Sauteed Bananas

Excerpted from Make it Easy: 120 Mix-and-Match Recipes to Cook from Scratch by Stacie Bills. Copyright © 2016. Available from Da Capo Press | Lifelong Books, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

Makes 4 servings, as a topping

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ripe to slightly overripe bananas (they shouldn’t be completely mush), cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a medium pan set over medium heat. Once the foam subsides, add the banana pieces and brown sugar. Stir gently until the sugar dissolves, 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add the vanilla and saute from 30 more seconds. Remove from the heat and serve warm.

*Recipe Notes: If you want to make a plant-based version, substitute your favorite vegan butter (mine is Miyoko’s Kitchen European Style Cultured Vegan Butter) or coconut oil (though the flavor will be a bit different) for the unsalted butter. If you are trying to avoid processed sugars, you can substitute coconut sugar for the light brown sugar.