Peanut Butter Swirled Banana Yogurt Pops

A banana, honey and peanut butter sandwich was one of my favorite treats as a kid. It was a little too messy for me to take in my lunch when I went to school, but I often started out my weekend mornings with one of these slightly sticky treats. The salty richness of the peanut butter was perfect with sweet bananas and honey. These elements actually go well in all kinds of other dishes, too, like muffins and bar cookies. They also work well in frozen desserts, and these Peanut Butter Swirled Banana Yogurt Pops are a great example. You can clearly taste each individual element, but it is the combination of all of them that turns these pops from a cool treat into something you’ll want to eat again and again.

These pops are easy to make and are a relatively healthy treat, since they’re not unlike eating a regular serving of your favorite plain yogurt with a few mix-ins added. They’re made with a base of banana, honey and yogurt. I used a thick, greek yogurt because it tends to give better, creamier results than regular yogurt when it is frozen. The banana gives the pop a nice flavor and the honey adds some sweetness, taking the tart edge off of the yogurt and making the pop seem more like dessert than breakfast. I combined peanut butter – you can use smooth or crunchy, depending on whether you like a bit of texture in your popsicles – with some of the yogurt mixture to lighten its texture a bit, then swirled it back into the yogurt base before spooning everything into popsicle molds.

The peanut butter swirls stand out against the yogurt and make the finished pops look very striking. You get banana, peanut butter and yogurt in every bite, and the pops have a creamy texture that makes them very satisfying to eat. If you have flat popsicle molds, similar to those I have pictured here, I highly recommend using them because they’ll give your popsicles the best look. You might not be able to see the swirls as well in a narrower pop, though they will still taste delicious. You can double or even triple this recipe if you want to make an extra-large batch. Once frozen, you can take the pops out of the molds and store them in freezer-safe bags so you have them on hand for snacking any time.

Peanut Butter Swirled Banana Yogurt Pops
1 large banana
1 cup plain greek-style yogurt
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
pinch salt

In a large bowl, mash the banana until smooth. Stir yogurt and honey into the mashed banana.
Transfer 1/2 cup of the banana mixture to a small bowl and combine it with the peanut butter and salt, stirring until the mixture is very smooth. Add peanut butter mixture back into the large bowl and gently swirl together. Be careful not to over-mix because you want to see the swirls.
Carefully spoon mixture into popsicle molds and freeze until solid, 6 hours or overnight.
To release from molds, dip molds in hot water for a few seconds before sliding out the pops.

Makes 4-6, depending on popsicle molds.