Tasty Banana Crepes
Tender crepes filled with banana slices in a sweet cinnamon brown sugar sauce make these Banana Crepes a special breakfast or dessert.
Crepes are always a special treat. And today I’m making Banana Crepes, based loosely on the dessert Bananas Foster of New Orleans fame.
But instead flaming my bananas and topping ice cream, my bananas and sauce are served in crepes. Well, maybe with some ice cream on top too!
It takes me back to my youth when my brother worked fine dining and made Bananas Foster tableside. At the end he’d sprinkle cinnamon over the flaming dish to make tiny flashing sparks.
Well, these banana crepes have all the great flavor—plus the bonus of tasty thin crepes. But, even better, you don’t risk setting your kitchen on fire!
Now don’t forget that Pancake Day, aka Fat Tuesday aka Mardi Gras is coming up this week! Just in case serving this for a special breakfast or dessert isn’t enough reason.
Why You’ll Love This!
Flavorful. Reminiscent of the classic dessert Bananas Foster, it’s a classic because it’s so tasty!
Easy. No flames, no sparks, no problem.
Fun. Crepes are right up there with Fondue for a dish that always feels special and fun! I even topped mine with ice cream and a cinnamon stick!
What You’ll Need
Banana Crepe Filling Ingredients
- Bananas. These provide the bulk of the filling and the great banana flavor. Fresh or frozen will both work.
- Butter. This adds richness to the filling.
- Brown sugar. This adds sweetness and notes of caramel. You can substitute maple syrup or use half allulose sweetener.
- Cinnamon. This adds flavor (even if you’re not “sparking” it.
- Dark rum. This adds a nuanced flavor, but you can omit without worry.
Other Ingredients
- Prepared crepes. Or flour, egg, vanilla, butter, milk.
- Ice Cream. For serving.
Special Tools
- You’ll need a small frying pan to make the crepes. I use stainless steel which doesn’t stick if you get it hot and use PAM.
Step by Step Overview
To prepare banana crepe filling:
In a large skillet, melt the butter, then stir in brown sugar, cinnamon and dark rum.
Peel and slice bananas into wagon wheels, then add to the pan and stir until bananas are softened and sauce is bubbling.
Lower the heat and keep warm while you prepare the crepes, if you don’t have pre-made crepes. Otherwise, you can fill the crepes now.
To prepare crepes:
In a blender or with an electric mixer or whisk, combine crepe ingredients and blend well.
Heat a small frying pan and coat with non-stick spray. Pour batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook until golden, 30-60 seconds and flip.
Cook until the second side is golden and remove. Adjust heat as needed if crepes are cooking too fast or too slow. Use a little more batter if crepes are too delicate.
To fill crepes:
Spread each crepe with banana filling staying away from the crepe edges. Roll or fold into quarters as desired.
Optionally top with ice cream or whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon.
How to Fold Crepes
There are two main ways to fold crepes. The first is rolled and the other is folded into wedges. For a chunkier filling like these banana crepes I usually roll. But if I’m using a thin filling like my mascarpone lemon curd crepes (pictured below), I tend to fold.
To roll crepes, you first lay a crepe flat, spoon (or smear) filling onto it, then roll it up. I leave space along the edges for the filling to “squish out” a bit.
As a variation on the roll, you can tuck the ends inside as you roll. Here I do this more to get neater pictures than anything else!
For the folded wedges, I spread the filling on the crepe, then fold the crepe in half to get a semi-circle. Then I fold this in half or thirds to get a wedge-shaped filled crepe.
And finally, since I’m usually topping with whipped cream or ice cream, I don’t worry too much about it being super neat. Yup, all good!
Tips & FAQs
There are pre-made crepes available online (which I’ve used in recipes like these Easy Breakfast Crepes–though they’re larger than what I use here). That would make this super easy!
When I use frozen bananas, I’ve found the strings from the peel are sometimes difficult to remove. So lately I’ve been slicing the frozen banana into wagon wheels first, after which the peel practically falls off.
Looking to do some more celebrating for Carnival? Then check out these other tasty recipes: Coconut Curry Mussels, Jambalaya, King Cake, New Orleans Style Beignets, and Saffron Baked Beignets.
Banana Crepes
Ingredients
Crepe batter
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3 eggs
- 3 Tablespoon melted butter
- 1 1/4 cup skim milk or milk of your choice
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- Non-stick spray for coating pan
Filling
- 2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1/2 cup brown sugar or half brown sugar, half sweetener
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons dark rum
- 4 bananas fresh or frozen
Optional topping
- ice cream or whipped cream, cinnamon stick
Instructions
Prepare Banana Crepe Filling
- In a large skillet, melt the butter, then stir in brownsugar, cinnamon and dark rum.
- Peel and slice bananas into wagon wheels, then add to thepan and stir until bananas are softened and sauce is bubbling.
- Remove from heat and reserve while you prepare crepes orfill crepes immediately if using pre-made.
Prepare Crepes
- In a blender or wiith an electric mixer or whisk, combine crepe ingredients and blend well. Place the batter in the refrigerator for an hour to thicken.
- Heat a small frying pan and coat with non-stick spray. Pour batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook until golden, 30-60 seconds and flip. Cook until the second side is golden and remove. Adjust heat as needed if crepes are cooking too fast or too slow.
Fill Crepes
- Spread each crepe with banana filling staying away from the crepe edges. Roll or fold into quarters as desired.
- Optionally top with ice cream or whipped cream and sprinkle with cinnamon
Crepes are not that difficult to make! I need to make them more. And I love the banana’s Foster twist to these crepes. So much flavor.
Love the nod to Bananas Foster without the fire hazard, sounds like the perfect balance of indulgence and ease! Crepes always feel fancy, but this filling takes them to another level. Definitely trying this!