With just a few swaps, you can create a delicious banana bread with hints of fall flavor. This is my classic banana bread recipe with pumpkin and a bit of pumpkin spice added to give it a seasonal twist.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour + time for cooling
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: 1 9-inch loaf
Ingredients
½ cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 large eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup pumpkin puree (I like to use Libby’s - make sure it’s puree not pie filling!)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
4 large very ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Optional add-ons: ½ cup chocolate chips, ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 350 °F. Grease and line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice) and set aside.
With the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar on medium speed for about 2 minutes, scraping down the side occasionally, until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, beating on low speed until combined.
Add vanilla extract, pumpkin, and mashed bananas and beat until combined. It may like really curdled at this phase- that’s okay!
Add dry ingredient mixture to wet ingredients and mix on low speed until everything has just started to come together then finish mixing by hand with a spatula if anything isn’t fully incorporated, but do not over mix.
If using, fold in chocolate chips and/or nuts.
Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan, top with a handful of chocolate chips if using, and cover with tented aluminum foil. Bake at 350 °F for 30 minutes. Take foil off and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until the top of the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving, enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
This is a version of my standard banana bread recipe - just swap the Greek yogurt for pumpkin puree and the cinnamon for pumpkin pie spice and you’ve got yourself a seasonal banana bread!
Bananas that are overripe and covered in brown spots are perfect for making banana bread. I recommend using bananas at this stage of ripeness, you will not get the same flavor with less ripe bananas.
Tenting the loaf pan for half of the baking time helps ensure the top doesn’t get overly brown while the center is baking; the result is a perfectly golden crust and soft, moist center.
Nutrition Facts (per 1 slice serving)
Estimates. Will vary based on ingredients and serving size
Calories: ~225 kcal
Protein: ~4.1 g
Total Fat: ~9.1 g
Carbohydrates: ~34.5 g