Copycat Trader Joe’s Gone Bananas is one of the simplest recipes on the blog, and one of the most outrageously delicious frozen desserts you’ll ever eat!
A quick little post today — we had a busy weekend and I’m still recovering. But I think you’ll be glad you stopped by, these dark chocolate covered frozen banana bites are so good. They’re a copycat version of Trader Joe’s Gone Bananas. The last time I was at my sister’s she brought out a box and it didn’t even make it all the way around the table before it was emptied. That’s like throwing down the gauntlet to a food blogger. Why buy something in frustratingly small boxes when you can make them yourself?
If you haven’t had the TJ’s Gone Bananas you’re in for a treat. The frozen banana tastes just like ice cream, and the chocolate shell is rich and crunchy. Since you’re making them yourself you can use your favorite chocolate. I like dark, but milk or white works too. The magic is in the coconut oil, which, when melted with the chocolate, makes a coating that hardens instantly on contact with the cold banana.
TIP: Top the coated banana slices with crushed nuts, coconut, or sprinkles before the chocolate hardens.
Ingredients
- 1 banana
- 1 heaping cup dark chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp coconut oil
Instructions
- Slice the banana and place the slices on a tray. Put the tray in the freezer until the bananas are frozen solid. About an hour.
- Meanwhile place the chocolate chips and the coconut oil in a small microwave safe bowl or measuring cup. Microwave for 30 seconds and then stir. Microwave for another 15 seconds and stir again, until all the chocolate is melted and smooth. Put it back in the microwave for another few seconds if necessary. Don't over heat. Set the chocolate aside to cool.
- When the bananas are frozen, dip them into the cooled chocolate and coat on all sides. I like set the slices on a fork and then use a spoon to help drizzle the chocolate all over. Let any excess chocolate drip off before setting the slice down on parchment or waxed paper. Put the slices back in the freezer right away.
- You can store the slices in a zip lock freezer baggie once the chocolate has hardened.
notes:
- Spread a dab of peanut butter on the frozen bananas before coating them if you like.
- Slide a popsicle stick into the sliced bananas BEFORE freezing and dipping them.
don’t forget to pin it!
82 Comments
Virginia Graves
September 19, 2016 at 1:50 pmI love reading the comments as we all can put in more ideas. this sounds so good. I plan on making them for halloween party for kids. I think they will love them. Thanks for other ideas too. must try them all..
Sue
September 19, 2016 at 1:59 pmThanks Virginia, let us know how it works for the kids!
Carmella
August 24, 2016 at 7:06 amShould the bananas not be overripe? I have three pretty brown ripe bananas
Sue
August 24, 2016 at 7:08 amYou can use them, Carmella, but I think less soft bananas will slice better. The flavor should be good!
Jules @ WolfItDown
August 17, 2016 at 1:14 pmMMMmm! Perfect bite sized treats! I tend to use coconut oil to sort of “temper” the chocolate too, it works a treat :D x
Mary Lou Kelp
July 23, 2016 at 6:15 pmMy husband wants me to make the Chocolate Eclair Cake, but for some reason, I can’t pull it up. Can you send it to me? My E-mail address is : maryloukelp@gmail.com.
Thank you,
Mary Lou Kelp
Tabitha
June 21, 2016 at 12:04 pmDo you know calories and serving size? These are very delicious.. And I will like this as a healthy/ naughty snack.. Lol..
I have made these few times already.. And everyone loved them..
Sue
June 22, 2016 at 8:29 amI don’t know the calories offhand, Tabitha, but I think they are a healthy snack, and I’d say about 4 would be a serving size.
Stephanie Reedy
June 28, 2016 at 7:08 pmI Think these are something that look very good to snack on. Easy to make and fun to eat.
Matt
August 12, 2016 at 7:41 amTabitha – the calories are going to be the sum of the calories in a banana, the calories in a cup of the chocolate that you are using, and 2 tablespoons of coconut oil. If you are looking for calories per banana slice, then just divide your total by how many slices you came out with per banana.
