Banana bread always fits: for breakfast, with coffee or as a snack in between. And it’s always gone faster than you can blink. All you need for the batter is two bowls, a fork and a whisk. The mixer stays in the cupboard.
The walnuts add crunch, while spelt flour and brown sugar give it a fine, slightly caramel-like flavor. Plus, it’s the best reason not to throw away overripe bananas. If you prefer something chocolatey, try our banana cake with hazelnuts and chocolate glaze too.
Banana Bread with Walnuts
Ingredients
For the batter
- 4 bananas, ripe, but not mushy
- 120 g vegetable oil, e.g. canola or sunflower oil (or 130 ml)
- 130 g brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 packets Bourbon vanilla sugar
- 350 g spelt flour, type 630 (light spelt flour)
- 2.5 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
- 1 pinch salt
- 100 g walnuts
You’ll also need
- baking spray or a little butter, for the pan
- 5 walnut halves, for decorating, optional
Nutrition per slice (12 per loaf), approx.: 352 kcal6 g protein42 g carbs18 g fat3 g fiber
Estimates, calculated from the ingredients.
Equipment
Instructions
Prep
- Roughly chop the 100 g walnuts and set aside.
- Grease the loaf pan with baking spray or a little butter (see tips).
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F), conventional oven (top and bottom heat).
Batter
- Roughly mash the 4 bananas with a fork in a bowl.
- Place the bowl on the kitchen scale and press the tare button.
- Weigh 120 g vegetable oil and 130 g brown sugar into the bowl.
- Add 3 eggs and 2 packets Bourbon vanilla sugar.
- Stir everything well with the fork. A few chunks of banana are fine.
- In a second bowl, briefly mix 350 g spelt flour, 2.5 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 pinch salt.
- Add the banana mixture and fold it in quickly but carefully with the whisk (see tips).
- Briefly stir in the chopped walnuts.
Bake
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan and top with 5 walnut halves if you like.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Toward the end, do a toothpick test.
- Remove and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove the banana bread from the pan and let it cool completely.
Tips
- For greasing, I like to use baking spray (ad). Nothing is quicker, and there’s no mess.
- Since the scale is on the counter anyway, just weigh the oil straight into the bowl and skip the measuring cup. You can also measure 130 ml: oil is lighter than water, so grams and milliliters don’t match 1:1.
- Fold the banana mixture into the flour quickly, so the batter stays nice and light.
- If the banana bread gets too dark on top, cover it with a piece of aluminum foil until the end of the baking time.
Find more kitchen tips from A to Z in our Kitchen A–Z.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Banana Bread
How ripe should the bananas be?
Ripe, but not mushy. Bananas with a few brown spots are nice and sweet and easy to mash with a fork. It’s best to cut away any mushy spots first. By the way, banana bread is especially popular in the USA and Australia.
Can I use regular flour instead of spelt flour?
Yes, you can use the same amount of all-purpose flour. With spelt flour, the bread tastes a little nuttier, though. You can also mix the two flours, we often go half spelt and half all-purpose. You can find more ideas for cakes and bakes in our Baking section.
How do I know when the banana bread is done?
Toward the end of the baking time, insert a wooden skewer into the center. If no batter sticks to it, it’s done. Otherwise, check again every 5 minutes. You can read more in the kitchen A–Z under toothpick test for cakes.
How do I get the bread out of the pan easily?
Grease the loaf pan thoroughly beforehand – baking spray is the quickest way. After baking, let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully remove it. I explain why I like using baking spray so much in the kitchen A–Z.
How do I store banana bread?
Wrapped well in plastic wrap, aluminum foil or in a container, banana bread stays moist at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. In the fridge it keeps for about a week, but dries out faster. Toast it briefly and it tastes fresh again.
Can I freeze banana bread?
Yes, it freezes really well. It’s best to slice it first and freeze it well wrapped. That way it keeps for about 3 months, and you can take out individual slices. At room temperature they thaw in about half an hour, or you can toast them straight from the freezer.
