Best-selling author and Food Network star Ree Drummond is a comfort food queen, known for recipes like macaroni and cheese, uniquely seasoned chicken pot pies, and chicken parmigiana. But what you might not know is that there’s a popular sweet ingredient — the star of a classic baked comfort food — that she’ll never eat. As it turns out, the Pioneer Woman intensely dislikes bananas, finding the taste, smell, and texture of the fruit off-putting. She won’t even offer anything with bananas at her deli and bakery, The Pioneer Woman Mercantile in Pawhuska, Oklahoma. “There’s not a single banana in the whole joint,” Drummond said in an interview with Fox News.
Though banana puree is what many of us consumed in infancy, Drummond claims she didn’t even like them then. In a 2011 blog post about bananas foster on The Pioneer Woman website, the famed home cook said she believes her distaste for the soft, yellow fruit is a “genetic aversion” since her father and one of her brothers also dislike bananas. She went on to admit that, “In my entire forty-two years on this earth, I’ve never eaten a whole banana. I’ve had accidental bites here and there, half of which were promptly spit out into a napkin.” Drummond’s dislike for bananas is so fierce that her kids actually need to remind her to pick some up at the grocery store, otherwise she never remembers to do so for them.
The only two banana recipes Ree Drummond has ever shared
Bananas are easily one of the most popular fresh fruits in the United States, with the average American consuming nearly 27 pounds in 2022, according to Statista. Not only are they readily available and easily portable, they are high in fiber and potassium, making them great for digestion. Bananas are also incredibly versatile, whether eaten as a snack or layered into a banana pudding. You can even turn bananas into soft serve ice creams and smoothies by freezing them.
Even though they’re ubiquitous and well-liked, Ree Drummond has only ever shared two recipes which include bananas: her mother’s banana bread and bananas foster. In the 2011 post about bananas foster on The Pioneer Woman, her revulsion for the fruit is loud and clear. Drummond calls bananas “weird, slimy things” whose “evil might melt your fingertips.” However, Drummond knew that despite her personal dislike, there were many who loved the fruit. So she persevered for her banana-loving fans, came up with the recipe, and even tasted a bite of her creation — a brave move for a woman who suffered nightmares about a large banana chasing her with a machete.
