As more people become aware of the science-backed belly reducing benefits of resistant starch, quality sources such as raw banana flour are flying off the shelves.
With GMO bananas on the horizon and conventional crops highly sprayed, using organic green banana flour is the safest way to go. If you’ve checked the prices on organic banana flour lately, though, you’ve probably been shocked at the cost!
Making Organic Green Banana Flour is Thrifty
A small one-pound bag of organic green banana flour runs about $10-15. Buy it in bulk and you might get it for around $7/pound.
If you add 2-3 tablespoons to your morning smoothie to get the therapeutic dose of 15-30 grams of resistant starch each day, you’ll use up a whole bag in one week!
If spending upwards of $30+ per month solely on banana flour (for one person!) seems expensive, consider making your own.
I am fortunate to have nearly a dozen banana trees in my backyard, so picking a bunch to make homemade green banana flour is convenient and free.
If you buy a bunch at the health food store, it won’t be free but it will still cost less than buying pre-made.
Homemade Banana Flour
If you have a food dehydrator, making homemade banana flour is not only thrifty, it is quite easy too.
The bunch of green bananas in the picture above makes about 1 pound of organic flour with very little effort!
If you don’t have a stainless steel dehydrator, then you can use a warm oven with the pilot light on. Another option is to use a convection oven.
My convection oven above the range has a dehydrator option. I am able to set the temperature as low as necessary to keep the banana flour raw during the drying process to preserve all the health benefits.
Homemade Raw Green Banana Flour
Fast, easy and thrifty recipe for making homemade banana flour that is raw and high in health-boosting resistant starch necessary for optimum gut health.
Ingredients
- 1 large bunch green bananas preferably organic
Instructions
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Peel and slice bananas into circles about 1/4 inch thick.
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Arrange the pieces side by side (do not stack or make a pile) on dehydrator sheets or cookie sheets (if using a warm oven or convection oven).
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Set the dehydrator or oven to 115 F/ 45 C and dry out the banana slices for about 6 hours. If your oven won't go that low, consult the user manual as most ovens can be adjusted lower if necessary. Alternatively, use only the pilot light for a gas range.
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When fully dry, remove the banana chips and cool.
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Place the chips in a food processor and pulse until a smooth flour.
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Store banana flour in airtight containers in the pantry or the refrigerator. It will remain fresh for several months in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
In addition to flour, you can use the dehydrated banana chips to make a great snack by lightly toasting in unrefined avocado oil.
Recipes Using Banana Flour
Need to know what to do with your homemade green banana flour besides adding it to smoothie recipes? Try this blueberry banana grain-free muffins recipe.
This Paleo biscuits recipe and this grain-free waffles recipe are delicious using banana flour.
Banana Flour is very beneficial in reducing ‘Ascites’ i.e. Extracellular Fluid Accumulated in Pleura, Peritoneum and Pelvis due to its high content of Potassium. It tastes also very good in the form of Parathas and Chapatis.
Thank you! I found a spot in my refrigerator. I used this flour in some pumpkin chocolate chip bars to replace all purpose flour and they turned out wonderfully.
Can this flour be frozen or only refrigerated? How long is the shelf life if kept in a cool, dark place? Thank you. I dehydrated the green bananas overnight and I’m about to put them in the food processor!
I have not frozen it myself, but I suspect it is like other flours and freezes well without any clumping. If you keep in a cool, dark pantry, the flour should be good for at least a few weeks. I refrigerate mine just to be safe since I live in FL.
How young do they need to be? I can buy a bunch of bananas at the store which are green and will quickly turn yellow, but when you say green do you mean younger than the green ones you typically find in the stores?
They should be completely green like the bunch of finger bananas in the picture.
Can you just replace banana flour with the other types of flours in baking?
Not really. Banana flour is a very thirsty flour and using it 1:1 for another flour alters the consistency of the batter quite a bit. You will have to experiment and be prepared for some trial and error if you wish to use it in some of your favorite baking recipes.
This is a brilliant idea. I shall be doing this. Presumably you can use the banana flour just like, say, coconut flour? That’s how I shall be proceeding.
Thanks.
[I bought an excalibur ages ago, expensive (in the UK) but so worthwhile …]
Coconut flour is quite a bit different in baking from banana flour. They are not interchangeable in recipes and baking in general. Coconut flour, for example, is very low in resistant starch while banana flour is very high in it.
Why green ?
Green bananas are high in resistant starch but riper bananas are not. Also ripe bananas cannot be easily made into flour like a firm, unripe banana can.
We need to replace our over the stove model and when you mentioned that your convection oven has a dehydrator setting, that’s the one I want! Can you please tell me the make and model of yours?
It’s the LG convection/microwave. We never use the microwave feature, only the convection oven. It sits above our LG stove in the same place a regular microwave would go.
Hi. The recipe says to peel the bananas but the picture shows unpeeled slices. Could you clarify, please. Thank you
You can peel the banana before or after you slice them. Your choice 🙂
Why wouldn’t you just add the green bananas (rather than the flour) to your smoothie?
Green bananas don’t blend very well in my experience.