The BEST Banana Bread with Pecans Recipe
This BEST Banana Bread with Pecans is an easy recipe to make, tastes amazing, and will earn you rave reviews from your family and friends. There’s something undeniably comforting about the aroma of freshly baked bread filling the kitchen.
The Best Banana Bread Recipe

If you’re looking for more bread recipes, Rosemary Balsamic Bread Dipping Oil and Rustic Bread Salad with Tomatoes will help you find the perfect appetizer recipe.
Do you know what the most searched-for bread recipe online is? It’s not white, wheat, and or sourdough bread. The number one online search is banana bread.
This yummy bread is one of those classic recipes that remain as popular as it has always been.
The hunt for the perfect banana bread recipe felt like a never-ending quest. Each recipe I tried was either too dry, too dense or lacked that rich banana flavor I craved.
After countless batches, I finally found the one that balanced moistness, sweetness, and the perfect golden crust.
My mom always made our banana bread with pecans – so any banana bread that doesn’t have them isn’t real banana bread to me.
Everyone loves to show off their homemade bread in our cozy living group. There’s something so soothing about baking your own bread and knowing every ingredient that goes into it.
This banana nut bread with pecans recipe is good enough to become a family favorite and is perfect to hand down to future generations.
History of Homemade Banana Bread
When baking soda and baking powder became popular in the 1930s, that’s when banana bread made its way into cookbooks like Pillsbury’s 1933 Balanced Recipes Cookbook, according to Wikipedia.
Banana bread also became popular during this time because of the Great Depression. You learned to use every scrap of food because food waste was unacceptable.
Fun Facts About Bananas
- When the banana is green, it has a high starch content. As the banana turns yellow, the starches turn to sugars.
- In Ecuador, each person eats 218 pounds of bananas yearly. Americans, on average, eat 27 pounds of bananas per year.
- Hawaii is the only place in the United States where bananas are grown commercially.
- Most people believe bananas grow on trees. The plants they grow on are classified as herbs.
- They are a great source of potassium, vitamin C, and vitamin B6.
Leftover Banana Skins Uses
- Did you know that the oils inside the banana skin can help with itching and inflammation caused by bug bites?
- Bury banana skins next to your rose bushes. They love the nutrients in their skins.
- You can use the inside of the banana peel to shine your houseplant leaves.
- Chickens, rabbits, and pigs all love banana peels. Make sure you buy organic bananas if you feed them to your livestock.
- Rub the inside of the banana peel on your face naturally to exfoliate and nourish your skin.
How to Ripen Bananas Faster
Place bananas in a brown paper bag and seal. If you want to speed up the process further, add another fruit, like an apple.
Creating a Cozy Life Group
Since you found this recipe on How to Make Banana Nut Bread, Iโm guessing you like all things cozy living. I created a Facebook group called Creating a Cozy Life with over 193,000 like-minded souls.
Itโs a group where we share recipes, pictures of things that leave you in awe, and ideas on how to make your life just a little bit more snug. Join here to be part of the virtual cozy cabin.
Imagine coming home after a long day at work. You kick off your shoes, light a fire, and sink into your cozy chair with a slice of warm, moist banana bread with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar.
The problems of the day will disappear. At least, that’s my theory. Banana bread makes everything better. Much better.
My mom always made an excellent loaf of banana bread, but the recipe has shortening, so I’ve been looking for a replacement.
I found the original recipe in one of the Food Network cookbooks.
Ingredients to Gather
- All-Purpose Flour – Provides structure and stability, creating a soft yet sturdy banana bread.
- Baking Soda – Acts as a leavening agent, helping it rise. This creates a light, airy texture in the bread.
- Salt – Enhances the overall flavor by balancing the sweetness and intensifying the taste of the bananas and other ingredients.
- Overripe Bananas – Add natural sweetness and moisture, making the banana bread rich and tender.
- Sugar – Adds sweetness while helping create a moist bread by locking in moisture.
