Pumpkin banana bread combines two of my favorite flavors into the perfect fall bread recipe! It’s moist, full of pumpkin spice flavor, and a delicious way to use up extra ripe bananas.
It’s PUMPKIN season so let’s begin with a bang, shall we? Time for the best pumpkin banana bread you’ve ever tasted. I have so many readers message, DM and email to tell me how much they love this recipe. It’s a Pizzazzerie favorite around here when the weather starts to cool.
It’s a nice ease into pumpkin season because it still has all your favorite things about typical banana bread but with the added pumpkin flavor! Win-win!
Pumpkin Banana Bread
I always seems to have overripe bananas on the counter, and that is the secret to a great banana bread. Over-ripe bananas are sweeter and easier to mash for your banana bread.
So grab a few extra bananas at the store and let them ripen up. You’ll thank me later. Of course, stock up on canned pumpkin too! It’s fall, y’all!
My Mom gave me her grandmother’s famous banana bread recipe – it’s over 100 years old! So we did a little baking to give it a pumpkin twist! It makes two loaves so half it if you prefer just one, but trust me – you’ll want two loaves of this bread. Gift one loaf to a friend. They’ll thank you — and then ask you for the recipe.
Tips for the Perfect Pumpkin Banana Bread
Use very ripe bananas.
Use canned pumpkin, not canned pumpkin pie filling for this pumpkin banana bread
Set butter out several hours before baking so that it will be at room temperature.
Also let eggs come to room temperature before baking
Don’t have pumpkin pie spice? Make your own!
Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice
Combine 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice and 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves.
You’ll notice little bits of banana in the recipe, they’re delicious. I recommend being sure your bananas are very ripe! This helps make them sweeter.
What to Add to Pumpkin Banana Bread
This pumpkin banana bread is perfect on its own, but you can certainly add mix-ins or glazes on top! Here are a few ideas!
Chopped Nuts (walnuts, pecans, almonds)
Raisins
Chocolate Chips
If you want a sweeter pumpkin banana bread, add a glaze or frosting on top.
Or if you love a certain spice, such as cinnamon, then add more in.
You’ll instantly have a delicious, fall dessert! The house smells amazing while this is baking which is an added bonus!
This recipe is perfect for fall brunches, tailgates, bake sales, etc. The pumpkin and banana make the bread so moist, it’s definitely a keeper! This is my new favorite way to give a twist to typical pumpkin bread.
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT PUMPKIN BANANA BREAD: “This is a great recipe! My husband couldn’t stop eating it. He kept sneaking into the kitchen to get more. I followed the recipe and it turned out perfect. Wouldn’t change a thing.” – Sonia
More Pumpkin Recipes for Fall
For more favorite pumpkin recipes, check out my chocolate chip pumpkin pie andpumpkin spice moscow mules! And if you want to try a pumpkin swirl cheesecake, check out my brother’s recipe here! Last but not least, my favorite, my pumpkin cinnamon roll cake!
And if you’re looking for more breakfast recipe ideas to pair with this bread, try out my blueberry banana bread and my croque madame cups (perfect brunch food)!
Moist and delicious, this pumpkin banana bread is a fall favorite!
SERVINGS 24slices
Print Rate Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 5 minutesmins
Cook Time 1 hourhr20 minutesmins
Total Time 1 hourhr25 minutesmins
Ingredients
1cupbutter - softened (2 sticks)
2 1/2cupsgranulated white sugar
4eggs
1canpumpkin puree - (15 oz can)
4cupsall-purpose flour
1teaspoonbaking soda
1teaspoonpumpkin pie spice
5ripe bananas - mashed
1teaspoonvanilla extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine butter and sugar in a large bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment.
Cream together until combined. Add in eggs, one at a time. Add in canned pumpkin puree and mix until combined.
In a separate mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. combine.
Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla extract until mixed.
Pour the batter into two regular-sized bread loaf pans (9"x5" pans). Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Oven times will vary, so insert a knife (or long skewer stick) into center to test for doneness.
