Banana Walnut Bread

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This amazing banana walnut bread is sweet, nutty, yummy and moist. It delivers the perfect slice for breakfast. Now you won’t need to head to Starbucks to grab a slice of their banana bread. Because ours tastes better!

📌 PIN BANANA NUT BREAD!

This easy banana bread recipe was grandma’s favorite way of using overripe bananas and pairing them with walnuts harvested from a family orchard. Her generation knew how to get creative with ingredients on hand and avoid food waste.

But what makes this banana walnut bread extra special is its rich tender crumb and delicious mouthfeel. It features the ideal of amount of bananas for moistness, and sugar for sweetness. It also has plenty of vanilla extract to enhance the flavor of the other ingredients.

For a beautiful presentation, the top of our loaf features long diagonal slices of bananas and a light sprinkling of turbinado sugar. These two simple touches elevate the overall look of the domed crown. Our banana walnut bread is a bakery-quality loaf that’s perfect for gift giving.

🛒 INGREDIENTS

Making a loaf of the best ever banana bread has never been easier! All you need are basic refrigerator and pantry items.

• All-purpose Flour: provides structure for the batter.
• Sea Salt: This seasoning balances the flavor of the other ingredients.
• Baking Powder: Helps leaven the bread in the oven by enlarging the bubbles in the batter.
• Baking Soda: Neutralizes some of the acidity in the sour cream. It also adds a bit of tang, helps the loaf to rise, and assists with browning.
• Ripe Bananas: For both sweetness and texture it’s important to use very ripe bananas.
• Dark Brown Sugar: Adds a slightly sweet caramel taste to our bread because it’s made with molasses from sugar cane. It also has more moisture than light brown sugar.
• Light Brown Sugar: Adds the perfect amount of sweetness to the recipe.
• Butter: Adds rich delicious moisture and an irresistible buttery taste.
• Sour Cream: Adds yummy moisture to the batter along with creamy richness and tang.
• Large Eggs: Add structure and moisture to the batter while also contributing richness. Use room temperature eggs for easy blending.
• Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the other ingredients. But if you have a vanilla bean on hand, you can use that instead. Just scrape all that deliciousness into the batter.
• Ground Cinnamon: Pairs well with bananas and adds an earthy taste.
• Walnuts: If you don’t have them on hand you can leave them out or replace them with pecans or macadamia nuts.
• Garnishes: Bananas (not too ripe) and turbinado sugar

EASY INGREDIENT SWAPS

Missing an ingredient or two? Don’t put on your shoes and head to the store. Instead, check in your pantry for these easy ingredient swaps.

• Butter: Substitute this ingredient with coconut oil.
• Sour Cream: Use the same amount of buttermilk or plain Greek yogurt.
• Brown Sugar: Use granulated sugar. Or better yet, make your own brown sugar! Mix 1 cup of granulated sugar with 11/2 tablespoons molasses (for light brown sugar) or 1/4 cup molasses (for dark brown sugar). Then use what you need for this banana bread recipe.
• Ground Cinnamon: Try pumpkin pie spice.
• Walnuts: Use pecans or macadamia nuts instead.
• Turbinado Sugar: Demerara sugar or white sugar crystals. We want that beautiful sparkle that comes from large coarse sugar granules.

🍞 BEST LOAF PAN FOR THIS RECIPE

For best-ever banana bread, reach for USA Pan bakeware. The corrugated surface facilitates air circulation for even baking. The results are awesome. These pans produce bakery-quality loaves.

For banana walnut bread I use a 1-pound loaf pan, intentionally undersized for the recipe. The pan is almost filled to the top with batter and toppings.

In the oven, the bread rises 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch above the rim. The result is a tall loaf that’s visually stunning! A 1.25-pound loaf pan is a great choice too.

📖 RECIPE STEPS

You don’t need a stand mixer (or a hand mixer) for this easy Starbucks recipe. All you need are some basic kitchen tools: measuring cups, measuring spoons, 2 mixing bowls, whisk, and a rubber spatula.

