Banana Nut Bread is a delicious breakfast or snack option. The whole wheat flour used in this recipe makes it even a better and healthier choice. Look out for the twist… tangy cranberries! Yum!
Ingredients:
Whole Wheat Flour – 2 cups
Ripe Bananas – 3, mashed
Butter – 1/2 stick (2 oz), melted
Egg – 1, well beaten
Sugar – 1/2 cup (1 cup optional)
Applesauce – 4 oz (1/2 cup), plain or flavored
Baking Soda – 1 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp
Pecans or Walnuts – 1/2 cup, chopped
Dried Cranberries – 1/4 cup
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large bowl, mix together dry ingredients so there are no lumps: Whole Wheat Flour, Sugar, Salt, Baking Soda
3. Add Butter, Egg, Applesauce, Vanilla Extract, Mashed Bananas and mix well to form batter.
4. Add in chopped Nuts and Cranberries and mix again.
5. Pour batter into a greased bread loaf pan and smooth out the top with a spoon.
6. Bake in 375 degree F oven for 1 hour. (Be sure to keep an eye on the bread as all ovens are different)
7. Allow the bread to cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing.
8. Banana Nut Bread keeps well in the refrigerator for about a week. Toast a slice in your toaster oven and spread a little butter on top before serving.
Tip: Banana Nut Bread freezes well in a ziplock bag – remove air from the bag before freezing.
what is whole wheat flour? is it same as chappati atta?
what is whole wheat flour? is it same as chappati atta..?
Hi hetal & anuja,
I tried this recipe yesterday…it turned out well.. but at the end the bite wheat’s taste sounded bitter…just a little…i didnt use vanilla extract since i didnt have it at home then..was it because of that? all the other proportions were same..
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
you both are doing an excellant job. I have a question. Is it essential to add vanilla essence to the banana nut bread mixture?
hi hetal & anuja..thanx a lot for a wonderful healthy recipe! i love to eat banana nut bread but when i eat it outside, i feel guilty because it is full of butter, sugar and maida..i loved the idea of using whole wheat flour and apple sauce( unsweetened) so that we can use less butter and sugar! i just use 1/3 cup sugar instead 1/2 cup! i also loved cranberries in it..you know what, now i can eat it with out any guilt..m so happy!
hi hetal and anuja
Imean,Micro oven baking trays..can we get them in walmart..
Hi,
Iam in search of square,and rectangular shaped cake/bread baking trays..can u tell me where we can get in Texas.My son who stays at Texas ,Plano,is visiting India in the month of this Dec 2010,so he will get them for me.Thank u very much..
Hi Kanthi,
You can find square or rectangle glass baking dishes at Walmart, Target or any department store. Tell him to look for either Pyrex or Anchor Hocking. The box or dish should also say “Microwave Safe”.
Hi,
Thank u very much Hetel,i do have borosil glass trays with me ,but i want the pans(some metal which are non stick) which u used for banana bread..Are faber ware trays useful,what name should we ask for..
Hi Kanthi,
Did you want these for your microwave? The metal ones will not work for microwaves. If you want metal baking trays then “Food Network” makes really good and sturdy ones.
can we add chocolate chips?
Hi Neeta,
Interesting idea….we have never tried it. As long as all of the chips are coated with the dough, it should be fine. You don’t want the chocolate to melt and stick to the sides of the pan. If you try it, we’d love to hear your feedback.
I tried with choc chips,not great though,the chips kind off burnt.should have tossed them in flour before I guess….right now baking one more with cashews and resins….!
So, I finally got around to making banana bread and I gotta say it turned out delicious. I left the egg out and substituted the wheat flour with all purpose flour (same amount) and did everything else the same.
It was easy and super delicious. Banana bread has a special place in my heart because that is the very first bread/cake I made at home from scratch over ten years ago, different recipe but it had turned out great and gave me the courage to try other desserts from scratch.
