Banana Peel Bacon Recipe

This Banana Peel Bacon recipe transforms ripe banana peels into a smoky, savoury, slightly sweet plant-based bite using tamari, maple syrup, balsamic vinegar, and smoked paprika. Featured on Gusto TV Studios Presents: Inside and Out, this creative recipe gives banana peels a second purpose while delivering crisp edges, caramelized flavour, and an inventive way to rethink food scraps in the kitchen.

The Inspiration

Banana Peel Bacon is inspired by the idea that ingredients often considered waste can sometimes be transformed into something unexpected and delicious. Featured in the Environment & Awareness segment of Gusto TV Studios Presents: Inside and Out, host Sylvia Meo demonstrates how a familiar kitchen scrap can become the foundation of a savoury recipe with bold flavour, contrasting textures, and a playful presentation.

The result is not meant to imitate traditional bacon perfectly. Instead, Banana Peel Bacon offers its own combination of smoky, salty, sweet, and tangy flavours while demonstrating how a commonly discarded ingredient can be approached differently.

For the Environment & Awareness segment of Gusto TV Studios Presents: Inside and Out, Sylvia Meo uses this recipe to show that reducing food waste does not have to mean making uninspired meals. Resourceful cooking can be experimental, flavourful, and fun.

Ingredients

• 2 very ripe, organic, bananas  very important that bananas are yellow with brown spots
• 3 Tbsp tamari sauce
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp white pepper
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp olive oil for cooking the peels

Method

1. Wash the peels of the bananas well, pat them dry and then peel them into 4 pieces.
2. Gently scrape out the flesh of the banana peels with a spoon.
3. Make the marinade with the rest of the ingredients (excluding the olive oil). Transfer the banana peels to the marinade ensuring they are all well coated and set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes, but as long as a couple of hours.
4. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the marinaded banana peels and let them “fry” for about 2 minutes per side or until they start to bubble up a little. Keep a close eye on them as the maple syrup can caramelize and burn/smoke.
5. Remove the peels once done and let them cool on a wire rack to let them crisp up.

Notes & Tips

• It’s important for the banana peels to be very ripe, bright yellow with a few brown spots, this makes them sweeter and the peels more flavourful.
• Save the marinade for up to a week in the refrigerator and whip up more banana peel bacon as you go.

Serving Suggestions

This Banana Peel Bacon can be served anywhere you would enjoy a smoky, savoury accent with a plant-forward twist. Add a few crispy strips alongside scrambled eggs, toast, roasted potatoes, or fresh fruit for an inventive breakfast or brunch plate.

For a plant-based meal, tuck the strips into a toasted sandwich with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and your favourite spread, or chop them into smaller pieces and scatter them over salads, grain bowls, baked potatoes, or savoury oatmeal. Banana Peel Bacon can also add an unexpected garnish to soups or vegetable dishes where a salty, smoky element is welcome.

For brunch entertaining, serve the strips on a platter alongside toast, avocado, sliced tomatoes, fresh fruit, and other toppings so guests can build their own plates. Because the recipe has a strong sweet-and-savoury profile, it pairs especially well with fresh, creamy, or mildly acidic ingredients that balance the maple, tamari, and smoked paprika.

Final Thoughts

This Banana Peel Bacon recipe is an inventive example of how resourceful cooking can completely change the way we look at familiar ingredients.

All recipes featured in this episode Inside & Out were improvised by Sylvia Meo. Please note that the following recipes are approximations of what unfolded during the episode. We encourage you to embrace the spirit of experimentation when recreating these dishes and share your results with us. Individual results may vary.

Find more recipes from Gusto TV Studios Presents: Inside Out here!

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