Bananas Are 10x More Flavorful When Paired With This Spice

When it comes to versatile, nutrient-dense fruits, bananas take the cake (or the bakery-worthy bread, as it were). They're an excellent pick-me-up eaten directly out of the peel, as they're packed not only with potassium, but also vitamins C and B6, along with 3 grams of fiber. Bananas are also a gorgeous addition to a range of delicious recipes, from the expected baked goods and bananas foster to smoothies, fruit salad, and as a key ingredient in banoffee mess (a toffee and banana pie popular in the U.K.).

If you're putting together these or any other banana-forward recipe and feel something is missing, the answer you're looking for may be cinnamon. Earthy and aromatic with a sweet spiciness, cinnamon enhances and balances bananas' tropical, floral sweetness to create a deeper flavor that evokes the taste of truly luxurious desserts. Pairing these flavors is also ridiculously easy, as you can simply sprinkle a little ground cinnamon onto a sliced banana as a light snack or fruity addition to breakfast.

It's also fairly easy to make your own four-ingredient cinnamon syrup to drizzle over oatmeal or a bowl of Cheerios garnished with a fresh, creamy banana. Bonus points if you warm the syrup first to enhance the cinnamon flavor, which will in turn make the mellow banana taste richer. Cinnamon or cinnamon syrup are also delicious additions to banana-based smoothies, as they'll soften the bitter sharpness bananas sometimes have while making the whole beverage taste like a fancy treat.

One of the best things about this flavor pairing is that you can use it to upgrade any recipe that uses bananas, which is a good thing because once you've tried it, you won't want to eat bananas without cinnamon. You'll find yourself sprinkling it onto banana and peanut butter sandwiches or adding it to fluffy and delicious banana pancakes. This may also be the tastiest way to enjoy a bowl of ice cream, as it's hard to beat vanilla bean ice cream topped with velvety banana slices. Dusting it with cinnamon (or cinnamon syrup) is just the proverbial icing on the cake.

While you most likely already have ground cinnamon on hand in your pantry, and cinnamon syrup is (as mentioned) fairly easy to make, you don't have to stop there. Cinnamon chips are spicy, warm, sweet, and have a texture similar to chocolate chips. They're a delicious way to add cinnamon flavor to things like banana muffins and banana bread. They're also very tasty in grilled banana sandwiches, as they'll melt and create a silky texture inside your dessert. You can also let your kids sprinkle them on plain, sliced bananas to make them more interesting.

This combination also works well with a variety of other flavors, especially other tropical fruits like pineapples and mango. If you love bananas on cereal, try switching to coconut milk, as bananas and cinnamon are the perfect warm pairing with cool, earthy coconut.