Thanks ladies.
Hi Pinal,
Awesome! We just love banana nut bread…the kids just gobble it up every time!
Is whole wheat flour same as chapati flour?
thank you
Hi Anu,
Chapati flour is whole wheat but the whole wheat flour from American grocery stores is milled a little differently…there are more brown specs and overall look is more brown. For the most part, you can interchange them.
What brand of whole wheat flour do you use for the recipe? Is this the same wheat flour we can also use to make rotis ?
hello mam,
this is really interesting recipe, but i m confused with baking powder and baking soda.
in this you have used baking soda is it (meetha soda) or it is baking powder used for cakes???
please help me out.
thanks
Just a tip: The amount of butter here is insignificant, only 2 ozs. If you would like to reduce the butter (for health reasons) in a cake/bread recipe, use half the amount of the butter called for and substitute the other half with apple sauce. No apple sauce at home!! Skin, core and dice an apple or two. Add a couple of tbs. of water. Add a cinnamon stick for flavor and zap it for 5 minutes or so till the apple is soft. If you don’t like it chunky, mash it with a potato masher. I like my apple sauce slightly chunky. Nothing like home made apple sauce.
Thanks for the tip..
can i use splenda? instead of sugar?
Hello Hetal & Anuja,
I tried bread on this Friday..It came out really yummy!!!
My husband & sis-inlaw loved it & finished it already.It’s just monday now…I am baking one more now 🙂
Love you guys!!! Keep it up.
Thanks.
Shaveta
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
I plan to leave the dry cranberries out..do i need to change any measurements in the recipe?
Thanks 🙂
Hi Deena,
You can leave them out without any other changes to the recipe.
Hi
Hetal & Anuja,
I tried this bread and it turned out so well. I tried it before without egg and it was little dry. So for the next time I used 1 cup wheat + 1 cup all purpose flour. Instead of egg I doubled the apple sauce and it turned out so well that no one can say that I haven’t used eggs ( no need of flax seeds for this recipe). My husband just loved it and want me to make bread at home only.
I would love to see the recipe for the regular whole wheat bread.
Looking forward for more recipes.
Thanks for the wonderful recipes which helps everyone here.
Hetal and Anuja, I absolutely love the recipes on your site! You guys are my saving grace in the kitchen 🙂
I would love to bake the “Banana Nut Bread”; unfortunately, I only have a microwave at home and not an oven. Can this recipe be made in a microwave? If yes, how long should I cook it?
Hi Jolene,
We have never made this cake in the microwave. Sorry 🙁
Can we use baking powder in place of baking soda???
Can you please show the recipe how to make 100% whole wheat bread at home in oven?
Thanks
can I use ENO instead of baking soda?
Hi Meenu,
ENO has citric acid in it so it may make your bread a bit sour.
Hi Hethal & Anuja,
My hubby is allergic to dairy products, Can I use oil instead of butter? if so how much? I really looking forward to trying this recepe. Thanks.
Hi Jyothi,
Though we have not tried this recipe with oil, my guess would be that oil would work fine. When sugar and butter are creamed together in some recipes to create a fluffy mixture, oil would not work. In this recipe, there is no creaming of sugar and butter. Again, we have not actually tried it so you may want to try it on a small batch.
Thanks Hethal I,ll defenetly try this & I will let u know.
I did tried the recipe with oil. I replaced half stick butter to half cup oil.the bread came out beautifully. we did not miss the butter at all.Thanks U guys for this awasome healthy recipe.
Hello Hetal, Anuja.
I am planing to make this bread can i make it with apple butter instead of apple sauce.
and thanks for the naan recipe it came out great. right now i am making pizza for my daughter will let you know how that comes out.
thanks,
pooja
Hi Pooja,
Honestly, we haven’t tried this recipe with apple butter but basically, it will work. Apple butter just has added spices and sugar.
