Banana bread recipe with macadamia nuts: Because, why not?
What’s all the fuss about banana bread, you ask? Well, you have to try it to know why. I still don’t know why this is called banana ‘bread’ instead of cake but I do know that it’s actually somewhere in between and tastes awesome toasted and slathered with salted butter.
This is also a fool-proof banana bread recipe. Really. Just throw some things together in a bowl, whisk it and bake it to get this awesome loaf full of yummy banana flavour.
We rarely buy more than 4 bananas at at a time so mine is a one banana banana bread recipe. Is that too many bananas in one sentence yet?
You may also like this banana chocolate cake, gluten free almond cake, and chocolate cookie cake. If you are looking for an eggless banana bread recipe, then check out this eggless banana walnut bread recipe.
Banana bread is very photogenic so go ahead and take some pretty shots and tag it on Instagram or Twitter with #ediblegarden.
- 1 ripe banana
- ½ cup butter
- ¾ cup sugar, I may add slightly less next time
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup plain flour
- ¾ cup nuts of your choice
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C
- Mash the banana well with a fork and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until soft and the sugar has blended well. Add the eggs and beat more until well combined.
- Add the mashed banana and mix well. Then add the vanilla extract and mix again.
- Next, add the flour and a pinch of salt. Fold in gently until no streaks of flour remain and the batter is lump-free
- Transfer to a greased loaf pan and bake in the pre-heated oven for 40-50 mins or until a skewer inserted into the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool completely before cutting into slices.
Step by step pictures for banana bread with macadamia nuts
Pre-heat oven to 180C / 350F.
Here’s some of the star cast. A banana (because this is a one banana banana bread recipe, remember? Ok, I’ll stop!), 2 eggs, nuts – walnuts being the most popular but I added what I had in hand, a handful of hazelnuts and a couple of macadamia nuts which somehow made their way into my pantry and I have no idea from where.
Step one – mash the banana up. I used a potato masher because something about getting squishy banana pieces on my fingers turns me off.
Next, whisk together 1/2 cup butter at room temperature (ignore that I melted it, I always do that because I forget to put the butter out but please don’t be like me) and 3/4 cup sugar. I used brown sugar but white is ideal.
Once the sugar has completed blended in with the butter, thrown in 2 eggs. You don’t have to beat anything to death or make things fluffy, just combining well will do. So combine the eggs well. Now throw in the mashed banana. Since that’s not a very pretty picture, I am going to quickly move on.
Now, add 1 cup plain flour and a pinch of salt. Some recipes call for baking powder. I didn’t add any and it still came out nice and fluffy so stay with me here, ok? Combine the flour well into the mixture. Again, no excessive beating please.
The final addition – about 3/4 cup of roughly chopped nuts. I gave them a couple of twists in my mixer so they are all of different sizes but that’s ok. It’s banana bread, anything goes. By the way, nuts are optional.
Combine well.
Pour into a greased loaf pan.
Bake in a 350F/180C pre-heated oven for about 40-50 mins, until a skewer inserted into the loaf comes out clean.
Let the banana bread sit in the loaf pan and cool completely. Then transfer to a plate/cake board and cut into 1″thick slices. Why 1″? Because I say so!
You can freeze banana bread for up to a month. Just leave it in the fridge overnight to defrost before serving. Also tastes great toasted, with a pat of butter.
Hi
I have tried this recipe a couple of times and it is always a hit.
How do I make a chocolate version of this.
remove 2 tbsp flour and add 2 tbsp cocoa powder to the flour
Hey nags apart from ur recipe I like ur self comments…ur writing style is funny…Hv not found many in this field …😄😄
thanks! 🙂
I was thinking the same 😀
hehe thank you ladies!
Hi, I tried it out. But something went wrong. The bread looked uncooked though it passed the skewer test. From outside it looked good, but when I cut it, that was not the case. Any idea what went wrong? I used a round baking pan for the recipe
Hey. Can a square or round cake pan be used instead of a loaf pan? And is the butter, used here, unsalted?
yes you can. my loaf pan size is 9×5 inches. yes i used unsalted butter
Hi Nags,
tried the recipe and came out wonderful. Added two banana's instead of one and a lil more flour and lil less sugar also used egg whites only . Came out just perfect. Moist on inside and crunchy towards the crust .
Thanx
hi Nags, I luv this recipe. But I feel something went wrong when I tried it. The taste was great but the cake was heavy and was not as fluffy as seen in the pic. Moreover I used a MW in convection mode at 180 deg celcius(Not regular oven). Do you have any suggestion on how to make this cake even more fluffy the next time I try ?
Thanks for this recipe.
Kirti
Thanku Thanku Thanku for the superb recipe.. This was my first attempt at baking and the banana bread turned out awesome. M totally motivated to plunge head-on into baking!!
Also love ur blog. The step-by-step instructions make it a lot less intimidating 🙂
Just one question though! My banana bread didnt come out of the pan well.. Should I be using baking paper o something?
yes it's better to line the baking tray and / or grease it
A big T H A N K S Nags!
We are sooo excited (me & the hubby!). This one banana banana bread (!) was our first experiment with the big oven we have at our home, and man it turned out to be just PERFECT!
