Campfire Banana Boat S’mores – 8 Flavor Combos You Need to Try

Want to switch up your camping desserts, make a campfire banana boat. It’s a delicious twist on a s’more, the classic camp favorite everyone loves. Now, you will love it even more!

What is a Banana Boat?

A banana boat is a banana roasted inside an aluminum foil pocket topped with s’mores fixings; marshmallows, chocolate, graham crackers, etc. But, don’t just stop at the classic s’more combination. There is no limit to what you can put inside your banana boat dessert. Try nutella, peanut butter and jelly, or pineapple and coconut for different flavors.

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At first, I thought this was a completely new idea when I was reading about it in a Facebook camping group. But, my friend Melissa told me about the banana boats she made as a kid. One of her best memories of camping with her family was roasting bananas in the campfire and enjoying all that ooey-gooey goodness of melted chocolate and marshmallow inside, just like a s’more!

Stuffed Banana Dessert

Bananas are perfect for roasting. Bananas are naturally sweet and will caramelize while roasting in the campfire coals. The result is a delicious warm banana dessert.

At home, I love them sprinkled with a little cinnamon sugar and vanilla ice cream or yogurt. But on camping trips, I like to get really creative with my camping banana boats. I’ve even been known to bring ice cream and make a roasted banana split s’more on the first night.

Tip: Keep ice cream cold enough to enjoy on the first night of your camping trip. I will store a pint of ice cream in this Stanley Food Jar or up to a half-gallon in this Yeti Rambler. For a really fun activity, you can let the family make ice cream at the campsite in this Ice Cream Ball designed for the outdoors.

If you haven’t roasted a banana boat before, I assure you, it will soon become a campfire staple.

What Do You Need to Make Camping Bananas S’mores?

To make a banana boat, you will need:

Banana – 1 whole banana for each person. You could share, but why would you want to?

Aluminum Foil – large enough piece to wrap your banana. I always use heavy-duty aluminum foil, but you can use two layers of regular foil instead.

Marshmallows – aside from the banana, this is the most important ingredient! You can use any size of marshmallows, but I think the mini marshmallows work the best. They melt evenly and make the whole dessert ooey-gooey.

Chocolate – any kind of chocolate chips will do, but milk or dark chocolate works best. You can also use a chocolate bar broken up into pieces.

Graham crackers – the classic way to top off a banana boat. You can break them up, crumble them, etc. I really like using mini graham cracker bears, the cinnamon sugar ones are my favorite.

Knife –  to cut your banana open

Campfire – to roast your banana boat. You can use charcoal or wood coals, or place them on top of a cooking grate above the fire. Any of these will work fine.

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Banana Boat Recipe

The actual recipe for banana boats is very simple. The ultimate question is what toppings will you choose for your banana? Below are a few of my favorite recipe combinations, but feel free to experiment and be creative.

Different Banana Boat Combinations

• Classic S’mores – Mini marshmallows, milk chocolate chips or bar broken into bits, graham crackers
• Banana Split – Strawberries, chocolate chips, caramel sauce, mini marshmallows, chopped nuts
• Elvis Presley – Peanut butter, crumbled bacon, honey
• PBB&J – Peanut butter and jelly
• Pineapple Coconut – Diced pineapple, shredded coconut, dark chocolate chips
• Cinnamon Roll – Cream cheese icing, cinnamon sugar graham crackers
• Black Forest – Cherry pie filling, chocolate chips, marshmallow
• Peanut Butter Cup – Peanut Butter and chocolate chips

The combinations are endless. These are just a few of my ideas. The best thing about making your own banana boat is you get to pick all the delicious toppings and flavor combinations!

How Do You Make a Banana Boat?

1. Slice your banana lengthwise down the inside of the curve. Be sure to leave one side attached so it stays intact when roasting in the fire. Be sure to go slowly so you don’t cut all the way through the peel.
2. Push the ends of the banana together slightly to open up the banana, then peel the banana away slightly from the cut. The banana remains in the peel but you’ll have a little more room to place your toppings.
3. Stuff your banana with marshmallows, chocolate chips, and graham cracker crumbs.
4. Wrap each banana in a piece of aluminum/tin foil.
5. Cooking on coals – Place the wrapped bananas directly on low heat (under 250˚F) coals, turning them occasionally to allow them to brown evenly. Cook for 5-6 minutes. OR Cooking over an open fire – You can also roast this banana dessert over a medium-heat open flame. Place wrapped bananas on a BBQ/campfire grate over the fire and rotate often because the marshmallows will burn quickly if you aren’t watching them.
6. Once your banana boat is roasted, remove them from the fire and let it cool for a few minutes before unwrapping. Serve with additional graham crackers or another favorite cookie for dipping in the melted marshmallow and chocolate inside the banana boats.

Banana boats are delicious and easy to make. They’re also a great way to use up any extra ingredients you might have on hand (like marshmallows, graham crackers, or bacon). The best thing about banana boats is that the flavors can be customized so easily depending on what’s in your camp food box!

If you want help planning more camping meals, check out these:

• Zero to Camp Hero: Camp Meal Planner
• Grab and Go Weekend Camping Meal Plan
• Foil Packet Meals
• Campfire Desserts
• No Cook Camping food ideas

FAQs about Banana Boats

Campfire banana boats are an incredibly fun family dessert. Try this recipe on your next camping trip or at your next backyard get-together. Have fun experimenting and creating a variety of banana boat recipes that satisfy everyone’s sweet tooth. Let me know in the comments or on social media which combo you tried and how you liked it!

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