Easy Air Fryer Banana Dessert

This super tasty air fryer banana dessert takes about three minutes to come together and twelve to cook up in the air fryer for a luscious quick dessert. It can also be easily made vegetarian or vegan too!

Why you’ll love it:

• It has tons of flavor.
• It’s easy to make.
• It”s fruity yet super decadent.
• It’s kid-approved.
• You can dress it up (add chopped nuts, cinnamon, whipped cream, ice-cream, etc.) or enjoy as is.
• It’s versatile and can be easily tweaked to accommodate allergies or vegan/vegetarian diets.
• Air frying the whole banana with the toppings stuffed in under the skin means no messy clean-up or toppings that slide or melt off.

If easy quick desserts sound like they might be your thing, you should also check out this three-minute vegan vanilla mug cake or this 6-minute vegan banana foster.

Ingredients and substitutions

This air fryer banana dessert recipe is super versatile. Take a look at the image below to get an idea of the ingredients you may need and scroll down to see what can be swapped/omitted/substituted.

Chocolate chips: Please don’t skip these, the chocolate is so yummy with the roasted banana. If you can’t find any chocolate chips you can substitute them with your favorite chocolate chopped up. I use dairy-free dark chocolate chips but you can use whatever you prefer.

Mini marshmallows: For a tasty campfire flare there is nothing quite like toasted mini marshmallows. If you can’t find mini ones you can just chop up larger marshmallows. They can get sticky when chopped so I actually find it easier to use scissors. Do remember that regular marshmallows are neither vegan nor vegetarian, you can use Dandies, Sarah’s Candy Factory, or Trader Joe’s vegan ones instead.

Brown sugar: It adds a yummy touch of sweetness to the banana and helps the caramelization along. You can substitute with other types of sugar if you don’t have any brown sugar. I don’t advise using liquid sweetener or things will get very sloppy inside your banana.

Banana: Unlike most banana dessert recipes, I recommend you use a ripe yellow or just slightly overripe medium-sized banana, not a really brown one. Using overripe bananas tends to result in roasted banana goo.

Butter: This adds a nice kick of flavor, and I actually recommend using salted butter, not unsalted, as it plays nicely against the sweetness of the sugar, chocolate, and marshmallows. Use high-quality butter or vegan butter. If you don’t have any butter, you can substitute it with half the amount of coconut oil. Optionally you can also leave it out if you’re counting your calories.

Cinnamon: I love cinnamon and banana but it is optional so if you don’t like cinnamon, leave it out.

Chopped nuts: Sprinkling some nice chopped nuts over your finished roasted chocolate marshmallow banana is really the icing on the cake and adds another layer of texture. I love chopped peanuts, pistachios, or almonds for this, and if they’re salted or roasted even better. If you don’t like nuts or are allergic to them, feel free to leave them out.

How to make it

This air fryer banana dessert is so easy to make it practically makes itself, but I’ve outlined the process in detail below with process photos in case you have any doubts.

The first step is to make a “cradle” for your banana out of aluminum foil. Many air fryers require a little extra force to get the basket in and out and that can be absolutely detrimental if your lush roasted banana with gooey chocolate falls on its side if it’s jarred.

A cradle takes just a minute to make and ensures you won’t be crying over spilled roasted banana toppings.

Take about 75 cm of aluminum foil and tear it off. Roll up into a loose rough cylinder about three inches wide the same direction it was previously rolled in.

Flatten the middle bit with your hand (this is where the banana will sit) and roll the foil on either side in, tucking it under as you roll. Put your banana in the cradle and adjust if necessary, rolling the sides in more to tighten if necessary, You can see what the finished product should look like in the first image below.

With a sharp knife, slice the top of the banana open from the stem to the bottom (but don’t cut open the bottom bit of the skin) to make a pocket.

Gently spread the skin and pour in the melted butter over the banana, using a pastry brush if necessary to make sure the banana is coated with butter.

If using cinnamon, mix with the brown sugar and sprinkle over as much of the banana as you can. You can see what it should look like in image number two above.

Now it’s time to stuff the banana with marshmallows and chocolate. I find it much easier if I add a line of marshmallows first on either side of the banana (as in image three below) as it helps to keep the banana skin open.

I then top with the chocolate chips followed by the remaining marshmallows. Do make sure to cover as much of the banana as you can reach with the marshmallows and chocolate (see image four below).

Now the easy bit. Carefully set your banana in its aluminum cradle in the air fryer. You can do more than one banana at a time, you just have to have enough space in the air fryer that they are not touching or they will steam rather than roast.

Set the air fryer to 400ºF(200ºC), and roast the bananas for twelve-fifteen minutes until the skins are dark brown and the marshmallows are toasted. You definitely want the skins dark brown as you want your banana to be roasted all the way through.

Sprinkle the chopped nuts over and serve hot with an optional scoop of ice cream (or non-dairy ice cream for vegans). Delicious.

FAQ

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Did you make this air fryer banana dessert? Let me know how much you loved it with a star rating, review, and/or comment below.

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