No words would justify the yummmmm… feeling we have been having with every single bite we take of the bread, so I would rather conclude this post with a note of thanks, letting you know, I have become a big fan of your blog, and I am soon going to try other recipes too.
Besides the simple and easy to make recipes, what connects is your writing style. You write humour, and that's the beauty of it all!
God bless you!
your comment made me smille 🙂 So glad you liked the banana bread!
Thxs for the easy recipe it came out perfect it was really moist and delicious Thxs again!!!!
Hi Nags,
Baked this today and although it tasted yum its not as moist as yours shown in the pic…also it did not rise much…while in the oven it did rise but fell flat on cooling…but as i said it tastes awesome …just wished it was more moist…any ideas why?
Hi Nags,
am a first time baker. so how do u make it eggless?
Hi Nags
this is a beautiful recipe, I had tried it and came out really well. I bakes it in a square tin and i have posted it in my blog (given due credit to you), I hope that is fine with you. Do check out and let me know.
Priya
http://cooklikepriya.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/banana-date-cake.html
🙂 i love your writing style! thanks for the recipe. am going to try this today.
since i am not familar with your oven model, i am not sure how i can help. try from medium and adjust as you go.
Hi,
Please help.I have a IFB 170PM MEC model(solo) which has temp as high,med high,medium,medium low etc..if i have to preheat the oven 180C/350F which mode shud i keep it on :(:(..
copy and paste this link into your browser, I have given instructions on how to preheat an oven here: https://www.cookingandme.com/2010/12/how-to-pre-heat-oven.html
How do you bake this recipe in a microwave convection oven.
From your blog it stated that you are using a MW conveection oven as well.
Please help me with this phrase, Bake in a 350F/180C pre-heated oven for about 40-50 mins. How LONG do i have to PRE-HEAT the MW convection oven BEFORE placing the cake inside the MW convection oven.
Thanks.
thank you so much for leaving a note, so glad it turned out well 🙂
I baked it and it turned out to be awesome! I did changes, none intentional. I used whole wheat flour, 2/3rd cup sugar instead of 3/4th, added some dates and used a pinch of baking powder due to the whole wheat flour I used! The crust was nice, brown, a bit crispy. Since this was just second meeting time with baking for me, I wanted something simple. Thanks for sharing the recipe! It was really easy and effortless.
bought the ingredients,gonna cook it now
Not sure if brown sugar will taste better in banana bread, I used it cuz that's all I had in hand 🙂 white is the more conventional choice in banana bread recipe. good luck Priya, let me know how it turned o ut.
Hi Nags,
I had been keeping an eye on this page for a while like a spy. 🙂
Was waiting for my loaf pan to arrive in the mail. Will try this today.. please wish me luck!! My dh is a very good criticizer of my cooking (unlucky me) and he loves this cake from Starbucks!
I really feel like using brown sugar today. Will it taste better than white ?
Thanks,
Priya
Ah yes, two reasons I can think of now.
1. The banana needs to be really ripe for the natural leaveners to kick in to the banana bread.
2. There were air pockets in the batter. So once you fill the cake pan with the batter, you should lightly tap it so that all the air bubbles are filled. This will ensure even baking.
Hope the banana bread recipe works for you the next time.
thanks for such a prompt reply Nags…actually the banana was ripe and firm maybe not that ripe as required. althought the bread tasted really good but it was hard.It looked good when it was done in the oven but when i turned it upside down it had a hole or gap sort of thing in the centre….i will try it again with a nicely ripe banana….will wait for ur guidence
This banana bread doesn't rise much actually. But it should be soft and moist. Did yours come out hard? Was the banana ripe enough? It needs to be really ripe, almost too ripe.
hi Nags,
i loved the way your banana bread looks andtried it yesterday but mine did not rise properly…i followed the receipe and didnt put baking powder …what cud be the reason??
Thank you so much for letting me know Archana. So glad you both liked the banana bread 🙂
thanks for the recipe… i tried it yesterday n it was yumm… had it hot… with vanilla ice cream n it was heave….. ty.. my husband loved it a lot…
I love this bread and just do not mind a bite now.
Soft and spongy bread….
Nags – I almost became a convert once after I made banana nut muffins – read that post and you will realize my life long battle with bananas.
I left your answers on my blog too.
And yes – maybe – when i visit you – you make these for me – I promise you – will try it. Pinky Promise!
Done deal! 🙂
Divya, do you have the eggless banana walnut muffin recipe on your blog? Would love to try 🙂
hb, what else would i say but yes.yes.YES!
very nice and tempting bread. i love banana bread.. but i wish this was eggless recipe.. if you have any suggestions let me know.first and last pics are so good that i just wanna grab them right away.
Looks delicious! I wonder why they call it a bread? more of a cake, wouldn't u say?
Either way, what matters is, that one eats it! yum!
U say'no excessive beating please.', will that spoil things? I was actually thinking of using my hand-held mixer for this :((
banana bread is one of my favorite quick breads. sometimes I make them into little mini muffins (for quick easy bite sizes). Your bread looks wonderful!
the pictures are awesome….though i call it a cake and make it with just one banana always and when there are more bananas i make pancakes with the same batter ( – the butter ), my husband would eat them for any meal of the day…
actually i tell you ( after typing so many words already…my daughter used to like it so much, it makes me nostalgic , i still put a lil' piece in her mouth n she smiles.
