This Peanut Butter Banana Bread is a tasty, complex twist on classic banana bread. Easy to make, you'll have it in the oven in just minutes!
Sure, there are other options - my Banana Nut Bagels and my Banana Nut Muffins also see a fair amount of play, here ...
But when it comes down to it, doing up an easy recipe - about 2 minutes of work! - dumping it in a pan, and having a of slice of banana bread fresh from the oven?
Can’t beat it!
Well, usually, anyway. Add a small amount of peanut butter in place of regular butter, and you’ve now got the best peanut butter banana bread - one of my favorite flavor combinations!
So the next time you need to use up some bananas and are craving that peanut butter flavor, bake up a lovely loaf of peanut butter banana bread!
It might just become one of your favorite foods!
Let’s get to it...
Ingredients
This peanut butter banana bread recipe uses super simple ingredients - you likely already have most / all on hand!
A few notes for you:
Bananas
You want to use spotty overripe bananas. I mean, VERY ripe bananas.
They can even go beyond being just spotty bananas - the more black the peel, better.
These overripe, mushy bananas not only mash smoother, they provide a bit more sweetness, are key to a moist banana bread, and give a more robust banana flavour than less-ripe bananas.
If you have bananas that are perfectly (over!) ripe for banana bread, but need to hold off on actually making it… just toss them in the freezer.
The peel will go black, but the bananas will be perfect when you’re ready to use them!
Smooth Peanut Butter
This easy banana bread recipe was designed using Creamy Peanut Butter. While I do like crunchy peanut butter for some things, it may or may not work in this application.
Because some of the volume is made up from peanuts, you’d need to use a bit more to make up for it - much easier to just add chopped peanuts, if you want that crunch.
If you’re using one of the “keep in the fridge” types of natural peanut butter, just make sure to stir it well before measuring,
I call for the peanut butter to be “melted” - I just put the measured amount of peanut butter in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, to make it more liquid.
This makes it far easier to mix.
Add-Ins
As with regular banana bread, there are options for what to put in them.
For my traditional banana bread, that’s usually walnuts/pecans, and/or raisins. I go in a different direction when using peanut butter, though.
I tend to default to chocolate chips. I prefer Milk Chocolate Chips, my husband prefers Dark Chocolate Chips.
Because the recipe is otherwise dairy free, you can use Dairy-Free Chocolate Chips to make it a dairy free banana bread!
Beyond that, some other great options include Peanut Butter Chips, Chocolate Chunks, or even Reese's Pieces.
This time around, we skipped the chocolate altogether, and used Chopped Peanuts, which we had leftover from our Banana Split Fluff Salad a few weeks ago.
I’ll generally use ½ – 1 cup of peanuts, or ½ cup each of peanuts and chocolate chips.
Have fun with it!
Everything Else
Rounding out the recipe, you will need:
Granulated Sugar (can use brown sugar, if packed)
All Purpose flour
Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Large Egg
Baking Soda
Salt
... I just really don’t have anything to add, as far as these ingredients go. Pretty straightforward!
Equipment
In terms of equipment - beyond the basics of bowls, measuring utensils, etc - You’ll need a bread pan, and something to mash the bananas with.
I like to use a regular potato masher.
I don’t recommend using an electric mixer for this - it’s really easy to overwork the dough when using a hand mixer or stand mixer.
For quick breads like this, you DON’T want to develop the gluten - that’s what happens when you knead a regular bread dough.
You need to develop the gluten for structure in yeast-risen breads, but doing so for a quick bread recipe - or things like muffins - will just make for a dense, tough texture.
How to Make Peanut Butter Banana Bread
The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through.
Preheat oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Grease 1 loaf pan, line with parchment paper if you'd like.
I spray and line with parchment paper, both for easier cleanup, and for an easier time getting the loaf out of the pan after baking.
In a large bowl, mash together bananas and sugar until almost smooth.
In a separate bowl (I used a medium bowl, not pictured!), combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
Mix just until everything is well combined - don’t overbeat it!
If you’d like, you can sprinkle the top of the loaf with a little bit of extra chocolate chips or chopped peanuts.
For best results, let the bread cool a bit before cutting. Placing the pan on a wire rack can help speed up cooling a little.
Leftovers
Once cooled to room temperature, leftover peanut butter banana bread can be wrapped in plastic wrap - or put in an airtight container - and stored in the fridge for several days.
It’ll be fine to eat after several days, it just might not taste as fresh.
More Breakfast Recipes - and Brunch Recipes
Looking for more ideas to jazz up your breakfast experience! Here are a few more of my favorite recipes for you:
Ambrosia Belgian Waffles
Apple Cinnamon Buns
Apple Turnovers
Baking Powder Biscuits
Biscuits and Gravy - MY Way!
Blueberry Banana Bread
Breakfast Bagel Strata
Breakfast Pizza
Caramel Apple Pancakes
Chai Cinnamon Rolls
Deluxe Pizza Strata
Easy Banana Bread
Easy Cheese Souffle
Eggless Banana Bread
Fig, Honey, and Goat Cheese Strudel
Ham & Swiss Breakfast Pizza
Ham, Swiss, and Kale Strata
How to Make Fruit Curds
How to Make Peameal and Back Bacon
Maple Walnut Spiced Pumpkin Buns
Peanut Butter & Jelly Rolls
Rosemary Peach Balsamic Scones
Smoked Gouda and Chive Scones
Strawberry Orange Rolls
The BEST Hash Browns Recipe
Za'atar Manakish
Looking for even quicker options? Check out my Muffin Recipes, too! There are also some fantastic Bagel Recipes on this blog...
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Easy Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Equipment
- 1 1 Loaf Pan
- Parchment Paper Optional
Ingredients
- 3 Large Bananas Mashed*
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- ⅓ cup Peanut butter melted
- 1 Large Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 ½ cups All-Purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- Chopped Peanuts and/or Chocolate chips optional **
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 1 loaf tin, line with parchment paper if you'd like.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas and sugar until almost smooth.
- Add peanut butter, egg, and vanilla to the banana mixture, and mix well to combine.
- In a separate small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients mixture, along with the peanuts/chocolate chips if you’ll be using them.
- Mix just until everything is well combined - don’t overbeat it!
- Spread batter into prepared pan. If you’d like, you can sprinkle the top of the loaf with a little bit of extra chocolate chips or chopped peanuts.
- Bake for about 1 hour 20 minutes, or until crust is a rich golden brown, and knife inserted into middle of loaf comes out clean.
- For best results, let the bread cool a bit before cutting. Placing the pan on a wire rack can help speed up cooling a little.
- Once cooled to room temperature, leftover peanut butter banana bread can be wrapped in plastic wrap - or put in an airtight container - and stored in the fridge for several days.It’ll be fine to eat after several days, it just might not taste as fresh.
Notes
Nutrition
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