Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters)
Mashed ripe bananas fried in a light batter with a hint of lime, the sweet end to a Central African meal.
Central African · easy · serves 4
prep 10 min · cook 15 min
~252 cal · 6g protein · 55g carbs · 2g fat · 3g fiber · 21g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Beignets de banane are the banana fritters that round off a meal in the Central African Republic, small golden cakes of mashed ripe banana bound in a light batter and fried until crisp at the edges and soft within. A squeeze of lime and a grating of nutmeg keep them from being simply sweet, giving them a brightness that cuts the richness of the frying.
Bananas and grow in abundance across the country, and turning the ripest of them into fritters is the easy, everyday way to make a sweet from what the land offers. They belong to the same family of fried treats found across Central and West Africa, but the lime lift is a Central African touch.
Dusted with a little sugar and eaten warm from the pan, they go with coffee or a glass of hibiscus and ginger tea. Cheap, quick and comforting, they are the kind of sweet a household turns out on a whim when the bananas are just past their best.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 lime, juiced
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
for the pan , for frying
Instructions
1
Mash the bananas smooth with the lime juice and sugar, then beat in the egg.
2
Fold in the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt to a thick, dropping batter, adding a splash of water only if it is too stiff.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the batter thick enough to hold its shape on a spoon. A runny batter spreads and soaks up oil instead of puffing.
3
Heat a couple of inches of oil to 350F (175C) and drop in spoonfuls of batter, frying and turning for 3 to 4 minutes until deep golden and cooked through.
4
Drain on paper, dust with sugar, and serve warm.
Bangui home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Bangui. Cassava is used at every stage. The root is dried and milled into flour for fufu, fermented and steamed into chikwangue wrapped in leaves, and the leaves are pounded and cooked separately again. The Oubangui river supplies smoked fish, and the pepper is added by whoever is eating.
🗺️
Central African Republic. Gozo is the cassava dough and chikwangue the fermented cassava loaf wrapped and steamed in leaves, and the two are not interchangeable. Both come from the same root that also gives the pounded leaves, so a single crop supplies the starch, the greens and the keeping food in a country where refrigeration cannot be assumed.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Central African Republic
Kanda ti NymaCentral African meatballs simmered in a nutty tomato-and-okra sauce thickened with ground pumpkin seeds.
BeignetsCentral African breakfast doughnuts: puffy, golden yeasted fritters fried fresh at dawn and dusted with sugar, eaten with sweet coffee.
Gozo with Groundnut SauceSmooth cassava fufu served with a rich, savory peanut sauce, an everyday plate across the Central African Republic.
Browse all Central African Republic recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Central African Republic meal
Kanda ti NymaDinner
Jus de TamarinDrink
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Cuisine
Diet
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Dairy-Free Recipes from Around the World
Nut-Free Recipes from Around the World
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Dairy-Free Central African Recipes
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Frequently asked questions
What is Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters)?
Mashed ripe bananas fried in a light batter with a hint of lime, the sweet end to a Central African meal.
Where does Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters) come from?
Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters) is a Central African dish from Bangui, Central African Republic.
Can Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters) take to make?
About 25 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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