Banana Nut Bread

There’s just something special about the scent of banana bread baking in the oven. This classic banana nut bread is filled with cinnamon, browned butter, and a hint of nutmeg. Browning the butter is an extra step that adds a little depth and complexity to the loaf. You can use pecans or walnuts in this recipe—your choice!

 When making your banana bread, be careful not to overmix to keep the bread from developing too much gluten and getting gummy. Bananas not quite ripe? While not quite the same, you can ripen them in the oven in a pinch.

Banana Nut Bread Ingredients

To make this banana bread, you'll need some basic pantry ingredients:

• Unsalted butter: We brown the butter before using it in the banana bread to add extra nutty flavor to the banana bread.
• All-purpose flour: Easy to source, all-purpose flour gives the right amount of structure to the bread.
• Baking powder and baking soda: Using a blend of baking powder and baking soda helps the bread rise evenly.
• Ground cinnamon, nutmeg and table salt: Warm baking spices and salt add deeper flavor to the bread.
• Mashed very ripe banana (from about 4 medium): Be sure your banana is super ripe for maximum banana flavor.
• Eggs: You'll only need two for this recipe.
• Vegetable oil: Blending the butter with vegetable oil keeps the banana bread nice and moist.
• Light brown sugar: Adds a caramel note to the bread..
• Vanilla extract: A critical baking ingredient.
• Chopped pecans or walnuts: The second most important ingredient (after the bananas)! You can use just about any nut or mix you'd like, though we prefer pecans or walnuts.
  

How To Make Banana Nut Bread

Banana bread is one of the easiest dishes you can make, no matter your baking skill level. Here's a brief outline of the process. The full recipe is further below:

• Brown the butter: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until it begins to turn brown, then remove it from heat. Pour it into a heatproof container, and let cool about 15 minutes.
• Combine dry ingredients: In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
• Combine wet ingredients: Stir together mashed banana, eggs, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla in a separate bowl. Add brown butter. Then stir in the flour mixture and pecans, and mix until just blended.
• Pour batter into loaf pans: Add the banana nut bread batter to a 9- x 5-inch loaf pan that's coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining pecans.
• Bake bread: Bake the banana nut bread loaf until it's fully cooked and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. This should take a little more than an hour.
• Cool and slice: Let the loaf cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, flip the loaf pan, and take the banana bread out of the pan. Allow to cool completely, or slice and enjoy while still warm.

How To Store Banana Nut Bread

Once the loaf of banana nut bread has cooled, transfer it to an airtight storage container. Store it closed with a piece of paper towel to absorb moisture.

At room temperature, banana nut bread will last about three days. In the fridge, it will last up to 7 days.

If you want to freeze banana nut bread, slice the loaf, and wrap pieces individually first in storage wrap, then in aluminum. Store up to 3 months in the freezer. Thaw at room temperature for an hour before you eat it.

Variations for Banana Nut Bread

Get a little creative with your next loaf of banana nut bread. Consider one of these additions:

• Change the nuts: We recommend pecans or walnuts for this recipe, but you can add nearly any kind of nut you like. Consider cashews, hazelnuts, or pine nuts. Even pumpkin seeds (not a nut) would provide great crunch.
• Add dried fruit: Sprinkle in about a 1/2 cup of your favorite dried fruit, such as dried cranberries, raisins, or cherries.
• Make muffins: Instead of a loaf, see the recipe above for easy banana nut bread muffins.
• Add more spices: We call for cinnamon and nutmeg in this recipe because we like its warm, toasty notes with the browned butter. You could also add some other warming spice favorites, like cardamom or ginger. Start with 1/4 teaspoon.

More Banana Recipes:

If you have a good batch of ripe bananas and need to use them up quickly, make one of these favorites next:

• Banana Bundt Cake
• Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding
• Banana Snack Cake
• Banana Pudding Cheesecake Bars
• Banana Blueberry Bread