Hubby and I went out for a lovely vegan dinner but the dessert options were limited. I had a bunch of bananas back at the house and thought having something banana caramel-y would make the perfect end to our sweet evening. I looked at a few caramel recipes on the ride home since I’d wanted to make caramel sauce but never tried. Once I got home, I hit the pantry to see what I could create with what I already had in the pantry. I modified the ideas I saw online and came up with this yummy dish. The caramel sauce stayed liquid and now I’m totally hooked on frying bananas!
Crispy Banana Caramel Delight
1 ripe banana for each serving
1 Tbs coconut oil
Vegan caramel sauce (recipe below)
Vegan vanilla ice cream
Peel bananas and slice in half length way like a banana split. Heat a skillet large enough to hold your bananas, add oil and turn on high heat for about a minute. Add sliced bananas flat side down. Gently move them so they don’t stick or burn and allow them to get crispy and brown. Flip and gently press the curved sides so the bananas touch the skillet. Gently move to prevent burning until they are crispy and brown. If the bananas break, don’t worry. They’ll still taste amazing! Place the equivalent of one banana in each dish. Top with your favorite vanilla plant-based ice cream and drizzle with caramel sauce.
This sauce is very sweet and a little goes a long way. It stayed liquid and was perfect for my Crispy Banana Caramel Delight!
Vegan Caramel Sauce
1 cup Mimic Almond and Cashew Creme (this is a thicker sweetened plant based cream – other plant based creams should also work)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbs Earth Balance Soy-Free (Coconut oil may also work. Avoid soy-based Earth balance. While great for baking, with a high heat, it takes on a nasty, fishy, weird taste and really doesn’t work for caramels and toffees – trust me on this one!)
Add all the ingredients to a pan with extra room for boiling. Turn on high heat and stir until mixture is boiling and bubbling consistently. Turn heat down to medium high (it should still be boiling consistently) and continue to stir for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cool down and transfer to a jar or glass container. If you’re not using it right away, keep refrigerated and serve cold or reheat if you want a warm sauce.
