What are Burro Bananas and How do You Cook it?
Burro Bananas are distant cousins of the regular bananas that you and I find everywhere. The Burro Banana is shorter and thicker compared to the yellow Cavendish banana.
We talked about all these and more in our complete guide on burro bananas.
There are many uses of the Burro banana and the most common one of them is eating it as a meal.
The Burro Bananas are used to make different recipes, both in ripe and unripe form.
There are several ways to cook a burro banana, but before cooking, you’ll need to peel the burro (as most dishes need the peel taken off).
How to Peel the Green Burro Banana
If you are having a burro banana for the very first time, you might not know how to peel it. The peel of the burro banana can be quite thick and to peel it, you must pull it from the ridges.
The skin (peel) of green burro bananas is hard and more difficult to peel than their ripe counterparts. As such, it requires a special technique to effectively peel off.
The protruding ridges can be used to bring out the peel easily. Or if you cannot peel away the banana from its ridges you can use a knife and slide down the ridges.
To peel the green burro:
- Slightly cut the skin of the burro using a sharp paring knife (prefarably along the ridges, so its easier to take off). Do not cut too deep into the inner flesh of the burro, as this makes it harder to take off the skin.
- Begin to score the green banana peel along the length and edges of the banana with a small paring knife. Avoid going deep into the flesh.
- Score again about half an inch from the first cut (use the “ridges” on the burro so its easier to take off).
- Separate the peel from the flesh by pushing in from the cuts.
- Repeat until all peel is taken off.
How to Peel Ripe Burro Banana
The skin of a ripe burro is soft and malleable and is easier to take off.
To peel the ripe burro:
- Slightly cut the skin of the burro using a sharp paring knife (prefarably along the ridges). Do not cut too deep into the inner flesh of the burro.
- Using a fork, knife or your hands, begin to take off the skin by pusing in form the cuts.
- Separate the peel from the flesh.
- Repeat until all peel is taken off.
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- How Do You Know When Burro Bananas Are Ripe?
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- Are Burro Bananas the Same As Plantains?
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- How to Cook Burro Bananas: A Detailed Step by Step Guide
How to Cook Green Burro Banana
The unripe green Burro banana is not exactly a fruit. Surprisingly, people consider it a vegetable.
If you consider it is a vegetable, it can be used in many different ways and dishes. The texture, taste, and feel of an unripe or green burro banana are different from a ripe or yellow burro.

The inner flesh of a green burro is white and semi-hard, while the ripe burro is cream-colored, soft, and slightly firmer toward the center.
While a green burro has a chalky texture, a ripe burro on the other hand has a somewhat slightly slimy texture. The chalky texture of the green burro is a result of its high amount of resistant starch.
The taste is also different on both sides. While the inner flesh of a green burro is tart and can resemble the taste of lime and apple; when ripe, the flesh has a sweet creamy taste with notes of lemon
As a result, the differences in both texture and taste call for different varieties of dishes.
There are several ways to cook a green burro banana:
Related:
Boiling
Green burro bananas can be cooked by boiling. This is perhaps the easiest and fastest way to cook burros.
They can be boiled either peeled or unpeeled, depending on your preference.

- Pour water, place over medium heat, cover, and let boil for 5 to 10 minutes.
- When done, take down and let cool. This can be eaten alone or in combination with other foods.
- You can check out this boiled burro banana recipe for a step-by-step guide.
Baking
Burros can also be baked and enjoyed as a snack. To bake you’ll have to peel them and place them in preheated oven (about 350 degrees F).
Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.
This snack is a popular way to eat burros.

Frying
Green burros can be used to make fries by frying in oil or using an air fryer.
You can chop the bananas and either fry them as is or by adding flavor before or after frying.

This is also a very popular way to cook green burro bananas.
Roasting
Burro bananas can be roasted over open heat and eaten as a snack.
Simply peel and place over a grill or charcoal fire like the way you’d barbeque a steak.

As an alkaline vegan, this is a great way to enjoy summer with family and friends.
Hash Browns
The green Burro bananas are very versatile with unique flavor, and that is why it is compatible with most dishes.
Green burros can be made into mock “potato” hash browns by dicing, shredding, mixing with chopped vegetables – and fried usually until they form a browned cake.

Mash or Porridge
Burros can also be paired with different vegetables as a mash and cooked as porridge.

This is a popular potato-replacement dish in the alkaline vegan community and its a great way I enjoy green burros
How to Cook Ripe Burro Banana
The ripe Burro banana is sweeter after it is ripe. It is then considered as a fruit.
There are several dishes that you can whip up with ripe Burro bananas.

Since the taste is sweet, it can be used in a lot of deserts.
There are several ways to cook a ripe burro banana:
Baking
You can bake ripe burro bananas and make dishes like banana bread, and banana chips.

Check out our banana chip and banana bread recipe for a step-by-step guide.
Frying
Yellow burro bananas can be used to make fries by frying in oil. You can cut the bananas into chunks and fry them.

Check out our fried banana recipe.
Pudding
Ripe burros can also be made into a pie, pudding, or any other dessert you want.
Related:
How Do You Peel a Burro Banana?
To peel the green burro:
- Slightly cut the skin of the burro using a sharp paring knife (preferably along the ridges, so it’s easier to take off). Do not cut too deep into the inner flesh of the burro, as this makes it harder to take off the skin.
- Begin to score the green banana peel along the length and edges of the banana with a small paring knife. Avoid going deep into the flesh.
- Score again about half an inch from the first cut (use the “ridges” on the burro so it’s easier to take off).
- Separate the peel from the flesh by pushing in from the cuts.
- Repeat until all peel is taken off.
Can You Freeze Burro Bananas?
Freezing burro bananas is a great possibility. If you have a dinner coming up and you want to feed your guests Burro bananas, you can freeze them.
All you need to do is peel them completely and then keep the flesh of the fruit in the freezer. Use a zip lock bag to store all the fruit and they will last you for a long time.
If you want to use the fruit individually you can even wrap each of them in separate plastic filling and that will keep your fruit from sticking together.
Can You Fry Burro Bananas?
In Africa, potatoes are not commonly found which is why they are led to use unripe Burro bananas as they are very adaptable to taste and can be used in different forms. For instance, the burro bananas can be cut into wedges and fried as fries. Therefore, it is not that difficult to fry Burro bananas.
You can fry them in an approved oil and you can enjoy different delicacies made from burro bananas. The ideal temperature to fry your Burro bananas is 340 degrees F as this temperature will ensure that you do not leave your Burro bananas uncooked or burn them.
Final Notes
This is how you can cook the Burro banana. It is a versatile alkaline food that you can cook in so many ways.
So, you can take the risk and be adventurous. Try whipping up a new recipe and there’s a good chance that it will turn out to be good 🙂
In what ways do you cook burros? Let me know in the comments.
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