Banana Nut Bread

Banana Nut Bread

Don’t throw those old speckled bananas away. Or even those real dark mushy bananas. They are Ripe for making Banana Nut Bread. Yeah that’s right. It’s a great way to save them from the trash heap. It’s easy and in no time you’ll enjoy a Banan Nut Bread and a good cup of coffee in the morning. That’s repurposing I can live with.

Prep time: 10 mins. Cook time: 60 mins  Total time: 1 hour 10 mins  Serves: 6-8 

Ingredients 

  • 1⁄2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
  • 1 & 1⁄4 cups brown sugar, divided
  • 2 eggsns chopped
  • 1⁄3 cup Greek yogurt (I use banana flavor, but plain or vanilla would work) 2 cups mashed banana (about 3-4 small/medium bananas)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp cinnamon, divided
  • Pinch nutmeg
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour – 260 grams
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • Pinch salt
  • 1  3-Oz box instant vanilla or banana pudding mix (just the dry mix) 

Instructions 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally spray a 9″ loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside. 
  1. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the butter and 3⁄4 cup of the brown sugar until blended.   Whisk in the eggs, yogurt, banana, and vanilla until combined. Lastly, add 1 tsp cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, baking soda, salt and pudding mix, careful not to overmix. Your batter may be thick and clumpy, but that’s okay. Overmixing will lead to tough bread!
  2. Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the remaining brown sugar and cinnamon with a spoon until combined. Liberally sprinkle the mixture on top of the banana bread, patting it down if necessary.
  3. Bake the bread for 30 minutes, then tent the bread with foil (which helps prevent the crust from burning and top + sides from cooking too quickly) very loosely. Continue baking for an additional 30 minutes.
  4. Allow the bread to cool completely before cutting into slices.