Buñelos Aga (Banana Donuts)

This is a family favorite.  Give it a try.  I think you’ll like it.  😊

BUÑELOS AGA’ (BANANA DONUTS) 

 

 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 cups mashed ripe bananas
  • 4 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Other:

  • Vegetable oil for frying
  • Maple syrup for dipping cooked donuts

 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place the oil in a large frying pan; turn the heat to medium to begin preheating the oil.

2. Mix all of the ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. The batter will be  sticky.  Don’t be tempted to add more flour — it has the right amount of flour…the donuts won’t turn out oily or greasy, and they definitely won’t turn out dry. Adding too much flour will make them rubbery.

3.  When oil is hot, drop the mixture by spoonful into the oil, turning frequently.

Note:  When I make these, I use a small cookie scoop to get evenly sized donuts.  The Chamorro method is to scoop up a little bit of batter in your hand, then squeeze out a dollop of batter between your thumb and pointer.

4.  Deep fry over medium heat. Keep your stove settings on medium heat. If the oil is too hot, it will burn on the outside before the inside cooks.  Cook until golden brown.

5.  Serve with a side of maple syrup for dipping, or glaze all of the donuts with maple syrup.

6.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

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35 comments

  1. Crystal says:

    My favorite “dessert” at any Chamoru Fiestas! Is it supposed to be soft and moist, like gooey in the inside? I just made these, and I dont remember them being that soft inside.

  2. Lisa says:

    These were delicious!! And I like that it’s a very straightforward recipe that’s easy to make. Instead of banana bread, I’ll be making these when I have extra bananas to use up from now on. Thanks so much for sharing!

  3. C Espinoza says:

    Hi Annie – I have also seen your recipe for Buñelos Aga on The Guam Guide and there are a few differences between that one and the one shown here.

    Flour, 2 cups vs 1 cup
    Baking powder, ½ teaspoon vs 1 Tablespoon
    Milk, 2 Tablespoons vs no milk

    Since the one on The Guam Guide is the most recent version, is it the one you prefer? Thank you.

  4. Dee Carpenter says:

    This is one of only a few recipes from Guam that my mom made for us as kids.. This and the red rice.. I make this for my grandkids and they love it.. Thank you for the recipe..

  5. Mya Perez says:

    This is by far the best bunelos aga recipe I’ve tried! I used 3 ripe bananas because it was all I had available and it came out great! Thank you for the recipe. I’ll definitely be saving this recipe for future use.

  6. Vanessa Serra says:

    Have you tried to make it with pineapple or corn??

  7. Jeanette says:

    About how many donuts does this recipe make? I need to make 100 donuts for my son’s world culture class so I’d like to know if I should double or triple this recipe? Thank You for sharing! I’m a big fan and constantly visit your page for new recipes! 🙂

    • Hi Jeanette! I’m not sure how many donuts this will make—it really depends on how much batter you drop into the oil that determines how big or small they’ll be, and how many will come out of one batch. I’d double the recipe at the least, but have enough ingredients to make a third batch if you need it. I haven’t made this in a while, so you’d have to make a batch to get the amounts to come out right. So, if one batch comes out to about 3 cups of batter, then you could use a tablespoon sized cookie scoop to get 48 donuts (you can get 50 if you don’t fill the scoop all the way). These will make smaller donuts though, but doubling the recipe just might get you enough for your son’s class. But again, have enough ingredients to make a third batch if necessary.

  8. Tay Borja says:

    Hi!
    My husband’s Family is Chamorro. He said that Banana donuts are his favorite thing from his childhood. His Nana is getting forgetful and his uncles make most of the food now, but the 4 years I’ve been in the family I’ve never seen anyone make banana donuts. I’m going to surprise him using your recipe. I’m so glad I found your site!

  9. bobbietorre says:

    hafa-adai annie,

    how do i make my bunelos aga dounuts rounded when
    frying?

  10. Hafaloha says:

    Love your recipe. I will have to try the hand method because the spoon just isn’t working out for me.

  11. brittany zimmermann says:

    does the dough suppose to be thick or a bit flowy ?

  12. DaBit says:

    I did a half a recipe because I only had three very ripe bananas. It turned out great! Delicious crunchy little tips it forms and a super moist inside is a perfect combination of texture! Thanks for sharing Annie!

  13. Shai says:

    Love It !

  14. I like to sub bananas and use mangoes? Is that possible ?

  15. Shirley says:

    Hi Annie! I had a question 2 cups of bananas how many would you say that is? Like pieces of bananas I mean.. The last time I made these it turned out almost like shrimp patties and it was hard. I would love to make these tonight 🙂

    Thank you,
    Shirley

    • Hi Shirley. 2 cups of bananas equal roughly 4 medium bananas. I think you may have used too much flour if your other batch of banana donuts came out hard. Let me know how these turn out for you. 🙂

      • Shirley says:

        Thank you Annie for the reply 🙂 I’m going to try them now wish me luck!!

      • Shirley says:

        🙁 okay they came out hard again. But they taste good in the inside. I don’t know if it’s the way I’m putting them in. I can’t use the thumb and pointer cause I don’t know how they form more like shrimp patties. And I made sure I just added 2 cups of flour… Mhm I don’t know. My bananas weren’t ripped like what you showed were the skin was brown. Could that be the problem? Please help 🙂

        Thank you

        • Oh, man! I hate that you are wasting ingredients! It may very well be because your bananas weren’t as ripe…over ripe bananas will have a higher moisture content, therefore requiring all that flour. If you use bananas that aren’t as ripe, decrease the amount of flour by 1/4-1/2 cup, or, add some moisture to your batter, like milk, maybe a fourth of a cup. And…BEFORE you fry the entire batch, fry just one or two as a tester. If they are too dense/hard, add a bit of milk, a few spoonfuls at first, mix, then test fry again.

          If you want to wait for your bananas to ripen more, the perfect time to use them is when the skin is spotty on the outside and they smell very fragrant.

          Oh, I almost forgot. I don’t use the thumb-pointer-squeeze method myself. I like to use mini ice cream scoops to make most things that call for measuring out batter, like donuts, pancakes, cupcakes, shrimp patties, etc. I even use my ice cream scoopers to scoop out lumpia filling (same amount of filling in each one, every time). 🙂

          Good luck and please let me know if any of my suggestions work for you.

          • Shirley says:

            Hi Annie!! Thank you so much and I was thinking it was and I was also thinking maybe there is too much flour? Lol but I sure will take your helpful tips and try me again. Cause this is my 2nd time “trying” to make them. And my other half keeps laughing ! Well with your hep love I shall get them right ! Yes I tried but that was a failure. So I will invest in one of those ice cream scoopers 🙂 thank you again and the next time I try them I’ll let you know. Oh btw I did waste a whole bowl because I figured those weren’t gonna be good 🙁

            Thanks,
            Shirley

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