Foil Banana Boats
A banana split open in the coals, filled with whatever candy is in the bag.
- calories
- 330
- weight
- 6 oz
- cal / oz
- 55
- protein
- 3 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 5 min
- cook
- 5 min
- total time
- 10 min
- water
- none
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dessert
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Day hike
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- Foil packet
- Grab and go
- Day one only
- Basic
Ingredients
| Banana | 1 per person | still firm, not spotty |
|---|---|---|
| Mini marshmallows | 1/4 cup | |
| Chocolate chips | 2 tbsp | |
| Butterscotch chips | 1 tbsp | |
| M&Ms | 1 tbsp | |
| Reese's Pieces | 1 tbsp | |
| Brown sugar | 1 tsp |
Method
- Set the banana on the foil with the curve arching up. Peel back the quarter of the skin along the inside of the curve, hinged at one end so it stays attached.
- Cut a groove down the exposed banana and eat the piece you cut out.
- Pack the groove with marshmallows, chips, candy, and the brown sugar. Overfill it; the banana shrinks.
- Fold the peel flap back over and wrap the whole thing tight in foil, seams up.
- Set it on hot coals, not flame, for four to five minutes. Rake coals over the top if the fire has burned down.
- Unwrap from the top and eat it out of the peel with a spoon.
This is a fire-coal dessert, so the peel is the cookware. It holds the banana’s shape while the inside goes soft and the fillings melt, and it means the only thing to clean up is a ball of foil. The hinge matters: leave the flap attached at one end and it folds back over the filling like a lid, which keeps chocolate off the foil.
Coals, not flames. Direct flame scorches the peel before the middle gets warm, and four minutes over open fire will give you a black banana with cold candy in it. Bananas are the one perishable here, so this is a first-night item — they bruise fast and won’t survive day three in a pack.
Packing
Bananas travel in a hard container or they arrive as pudding. Pre-mix the candy and sugar into one bag per person so nobody is sorting M&Ms by headlamp. One foil square per banana, cut at home.
Variations
- Peanut butter chips instead of butterscotch, or a spoon of peanut butter in the groove.
- Crushed graham crackers on top after unwrapping, if you want the s'more version.
- Vegan chips and no marshmallows makes it dairy-free without changing the method.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/banana_boats-194.asp