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Gabonese

Beignets de banane

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Soft, round fritters made from mashed overripe bananas and a little flour, fried until golden. A popular snack and breakfast across Gabon and Central Africa.

Beignets de banane is a Gabonese sweet, ready in about 30 minutes and made with banana and all-purpose flour. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
310

Ingredients

6 servings (about 24 fritters)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mash the bananas (opens in a new tab) well, then mix in the egg (opens in a new tab), milk (opens in a new tab), sugar (opens in a new tab), nutmeg (opens in a new tab), vanilla (opens in a new tab) and salt.

    • 5 min
    Potatoes being mashed
    How it looks · Photo: Mateusz Feliksik on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Stir in the flour and baking powder (opens in a new tab) to make a thick, sticky batter that holds its shape on a spoon.

    • 3 min

  3. Step 3

    Heat the oil to 170 °C. Drop in spoonfuls of batter (or squeeze through your fist) and fry in batches, turning, until deep golden and cooked through.

    Food safety: Never fill the pan more than a third full with oil, and never leave hot oil unattended.

  4. Step 4

    Drain on paper and dust with icing sugar (opens in a new tab) if you like. Eat warm.

    About this dish

    Origin
    Not attributed to one place · Origin uncertainSweet banana fritters are made throughout francophone Central and West Africa.Also popular in Gabon, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, DR Congo
    Dish
    Breakfast · Snack · Sweets & confectionery · Street food
    Cooking method
    Deep-fried
    Taste
    sweet, fruity, aromatic / warmly spiced
    Diet
    Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
    All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-sodium · DASH-style
    Without the optional extras: Alcohol-freeWith the listed swaps: Ovo-vegetarian, Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Child-friendly · Budget-friendly · Street food
    Cook more with
    Banana · All-purpose flour · Sugar · Baking powder · Egg · Milk
    Techniques
    Deep-frying

    Allergens

    • Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom milk
    • Contains: Eggsfrom egg
    • Contains: Wheatfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder
    • Contains: Glutenfrom all-purpose flour, baking powder

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    310 kcal per serving

    Calculated

    1 serving ≈ 147 g · recipe makes 6

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 7%
    • Carbohydrate 64%
    • Fat 29%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy310 kcal211 kcal
    Protein5.7 g3.9 g
    Carbohydrate50.9 g34.7 g
    Net carbohydrate47.9 g32.7 g
    Sugars16.9 g11.5 g
    Added sugars6.7 g4.5 g
    Fibre3 g2 g
    Fat10.1 g6.9 g
    Saturated fat1.2 g0.8 g
    Trans fat——
    Cholesterol32 mg22 mg
    Sodium122 mg83 mg
    Salt equivalent0.3 g0.2 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    343 mg
    Calcium
    69 mg
    Iron
    2 mg
    Magnesium
    31 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    20 µg
    Vitamin C
    7 mg
    Vitamin D
    0.3 µg
    Vitamin B12
    0.1 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    117 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: vanilla extract, icing sugar.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • The blacker the banana skins, the sweeter and softer the beignets.

    Common mistakes

    • Oil that is too hot browns the outside before the centre cooks — test one fritter first.

    Serve with

    • Serve with tea, coffee or a bowl of bouillie (maize porridge).

    Storage

    • Best the same day; keep in a paper-lined container.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    Main ingredient

    Used in steps 1, 2

    Baker’s notes

    Customise in Bread & Bakery

    Timeline and readiness cues

    1. Mix and knead · about 10 min

      Mix only until no dry flour remains — overmixing makes it tough and tunnelled.

    2. Bake · about 18 min

      Risen and golden; a skewer in the centre comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs; the top springs back.

    3. Start to finish: about 28 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

    If something goes wrong

    • Pale crust

      Likely causes

      • Oven too cool
      • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
      • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

      What to do

      • Check the oven with a thermometer
      • Brush with egg wash or milk
      • Shorten the fermentation
    • Burnt bottom

      Likely causes

      • Tray too close to the heat
      • Dark tray absorbs more heat
      • Too much sugar in the dough

      What to do

      • Bake on the middle shelf
      • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
      • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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