A banana split comes from the bygone era when pharmacies also had fully operating soda shops inside. Traditionally, a banana split starts with one banana that’s cut in half lengthwise, with three scoops of ice cream nestled in between. It’s finished with strawberries, pineapple, chocolate sauce, whipped cream and, of course, cherries on top. While there are many ice cream sundae recipes, none are so nostalgic, playful and welcoming as the classic banana split.
Learning how to make a banana split is just as straightforward as you might think. We’ve also included some tips and tricks so you can customize your banana split to your liking.
Banana Split Ingredients
- Banana: Choose a fully yellow banana for a banana split. A few spots are OK, but a brown banana will be too soft for a banana split. (Save those for banana bread recipes.) A banana with a tinge of green is fine, but not too green or the banana will be starchy and flavorless.
- Ice cream: A classic banana split recipe uses one scoop each of vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream.
- Strawberries: Use fresh, cut-up strawberries if they’re local and in season, or a strawberry ice cream topping if you want something with a bit more sweetness.
- Pineapple: Like the strawberries, fresh pineapple or pineapple ice cream topping works for this banana split.
- Whipped cream: Go the easy route with canned whipped cream or a thawed frozen whipped topping. Or, forgo the stabilizers and preservatives and make your own sweetened whipped cream at home.
- Peanuts: We love the crunchy element that chopped peanuts add to a banana split recipe. Feel free to leave them out, or use candied pecans, macadamia nuts or pistachios instead.
- Chocolate syrup: Whether you’re loyal to your favorite store-bought brand or you have a stash of our easy, delicious chocolate sauce in your fridge, you’ll need at least 1 tablespoon of it for this banana split.
- Cherries: Two maraschino cherries are the finishing touch for a banana split. Fresh cherries work too. Just be careful of their inedible pit. Bonus points for beauty if the cherries still have their perky stems attached.
Directions
Step 1: Scoop the ice cream
Place the three scoops of ice cream in a row in a dessert dish.
Step 2: Arrange the banana halves
Place one banana half on each side of the ice cream, letting the ice cream sit in the middle.
Step 3: Add the toppings
Top your banana split with the strawberries, pineapple, whipped cream, chopped peanuts, chocolate syrup and cherries. Serve the banana split immediately.
Banana Split Variations
- Scoop your favorite ice cream flavors: While classic banana splits have scoops of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, you can be as creative with unique ice cream flavors as you like. If it were up to me, I’d go with vanilla custard, peanut butter ice cream and cookie dough ice cream.
- Change the toppings: Instead of chocolate syrup, consider salted caramel sauce, strawberry syrup or peanut butter ice cream topping. Use blueberries, raspberries or another fresh fruit to replace the pineapple and strawberry, or skip the fresh fruit toppings altogether and go with something a little more indulgent like Oreo crumbles, sprinkles or chopped peanut butter cups. Just keep the split banana as the base so you’re still making a banana split.
- Caramelize the bananas: Split the banana open lengthwise, as you would for this recipe, then sprinkle the cut-open sides with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar. Place a skillet over medium heat, and melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Place the bananas cut-side down in the skillet, and let the brown sugar and bananas caramelize, about two minutes. Carefully flip the bananas and caramelize the other side for a minute more. Promptly remove the pan from the heat and place the bananas cut-side up in your serving dish, then scoop on your ice cream and other toppings.
Can you make banana splits ahead of time?
Since making a banana split takes more work than serving up scoops of plain ice cream, you might be tempted to make the sundaes ahead of time, especially if they’re on the menu for your summer barbecue. But banana splits are best eaten fresh.
You could chop up the strawberries and pineapple a few hours ahead, but the bananas should be split right before serving so they don’t turn brown. Pull the ice cream out of the freezer about 10 minutes ahead of time so it’s easier to scoop.
Banana Split Tips
Can you serve a banana split in a different type of dish?
If you don’t have a banana split dish at home, you’re not alone! While you can easily order one online, you can also look at your local thrift store to see if they have any vintage banana split dishes. Otherwise, just find a long, shallow dish to use at home. If you don’t have one that will do the trick, you could simply slice up the banana a bit more so the sundae will fit into a regular bowl.
Who invented the banana split?
It appears the accreditation of the banana split is, well, “split” between two men in early 1900s America. According to a 2007 article by NPR, many credit restaurateur E.R. Hazard for inventing the banana split in Wilmington, Ohio, in 1907, in an effort to attract students from Wilmington University to his shop. However, just a state over, residents of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, claim the banana split was first made right in their town in 1904 by pharmacy clerk David Strickler when he was just 23 years old.
