This recipe makes crispy vegan Baked Banana Wontons that taste perfect on their own—but they're even better topped with Coconut Caramel Sauce and ice cream!
Ready for the New Year
Okay, so maybe desserts are the last thing you want to think about right now. I know! I totally get that! But one year I had banana wontons on New Year's Eve and now I always associate them with the New Year. So this is my New Year's recipe, posted a little bit in advance.
Healthy Version
The best thing about these wontons, aside from how flipping easy they are to make, is that it's the kind of dessert that seems like it would be high in calories, but it's totally not. Each wonton is only about 30 calories (depending on the brand of wonton wrappers you use), so a serving of four is completely doable as a dessert or snack. I used to make these by spraying them with my oil mister and while that works out well, I've found that brushing them with melted coconut oil is even better—they are this close to having the same crispy texture as deep-fried wontons.
Party Version
But since this is a New Year's post, healthy banana wontons would be a wee bit disappointing, right? So if you want to go all out, I've included a vegan caramel sauce recipe too—a coconut caramel sauce recipe, to be exact. The coconut-y flavor is the perfect pairing for the banana wontons. And if you really want to go all out, serve the wontons and coconut caramel sauce with some vanilla ice cream.
(If you are making these for New Year's Eve, you really need to serve them with ice cream. Your diet starts on the 1st, remember?)
Ingredients
Baked Banana Wontons
- 1 medium banana mashed with a fork
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- 16 wonton wrappers see note
- 1 tsp coconut oil melted (or oil mister/cooking spray)
Coconut Caramel Sauce
- ⅓ cup coconut milk not light—you need the full-fat kind
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- ¼ cup white sugar (organic for vegan-friendly)
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
Baked Banana Wontons
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Combine cinnamon and banana in a small bowl. Place a heaping teaspoon of banana filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. Brush edges of wrapper with a small amount of water, fold into a triangle, and press edges together to seal.
- Brush both sides of each finished wonton with coconut oil (or spray both sides with oil or cooking spray). Place wontons on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 8–10 minutes or until corners are browned and crispy.
Coconut Caramel Sauce
- Whisk together coconut milk, vanilla, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Combine sugar and water in a small heavy-duty saucepan over medium-high heat. Do not stir! Allow mixture to come to a boil. Once it begins to boil, watch it like a hawk. Eventually the mixture will start to smell like caramel and turn a golden color, then light brown. This will take about 6 minutes. When you see that it’s started to turn brown, slowly pour in coconut milk mixture, whisking constantly and quickly. If the sugar hardens around the whisk, don’t worry; it will melt. Just keep whisking! Continue to heat over medium-high until mixture has thickened and is a light caramel color, about 5 minutes more.
- Drizzle over wontons and ice cream.
Kimberly says
These were a snap to make! They're decadent without being too sweet or heavy. That coconut caramel recipe is keeper!
Kiersten says
Thanks for the comment--I'm glad you enjoyed them! 🙂
Jennifer H says
ok, I totally want to try this!!
Karen Lynne says
SO GOOD! and so easy to make! I did use a coconut palm sugar to make the sauce so it turned out a little darker, but, oh my goodness, so delicious! I am going to make these again next week for my kids!
Karen Lynne says
oh yeah - I couldn't find vegan wonton wrappers, so I used pot sticker wrappers and pan fried them........
Kiersten says
I'm glad the pot sticker wrappers worked out! I've heard that gyoza wrappers are also vegan. I'm so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Viswa says
I like the baked version, I made them using bananas dipped in sugar wrapping them in wonton wrappers in spring roll style and pan frying them!! Yum!!
Kiersten says
I love that idea! I thought about wrapping whole bananas like that, I'm glad to hear it works out!
Chris says
Can you freeze these before baking?
I found the egg free won ton wraps at the Asian store in Orland Park on 159 Street near the Mc Donalds
Kiersten says
I haven't tried it myself, but I think it would work!
