In the past, you might not have thought twice about tossing overripe fruit, but any type of food waste during the coronavirus crisis is hard to swallow. I’ve always hated food waste myself, and can see that some people, although on the same lines, struggle with what to do when fruit is overripe.

That’s why I’ve compiled a list of things you can do to add some life to fruit that has seen better days.

As you’ll soon see, there’s hardly ever a good reason to throw away overripe fruit, no matter how far gone it appears to be.

1. Freeze it for smoothies

As summer approaches and your family’s thoughts drift toward ice cream, consider steering them toward something healthier that hits the same refreshing notes: smoothies!

When fruits like bananas, strawberries, mangoes and peaches are just a little too ripe for you to enjoy on their own, just chop them up and stick them in freezer bags and you’ll be have them ready to go when you want a cool treat. Then, it’s just a question of blending them with ice, milk, juice or yogurt.

2. Use it to make popsicles

Forget those sugar-drenched store-bought popsicles laden with artificial colorings and make your own popsicles with overripe fruit.

Once you see your fruit is getting a little past its prime, just blend it in a blender or food processor, add in some coconut milk, and freeze it in popsicle molds for a fun treat the whole family will enjoy!

3. Make banana ice cream

This one only really applies to bananas, but it’s one of my favourites. Slice up overripe bananas and place in freezer bags for those times when you’re craving ice cream.

That’s right: giving these frozen slices a whirl in your food processor gives it the texture of soft serve ice cream, and you can add other flavors to suit your tastes like vanilla, cinnamon, cocoa, peanut butter, or frozen raspberries.

4. Bring your baked goods to the next level

I love using overripe fruit for baking because it’s suited to so many different types of baked goods. You can make quick breads for breakfast or dessert using bananas, apples or berries.

Muffins also work well if you’re looking to make something portion-sized for batch cooking, and there are millions of variations of banana and oat cookies that require very few additional ingredients.

As an added bonus, many of these baked goods freeze exceptionally well, so you can keep them on hand for the future. You could also make a crumble or cobbler, which is especially good with peaches or nectarines.

5. Enjoy the magical pairing of fruit and oats

Most types of fruit pair incredibly well with oats, and this is especially true when your fruit has that intense sweetness that only comes after it’s been ripe for a while.

Whether you cook some chopped ripe apples or pears into hot porridge or smash up some bananas or peaches and mix them into your overnight oats for a cool summer breakfast, you’re practically guaranteed to come up a combination that you find irresistible.

Try my favourite – a bowl of warm oats with bananas, strawberries, chia seeds, coconut flakes, almond butter, hazelnuts and maple syrup – yum! If you want the exact recipe, you can find it here.

6. Make homemade jam

You can use overripe fruit to make a simple refrigerator jam. It’s easy to do – just puree the fruit or chop it up roughly and boil it with some sugar.

There are lots of recipes online with ratios for the various types of fruits, and the best part is that you can adjust the sugar content to suit your tastes. You might be surprised by how little sugar the ripest fruit needs!

7. Make my delicious 2 ingredient cookies

This one calls for bananas too, but oh do we love this at home! They’re so simple that toddlers can enjoy making them themselves. Just watch out because they’re bound to be devoured in an instant!
Get the recipe here.

8. Use it for compost

If all else fails and you’re convinced your overripe fruit is just too mushy to ever have value in cooking, you can turn it into compost. This is one I’ve yet to try (we always opt to eat it 😆)

If you’re up for it, all you need to do is add it to your garden or potted plants and they’ll thank you for it – and as an added bonus, the properties of fruit waste can even help your compost decompose better!

As you can see, there are plenty of ways you can put overripe fruit to good use, so think twice before you toss it!