- Unsalted Butter – Gives banana bread richness and moisture and enhances its flavor.
- Large Eggs – Provides structure and stability to banana bread by binding the ingredients together.
- Pecan Pieces – Adds a buttery crunch and depth of flavor to banana bread.
- Vanilla – Enhances the flavor of banana bread by adding a warm, aromatic sweetness that complements the bananas.
- Confectioners Sugar – Adds a delicate sweetness to banana bread.
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cool
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
Confectioners sugar (for dusting the bread after cooking – optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a 9×5 loaf pan.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside the flour mixture.
4. Mash two over-ripe bananas with a fork in a separate medium bowl. Make sure they still have a bit of texture.
5. Mix the remaining two bananas and sugar for at least 3 minutes in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer. You want the mixture to be a light and fluffy cream.
6. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla to the banana mixture. Using the hand mixer, beat well and scrape down the bowl’s sides of the wet ingredients.
7. Fold the dry ingredients with the wet mixture until everything is thoroughly mixed (don’t over-blend). Add the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula.
8. Pour batter into the greased loaf pan. Tap the prepared loaf pan on the counter to get the bubbles out of the dough.
9. Bake time is 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Rotate the bread regularly to make sure it browns on every side. Bake until the top of the bread is golden brown. Use the toothpick test. Put a clean toothpick in the middle of the bread; if it comes out clean, it’s ready.
10. Let the delicious loaf of banana bread cool for at least 10 minutes on a wire rack for the best results. ย When you’re ready to serve, toast the bread slices and sprinkle them with confectioners’ sugar. ย
Tips
- If a crack forms down the middle of the bread, don’t worry – that’s normal.
- You don’t want to cover the bread while cooking because it won’t brown.
- You can substitute chopped walnuts for pecans if you prefer.
- Check on the bread after an hour of baking. Every oven is different. ย
- Make sure you rotate the bread for even browning.
- Add 1/4 cup of chocolate chips to the batter to make chocolate chip banana bread.
- You can add this easy recipe to a bundt pan or make banana muffins.
- Add a teaspoon of cinnamon if you want to change up this recipe.
Storage
This quick bread recipe will last 3-4 days at room temperature. If the banana bread is refrigerated and secured in plastic wrap, it will last up to one week.
For more extended storage, banana bread freezes well. If stored correctly in an airtight container or freezer bag, banana bread can last 2-3 months in the freezer.
Weโve reached the end of Banana Nut Bread with Pecans. I hope you enjoyed it. I think it will become your go-to recipe.
Let me know in the comments below how you liked this Banana Nut Bread recipe.
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More Recipes You’ll Love!
Printable Recipe Card Banana Nut Bread Recipe with Pecans with Nutrition Information
Best Banana Bread Recipe
This isn't your average banana bread, this recipe produces a rich, moist, buttery tasting bread that everyone will love.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 overripe bananas
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
- Confectioners' sugar (for dusting the bread after cooking - optional)
Instructions
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2) Lightly grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan
3) Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
4) Mash two bananas with a fork in a separate bowl. Make sure they still have a bit of texture.
5) With an electric mixture, mix the remaining two bananas and sugar together for at least 3 minutes in a large bowl. You want the mixture to be a light and fluffy cream.
6) Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla to the banana cream mixture. Beat well, and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
7) Fold in the dry ingredients until everything is thoroughly mixed (don't over blend). Add the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula.
8) Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan. Tap the pan on the counter to get the bubbles out of the dough.
9) Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Rotate the bread regularly to make sure it browns on every side. Bake until the bread is a golden brown. Insert the toothpick into the middle of the bread, and if it comes out clean, it's ready.
10) Let the bread cool for at least 10 minutes. When you're ready to serve the banana bread, toast the bread slices and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
Nutrition Information
Yield
10Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 432Total Fat 19gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 74mgSodium 312mgCarbohydrates 63gFiber 2gSugar 38gProtein 5g