Notes
Don’t have pumpkin pie spice? Don’t worry! Combine3 tablespoons ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg, 1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice and 1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves.
This recipe makes two loaves of pumpkin banana bread! I cut approximately 12 slices per loaf.
Why does my pumpkin bread taste bland? Make sure to follow the recipe exactly. That means—don't leave out the salt, don't cut the amount of sugar, and use the specified amount of cinnamon. This is important because flour is what I like to call a “flavor thief”— it sucks the flavor out of ingredients.
Skimping on the sugar can dry out a loaf of banana bread and leave it flavorless. It turns out, sugar does more than just make things sweeter. When it comes to banana bread, cutting back on sugar will leave you with a dry loaf totally devoid of any distinguishable flavor.
You might think you could overcome the lack of flavor by adding more pumpkin purée to your recipe, but you'd be mistaken: By the time you've added enough purée to taste it, your baked good would have a soggy texture on account of all that moisture.
Ripe bananas are not only softer and easier to mash and blend into a batter, but they are also sweeter, which is why baking recipes specifically call for ripe bananas in ingredient lists. As the bananas ripen, the fruit converts starches to sugars, making them sweeter and more flavorful.
Salt adds flavor to bread. If none or too little is used in a recipe, the bread will lack the right flavor and taste "bland." If you reduce the amount of salt, try adding some dried herbs to increase the flavor. Too much yeast in bread will give bread an off-taste.
Using too much banana could make your bread heavy and damp in the center, causing it to appear undercooked and unappealing. If you have bananas leftover, you can always freeze them for later use.
Once a loaf of banana bread is fully baked and taken out of the oven, it's crucial to allow it to fully cool. Banana bread retains heat, especially in the center of the loaf. If the loaf is still warm once it's wrapped for storage, condensation can form, which can lead to mold.
If so, I would dump out all the flour, remeasure and then add in the correct amount, subtracting a little bit (say a half teaspoon) for the flour you couldn't remove that stuck to the other ingredients. Was it before you baked it?
Don't use pumpkin pie filling in place of pumpkin purée.
Every can of pumpkin pie filling has a different amount of sugar and spices and if you add it to a bread or muffin recipe you might get a very sweet and not-spiced-enough loaf. Try this instead: Buy pumpkin purée!
If the pumpkin in your recipe takes the place of fat, rather than serving as flavor, try replacing it with apple sauce, apple butter or yogurt. The flavor will change, but these substitutes can provide moisture, just as pumpkin does.
Mold on bananas is fuzzy white, gray, or greenish—it looks a lot like mold on bread. If a banana smells rotten or fermented or is leaking fluid, it's time to say goodbye. If the fruit inside, not just the peel, is black, that's a sign that your banana is too far gone to safely eat.
The best bananas for banana bread aren't yellow; they're black. Or they're at least streaked with black/brown, with just the barest hint of green at the stem. And again, the darker the better: there's no such thing as a too-ripe banana when you're making banana bread.
It's tough to say what is causing the bread to be bland. Letting it sit overnight, usually helps in that department, but also an addition of salt. As you add salt though, you will probably want to add yeast as well, not much mind you, but a little extra of each could be beneficial.
Toast it: Toasting a slice of bread can bring out its natural flavors and give it a crispy texture. Brush it with butter: Brushing a slice of bread with melted butter can give it a richer flavor and a softer texture.
dice it up and add it to couscous, rice, or pasta sauce (a cream-based sauce with paprika and garlic is nice, maybe sauteed sliced onions, spinach, bacon, chicken)
make some pumpkin pie spice and use it and the pumpkin for baking: cupcakes, brownies, whatever.
Now if your pie tends to come out bland, you may not be letting your spices hit their full potential. Joy Wilson of Joy the Baker suggests, "To get the most festive flavor out of the spices in your pumpkin pie, bloom the spices with the pumpkin puree in a small saucepan before incorporating into the filling.
Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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