Sweet Potato + Bananas Recipe Perfect for Thanksgiving Side Dish

For Cubans, cooking with bananas is nothing new. Whether sliced up as a side of Cuban picadillo or plantains made in any number of ways, bananas were a staple of my childhood and sneak their way into many of my recipes. Needless to say, this recipe with bananas of roasted sweet potato and banana mash with pecan topping is the perfect Thanksgiving side dish.

The best part has been cooking this banana recipe with kids is a way to build family legacy and create a food culture during the holidays.

 

To get started, here are the ingredients you’ll need…

Sweet Potato + Bananas Recipe

2 small/medium sized sweet potatoes

3 ripe bananas

1 cup Unsalted Butter

1/4 cup Blue Agave Nectar*

Cinnamon, to taste

Salt, to taste

1/4 cup Flour

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 cup Chopped Pecans

*You can substitute honey or syrup for the agave, although the end result will definitely be sweeter.

The Perfect Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipe

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Scrub the sweet potatoes clean without using water (you want them roasted, not steamed, and won’t be using the skin anyway). Prick the sweet potatoes all over and, in a roasting pan, roast for 45 minutes. In the last 10-15 minutes, add the bananas alongside the sweet potatoes – skin and all, just pop them in there. I find that cooking time always varies; just make sure your sweet potatoes are very soft. When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh of sweet potato and banana into a mixing bowl.

To the sweet potato and banana mixture, add 1 stick of butter, agave, salt, and cinnamon (to taste). I start with a few dashes of each, tasting and adding more as needed. Stir the mixture until you’ve reached your desired consistency, but be sure not to over beat the mixture. Make sure any chunks of banana have been well integrated, too. At this point, you have a tasty sweet potato and banana mash that could easily be consumed, as demonstrated below by my beautiful model. Some nights we have this simple mash as a side dish, but for Thanksgiving, I ramp up the recipe with a yummy pecan topping.

After you have smoothed out the sweet potato and banana mixture evenly in an ovenproof pan, begin making the pecan topping in the same mixing bowl. To the second stick of butter, add flour, chopped pecans, and brown sugar. With your hands (or the little fingers in your household – this step is perfect for the kids!) rub all the ingredients together. Be careful not to over mix or the butter will begin to melt. The mixture should resemble coarse chunks. Spread the pecan topping over the sweet potato and banana mixture, being sure to cover the corners. Sprinkle the whole thing with a few more dashes of cinnamon. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until topping has browned.