Green banana salad

Green banana salad is what you make when you want something like potato salad, only lighter and a bit more interesting. You boil unripe bananas until tender, let them cool, then toss them with thin red onion, fresh herbs, lime juice and good olive oil. It tastes savoury, not sweet. The texture is firm and creamy, a lot like a waxy potato.

In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and across the Caribbean this kind of dish goes by names like ensalada de guineo or guineos en escabeche. The escabeche version uses vinegar and a long marinade. Ours is the quicker lime and herb version, and you can still leave it to sit for a few hours if you like. Below the recipe you'll find how to peel green bananas without staining your hands, the common mistakes, an Indian-style variation with mustard seeds and curry leaves, what to serve it with, and an honest look at what green banana can do for your health.

What is green banana salad?

It's a cold or room-temperature salad built on cooked unripe bananas. Green bananas are mostly starch rather than sugar, so once cooked they behave like a starchy vegetable. In the Caribbean and Latin America they're boiled and served with onions, oil and salt, often next to salt cod (bacalao), eggs or avocado. In South India, raw banana is a vegetable too, cooked into dry stir-fries and curries. This salad sits somewhere between those traditions: simple, sharp and filling.

How to choose and peel green bananas

Pick bananas that are fully green and very firm, with no yellow showing. They should feel hard when you press them. Normal dessert bananas sold green are fine. Green cooking bananas or plantains also work, but plantains are bigger and denser, so they need longer in the pot.

Green banana skin does not peel like a ripe one. It clings, and it leaks a sticky sap that stains hands, boards and tea towels brown. Rub a little oil on your hands first, or wear gloves. Then pick one of two ways:

1. Peel first. Cut off both ends. Run a knife down the length of the skin along one or two of the ridges, just through the peel and not deep into the flesh. Push your thumb or the tip of a spoon under the cut and prise the skin away. Drop each peeled banana into a bowl of salted water so it doesn't go grey.
2. Boil in the skin. Cut off the ends and slit the skin lengthways, then boil the bananas whole. Once cooked, the skin goes dark and slides off much more easily. This is the less messy way, and the flesh stays paler.

Ingredient notes

• Green bananas: 4 medium ones give about 480 g of peeled banana, which feeds four as a side.
• Red onion: slice it thin. If raw onion is too strong for you, soak the slices in the lime juice for 10 minutes before mixing. It softens the bite and turns them pink.
• Lime: the main source of flavour. Fresh juice only. Lemon or a splash of white wine vinegar will do at a pinch.
• Olive oil: extra virgin, because you'll taste it. The bananas soak it up, so don't go too light.
• Herbs: coriander (cilantro) is the classic. Flat-leaf parsley, chives or spring onion are good too, alone or mixed.
• Garlic and chilli: optional, but a small grated clove and a little fresh chilli make the dressing much livelier.

Green banana salad

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Boiled and cooled green bananas tossed with red onion, herbs, lime and olive oil. Filling, cheap and great made ahead.

Prep

15 min

Cook

20 min

Total

35 min

Serves

4

Ingredients

For the salad

• 4 medium green (unripe) bananas, about 480 g peeled
• 1 tsp salt, for the cooking water
• 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
• 1 small handful fresh coriander (cilantro) or flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 2 spring onions, sliced (optional)
• 1/2 red or green pepper, finely diced (optional)

For the dressing

• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 1/2 to 2 limes (about 3 tbsp)
• 1 small garlic clove, grated (optional)
• 1/2 fresh chilli, finely chopped, or a pinch of chilli flakes (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Method

1. Oil your hands lightly or put on gloves. Peel the bananas (or just cut off the ends and slit the skins if you're boiling them in their skins). Keep peeled ones in a bowl of salted water while you work.
2. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add 1 tsp salt. Add the bananas and simmer until a knife slides in with only a little resistance: about 12 to 15 minutes for peeled bananas, or 15 to 20 minutes in the skin.
3. Drain. If you cooked them in their skins, let them cool for a few minutes, then peel off the dark skin.
4. Leave the bananas to cool to room temperature, then chill them for at least 30 minutes if you have time. Cold bananas slice more cleanly and hold their shape.
5. Meanwhile, whisk the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chilli, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Add the sliced red onion and leave it to soak while the bananas cool.
6. Slice the bananas into rounds about 1 cm (1/2 inch) thick, or cut them into chunks.
7. Add the bananas, herbs, spring onion and pepper to the bowl and fold gently until everything is coated. Taste and add more salt or lime if it needs it.
8. Serve straight away, or cover and chill for 1 to 4 hours so the bananas take in the dressing.

Don't overcook them. Green bananas go from firm to mushy quite fast. Start checking at 10 minutes for peeled bananas. You want them tender but still holding together, like a boiled new potato.

Make it ahead: this salad is better after an hour or two in the fridge. Add the herbs just before serving so they stay green.

Approx. per serving (1 of 4): about 210 calories, made with 4 medium green bananas and 3 tbsp olive oil. Worked out from USDA values.

