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These Campfire Banana Boats are a fun dessert and delightful twist on a classic banana split or s’mores. It’s the perfect backyard treat for summertime.
Campfire Banana Boats
This campfire banana boat recipe is so much fun to make and eat! Whether you’re camping in your backyard or out in the wilderness, you can treat yourself and your family to one of these scrumptious desserts. I’ve seen variations all over Pinterest and Facebook and they’re so yummy! These banana boats are one of my husband’s favorite desserts. If I can be totally transparent, I don’t think I have made this recipe a single time! He is always the one grilling these up and I just get to sit back and enjoy. Why does food taste better when someone else makes it for you? Kids love these too! They’re so fun to let the kids get creative with their toppings.
And the best part? They only take about 15 minutes to prepare and cook over a fire. Cover the bananas in foil, and place them on hot coals or smoldering firewood for about five or so minutes. That’s it!
Grilled Banana Boats
No campfire? No problem! You can easily make these on an outdoor grill too when you aren’t around a campfire and want to make these delicious treats at home. All you have to do is cut a slit in the banana peel, wrap each banana in a foil packets and throw them on the grill for about five minutes, turning once about halfway through. When it’s done, use tongs or oven mitts to remove each banana from the grill, then carefully unwrap the foil and place your banana in a bowl, leaving the peel on. Then top with ice cream and all your favorite toppings.
Looking for more summertime desserts to serve hungry kiddos? Try this delicious S’mores Dip or our Firecracker Sugar Cookie Bars. Or keep the grill hot and make some Grilled Fruit Kabobs for your next backyard barbecue.
Ingredients in Campfire Banana Boats
If you haven’t tried them before, the recipe is simple. Basically, it is a grilled banana with melted chocolate inside topped with ice cream and yummy topping. Similar to a banana split but way better! Just think of bananas as the new graham crackers – this makes a great s’mores substitute! Here’s how we start our banana boats, then you can add on from here:
- One banana for each person in your group
- Chocolate – we love using a large Symphony milk chocolate bar, either the plain or toffee and almonds. But you could use chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips, candy bars, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, anything you like!
- Cinnamon – this smoky spice really enhances the flavor of the chocolate. It’s delicious!
- Any flavor ice cream
- Raspberries (optional)
- Roasted almonds (optional)
Secret Ingredient
Do you want to know the secret that sets these over the top? My husband always sprinkles on a little cinnamon before grilling. Yum. I included the photo above so you can see how the bananas are assembled before grilling.
Toppings for Grilled Banana Boats
Now the really fun part…toppings! Just like with a banana split, banana boats can be totally customized depending on what kind of toppings you add. Here are some of my favorites to pick and choose from:
- Your favorite ice cream (this vanilla ice cream is fantastic!)
- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Cherries
- Almonds
- Cashews
- Peanuts
- Peanut butter
- Caramel sauce
- Nutella
- Mini marshmallows
- Pineapple
- Hazelnuts
- Blueberries
- A drizzle of honey
- Fresh whipped cream
What Readers are Saying About this Recipe
“Ok , grilling the bananas?! Brilliant idea and adding the slivers of chocolate. I bet this would be amazing to make smores with as well.” – Whitney
“I found this delicious recipe on Pinterest while scrolling through banana split ideas! Our family will be enjoying these this tonight while cooling off after a hot afternoon.” – Denay
“This is absolutely marvelous and great recipe to serve for backyard barbecues. Kids will have a blast enjoying this with their favorite topping. I am including this for my weekend menu.” -Sandhya
Grilled Banana Boats
Equipment
- Outdoor Barbecue Grill
Ingredients
- 6 bananas 1 for each person
- 2 large Symphony chocolate bars (plain or with toffee and almonds)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 3 cups ice cream any flavor
- 1/2 cup raspberries (optional)
- 1/2 cup roasted almonds chopped (optional)
Instructions
- Get a ripe banana and cut a slit through it lengthwise (do not cut all the way through the banana). Stuff two pieces of chocolate in the slit.
- Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and cover the banana completely in aluminum foil.
- Grill on high approximately 5 to 8 minutes turning once during the grill time. Carefully remove foil and place banana in a bowl, top with ice cream and your favorite toppings.
Banana Boats on the Campfire
- Place aluminum foil covered bananas on hot coals for the same amount of cooking time.
We used to make these when we went camping. We would take all kinds of things to put on them and wrap them up in aluminum foil, place them over the camp fire and then eat them. They were wonderful and the kids had a lot of fun making their own.
Ok , grilling the bananas?! Brilliant idea and adding the slivers of chocolate. I bet this would be amazing to make smores with as well.
This is such an amazing idea! Loved it!
I found this delicious recipe on Pinterest while scrolling through banana split ideas! Our family will be enjoying these this tonight while cooling off after a hot afternoon.
Grilling the bananas was a game changer! This is a new favourite summer treat in our house!
I’ve never tried to grill my banana splits before, but this looks so amazing! I can’t wait to buy the ingredients to try it out!
This is absolutely marvelous and great recipe to serve for backyard barbecues. Kids will have a blast enjoying this with their favorite topping. I am including this for my weekend menu.