I tried this banana nut bread recipe. The taste is really good. I’m planning to make it again. When I baked, it is kind of burnt at the bottom and at the sides. I checked the oven very often. Bread needs one whole hour of baking though. so i had to keep the oven at 375 degree for one hour. Do you have any suggestion for a non-burnt bread?
Anyway thanks for this yummy recipe.
Kaveri
Hi Kaveri,
Different ovens work differently. Even the type of baking pan you use can make a difference in the baking time. While checking on the bread, you can insert a toothpick into the middle of the bread…if it comes out clean, the bread is done. Maybe in your oven, you could have stopped baking after less than one hour. If you followed the toothpick method and the middle was not cooked, maybe you can try to reduce the oven temp to about 325-350 F.
what is the exact measurement of cups
In the US, a cup is a standard unit of measure that is 8 fluid ounces.
Hi,
Thanks for posting this recipe. Just wanted to know if I can bake this without a loaf pan, as i don’t have one. Can i use a cake pan to bake this bread? I have a 9 by 1.5 inch cake pan.
Also do let me know how can i post recipes onto ur website?
Thank u for your time & response
Hi Jayashree,
You can definitely use a cake pan for this recipe. Be careful, the baking time will probably be less so keep a close eye on it.
You can post your recipes on our community:
http://community.showmethecurry.com
It may take some time for the recipe to show up as we’ve had some trouble with spammers lately.
Hi Anuja and Hetal,
I tried the Banana Nut Bread recipe, it turned out really good, now i made it several times it was good every time. I never used egg in this recipe,but now i know Flex seeds can be used insted of eggs, i will try that too. It was any way good without eggs.
I will also try Naan recipe too with Flax Seeds.
Thank You.
hi anuja n hetal,
yesterday i tried banana nut bread, it was very very yummy and very fulfilling. but one thing i want to know that why my bread got a very big crack line in the centre?? my husband liked it a lot and he told me to make one loaf for his friends for sunday party. actually i first time tried baking and dnt knw much about it.
Hi Noor,
The crack is normal…it’s just the hot air escaping from the dough. It doesn’t affect the taste or texture of the bread.
I want to make this bread but do not have wheat flour, can I use only all purpose flour and no eggs and keep all the other ingredients the same? Will the bread give good results?
Hi Pinal,
Yes, other viewers have tried it with all purpose flour and no eggs and still came out great. Good luck!
Hi Anuja and Hetal,
Thanks for your wonderful and easy recipe. Normally for breads or cakes one has to wash a heavy load of vessels after making it. But this does not involve all that. Moreover my husband was very happy after eating this bread.
Thanks again to both of you. Hope we keep on enjoying your recipes like this in future too.
Hi,
I tried out this recipe without egg. I put half-a-can of sweetened condensed milk. The result was gr8!!!
I am a big fan of baking and was pretty unsuccessful until i tried ur eggless dates and walnut cake and banana nut bread.. Thumbs up girls! U made my day!!!!
hi hetal and anuja,
this recipe is excellent..
i tried this recipe with a little fusion with fuit cake recipe. I ‘added a little spice to’ it too..garam masala in addition to ground cinnamon. turned out really really well. i tried it with bits of fresh apple roasted in just a li’l butter along with mashed banana, other dry fruits, peels and nuts. am surprised myself that i could make an excellent fruit cake that surelay was better than any store bought cake. my hubby just loved it. Hats off to you guys!! looking forward for more recipes from ya..
Hi Leena,
Great substitutes for pecan and cranberries are walnuts and raisins (or chopped dates).
As for the apple sauce. the main purpose of it is to bring moisture to the bread without using the oil. If the apple crush is of apple sauce consistency, you can easily substitute it. If it is not then, we suggest you use a little bit of oil along with the apple crush so the cake is not too dry.
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
I chanced upon your site by accident and kudos to both of you for your efforts in reaching out to us!
