Chocolate Pecan Banana Bread
Gone are the those days when I would stress over Bananas going bad. Now Bananas are a must whenever I am in the produce section at the grocery store. Its amazing in smoothies, as a quick snack and of course this AMAZING and super easy Banana bread recipe. My toddler will convince me to make it also because she loves mashing up the bananas and at the end we all enjoy this nutty, moist and delicious Banana bread.
All staple ingredients used for this recipe can easily be found in your pantry. The melted butter gives the loaf a buttery, rich tenderness while the caramel flavor from the brown sugar is EVERYTHING! Chocolate chips for a sweet treat and Pecans for that perfect crunch.
Aside from the chocolate chips and pecans which are completely optional, I also started adding chopped up dates to add lots of nutrition. I started doing this last Ramadan for a quick Sehri snack or as a late night munch. It honestly doesn’t last too long! When it does I literally look forward to 9 PM when I can relax on the couch with a good book, a hot cup of tea, and this moist banana bread. Even better if a nice Pakistani drama is on.
Aside from the recipe, these few tips will ensure a super moist and delicious Banana bread.
- Use overly ripe bananas. This will not only ensure that your bread is moist but also guarantee more of that banana flavor.
- Don’t hesitate to experiment with your favorite dry fruits and nuts. Dry cranberries especially are delicious in banana bread.
- Using a spatula gently fold in your dry ingredients with your wet ingredients. The more you mix the batter, the more the gluten develops and causes the loaf to be dense and dry.
- Keep checking the loaf in the last 10 minutes of baking. Insert a toothpick to check and only bake until toothpick comes out clean.
Chocolate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 4 Bananas very ripe and mashed
- 1½ cups Flour sifted
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Egg
- 1 tsp Vanilla Essence
- 1/3 cup Melted Butter
- 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/3 cup Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips (optional)
- 1 cup Pecans chopped (optional)
- 1/2 cup Dates chopped (optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- Mash the bananas in medium sized bowl if you havent already. My toddler loves taking over this step.
- In a bowl, sift the flour, add baking soda and salt.
- Now to the mashed bananas add the egg, vanilla essence, melted butter and both sugars.
- Pour the dry mixture over the banana mixture and mix it all up.
- Stir in the chocolate chips, pecans and dates if using any. I almost always make this Banana bread with the chocolate chips and pecans.
- Pour the batter in the prepared loaf pan and bake for 40-50 minutes. Set the timer to 40 minutes and insert a toothpick when timer goes off and bake until toothpick comes out clean.
- Set aside to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove from pan and let cool completely.