Turtle66 says
Great Recipe! Love interesting unique tasty recipes. Q: Has anyone tried freezing these then baking or frying them? Please let me know thanks. 🙂
Kiersten says
I think it would work, but I haven't tried it myself. You'd definitely have to adjust the baking time slightly...
Bridgette says
Thanks for the great recipe! I tried it out tonight and I got rave reviews from the family. I added a little cinnamon sugar to the recipe as well. Turned out great!
Kiersten says
I'm glad to hear it was a hit! 🙂
Bob says
What could we use as an alternative to the coconut milk?
Kiersten says
You could make a traditional caramel sauce with cream--the method would be different, though.
Amber says
These look so good. I think I will add s bit of chunky peanut butter to the banana and just serve with honey. Yummm
Kiersten says
That would definitely be tasty! 🙂
Tracy says
These were so yummy, and super easy. I used the "banana glue stick" method for sticking them together - just cut the last 1" off the end of the banana, then cut a ring of peel away so I had a handle.
Thanks so much for this recipe - it was a great success. Now I'm going to go wonton wrapper crazy... what else can I put in these little yummies!?
Kiersten says
I'm glad they were a success! This definitely isn't healthy, but when I had leftover wonton wrappers and leftover Reese's cups from holiday baking, I chopped up some of those and added them to the banana filling. SO GOOD! But if you want something healthier, mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash make a great filling, as do chopped apples sprinkled with a little cinnamon. 🙂
Nicole says
Do you serve these hot or cold ?
Kiersten says
They should be served hot. 🙂
Lynn says
These were amazing. Since my little brother doesn't like cinnamon, I mixed in crushed peanuts. The sauce was also amazing but I only make the sauce once in a while to watch help my waistline. Thanks for such a wonderful recipe.
Kiersten says
Thanks for your comment--I'm glad you enjoyed it! I love the idea of adding peanuts too. 🙂
meena says
- Holy Cow - i didn't know veg had so many varieties thou im a vegetarian ( brahmin - Hindu if you know )
I'm wanting to try so many recipes now ! Thanks
Kiersten Frase says
I hope you like them! 🙂
Van says
I just made these last night. it was so simple and so good! Thanks!!!
Kiersten Frase says
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed them!
Rosemary says
Can you tell me if you have prepped the wontons in advance and held them before baking without the wrappers drying out? If so, what would be the best way to hold them so the wrappers don't dry out?
I've made these before but did not try to make them in advance. They were delicious. I served them hot with Rosalani Haupia Ice Cream (Coconut ice cream sold in Hawaii), a bit of chopped macadamia nuts, with the won ton wedged into the ice cream and the caramel sauce drizzled over all... it was to die for. Served the rest of the wontons on a plate... they disappeared too 🙂
Kiersten Frase says
I've never tried making these in advance, so I'm not sure. If I were to try it, I think I'd put a damp paper towel in the bottom of a tupperware container, put the folded wontons in there, then put another damp paper towel on top. I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe!
tashavv says
I wouldn't leave wonton wrappers on a damp tray or paper, as they will stick and you won't be able to separate them from the plate or each other. Just place folded wontons on a clean dry plate or on baking paper and cover with a tea towel, they might dry out a little but it won't affect the cooking/baking process. I would think that the basting with coco oil would seal them so this will reduce the drying out affect. Also depends on how much time in advance you are making them.
Michael Simmons says
Thank you for this great recipe, Kiersten! I especially like your version of Coconut Caramel Sauce. This is very simple to prepare, but delicious! And now I’m going to make it all the time to add to my coconut milk lattes, yay!
Rosie says
Yum! Tried this recipe today to finish off a Thai dinner I'd prepared and they were an absolute hit. I needed 2 bananas to fill 16 wonton wrappers, but these things depend completely on the size of bananas, and wrappers, and how much filling you want. The caramel was also fantastic. I used palm sugar in mine, which naturally has a slightly caramel taste, and added salt as well to make it a salted caramel sauce. Will definitely make again. Thanks for the great recipe! Will check out this site further for more inspiration. 🙂