Recipe from turmaslim.com/recipes/green-banana-salad.html

Tips for the best green banana salad

• Salt the water well. Green banana is bland on its own. Seasoning the cooking water flavours it all the way through.
• Dress them while they're cool, not hot. Warm bananas break up when you stir them. Room temperature or cold is best.
• Use more lime than you think. The starch dulls acidity, so the salad needs a sharp dressing to taste bright.
• Fold, don't stir. Use a big spoon or spatula and turn the salad over gently, like you would with potato salad.
• Give it time. Even 30 minutes in the fridge helps the dressing sink in.

Common mistakes

• Using bananas that are turning yellow. They're sweeter and go soft and mushy when boiled. Keep them fully green.
• Peeling with dry hands. The sap leaves brown marks that are hard to wash off. Oil your hands or wear gloves, and wipe the knife between bananas.
• Leaving peeled bananas in the air. They turn grey quickly. Drop them into salted water until they go in the pan.
• Boiling too long. Mushy banana makes a gluey salad. Check early with a knife.
• Too little dressing. The bananas absorb oil and lime as they sit. If it looks dry after chilling, add another squeeze of lime and a little more oil.

Variations

Escabeche style (Puerto Rican)

Warm the olive oil gently with the sliced onion, a few garlic cloves, black peppercorns and a bay leaf for 5 minutes, without browning. Take it off the heat, add a splash of white wine or cider vinegar instead of lime, and pour it over the cooked banana rounds. Some cooks add green olives. Leave it in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Indian-style green banana salad

Heat 1 tbsp coconut or sunflower oil, add 1/2 tsp mustard seeds and let them pop, then add 8 to 10 curry leaves, a pinch of asafoetida and a chopped green chilli. Pour this over the cooled banana with a pinch of turmeric, lime juice, salt, chopped coriander and 2 tbsp grated coconut. It's close to a South Indian dry raw banana dish, served cool. For a warm version, try our raw banana sabzi.

More ideas

• With avocado: fold in cubes of ripe avocado just before serving.
• With egg: add 2 chopped hard-boiled eggs for more protein.
• With salt cod or tuna: flaked soaked salt cod is the Caribbean classic. Canned tuna is an easy swap.
• With tomato and cucumber: adds juiciness and makes it more of a light lunch.
• Creamy: stir in a spoon of plain yoghurt or a little mayonnaise for a potato-salad feel.

What to serve with green banana salad

It works anywhere you would serve potato salad. Try it next to grilled chicken or fish, beans, or a tray of roasted vegetables. It packs well for lunch, and it makes a good starchy base in a balanced bowl with leafy greens and a protein. If you'd like something crunchy on the side, make a tray of baked green banana chips with the leftover bananas.

Is green banana salad healthy?

It's a filling, plant-based side made from simple ingredients. Green banana is lower in sugar than ripe banana, because most of its carbohydrate is still starch. For a sense of scale, a medium ripe banana is about 105 calories (USDA). Green banana also gives you fibre and potassium.

Raw green banana is rich in a type of resistant starch called RS2, which your small intestine doesn't digest, so it travels on to feed gut bacteria. Boiling gelatinises much of that starch, so cooked green banana has less of it. Cooling the cooked banana lets some of the starch re-form into another type, RS3. That's one reason a cooled salad like this is a nice way to eat it. Just keep the claims modest: the amounts vary, and one salad won't change your blood sugar or your weight on its own. For more detail, read our green banana benefits guide.

Most of the calories here come from the olive oil. If you want a lighter salad, cut it to 2 tbsp and add a little more lime.

Storage

Keep the salad in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days. The bananas may darken slightly on the cut sides, but they're fine to eat. Stir and add a fresh squeeze of lime before serving. Cooked, plain green banana keeps for 3 days in the fridge too, so you can boil a batch and dress it later. Don't freeze the finished salad, because the onion and herbs go limp and the bananas turn watery.

Questions about this recipe

Can I use plantains instead of green bananas?

Yes. Use firm green plantains and boil them a little longer, about 20 to 30 minutes, until a knife goes in easily. They're denser and slightly drier, so you may need a bit more dressing.

Why did my green bananas turn grey or black?

Peeled green banana darkens in the air. Keep peeled bananas in salted water until they go into the pan, or boil them in their skins. Some cooks add a splash of milk or lime juice to the cooking water too.

How do I get green banana sap off my hands?

Prevention is easier: oil your hands or wear gloves before peeling. If you do get stained, rub your hands with cooking oil, then wash with soap. Lemon juice can help lift the marks.

Does green banana salad taste like banana?

Not really. Unripe banana is starchy and mild, closer to potato than to fruit. You might notice a very faint banana note, but the lime, onion and herbs lead.

Can I make green banana salad the day before?

Yes. Boil and dress the bananas, cover and chill overnight. Add the fresh herbs and a final squeeze of lime just before serving.

Is cooked green banana still high in resistant starch?

Less than raw. Boiling breaks down much of the resistant starch, but letting the banana cool allows some of it to form again. A cooled salad keeps a little more than eating it hot.

General information only, not medical advice.