Cinnamon Banana Nut Bread

This Cinnamon Banana Nut Bread recipe is easy to make and creates a moist and delicious loaf that’s perfect for breakfast or dessert. Baked with walnuts and cinnamon, it’s a simple homemade recipe that can double as a snack!

There’s something magical about a thick, warm slice of banana nut bread in the morning. It’s comforting, deliciously moist and when paired with a hot cup of coffee on the weekend, I swear it instantly reduces stress.

It seems like there’s a million banana bread recipes on the internet that claim to be “the best”, so when I set out to make a banana nut bread recipe of my own I felt a bit overwhelmed. How was my recipe going to be different than everyone else’s? Finally, after about 2 years of having this on my to-do list, I came to my senses and realized that incorporating all of my favorite flavors and ingredients will make it unique.

Here’s what makes this banana nut bread special

• walnuts – I love nuts in my banana bread and walnuts are definitely my favorite. They pair beautifully with bananas and also add a nice little crunch with every bite.
• cinnamon – I’m pretty sure I’m incapable of making a dessert without cinnamon. It’s a staple in the Mexican kitchen and I love everything about it.
• sweetened condensed milk glaze – Another staple in my Mexican kitchen growing up. To this day, my family always has a can of sweetened condensed milk in the pantry to drizzle on fruit or desserts.
• turbinado sugar – I sprinkled some on the top of my loaf just before baking for added crunch!

The best thing about this banana walnut bread is that it’s easy to make. All you need are simple ingredients like all-purpose flour, ripe or overripe bananas, chopped walnuts, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, baking soda and that’s it. Mix everything together, pour it into a greased loaf pan and start enjoying the smell of warm banana nut bread coming from your oven immediately.

And since I’m obsessed with sweetened condensed milk, I topped the finished loaf with an easy sweetened condensed milk glaze just before serving.

Simply divine.

Do you have to use overripe bananas?

No, but it does provide a naturally sweeter banana flavor. You can use regular ripe bananas if that’s all you have – I’ve personally used regular ripe bananas many times and have had wonderful results. Another option would be to ripen them in the oven. Simply place your bananas on baking sheet in a 250°F oven for 10-20 minutes.

Can you freeze banana nut bread?

Yes. To freeze, wrap the banana bread tightly with plastic wrap and place inside a freezer-safe zip top bag. Seal and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, simply remove it from the freezer and thaw on the counter at room temperature or defrost slowly in the microwave.

Tips and Variations

• If your bananas aren’t ripe enough, you can ripen them in the oven. Simply place your bananas on a baking sheet in a 250°F oven for 10-20 minutes.
• Be sure not to over stir the bread mixture! If you over stir it, you can create bubbles in the mixture which will leave a series of pockets in your bread.
• Wait until the bread is fully cooled before adding the milk glaze. Otherwise the warmth of the bread will cause the glaze to run and it won’t stick as well.
• While walnuts are a favorite of mine, you could replace them with a different nut like pecans or hazelnuts.
• Don’t like nuts? You can simply omit them from the recipe.
• Add a cup of dark chocolate chips to make this a rich and decadent dessert.

Tools used to make this recipe

• Large Wilton non-stick loaf pan: I’ve had a pair of these pans for as long as I can remember. Lightly spray the inside of the pan with cooking spray before baking and nothing ever sticks!
• Large mixing bowls: I don’t think there’s such a thing as too many mixing bowls. They come in handy for everything!
• Misto refillable oil sprayer: A refillable oil sprayer that you fill with your own oil! It saves you money in the long run because I don’t have to keep buying those cans in the store.

Other recipes you may like

• Pan de Elote
• Cinnamon Coffee Cake Muffins
• Cranberry Banana Bread
• Cinnamon Honey Fig Scones

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4.50 from 78 votes

Banana Nut Bread Recipe

By: Isabel Orozco-Moore

This Banana Nut Bread recipe is easy to make and creates a moist and delicious loaf that's perfect for breakfast or dessert. Baked with walnuts and cinnamon, it's a simple homemade recipe that can double as a snack!

Prep: 10 minutes minutes

Cook: 1 hour hour

Total: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 slices with glaze

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Ingredients 

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For the banana nut bread

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 pinch salt
• ▢ 4 medium ripe bananas, mashed
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, plus more for topping
• ▢ 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar, for topping

For the sweetened condensed milk glaze

• ▢ 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

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Instructions 

For the banana nut bread

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray one large nonstick loaf pan with cooking spray or grease with butter and set aside. (I used this 9.25 x 5.25 -inch pan from Wilton.)
• In a medium mixing bowl, add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Whisk together until combined.
• In a large mixing bowl, add the mashed bananas, sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk together until combined.
• Add the flour mixture into the banana mixture and stir with a mixing spoon until combined. Add the chopped walnuts and fold them into the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. For an added crunch, top with more chopped walnuts and turbinado sugar.
• Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
• Remove from oven and let the banana bread cool for 10 minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the loaf pan and let cool on a plate or wire rack until completely cooled. Top with sweetened condensed milk glaze if desired.

For the sweetened condensed milk glaze

• In a small mixing bowl, add confectioners’ sugar and sweetened condensed milk. Whisk together until there are no more lumps and it’s completely smooth. Pour on banana nut bread and enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice with glaze | Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 54g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 236mg | Potassium: 251mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 350IU | Vitamin C: 5.8mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 0.7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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