I am a Jamaican and know how to cook our traditional foods but I love to look at what you do and mix it up a bit. Thank you for all of your great recipes.
It was so good I will never do something else with my overripe bananas! I have to say that your youtube channel is one of my favorites. It kind of coats my heart with love when I feel lonely!
I love what you are doing and will keep on cooking everything you make!
Thank you so much
Leila R.L.
P.S: I showed your channel to a lot of my friends and they love it too!
I was so close to throwing out my bananas because they were really ripe and I had no idea what to do with them. Then I saw this and tried it out and the banana fritters are delicious!! Thanks for the great recipe!
Yummy!
Recipe is successful with King Arthur’s multi-purpose Gluten Free flour for any of those GF types out there craving these! (Especially good for a gluten-free vegan wanting something vaguely pancake like, but without feeling like I’m getting a poor imitation of the real thing.)
Thank you 🙂
This are so good, I don’t even like bananas…. So I made these for my boyfriend with ice cream on top. I tried them and OMG!!!! We been eating these almost a whole week now. Thank u so much. I still don’t like bananas but I will contiue to eat them this way.Yay
I loved your story as much as the recipe.
Thank you very much for this recipe. I’m of Jamaican parentage living in Germany with my husband and children. I googled “Jamaican banana fritters” and by chance just clicked onto your website, basically because of the web’s name. I’m glad I did because for one, the picture with you and your Mom, reminded me of my own Mom. She too has that proud Jamaican look about her, only those of us will know what I mean who were raised by proud and strong Jamaican women. Secondly, your story about burning down the house was my own!!! I almost burnt down the house while making myself popcorn and watching TV after school and to this day I still get teased for it and think of it when I burn something in the kitchen!!!
OK, time to try out your recipe… I am making them for the first time for my German-American-Jamaican kids for the first time, trying to do something besides baking a banana cake with those overripe bananas of ours… Will tell you how they turned out…
I am sure to make more Jamaican dishes now that I have found a website where I can order Jamaican food products in Munich (www.fayashop.com)… 🙂
Hi Alica, thank you for getting in touch. Glad you enjoyed my story and hope there fritters are a hit with you and your family. Blessings, Angela
Did I do something wrong? Mine look…different. Very soggy and oil-logged. Is that how they’re supposed to be? I tried varying the heat, but I still got the same result. I, too, almost set my kitchen ablaze…not good for apartment-living lol. I seriously just looked away for a second! Burned about 4, but then I lowered my heat a bit and they didn’t burn anymore, but they just didn’t seem to hold very well, and were very sticky when I tried to turn or move them with the fork. I covered them with saran wrap and stuck them in the fridge. I know you’re supposed to eat them hot, but that’s just not possible right now.
Hi Casandra,
Sorry to hear your fritters have not worked out. If you’re following the recipe as written they should turn out great. There are two reasons why they may be sticking or burning: One, there is not enough flour in your batter (make sure the measure the mashed bananas). Next time, make a test fritter and if it sticks to the pan add a little more flour to the rest of the batter and see if it works better. The other reason may be that you are using a thin bottom pan. All frying pans are not created equal and some inexpensive, lightweight pans will heat up very quickly and not give enough time for the fritter to cook properly before burning. I hope that helps. Blessings, Fay
I must be too white… I could not get these to cook for the life of me. I’m so sad because the bits I was able to salvage tasted to fantastic! I don’t know what I did wrong… 🙁
Can I use normal sugar instead of brown sugar? 🙂
Hi Cveti, yes, no problem you can use whatever you like to sweeten your fritters.
Hey there! I am from New Zealand and its a cold winters night here and we had over-ripe bananas in the fridge so I googled easy banana dessert and up popped your recipe. So I made it for dessert and whipped up some coconut whipped cream to go on the side. Deeeeelish! 🙂
I loved these and make them all the time now. They are easier than pancakes from scratch and more healthy too. The proportions are right on. If I were going to make any edits, I think I would try it without the nutmeg. Nutmeg may be too strong of a flavor for me. But thank you so much! These brought back memories of my childhood. My grandfather is Jamaican and my grandmother is Panamanian. She used to make these. Thank you for sharing!
I just made the banana fritters for my wife for breakfast. She was amazed at how good they were. They were nice and crispy on the outside soft and chewy on the inside. i didn\’t used all the sugar only one table spoon but I did add one table spoon of molasses, That was the only change I made and they were great.
I made these and liked them. I have question do these last in fridge for a few days or not. I fridge three of them for tomorrow plan on putting pure maple syrup and butter on them to make pancakes.Thanks for a great recipe to use the stuff I had available one me good thing I had free bananas left over from work event no one wanted them instead of throwing them away I put them to use by looking up recipes and yours came up on google and decided to make them. Again thanks for easy recipe that versatile I am going to use them as pancakes tomorrow.
These sound wonderful, and they must work, but I couldn’t get them to not stick terribly to the pan and the spatula. I’ve made all sorts of fruit fritters and these are the first I’ve given up on. Glad others are having better luck. No idea what I’ve done wrong.
Chuck seems to be doing just fine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Woolery
I am a college student and my roommate and I had a freezer full of bananas. We came across this recipe and decided to make these fritters last night. They were amazing. This morning we reheated them for breakfast! Yum!
I made these in a waffle iron just to see if they would work. They did 🙂 although I will thin the batter a tad with some almond milk next time so they cook all the way through. Topped them off with sweet cooked spiced apples. Delich!
Just made these as I had 4 bananas to use up before I go on holiday tonight – these were lovely. Do we have any nutritional information on these? How many fritters should one batch make? 🙂
Hi Alex,
Sorry, no nutritional information. In the video you’ll see that we made 9 fritters but it depends on the size you want to make them. Blessings, Fay
Sprinkle wit white granulated sugar or white powder sugar? So excited to try this