Mine came out to:
Banana – 105 calories
2 tbsp coconut oil – 240 calories
~ 1 cup 62% cacao dark chocolate chunks – 1,120 calories
Total: 1,465 calories
If you came out with 20 slices per banana, that makes each slice about 73 calories. That seems high to me! Also, since (by my calculation) about 60% of the calories are coming from fat, I wouldn’t call these a “healthy” snack. Although they are non-dairy and probably healthier than just ice cream! Also, since I’m being thorough, the Trader Joe’s version, Gone Bananas, has 130 calories for 4 slices, or 32.5 calories per slice. They must be using low-fat chocolate!
Jessica
April 27, 2017 at 8:43 amI will say that when I’ve made these I have used 2-3 bananas and much less chocolate chunks. you really can stretch out the amount of chocolate per piece.
Kathy
May 16, 2016 at 9:44 amThese are much better than the Trader Joe ones.
Sue
May 16, 2016 at 10:17 amThanks Kathy, I think that’s because we use better chocolate making it ourselves than any mass produced product does.
Lisa
May 3, 2016 at 6:56 pmI make these and roll them in organic unsweetened shredded coconut after dipping them in the chocolate.
Sue
May 3, 2016 at 8:16 pmI like that!
Julie
July 8, 2016 at 3:12 pmUhh… I was going to make these as-is for a retro Tiki party I’m throwing, but now I think I’ll do the coconut trick, to half of them anyway! Awesome!
Sue
July 8, 2016 at 3:17 pmYou could put them on popsicle or lollipop sticks, too Julie.
Pelican
April 21, 2016 at 7:12 pmFor young children: slice the banana, lay on cookie sheet, poke a chocolate chip in the middle, and freeze. We put four in a small plastic bag and keep in the freezer. Helps with self control, a little bit.
Brittany
April 11, 2016 at 8:29 amHi there! Any advice on how to get added into the “All about “Food” group board? Came across your pin on there and it looks AMAZING!
Sue
April 11, 2016 at 8:30 amHi Brittany — I’m not an admin on that board, so I don’t know. Check with the very first person listed on the board, that will be the owner. Good luck, and thanks for stopping by :)
Ashley
April 3, 2016 at 4:40 pmThese were awesome and so simple! My chocolate took a lot longer to melt in the microwave – about a minute stopping every 30 seconds to stir. I cheated and did not freeze the bananas first. Still worked.
I made two bananas with the chocolate and still had a bunch left over. So I spread it on a silicone sheet and pressed some dried fruit, nuts, and puffed millet in it for an additional chocolatey goodness snack. Had to pop it in the freezer to get it to harden, and then kept the finished goodness in the freezer. Yum.
Sue
April 5, 2016 at 11:26 amGlad you had some fun with this Ashley!
Mrs. Medeiros
March 22, 2016 at 10:32 amAny idea how long these will stay fresh in the freezer? Thinking about making a bunch to keep and have on hand for a healthy grab and go snack. Thanks!
Sue
March 22, 2016 at 12:04 pmI think the banana would start to degrade fairly quickly, but that’s just my guess…they’ve never lasted long here, so I don’t know :)
Tiffany
March 14, 2016 at 9:44 amThank you for this.! It is delicious.!
ray
February 15, 2016 at 5:31 pmhi! can you add peanut butter to the chocolate?
Sue
February 15, 2016 at 6:01 pmThe best way to add peanut butter is to spread a layer on top of the frozen banana, then refreeze until firm, and then dip! I don’t think the chocolate will harden properly if you try to mix peanut butter into the chocolate coating.
Erin J
March 21, 2016 at 11:42 amWe make these all the time with peanut butter! What has worked the best for us is to pipe the peanut butter on top of the banana slices with a piping/frosting bag. Then freeze before dipping in the chocolate!
Sue
March 21, 2016 at 11:55 amSounds yummy!
mary evans
March 31, 2016 at 7:17 pmyou can sprinkle with peanuts!
I actually use a half banana with a popsicle stik in it, freeze that, then dip in chocolate then peanuts, freeze 2 hrs.
Alice lim
January 2, 2016 at 9:27 pmHi Sue, Is this recipe lastose free if using dark chocolate?
Alejandro N.
October 31, 2016 at 8:40 amYes unless you use milk chocolate.
suzi
December 10, 2015 at 4:52 pmi am thinking of adding some crunch when i try to make these myself. gonna sprinkle some brown rice cereal on the frozen nanas before i dip and see…. thanks for sharing such sweet little treats!!
