Fast delivery
Get in as fast as 1 hour
It’s all local
Shop your favorites
Direct chat
Connect with shoppers
Red Banana Delivery or Pickup
The Instacart guide to red banana products
About red bananas
The world is home to over 1,000 varieties of bananas, yet many of us only see the common yellow banana at our grocery stores. As their name suggests, red bananas look like bananas, but with red or purple skin. Red bananas hail from Southeast Asia and offer a notably different banana experience than the common yellow Cavendish banana that you often see at big-box grocery stores.
Red bananas are smaller than Cavendish bananas, and they have a slightly different taste. The red banana is a little sweeter than the yellow banana, and it's often said that they have a hint of raspberry flavor. The red banana has a dense yet soft creamy center, more so than that of the yellow banana. If you want to expand your banana horizons, switching your yellow bananas for red ones can keep things fresh.
How to tell if red bananas are ripe
A red banana should have a slightly floral smell with hints of vanilla when it's ready to eat. If you eat a red banana at its ripest, it will also be at its sweetest. You will likely know that you've opened up an underripe red banana because the texture will be arguable unpleasant — chalky and fibrous.
Color is a good indicator of whether a red banana is ready to eat or not. If you see green colors, let them sit for a while, as they're probably not ripe yet. You're looking for deep reds, browns, and sometimes purple. If you have red bananas with that green hue, just wait a few days and enjoy them later.
How to prepare red bananas
Red bananas are similar enough to yellow bananas that you can pretty much replace one for the other in any recipe. Switching your yellow bananas for red ones can give banana bread, bananas Foster, and banana nut muffins more notes of vanilla. If you love smoothies, we highly suggest you try one made with a red banana. Red bananas also work for recipes that call for plantains.
Red bananas are also perfectly fine to eat raw by themselves. They can make for a great dessert replacement if you're trying to cut down on calories or just another delicious natural snack to help you or the kids get through your days.
Red bananas can be dehydrated, blended, seared, baked, or frozen for use in smoothies. A good rule of thumb is if you would do it to a yellow banana, you can also do it to a red banana.
Red Banana Near Me
Buy your favorite Red Banana online with Instacart. Order Red Banana from local and national retailers near you and enjoy on-demand, contactless delivery or pickup within 2 hours.
FAQs about red bananas
Red bananas offer many of the same health benefits as yellow bananas. They provide an array of essential nutrients and may aid immune systems, digestion, and heart health. Generally, red bananas have 8 more grams of sugar and 30 more calories compared to yellow bananas of the same size. That being said, red bananas score lower on the glycemic index than yellow bananas. This means that red bananas may be a better option for people who want to reduce their cholesterol levels and maintain a healthy blood sugar level.
A small red banana (about 100 grams) has 15% of your recommended daily allowance of vitamin C and 11% of your daily value of potassium. The red-orange pigment in red bananas also provides beta-carotene, the precursor to vitamin A, which is essential to eye health and the immune system. The high fiber content acts as a prebiotic, feeding beneficial probiotic organisms.
You can store a red banana the same way you would a yellow banana. If you want to keep ripe bananas, be sure to take them out of any packaging, as the banana skins produce a gas that speeds up the ripening process. Store your bananas at room temperature. You can use a few tricks to slow down the ripening process, such as pulling each banana away from the bunch and wrapping the stems of one in plastic wrap.
If you can't get to your banana before it becomes overripe, you can put it in the freezer. You should peel any banana you put into the freezer, as trying to peel a frozen banana is problematic. You can keep bananas in the freezer for several months to be used for a baked good or smoothie later.
Whether you want to try something new, such as red bananas, or you need to stock your kitchen and home with the supplies you need, Instacart is here to help. With the Instacart app or website, you can shop at many of your local stores using only your phone. Simply fill your cart with the items you need, order for pick-up or delivery, and let the Instacart shoppers go out and collect everything for you!