RECIPE PREP: Grease loaf pan with butter. Dust it with granulated sugar (or flour). Tap out excess. Chop walnuts. Melt butter. Mash bananas. Slice a whole banana into 3 to 4 strips lengthwise. Preheat oven to 350°F.

• STEP 1: In a medium bowl, combine flour, sea salt, baking powder and baking soda. Put the bowl aside.
• STEP 2: In a large bowl, whisk together smashed banana, brown sugars, sour cream, melted butter (cooled), eggs, vanilla extract and cinnamon.
• STEP 3: With a rubber spatula, fold flour mixture into banana mixture until just combined. Don’t over-mix. Fold in the walnuts.
• STEP 4: Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange pieces of sliced banana, cut side up, in a diagonal pattern over the top of the batter. If needed, trim off the ends for a good fit. Sprinkle the exposed batter (between the banana slices) with turbinado sugar.

HOW TO BAKE the loaf

My loaves take 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes to bake. HOWEVER, baking times for banana walnut bread vary widely, depending on moisture content of bananas, brown sugar, and humidity. A loaf can be done just over 1 hour, or it can take 1 1/2 hours to bake.  

• Bake 1 hour 5 minutes. Test for doneness. Insert a wooden skewer in the middle of the loaf. If it comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it, the loaf is done. If there’s loose batter on the tester, the bread will need to bake longer.
• If loaf is not done: Rotate the pan. Tent it with foil to prevent over-browning. Continue baking, testing every 10 to 15 minutes. If needed, remove foil tent to finish cooking the top. When the loaf is ready, the top should be a deep golden blonde with cracks. The batter should be completely set in the middle.
• Cool pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Gently run the tip of a thin spatula vertically up and down between the edges of the loaf and the pan. Invert pan to remove bread. Transfer to a wooden board.
• Let loaf cool completely. Wait 1 hour before slicing. As banana bread cools, the structure of the loaf will firm up. The slices will be cleaner.

EXPERT TIPS

These expert tips are bakery secrets for the best banana bread recipe!

• Measure flour the right way: Fluff, sprinkle, swipe. Never scoop flour straight from the sack. The flour will be packed. The measurement will be off. Your bread will be dry. Instead, use a spoon to fluff up the flour inside the bag. Sprinkle it into the measuring cup. Use a knife to level it off and swipe away the excess.
• Never use under-ripe bananas: Under-ripe bananas lack the moisture and sweetness of over-ripe bananas. A loaf made with them will be dry and lack depth of flavor. For the best moist banana bread recipe, wait until the bananas are over-ripe. Or see the “Recipe FAQ” section for the best fast-ripening method.
• Don’t overmix the batter: Always mix ingredients until just incorporated. Over-mixing produces a lot of gluten which can result in a loaf of bread with a tough, heavy, rubbery texture.
• Avoid using too much banana: Stick to the quantity of fruit stated in the recipe. Using too much banana will produce a heavy loaf that’s soggy and undercooked in the center.
• Test for doneness: Before removing banana walnut bread from the oven, use a cake tester or wooden skewer to test for doneness. Slide tester into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs sticking to it, your loaf is done. If the tester shows raw batter, continue baking 5 minutes longer. Then check it again.
• Let the loaf cool completely: Cool pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove the loaf from pan and transfer to wire rack. Cool 1 hour before slicing. As it cools, the structure of the bread will firm up. The center will have a chance to shed excess moisture. The middle won’t be damp. The slices will be cleaner.
• Wait to wrap and store loaf: Let the loaf cool completely before storing it in a zip-top bag or wrapping it in plastic. An uncooled loaf has unreleased moisture that can make the wrapped bread soggy.

👩🏻‍🍳 RECIPE FAQ

Below are answers to the most frequently asked questions about this yummy recipe. The goal is a bakery-style loaf that’s moist, but not damp or soggy in the middle.

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RATE THIS RECIPE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Friends say this is the best moist banana bread recipe! When compared with a similar dessert from Starbucks, the taste and texture of our loaf was so much better. If you agree, give it a 5-star rating in the comments.

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