One Bowl Banana Pecan Bread

I am always guilty of having an excess of bananas around the house. I try to freeze our weekly leftovers for smoothies so they don’t go to waste, but I have been making this banana bread recipe instead lately (such a healthy swap, right?) and love it. I find myself purposefully buying too many bananas at the grocery story just so I can have enough to make this super easy, yummy banana bread recipe.

There are a few simple tricks to this recipe: one of them is melting the butter to give the bread a good, sturdy density that you really want in a banana bread. Also throwing a stick of butter in the microwave for a minute is way easier than waiting for it to soften on your countertop for at least 30 minutes. Pound cake-like density and no wait time? Win-win in my book.

Secondly, I like to leave chunks of bananas in the batter. I mash them with a whisk so I can achieve this. If your bananas have truly ripened, they will produce a great sugar content for this bread and the chunks just sort of emphasize that result in the bread. Just trust me on this one.

Once this bread is done, I leave it covered on my countertop for a few days and heat up a slice in the morning (or at lunch, or for dessert….) and then slab a little bit more butter on top. So freaking easy and yummy, it’s a great thing to keep around the house if you have guests and family coming in town for the Holidays! Or just make it for yourself, like I am doing on a weekly basis.

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One Bowl Banana Pecan Bread

A great way to put those extra bananas to use.

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 medium bananas very ripe and peeled
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup pecans chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. While the oven is warming up, arrange the chopped pecans on a baking sheet and place in the oven for about 10 minutes, until toasted and fragrant. Remove and set aside
3. Cut a piece of parchment paper so the length is the same as the inside of your loaf pan and wide enough so the sides hang over. Place the parchment paper inside the loaf pan and spray with a nonstick spray such as Pam.
4. Using a hand whisk, whisk the melted butter and sugar together in a large bowl until well combined.
5. Whisk in the eggs until well combined and smooth.
6. Whisk in the milk and vanilla.
7. Mash the bananas into the batter using the whisk, leaving some chunks whole
8. Using a spatula, gently fold the flour, baking soda and salt into the batter just until combined.
9. Add the pecans and gently fold into the batter just until combined.
10. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Recipe Notes

Slightly adapted from The Kitchn.