Cool! how about a no-eggs version please, thanks.
Perfect tea time snack.Looks really good
Made this just now still in the oven …keeping fingers crossed it turns out well ..will let u know …
Banana bread was the very first thing I baked in my life so it always has a special place in my heart… i feel it just can't go wrong. Looks perfect Nags.
the pictures are awesome….though i call it a cake and make it with just one banana always and when there are more bananas i make pancakes with the same batter ( – the butter ), my husband would eat them for any meal of the day…
actually i tell you ( after typing so many words already…my daughter used to like it so much, it makes me nostalgic , i still put a lil' piece in her mouth n she smiles.
Sharmila – that's awesome! you followed the same recipe but without eggs? share more!
Nags … I always love your step by step methods. The moment I saw this I wanted to make it .. an overripe banana sitting on my fridge made it even more urgent … so could not leave a line then. Made it without eggs … and it turned out just great!
Many thanks. 🙂
call it bread or cake, I just love it… banana bread looks yumm!
Yeah I thought the same when I saw your banana bread Sala 🙂
that looks so moist and yummy! looks like we've both had bananas on the mind 🙂
A wonderful recipe .Its my first time here but going through your pages and pics…you have got me hooked.Good job, Pal.
I once tried eggless banana cake & it turned out horrible. I haven't ventured into banana-baking since then 🙂 may be i should try again
Talk about a moist bread. Wish I could have a slice Nags.
Bongmom – I don't think so. Thanks 😀
Divya – thanks a ton! will try it out soon and post 🙂
Mansi – you can use your hand held mixer to incorporate the dough, its just that this recipe doesn't require you to beat the hell out of the eggs 😀 its comes out soft anyway.
banana bread is one of my favorite quick breads. sometimes I make them into little mini muffins (for quick easy bite sizes). Your bread looks wonderful!
Nothing like a freshly baked banana bread, and better still if its a day old….yummy!
that loaf looks gorgeous Nags! BB is definitely the easiest thing to bake, and satisfies your sweet cravings too:) I love mine with pecans!
I have had home made banana bread many a times but never took the interest to learn the recipe… this must be really good!
Looks delicious! I wonder why they call it a bread? more of a cake, wouldn't u say?
Either way, what matters is, that one eats it! yum!
U say'no excessive beating please.', will that spoil things? I was actually thinking of using my hand-held mixer for this :((
It looks moist and superb..
neat recipe, I gues we can make it eggless by just adding 1 tsp of baking powder and 3/4 cup of milk.Iam off to the kitchen to make some bread with your recipe, since its been a long time I made one and I have only one banana left in the counter :).
very nice and tempting bread. i love banana bread.. but i wish this was eggless recipe.. if you have any suggestions let me know.first and last pics are so good that i just wanna grab them right away.
Your step-by-step bakes are a life savior, did I tell that before 😉
The bread has turned out perfect Nags…looks so soft 🙂
awesome writeup and post! Good job on the clicks too!
I think it is the americens who call this bread.
I will take it has delicious cake; looks beautiful, moist and so so yumm.
Nags–here's the link..http://divyascookbook.blogspot.com/2009/01/eggless-banana-nut-muffins-just-for-you.html
One word-Excellent:)
hb, what else would i say but yes.yes.YES!
This and some nutella, what say?
yummy bread..nice click
Drooling over those bread slices,great effort to post step wise pictures!
Divya, do you have the eggless banana walnut muffin recipe on your blog? Would love to try 🙂
Hmm..so this one was vying for attention with the Milkmaid pound cake..:).[btw,I'm still to try out that one].Truly looks like a fool proof recipe–I came across a recipe for Banana Walnut muffins in a blog and has been baking that ever since..thats an eggless recipe so I've got stuck to it..:)
I always love banana breads that too once they come out of the oven…Makes me hungry..
Your one banana bread looks awesome! This post reminds me I havent baked one for long!
Done deal! 🙂
Nags – I almost became a convert once after I made banana nut muffins – read that post and you will realize my life long battle with bananas.
I left your answers on my blog too.
And yes – maybe – when i visit you – you make these for me – I promise you – will try it. Pinky Promise!
This is a lot more banana haters than I had anticipated. The flavour is amazing and maybe just maybe you'd become a convert after this 😀
Ok.. your craziness is well appreciated – thank God for crazy people like you. LOL!
I'm not a big fan of banana- just touching it turns me off like when you try to mash it with your fingers. But, this looks sooooooooooo good. I can so pretend that there are no bananas in here and eat it all up!
Soft and spongy bread….
Luved the texture,just hate bananas but this bread will be an exception I guess 🙂
The Banana makes any bread more softer. right? But I don't like the hidden smell of banana in my cake…:|
I love this bread and just do not mind a bite now.
that looks sooooooo good, Nags! 🙂
Looks pretty soft and moist. Just now finished my dinner and would not mind having this as dessert 🙂