Sue
December 10, 2015 at 5:27 pmLet me know how it turns out Suzi. I think maybe coating with chopped nuts after the chocolate might be good, too.
kisha274
August 27, 2015 at 7:52 pmCould I do this with Cacao nibs??? Maybe a mixture of Cacao nibs, Organic maple syrup and Organic coconut oil?
Sue
August 28, 2015 at 6:57 amI’ve never melted cacao nibs before, but if they melt, I’m sure you could use them Kisha.
amboire
June 10, 2015 at 9:09 amit might be handy to stick a toothpick in the fruit slices before freezing – would make it easier to coat the fruit and use for nibbling handles when ready. We made this last night using 1/2 chocolate chips and 1/2 peanut butter chips. It made enough to coat the banana slices and a handful of frozen cherries (my hubby *raved* about the cherries).
Sue
April 24, 2015 at 6:45 pmOMGGGG , I just made 3 bananas, WOW!!!! Better than ice cream, I have been eating healthly for about a month and I lost about 10 pounds, this is so easy and the best snack, I love, Love them!!! Thank U so very much!!!
Sue
April 24, 2015 at 7:22 pmYay~!!!!!
Liz
April 12, 2015 at 7:32 pmI love these! They were so fun to make and a delicious, healthy-isn treat ;)
jamie
February 12, 2015 at 7:18 pmAMAZING! These are SOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD! Work fast though because they thaw really fast. I did 6 bananas at a time and had to stop halfway through and refreeze the slices, small batches would be best. I used 60% cocoa and they were perfect
Sue
February 12, 2015 at 10:08 pmWow, 6 bananas? You’re set for a while!
Megan
February 9, 2015 at 6:00 pmI was just wondering if it’d be possible to get the nutritional information for these? They look delicious
Ivy
February 23, 2015 at 11:12 amThe nutritional information all depends on what brands of coconut oil and chips you use.In a nutshell who really cares? They are healthy for you because of the 3 ingredients used. So what I would say is .. make a batch and sit back and enjoy guilt free!
Tammy
April 3, 2016 at 4:40 pm1 cup of dark chocolate chips has over 800 calories
2 TBS of coconut approx 230 calories
1 Banana approx 100 calories
Mejia Mamma
January 28, 2015 at 3:56 pmHi there – these are my FAV things to buy at TJ’s…and I’ve made some myself in the past just melting chocolate chips in a zip bag and sort of ‘piping’ a bit onto the banana slices…however I was wondering with your recipe, if maybe I could just use unsweetened cocoa powder mixed with the coconut oil…wonder if it would harden the same way? :-/
Sue
January 28, 2015 at 5:53 pmThat’s an interesting thought, Mejia Mamma… I’m not sure what would happen because you’d probably need more coconut oil to blend the cocoa powder in…let me know if you try it!
bridget
July 8, 2015 at 1:09 pmI’ve done it successfully with a mixture of melted coconut oil, cocoa powder, and maple syrup. (about equal parts coconut and cocoa powder, to a half part or less of maple syrup)
Sue
July 8, 2015 at 3:42 pmGreat to know!
Sarah
January 25, 2015 at 7:14 pmI just made these and they are fantastic!!! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Sue
January 25, 2015 at 8:26 pmThanks Sarah — it’s hard to go wrong with bananas and chocolate, so I can’t take TOO much credit ;)
Bella
January 22, 2015 at 10:24 amThese look lush! However Coconut oil is a little out of my price range and a tad tricky to find (I live in Peru) . Would they work just fine with regular milk chocolate if I popped them back in the freezer for a while afterwards?
Sue
January 22, 2015 at 12:04 pmAbsolutely Bella, they’ll be fine made that way, enjoy!!
Gerrie
January 18, 2015 at 12:46 pmOmg….These were so easy to make and great to eat!
Sue
January 18, 2015 at 1:16 pmI’m glad you enjoyed them Gerrie!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
January 12, 2015 at 9:32 amClearly I have not explored TJ’s well enough!
