Julia’s Sunday Banana Bread

One of my absolute favorite treats is a generous piece of banana bread, still warm from the oven. I love how easily this comes together & how many ways this recipe can be adjusted according to taste. For instance, if peanut butter isn’t your thing, you can swap for the same amount of cream cheese (it adds a little tang & a lot of moisture). Or, if banana bread just doesn’t seem quite right for you without nuts or chocolate chips, you can gently fold in a half cup of either right before placing your bread in the oven. This recipe is so easy to personalize. The only non-negotiable here is ripe bananas – they add a natural sweetness that’s just right.

Easy like Sunday morning, this is my favorite banana bread to make! The peanut butter gives it a soft, fluffy texture and the amount of bananas keeps it sweet. It's the best treat straight out of the oven or warmed in the toaster for a few minutes!

servings: 8
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
difficulty: easy

Note: make sure your bananas are nice and ripe to add enough natural sweetness to this banana bread. If you like chopped nuts or chocolate chips in your banana bread, gently fold in half a cup of either right before you pop it in the oven.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of butter, softened
• 3/4 cup of light brown sugar, packed
• 2 cups of ripe banana, mashed (about 3-4 bananas, depending on size)
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup of creamy peanut butter
• 2 cups of flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. sea salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees & spray (or butter & flour) a loaf pan
2. In a stand mixer, mix softened butter and brown sugar on medium speed until creamy
3. Add in eggs, mashed banana, vanilla, and peanut butter. Mix on low speed until stirred together
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture. Keep stand mixer on low speed to avoid over-mixing, scraping sides & bottom of bowl, as needed.
6. Once the mixture is smooth (some lumps of banana are okay!), transfer to greased loaf pan & put your bread in the oven
7. Bake for 60 minutes. Check on your loaf around the 40 minute mark. If top is getting too brown, carefully place a piece of tin foil on top for the rest of baking time.

While it took me months of adjustments to get this recipe just right, my Grammie has always made a delicious, cake-like banana bread. If you want to taste her tried-and-true recipe, click here to head over to my Mama’s blog to give it a try.

Thank you so much for reading, let me know if you try my recipe & if you made any changes!