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Tender Banana Bread with Walnuts and Chocolate Chips

Tender Banana Bread with Walnuts or Chocolate Chips

A good banana bread recipe is something you should hang onto for a very long time. This one is wholesome and just-sweet-enough. You can make it with walnuts, or chocolate chips, or keep it pleasingly plain. Whatever you do when you make this bread, be sure to remember two things: 1) use ripe bananas and 2) don’t mix the batter too vigorously. That will make all the difference.

Keyword banana bread
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 10
Calories 245 kcal
Author Katie Morford

Ingredients

  • 4 medium ripe bananas
  • 2 eggs
  • cup packed brown sugar
  • ¼ cup pure maple syrup
  • cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup whole-wheat flour, spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with a knife
  • ¾ cup all-purpose flour, spooned into a measuring cup and leveled with a knife
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or dark chocolate chips (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a loaf pan that’s roughly 8 ½ x 4 1/2 inches.

  2. Peel the bananas and break them up into a few pieces as you add them to a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat them into a gooey, thick mixture. It’s okay if it’s a little lumpy.
  3. Add the eggs and beat until blended. Add the brown sugar, maple syrup, olive oil, Greek yogurt, and vanilla and beat until blended and smooth.

  4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and beat just until blended with no obvious streaks of flour. Don’t mix it too much or the bread will be tough. Add the walnuts or chocolate chips, if desired, and mix very briefly, just until combined.

  5. Transfer the batter to the loaf pan and bake until the bread is firm when you touch it lightly and your finger doesn’t leave an indent. You can double check for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center. It’s done when you don't see any wet batter sticking to it. This will take about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
  6. Leave the bread to cool on the counter for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and invert the bread on the counter to dislodge it. Set it upright and leave it to cool another 30 minutes before cutting.