Banana Nut Bread Recipe (2025)

Updated on January 20, 2024|By Kate|306 Comments

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Moist banana nut bread recipe makes delicious banana bread! Add nuts, chocolate chips, or other mix-ins for the perfect loaf of banana bread!

I love coming up with recipes that put a twist on classic foods. It’s fun to give an old recipe a new spin.

There are times, though, when nothing beat a classic, and this banana nut bread recipe is just that sort of classic recipe.

This moist banana bread recipe lets the banana flavor really shine. The banana bread is made with a combination of melted butter, mashed ripe bananas, and more brown sugar than granulated sugar for plenty of moisture in the bread.

This banana nut bread recipe is a great way to use up extra overripe bananas. It’s also really simple to make. I mix it up by hand while the oven is preheating. So you can make a quick loaf of banana nut bread with this recipe any time the craving strikes!

Ingredient notes and substitutions

Bananas: It’s important to use very ripe bananas. I like to use bananas that are equal parts brown spots and yellow.
Butter: This recipe uses melted butter. The butter shouldn’t be hot and sizzling. I melt it about 80% of the way and then whisk it to let it finish melted.
Brown sugar: Dark brown sugar or golden brown sugar will work
Flour: It’s important to properly measure flour to avoid heavy or doughy banana bread. The proper way to measure flour is to stir it to break it up. Then lightly spoon it into a measuring cup and level it off.
Nuts: Chopped pecans or chopped walnuts work well; however, the nuts are optional. If you decide to sprinkle them on top, make sure you chop them finely so that the weight doesn’t keep the loaf from rising.

How to make banana nut bread

Here you’ll find step-by-step photos showing how to make this quick bread recipe. The full recipe is given below.

Step 1: In a large bowl, whisk the mashed bananas and melted butter together until well-combined.

Step 2: Whisk in the sugars until well-combined.

Step 3: Add the egg and vanilla and whisk in until combined.

Step 4: Whisk in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined.

Top tip >> Don’t overmix. Overmixing will give you a dense or heavy loaf.

Step 5: Whisk in the nuts just until incorporated.

Step 6: Pour the banana bread batter into the prepared pan.

Step 7: Sprinkle the remaining nuts on top.

Step 8: Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Step 9: Let the baked banana bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before removing from the pan and placing on the wire rack to cool to room temperature.

Recipe Tips!

Mixing: I highly recommend mixing banana bread by hand. It’s easy and it helps to avoid overmixing, which can give you a dense or heavy loaf.
Baking: Since banana bread has a fair amount of sugar, it can easily overbrown. I check the bread part-way through the baking time to check to see whether it’s browning too quickly. If it is, I tent a piece of aluminum foil over the top. You can also decrease the oven temperature by 25F.
Banana flavor: Also, if you can wait, I find that the banana flavor is even stronger on the second day.

Recipe FAQs

Can I freeze banana nut bread?

You can! Bake as directed, and then let the banana nut bread cool to room temperature on a wire cooling rack.
Wrap the whole loaf tightly in plastic wrap, and then wrap in aluminum foil. Freeze.
You can also freeze individual slices by tightly wrapping a slice in plastic wrap, and placing the slices in a freezer bag.

Can I use a 9×5 loaf pan?

Using a 9×5 pan will give you a shorter, wider loaf. The bread will also cook faster.

Storage

I store the banana nut bread in an airtight container at room temperature. It will keep for 2-3 days.

For longer storage, you can also store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.

Banana Crunch Cake
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Banana Pudding
Banana Oatmeal Muffins

If you’ve tried this banana nut bread recipe, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. I love to hear from people who’ve made my recipes!

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4.92 from 100 votes

Banana Nut Bread Recipe

Author Kate @ I Heart Eating

Course bread

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Moist banana nut bread recipe. Check out the video and tips just above the recipe!

Equipment

8×4-inch loaf pan
Whisk
Mixing bowl

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup mashed banana¹
▢ 1/3 cup butter melted²
▢ 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
▢ 1/4 cup granulated sugar
▢ 1 large egg
▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
▢ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour properly measured³
▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
▢ 1/2-2/3 cup chopped pecans or walnuts plus extra for sprinkling on top⁴

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk mashed banana and melted butter together until well-combined.
Whisk in sugars until incorporated.
Add egg and vanilla, and whisk until well-combined.
Stir in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until combined.
Add nuts, and whisk until just incorporated.
Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan, and sprinkle with additional nuts.
Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I check the bread around 35 minutes and tent with foil if it is browning too quickly.
Let cool in pan for a 5-10 minutes.
Remove bread to wire cooling rack, and let cool completely before slicing.

Video

Notes

About 2 very ripe bananas, peeled
The butter should just barely be melted. I melt it about 80% of the way and then whisk it until its completely melted.
To properly measure the flour, stir it to break it up. Then lightly spoon it into the measuring up and level it off.
Be sure to finely chop the nuts if sprinkling them on top. If nuts aren’t finely chopped, the weight can keep the bread from rising properly.
Nutrition facts are estimates.

Nutrition

Did You Make This Recipe?

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Originally published 8/22/17.

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Created by Kate

Kate got her first cookbook when she was five years old, and she hasn't stopped cooking since then! Her delicious recipes have been featured on Food Network, MSN, Better Homes & Gardens, Buzzfeed, The Huffington Post, and more. When she's not cooking or baking, she can be found on her mini farm with her husband and her five kids.

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