Banana Nut Bread is by far my FAVORITE baked bread out there. I have experimented with several recipes to make the perfect Banana Nut Bread throughout the years. I really think there are 3 KEY things that make this bread perfect.
FIRST ~ use BROWN sugar ~ it makes it caramel like and really takes the flavor to a whole new level.
SECOND ~ use A LOT of banana, but, don’t puree it, just mush it so you still have some chunky pieces
THIRD ~ use roughly chopped, not finely chopped walnuts that your roast for 3-4 minutes at 400 in the oven first. They will really stand out in your bread as big chunky roasted nutty pieces.
That’s it ~ keep it clean and keep it simple 🙂 This recipe came about from all my “science project” experiments and I have no doubt you will love it as much as I do.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup Golden Brown Sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large egg
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
4 medium banana, mashed
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp roasted & roughly chopped walnuts
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9×5 pan with nonstick spray.
2. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time. Stir in vanilla and banana.
3. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Fold in walnuts until combined.
4. Pour in pan, top with additional 2 Tbsp chopped walnuts and bake 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Want to make Banana Nut Muffins? Follow the instructions above including sprinkle the muffin tops with chopped walnuts. Spray 14 muffin tin cups with nonstick spray and bake at 350 for 35 minutes or until golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
ENJOY!
Makes 14 nice size slices, 5 points+ each
Nutritional information per slice (using caloriecount.com):
233 Calories, 11 g Fat, 4.6 g Sat Fat, 0 g Transfat, 48 mg Cholesterol, 142 mg Sodium, 31.1 g Carbohydrates, 3 g Fiber, 15 g sugar, 5 g Protein
Your pan will be very full with batter before you bake it.
After an hour in the oven, it comes out nice and poofy (yup, that’s a word) and golden brown.
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Today was super busy, but, super fun too. I know I am behind on my emails, comments and questions. I will catch up with you all tomorrow along with my recap of today’s FUN with TJ ~ Bolani, Sushi, Nutella….deliciousness!
Night all!
Those are great tips for banans bread! I’m going to have to try them in my own recipe
I just made some banana bread, but mine was banana nutella! It’s cooling right now but the whole house smells amazing. 🙂
I just made this recipe with only one tweek and that was to add chocolate chips. What a great healthier version of banana bread! I can’t wait for my husband to try it.
i’m literally eating a piece of banana bread as i type this! so funny. my recipe happens to be very similar to yours and i definitely agree – brown sugar + large amount of supaa ripe bananas are KEY! however, i’ve never tried *roasting* my walnuts before i put them in. such a fab idea. can’t wait to try it 🙂
Oooh! That looks amazing!
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I’ve never tried any banana bread but your pics made me drool! Yummy!
Just wondering if you have ever tried these in muffin version – if so can you give me an idea on oven temp and time? looks good and can’t wait to try it.
Hi Sarah,
You know I have never thought to make my Brown Sugar Banana Nut Bread into muffins – that is a great idea!
If I was to do it, I would cook them at 350 for 25-30 minutes until browned on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Do tell if you try them as muffins, I’d love to know how they turn out.
Danica
I will let you know – I am going to make them for your son’s 1st birthday. I might even try some type of yummy cream cheese icing on them to make them look like cupcakes. Thanks for the hints on the muffins. Love your blog!
TRY THIS VERY SOON!
SOUNDING VERY GOOD!
Today I made your Brown Sugar Banana Nut Bread into muffins. They turned out great, nice chewy crust & tender on the inside. I used: 2 6-Cup Muffin Pan 3 Inch x 1-1/4 Cup Size (so I got a total of 12 muffins). I skipped the nuts on top and baked them for half an hour. Left two out…. for me and my husband, put the remainder in the freezer. Looking forward to eating them for breakfast or maybe a little snack here and there. Will definitely add to my recipe file!!!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7749344&l=c857426095&id=582803625
I made these into muffins today for breakfasts this week. Of course, I had to eat one hot, right out of the oven and all I can say is, “YUM!” They were great! This one is a keeper for sure. 🙂
I’m eating a brown sugar banana muffin right now- hot from the oven! I left out the walnuts and used dark brown sugar and my 19 muffins calculated at 5 pp per muffin. Delicious with a grapefruit for breakfast!
I have bananas, and I’m making it!!!
Just wondering if you can freeze this…it would be great for breakfast throughout the work week if so!!!
Thanks!
Hi Bly,
Yes, this freezes well. I wrap either the loaf or slice and wrap each slice in saran wrap. Then, place in a ziploc baggie and freeze. It keeps for about 3-4 months in the freezer.
I unthaw mine on the counter then pop it in the toaster oven to make it warm, toasty and freshly baked tasting.
Danica
I know this is an old-ish recipe, but I just came across it and tried it out (as muffins)…might be the most delicious banana bread I’ve ever made. My only question is that when I tried to calculate the points+ per, I came out with 6, not 5. What could I be doing wrong?
Hi Megan,
Did you use the recipe builder to calculate the points+? If so, Weight Watchers adds points+ for fruit used in a recipe even though they say it’s 0 points+.
Please let me know if you notice something else as a difference. I used caloriecount.com to calculate the nutrition facts and then calculated the points+.
Thanks,
Danica
Any change if not using the nuts?
Hi Mandy,
You would save 1 points+ a serving without the nuts.
Danica
If i need to make four bread what should i do?