Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas)
Bananas rolled in breadcrumbs, fried crisp and baked, then dressed with brown sugar and cool cream, a Gabon classic.
Gabonese · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 15 min
~492 cal · 7g protein · 62g carbs · 25g fat · 5g fiber · 30g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Bananes au four croustillantes, crisp baked bananas, is one of the signature sweets of Gabon, a dish Librevillois are genuinely fond of. Ripe bananas are dipped in egg brightened with a little orange juice, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried until golden, then finished in the oven and dressed with brown sugar.
Gabon sits on the equator, wrapped in rainforest and edged by the Atlantic, and its desserts make the most of the fruit that grows everywhere, bananas and above all. The dish carries a French colonial fingerprint in its breadcrumbs and technique, adapted to the tropical larder, and the crunchy coating against the soft, caramelising fruit is the whole appeal.
The traditional finish is a dollop of cool, tangy sour cream against the warm sweet banana, a contrast of temperature and taste that makes it memorable. Served after a meal or simply as a treat, it has a satisfying crunch.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and 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
4 firm ripe bananas, quartered
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp orange juice
1 cup fine breadcrumbs
4 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup sour cream, to serve
1/2 cup , for frying
Instructions
1
Beat the egg with the orange juice, dip each banana quarter into it, then roll them in the breadcrumbs to coat all over.
✎ Chef’s note
The splash of orange juice in the egg is not just flavour, its acidity brightens the sweet banana and balances the sugar to come.
2
Fry the coated bananas in hot oil, turning, for a minute or two per side until the crumbs are crisp and golden, then drain on paper.
3
Lay them in a baking dish and bake at 350F (175C) for about 5 minutes to warm the fruit through, then sprinkle with the brown sugar.
4
Serve straight away with a dollop of cool sour cream against the warm bananas.
Libreville home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Libreville. Nyembwe is the palm nut itself, and the sauce is made by boiling the nuts and pressing the pulp off the fibre and stones, which gives a thick orange base rather than an oil. Chicken is the usual meat, though fish is common enough, and it goes with cassava sticks or plantain.
🗺️
Gabon. Almost nine tenths of Gabon is forest, and rivers rather than roads have long been the way through it, which shapes the cooking towards river fish, smoked and grilled, and towards leaves and roots close to hand. Bushmeat is a real part of that history and a legally and ecologically fraught one, which is worth stating rather than celebrating.
🌍
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 Gabon
Poulet NyembweGabon's national dish: chicken simmered in a rich, tangy sauce of palm-nut pulp with chili and greens.
Bouillie de BananeA smooth Gabonese plantain porridge, gently sweet and spiced, to start a rainforest morning.
Poisson BraiséWhole fish marinated and grilled over coals, served with fried plantain and a fresh tomato-onion relish, Libreville's classic lunch.
Browse all Gabon recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven.
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 Gabon meal
Poisson à l'OdikaDinner
Similar dishes from around the world
Beignets de Banane (Banana Fritters)Central African Republic
Djiboutian Banana FrittersDjibouti
Sonhos de Banana (Banana Fritters)São Tomé and Príncipe
KabalagalaUganda
Yovo Doko (Sweet Fritters)Benin
KhabzeyBhutan
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas)?
Bananas rolled in breadcrumbs, fried crisp and baked, then dressed with brown sugar and cool cream, a Gabon classic.
Where does Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas) come from?
Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas) is a Gabonese dish from Libreville, Gabon.
Can Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas) 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 Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas) 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 Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas) take to make?
About 30 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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