Banana nut bread made with five over-ripened bananas and chopped walnuts. It’s moist and perfect for using up older bananas. This recipe makes two 9″x5″ pan loaves.

Two slices of banana nut bread with butter on top

This is the best banana nut bread.

I’m not kidding when I say that either. It is my tried and true recipe that never fails.

I have eaten many banana nut and banana breads over the years, but they simply don’t compare.

I even worked in a local bakery for a couple of years and this is better than theirs!

Can you use ripe bananas for banana nut bread?

To make the best banana nut bread you must use over-ripened bananas. This means that they are turning from yellow to brown.

The browner the better, but not rotten.

This allows for more of a rich banana flavor, they’re softer and blend very well for mixing and baking, and the starch has had a chance to sweeten.

I’ve used fresher ripe bananas that were still yellow and had no browning to them and the bread lacked any banana flavor.

They do best when they’ve aged a bit more, which only takes a few days after being home from the grocery store.

How to Make the Best Banana Nut Bread

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 9″x5″ loaf pans and set aside.

Grab those brown bananas I talked about and put them in a medium-sized bowl with your eggs. Let the mashing begin!

You want to break up as many lumps as possible, which is what’s great about the over-ripened bananas, they’re so soft! I use a potato masher for this part.

Cream together your shortening and sugar in a mixing bowl. You can use a large bowl with a hand mixer, or use your free-standing electric mixer.

Allow it to get nice and creamy. Add your banana mixture into your sugar/shortening mixture and blend.

If you have a sifter, add your dry ingredients – flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Sifting helps break up any lumps before you add it to your wet ingredients.

Use wax paper or parchment paper underneath so that way you can pick it up and pour it into the mixer afterward. Don’t have a sifter? Place all your dry ingredients into a bowl and use a whisk to break up lumps.

If you simply want banana bread without nuts you can stop here and add the batter to your greased pans without doing the next steps.

If you like a different texture to your banana bread try adding walnuts. Chopped walnuts in the store tend to still be rather large so it’s best to hammer them down with a mallet.

Place a cup of chopped walnuts into the batter and blend. Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for approximately 75-95 minutes.

Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the thickest part of the loaf. It should come out clean if it is done.

Once it is done baking, allow it to cool for 15 minutes before slicing.

This banana nut bread makes two loaves of 9″x5″ bread pans, but I unfortunately only have one. If that’s the case for you too, place the rest of the batter in the fridge while you wait for the first loaf to bake.

What makes banana nut bread moist?

If your banana nut bread is dry it needs more oil, butter, or shortening. They help baked goods gain moisture.

Additionally, adding too much flour and/or other dry ingredients can cause it to dry out as it bakes.

Because banana nut bread is dense it needs to bake at a low oven temperature over a longer length of time.

Baking it at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, for example, would cause an overcooked dry bread on the outside before the center is cooked fully.

Does banana nut bread have to be refrigerated?

It doesn’t have to be refrigerated, but does need to be kept in an airtight container to prevent it from drying out like other bread loaves.

How to know when banana nut bread is done baking?

To ensure the middle has cooked fully, insert a toothpick into the thickest part of the loaf. If it comes out clean it’s done baking.

If you see the top is still jiggling or does not spring back when lightly touched, it definitely needs more time.

Try these sweet treats!

Enjoy!