Grilled Banana Split

Grilled Banana Split? That sounds like dessert? Nobody grills dessert. Most people don’t grill desserts or breakfast. Not sure why on either of those points, so I figure it’s my responsibility to rectify that. Mind you, I didn’t grill the ice cream, but I did grill the bananas and the strawberries! And this is not our first dessert on this site. Check out this grilled apple tart recipe I was later told is a galette and not a tart (thanks Fr. Dominic) and these grilled peaches with buttered rum sauce (worth it for the buttered rum sauce alone)

Grilled Banana Split Ingredients:

4 somewhat ripe bananas
4 tbsp brown sugar
pinch of chipotle pepper
pinch of cinnamon
ripe strawberries, rinsed and stems removed
ice cream
blue berries
whipped cream (optional)
chocolate sauce (optional)

I say to use semi-ripe bananas because if they are too ripe, they will turn to mush on the grill. I went for bananas that had very little green around the stem, but also still very yellow with little to no brown spots.

Cut off the stem from the top of each banana and then slice them lengthwise with the skin still on:

Then mix the brown sugar, chipotle and cinnamon:

Sprinkle the sugar/chipotle/cinnamon rub on the exposed side of the banana:

Fire up the grill to medium-high heat. I actually went overboard on the heat. See I was breaking in a new grill and hit the proverbial gas a little hard and had a wicked hot spot in the middle. More on that later.

Back inside, the sugar/chipotle/cinnamon rub has turned into a sweet and spicy syrup:

Don’t forget to put a few strawberries on a double prong skewer:

No, I didn’t grill the blueberries despite them being the big monsters we brought back from Michigan. I was worried they would be mush before getting a char.

Now place the bananas flesh side down on the grill along with the skewer of strawberries:

One of the beautiful things about this new grill (a grill I no longer own)  is that there is a grill rack that can elevate food above the regular rack, or drop the food down really close to the fire like I did here. It’s GREAT for searing stuff uber fast. Well, I had the grill a little too hot and the fruit a little too close. THIS banana was perfect:

But this one on the right was burnt and tasted bitter:

The bananas were flesh side down for only about 60 seconds. If the grill was at the proper temperature of medium-high rather than blazing inferno high, this should take a couple minutes. My strawberries were flipped at about 90 seconds:

Cook the bananas skin side down until they separate from the skin. With as hot as this fire was, the bananas literally popped from the skin, leaving a little gap on the outside curve as you can see here to the left of the strawberries:

That’s all it takes. Season the bananas, sear on the flesh side, flip and cook on the skin side until they separate and take them off the grill and head inside to make a grilled banana split:

And a closeup:

So how was it? Other than the one half banana that was burnt, it was fantastic. The chipotle gave it a subtle heat that didn’t hit right away and was countered beautifully by the sweetness of the fruit and the cold, creaminess of ice cream. The strawberries didn’t have the crisp texture of fresh, but the char added some great flavor. My six-year-old mowed that one down and I ate the rest. I was so worried about getting the shots before the ice cream melted that I forgot the whipped cream and chocolate sauce I had just off camera and even set the container of ice cream down on my laptop while I shot. Thankfully, my wife caught that in time and the laptop is fine. With as much as my son (and myself) enjoyed his grilled banana split, I’m definitely doing this again.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below or send me an email. 

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Print Recipe

Grilled Banana Split

Grilled bananas take an already amazing fruit to a whole other level. Add some grilled strawberries to top a couple scoops of ice cream, along with blueberries, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time5 mins

Total Time10 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Grilling

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 bananas (somewhat ripe)
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 pinch chipotle pepper
• 1 pinch cinnamon
• 6 to 8 strawberry ripe, rinsed and stems removed
• ice cream
• blue berries
• whipped cream (optional)
• chocolate sauce (optional)

Instructions

• Cut off the stems of the bananas and slice them lengthwise with the skin still on
• Mix up the sugar, pepper and cinnamon
• Put the rub on the flesh side of the banana
• Skewer the strawberries
• Prepare the grill for medium high heat
• Place the bananas flesh side down on the grill
• Place the skewered strawberries on the grill
• Once the bananas release from the grill (about 1.5-2 minutes) flip them over along with the strawberries
• Wait for the bananas to separate from the skin a few millimeters which should take another 1.5-2 minutes
• Remove everything from the grill and serve with ice cream, blueberries, whipped cream and chocolate sauce

Here’s a collage of the process:

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Scott Thomas

Scott Thomas, the Original Grillin’ Fool, was sent off to college with a suitcase and a grill where he overcooked, undercooked and burned every piece of meat he could find. After thousands of failures, and quite a few successes, nearly two decades later he started a website to show step by step, picture by picture, foolproof instructions on how to make great things out of doors so that others don’t have to repeat the mistakes he’s made on the grill.

Scott Thomas

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