Baked Bananas (Akwadu) from Equatorial Guinea is a perfect recipe for breakfast OR dessert! The bananas are baked in orange juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, and coconut and can be served with honey!
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Recipe Origins
Akwadu is a recipe popular in many African countries, especially Equatorial Guinea. It is made with sliced bananas that are drizzled with orange juice, lemon juice, coconut and brown sugar.
Akwadu is a popular breakfast recipe in Equatorial Guinea, but we ate it more like a dessert in my house. Feel free to enjoy it either way! It can also be made with plantains if you’d prefer to try it that way.
Why Make this Recipe
- Fruity Dessert: I love this dessert idea because it’s different than the normal chocolate, cookies, and cake I’m used to! Don’t get me wrong, I know the sugar on the bananas isn’t the healthiest, but knowing I’m eating bananas for dessert makes me feel a bit better about indulging!
- “Travel” to Equatorial Guinea: If you’ve never been to Equatorial Guinea before, this recipe is a great one to try to get a sense of the country. You can experience the “culture” of the country without ever leaving your home!
What Ingredients are in this Recipe
- Bananas: Peel the bananas and cut them into rounds about ½ of an inch thick.
- Brown Sugar: I used dark brown sugar, but you can use light brown if that’s what you have on hand.
- Coconut: I used sweetened, shredded coconut
- Lemon Juice: ⅓ cup is about 1 lemon
- Orange Juice: ⅓ cup is about 1 orange (I used clementine juice when making this as I forgot to grab and orange from the store)
- Optional additions: Honey, cinnamon.
How to Make Baked Bananas
Step 1: Prep the Recipe
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Cut the bananas into rounds about ½” in thickness and lay them in a shallow baking dish. Pour orange juice, lemon juice and butter over the bananas.
Sprinkle the brown sugar, coconut, and cinnamon on top.
Step 2: Bake the Bananas
Place the baking tray in the oven for 15 minutes. When they are done baking, turn the oven to broil and broil for about 2 minutes, until the coconut is toasted on top.
Serve with honey if you so desire. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- If you’d prefer, you can try making this recipe with plantains as opposed to bananas. Make sure to use a browner plantain, as it will be sweeter! Don’t forget to take the skin off.
- The baked bananas would be absolutely delicious served in oatmeal for breakfast. If you want to go the dessert route, you can scoop them over ice cream!
- If you don’t want your bananas sitting in liquid when you are done, you can decrease the amount of liquid in the recipe
- Drizzle the bananas with honey for an extra touch of sweetness.
Recipe FAQs
Should I Use Green Bananas or Ripe Bananas?
I would recommend using riper bananas for this recipe. The riper the banana, the sweeter they will cook to!
I used newly-yellow bananas the first time I made this recipe and wished I had used some riper ones.
Can I Roast my Bananas on the Stove instead of in the Oven?
To caramelize your bananas on the stove, make sure to use a cast iron skillet. Follow this recipe for Caramelized Bananas in Pineapple Sauce from Benin to get your desired result.
You can always switch out the pineapple juice in the recipe with orange juice/lemon juice like this baked banana recipe calls for.
Did you like this recipe for Baked Bananas (Akwadu) from Equatorial Guinea? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
- Caramelized Bananas from Benin
- Corn Succotash from Equatorial Guinea
- Banana Fritters from Djibouti
- Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Baked Bananas (Akwadu) from Equatorial Guinea
Ingredients
- 4 bananas, cut into ½ inch rounds
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ⅓ cup lemon juice
- 3 tbsp butter, melted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup shredded coconut
- ⅓ tsp Cinnamon
- Honey, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cut the bananas into rounds about ½” in thickness and lay them in a shallow baking dish. Pour orange juice, lemon juice and butter over the bananas.
- Sprinkle the brown sugar, coconut, and cinnamon on top.
- Place the baking tray in the oven for 15 minutes. When they are done baking, turn the oven to broil and broil for about 2 minutes, until the coconut is toasted on top.
- Serve with honey if you so desire. Enjoy!
Notes
- Bananas: Peel the bananas and cut them into rounds about ½ of an inch thick.
- Brown Sugar: I used dark brown sugar, but you can use light brown if that’s what you have on hand.
- Coconut: I used sweetened, shredded coconut
- Lemon Juice: ⅓ cup is about 1 lemon
- Orange Juice: ⅓ cup is about 1 orange (I used clementine juice when making this as I forgot to grab and orange from the store)
- Optional additions: Honey, cinnamon.
- If you’d prefer, you can try making this recipe with plantains as opposed to bananas. Make sure to use a browner plantain, as it will be sweeter! Don’t forget to take the skin off.
- The baked bananas would be absolutely delicious served in oatmeal for breakfast. If you want to go the dessert route, you can scoop them over ice cream!
- If you don’t want your bananas sitting in liquid when you are done, you can decrease the amount of liquid in the recipe
- Drizzle the bananas with honey for an extra touch of sweetness.
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