Sue
January 12, 2015 at 10:05 amIt’s a wonderland…
The Food Hunter
January 12, 2015 at 9:22 amwhat a great idea and such a nice snack
kim
December 6, 2014 at 11:13 amMade these today. YUMMY. We also used clementines. These were great as well.the kids loved them. For those not wanting to use coconut oil, thinking real butter might work.
Sue
December 6, 2014 at 11:35 amThanks for the feedback Kim, I’ve got another post coming up in January using other fruit, stay tuned!
Sue's Akorn Shop
November 25, 2014 at 2:26 pmYum, yum, yum!
lissette
September 2, 2014 at 9:22 amSounds really yummy. Does it work without the coconut oil? The majority of my family dislikes coconut.
Sue
September 2, 2014 at 9:41 amYou have two choices, you can use refined coconut oil, which has a very muted coconut flavor, or you can use plain chocolate. The plain chocolate will take a little longer to harden, but you can just pop them back in the freezer to take care of that. It shouldn’t be a problem at all.
Virginia
August 22, 2014 at 8:06 pmOMG THESE ARE AMAZING!! My new fav evening treat! I just made them today for the first time and used 2 kinds of dark chocolate- one bar of 73% organic dark chocolate from Trader Joes (in a purple wrapper- SO good) and a few squares of a 85% dark chocolate bar also from TJs. The bananas I used were nicely ripened (yellow with some brown spots), which I think added to the flavor. They turned out so creamy and smooth..melt-in-your-mouth!
It was extremely hard not to eat them all! :)
Sue
August 23, 2014 at 7:10 amWow Virginia, can I use you for advertising copy? Thanks for stopping by :)
cristina
August 3, 2014 at 2:27 amI love this idea done in slices! Easy to snack on and add to yogurt or ice cream!! :)
Kitchen Belleicious
July 30, 2014 at 6:41 amit is perfect! Everything about this is perfect. Bananas and chocolate are the best together. Great great job
Abbe@This is How I Cook
July 29, 2014 at 8:36 pmOh, yes please! I’m putting these on my to do list!
Amy
July 29, 2014 at 2:09 pmI was going to resist these, with great difficulty, until Missy suggested adding peanut butter. Curses upon you Missy! Now I have to make these, soon. I think these count as 3 servings of fruits and vegetables; 1 is the banana, 2 is the coconut oil and 3 if you make them with peanut butter. Anyone buying this?
Sue
July 29, 2014 at 7:49 pmAmen!
Wendy O'Neal
July 28, 2014 at 10:34 pmWho knew they were this easy! I love those little bites of goodness and can’t wait to make up a huge batch (and then hide them from the kids).
Leslie
July 28, 2014 at 10:14 pmThese look so scrumptious! Do you have a recommendation as to ripeness of the bananas for best flavor? I would guess that very ripe, ready for banana bread bananas would be difficult to work with, as well as not so tasty.
Sue
July 29, 2014 at 6:25 amI used firm bananas, but since you are freezing them first, it doesn’t really matter. I agree, though, that given a choice, those blackened bananas are better for bread :)
Mary
July 28, 2014 at 8:53 pm“store the slices in a ziploc freezer baggie” hahahahahaha, that is FUNNY, Sue. I’ve yet to have these last longer than the time it takes to freeze solid. You have a million times more self control than I do! These are awesome.
Kara
July 28, 2014 at 6:43 pmCan’t wait to try these!
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
July 28, 2014 at 5:59 pmI need a stash of these in my freezer stat!
Missy
July 28, 2014 at 1:57 pmI just made these this afternoon! Thank you for such a simple & kid friendly recipe. P.S. I made a few with a layer of peanut butter under the chocolate as well, I hope they turn out ok :)
Sue
July 28, 2014 at 2:32 pmThe peanut butter is a great idea, that makes them even more healthy!
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert
July 28, 2014 at 9:55 amWell just yum! I could eat a few, and then a few more – these would be dangerous at our house. Lovely!
Soni
July 28, 2014 at 9:48 amOooh this looks perfectly delicious!Cannot wait to try it for my kids :)
Sue
July 28, 2014 at 10:33 amIt’s a nice snack for kids to make on their own, too!
Angie@Angie's Recipes
July 28, 2014 at 9:09 amEasy peasy and tasty!