I don’t get pecan and cranberries at my place? Is there a equally good substitute for this? Also, I don’t get apple sauce.. Could I use apple crush instead?
Appreciate your reply. Thanks
Hi Krithika,
Good you tried it out! Now, if someone asks about an eggless version of this cake, we’ll let them know about your results. Thanks.
Dear Hetal and Anuja
Very good recipe. Finally had the courage to try this without the eggs, guess what? Didn’t miss the eggs at all. The mixture seemed (1 cup of wheat flour and all purpose flour) to be little bit dry and I had to add an extra 4 oz. of apple sauce and voila!!! it turned out great. As you suggested my family had it for break fast this morning. You put a big smile on my kids face this morning. I am sure their whole day will be a blast. Thank you so much for all your recipes and my hugs and love to both of you.
Love
Krithika.
Hi Anuja & Hetal
I tried making banana nut bread it taste really very gud but some crack appear on the top portion of cake so wat was the reason for tat.
How can v freeze ripe banana?
Thanx
Hi Hetal,
Thx for the quick reply.. You guys are great. I always get quick and good replies from u. I enjoy making your recipes and they always come out great without fail.
Cheers to both of you.
Luv n luck
rakhee
Hi Rakhee,
I have never tried making this recipe with bread flour, but I have used regular all-purpose flour. The recipe is exactly the same if using all-purpose flour (maida). If I’m not mistaken, I think bread flour has baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in it to make it rise. If you check the ingredients on the package, you can tell for sure. If it has it, then you can omit the baking soda from this recipe. Let us know if you try it and if it works well.
Hi hetal n anuja,
I’ll be making this dish soon but i have a concern. I have unbleached bread flour and not one(whole wheat flour) which you have used? Can I make this bread using bread flour? If yes then are there any variations in the recipe.
Thanks
Rakhee
Hi Hetal and Anuja
Thanks so much for the wonderful recipes. They are simply superb. Have tried many of them .. inspite of being a person absolutely not interested in cooking. They came out really good except the “Peda”. It came out to be too soft. Could not understand .. whether its because I heated it on the gas .. I don’t have a microwave. Thanks once again.
Bindu
Hi Indu,
Yes,you can use egg beaters.
I would like to know if we can use egg beater instead of egg.
Thanks Suji!
Regarding baking without an oven…we have never tried this but have heard that you can bake in a pressure cooker. You have to fill the bottom of the pressure cooker with 1 inch of sand. Remove the weight and gasket from the cooker lid. Close the lid and turn your stove on to heat the sand and inside of the cooker. Then, place your pan with the cake/bread batter on top of the sand. Close the lid and “bake”. Let us know if you try it out and how it works.
i was thinking cud u suggest a way i can make the same without using an oven as i don’t have one. I have a fridge and stove and pressure cooker.Do email me ur reply. Btw, this is the first time i am going thru ur site. i really enjoyed going the videos. I particularly like the way u explain every small detail in cooking as i am v bad at cooking…i have not tried anything yet.but i def wil do dat soon!Kudos!
Applesauce serves a couple of purposes in this recipe. You use less fat (butter) and sugar. You can leave it out but will probably need to compensate with a little extra butter and sugar. Walnut or pecans add a nice nutty crunch but if you don’t prefer them, you can definitely leave them out.
Hi Hetal & Anuja,
What is the purpose of using apple sauce in this recipe? Is it a must ingredient? Is there any option other than the walnuts or pecans?
Thanks
Thanks for the quick reply. I’ll try.
Please try to show us more baking stuff “eggless”.
would be great for purely vegetarian People.
Thanks Hetal
Hi Shivani,
Feel free to leave the egg out. The applesauce and bananas add quite a bit of moisture to the bread. You may want to use 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour as whole wheat tends to be a little on the dry side. Let us know how it comes out.
Hi!
I’m following your recipes but can you suggest eggless banana bread?
would be great!
Thanks,
Shivani