The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (2024)

by Debbie Chapman

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This monkey butter is soooooo good. Seriously. I was shocked. You watch the ingredients go in the pan, and then you watch them cook. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll probably be thinking, “meh, it’s just pineapple and banana, so what?” But just as the banana melts down and the sugar starts to bubble, you’ll find it hard not to sneak a taste. As soon as my mixure was done simmering, I couldn’t resist any longer, and I tried a steaming little spoonful. And then I smiled.

It was so good that it actually made me smile. That’s pretty rare! It was sweet and tangy, with this awesome buttery texture. How have I never tried this before?!

It reminds me of a banana split. And let me just say it would taste AMAZING on ice cream. AMAZING. You know those delicious little pineapple bits that you get in a banana split? It’s always my favourite part of eating a banana split to taste the combination of banana, ice cream and pineapple, all together in one delicious mouthful. Yum! (Guess what I’ll be having for dessert tonight, maybe with a little chocolate syrup drizzled over top?! Mmmm…)

The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (1)

Try to use bananas that are perfectly ripe. I was kind of stressing about finding “perfectly ripe” bananas. WhenI went to the grocery store Ipanicked a bit that all the bananas on the shelf this week were either extremely green, or completely covered in brown spots. Go figure!

I’m apparently the crazy person who visits two grocery stores to try to find perfectbananas and ends up buying about two dozen bananas. (Which may sound excessive, but our little family of five goes through a shocking number of bananas in a week…). And then withtwo dozen bananas sitting on the counter, every time my husband would reach forone, I’d yell, “ONLY EAT THE UGLY ONES!!” Yup. I might be losing it.

The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe | Banana Jam

As far as recipes go, this one is really easy. Only 5 ingredients. The full printable recipe is at the end of this post, but here’s what you’ll need:

  • Bananas
  • Crushed Pineapple
  • Ground Coconut
  • White Sugar
  • Bottled Lemon Juice

So these are the best bananas I could find! (I may or may not have edited out a few brown spots… 😉 ) Ifyou can’t find perfect bananas either, don’t worry about it. These ever-so-slightly under ripe bananas worked perfectlyand I’m sure that bananas with a couple of spots would work as well.

I just don’trecommend using over ripe bananas, or it will end up tasting crazy sweet.

The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (2)

I used “macaroon” coconut from the bulk store. It’s just ground coconut flakes (unsweetened). If you have any troubles finding it, throw a couple of tablespoons of regular coconut flakes into a small food processor and pulse until it turns into small bits.

The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (3)

Put all the ingredients into a large nonstick pan.

The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (4)

Bring the mixture to a boil on high heat, stirring frequently.

The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (5)

Then reduce the heat to low and simmer it until the banana has completely dissolved and the mixture thickens up. It took about 15 to 20 minutes.

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It ends up having a texture similar to apple sauce. Maybe just a little bit thicker than apple sauce.

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As I said, it would go PERFECTLY with ice cream. Or you could spread it on toast, or serve it on pancakes or waffles. I bet it would taste amazing if you added a bit right to the pancake batter too.

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The lemon juice keeps the bananas from going brown, so it will last in the refrigerator for about 4 to 6 weeks.

The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (9)

The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe

This five ingredient monkey butter is so easy to make and tastes sooooooooo good.

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Servings: 3 cups

Ingredients

  • 4 perfectly ripe bananas no spots
  • 14 oz can of crushed pineapple with the juice
  • 2 cups white sugar
  • 3 Tablespoons unsweetened ground coconut I used "macaroon" coconut
  • 3 Tablespoons lemon juice from a bottle

Instructions

  • Chop the banana into thin slices.

  • Combine all of the ingredients in a large nonstick pan.

  • Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often.

  • Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the banana has dissolved and the mixture has thickened slightly (about 15 to 20 minutes), stirring frequently.

  • Serve warm over ice cream or on toast, pancakes or waffles.

  • Can be stored in the fridge for 4 to 6 weeks.

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This five ingredient monkey butter is so easy to make and tastes sooooooooo good. I was eating it by the spoonful. It tastes amazing on ice cream, or you can serve it with pancakes, waffles or even spread it on toast or english muffins. Yum!

If you’re looking for more delicious banana recipes, check out our pan fried cinnamon bananas. These end up with an ever so slightly caramelized coating. So good!

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About Debbie Chapman, the Author of this Post

I'm Debbie Chapman, founder of One Little Project and author of the book Low-Mess Crafts for Kids. I love creating fun and easy crafts and cooking up delicious recipes for my husband and 3 kids.

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Filed Under: Breakfast, Desserts and Sweets, RecipesTagged With: bananas, jam, mason jars, pineapple

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Let us know what you think:

  1. The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (14)Jeffrey Gray says

    The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (15)
    I made the Monkey Butter recipe today, it turned out to be very tasty. I did one extra step, after I put the butter into canning jars I boiled them for twenty minutes so I can keep them longer than 4 to 6 months and not refrigerate it. Thank you.

    Reply

    • The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (16)One Little Project says

      So glad you enjoy the recipe, Jeffrey! And it seems like a lot of people have had success with canning the Monkey Butter, which is good to know.

      Reply

  2. The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (17)Liz says

    The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (18)
    This is perfect for dipping coconut shrimp in

    Reply

  3. The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (19)Liz says

    The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (20)
    Perfect for dipping fried shrimp or coconut shrimp in 🍤 😋

    Reply

  4. The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (21)Popeye says

    My wife detests coconut. From the taste, smell and texture, she can’t stand it. Does it add anything to the recipe that you would miss if it were omitted?

    Reply

    • The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (22)One Little Project says

      We haven’t made it without the coconut, but I do think it would be fine to omit it.

      Reply

  5. The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (23)Honi says

    Hi Debbie
    Could you cut down on the sugar at all for this monkey butter recipe ?
    Kind regards
    Honi

    Reply

    • The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (24)One Little Project says

      Hi Honi! Since the texture of the monkey butter is like applesauce/jam, the amount of sugar is important for the consistency (and the taste). But if you don’t mind a thinner sauce that’s less sweet, you can definitely reduce the amount of sugar.

      Reply

  6. The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (25)Edith says

    can I make this with less or no sugar ?

    Reply

    • The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (26)One Little Project says

      Hi Edith. You can definitely try making it without the sugar… the ingredients themselves will definitely be tasty together (though if leaving out the sugar I would probably only do a splash of the lemon juice). However, it won’t have the same consistency or flavour without the sugar. You could also try making it with Splenda or another sugar substitute.

      Reply

  7. The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (27)Dayna says

    The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (28)
    Made this today and realized I forgot the lemon juice. I water bathed them. Do you think the bananas will turn brown after being canned or should I re-process with the lemon juice? It’s super yummy!!!

    Reply

    • The BEST Monkey Butter Recipe (29)One Little Project says

      Hi Dayna — so glad you’re enjoying this recipe! 🙂

      Since canning removes most of the air, I don’t think that the bananas will turn brown in the jars. That’s just a guesstimate, though, so it’s up to you whether you think it’s worth re-doing.

      Reply

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