Nana's Secret Banana Nut Bread (Printable)
Moist banana nut bread with ripe bananas and walnuts, baked golden for breakfast or dessert.
# What You'll Need:
→ Wet Ingredients
01 - 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
02 - 2 large eggs, room temperature
03 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
04 - 1/2 cup buttermilk or milk
05 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
→ Dry Ingredients
06 - 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
07 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
08 - 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
09 - 1 teaspoon baking soda
10 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
11 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
→ Nuts
12 - 2/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, plus extra for topping
# How-To Steps:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan or line with parchment paper.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, buttermilk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
03 - In a separate bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
04 - Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture using a spatula. Do not overmix — stop when just combined.
05 - Fold in the chopped walnuts or pecans until evenly distributed.
06 - Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle extra nuts on top if desired.
07 - Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
08 - Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
# Expert Suggestions:
01 -
- The crumb stays impossibly soft for days thanks to buttermilk doing quiet work in the background
- That crunchy walnut crown gives you a reason to fight over the end piece
02 -
- Overmixing is the number one killer of moist banana bread and I learned this by making hockey pucks for an entire summer
- Toasting the walnuts for three minutes in a dry skillet completely changes their flavor from flat to rich and nutty
03 -
- Place a sheet of foil over the top during the last ten minutes of baking if the walnut crown is browning too fast
- Letting the batter rest for five minutes before pouring it into the pan gives the flour time to fully hydrate