The Best Pumpkin Banana Bread
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.
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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 and pumpkin 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)!
Pumpkin Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter - softened (2 sticks)
- 2 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 can pumpkin puree - (15 oz can)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 5 ripe bananas - mashed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla 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.
Hi, Courtney! It was so nice to meet you in Dallas at Draper James! I am famous in my neighborhood for my banana chocolate chip bread, but I think this recipe even will top that one! May I feature it on my blog, Barefoot Hospitality? Thanks so much for the fabulous recipe ;-)
Hi Janet! Thanks so much for coming out! Sure, you’re welcome to share a picture from the recipe and link back here for readers to see the recipe. Let me know if you have any questions — courtney@pizzazzerie.com is my email. Thanks! XOXO
Perfect – thanks so much!
Banana bread is one of my favorites, and we’ve made several varieties at our house. Love the idea of adding pumpkin to the mix too. One question: The recipe doesn’t mention mashing the bananas first. Should I assume that is done or do you just let the mixing do the work? One of the ways I’ve gotten a consistent flavor is to mash my bananas in a measuring cup to make sure I have the same quantity of banana in each batch. It’s surprising how much variation there is in banana sizes!
Perfect – thanks so much!
Can you make muffins out of this recipe?
Donna, I believe so! I have yet to do this, however, so it might need some tweaking. I’ll try to try this myself soon (currently out of town on my book tour) but hope to try this soon and report back!
Reading your other comment, looks like this could have affected things if you didn’t use the same size pans. It can vary if the pan is thicker and thus needs to cook longer. Again, the instructions were based on the pan size I gave but you’d have to bake longer for thicker pans or vice versa.
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.
Hi Sonia! Thank you so much! :)
I want to make this, but couldn’t see where you said what size pans you used. Where did I miss that?
I use two regular sized loaf pans.
thank you, I’ll give it a try this weekend.
I’m so inspired! This pumpkin banana bread is perfect for fall. Good for breakfast, snack, or as dessert. I believe all the ingredients really work together, and the bread turns out super flavorful and super moist. Thank you for all of the useful tips. Gonna make it for my grandma who’s coming to visit us so soon. Hope I won’t fail. Courtney how do you prefer to serve it? Or you like eating it plain? I wonder if it will taste good with jam, almond butter, or maybe cream cheese.
Hi! I just enjoy it on its own!
What are the measurements of a regular size loaf pan please? There`s so many sizes.
8-1/2 x 4-1/2 x 2-1/2 inches
Hi… the sugar content is way too much for me but I would like to try this bread ..,, can it be reduced without altering the taste???
Hi Maria, You’re welcome to reduce the sugar content, but I haven’t made it with less, so I can’t be certain it would taste the same, but my guess is that small reduction in sugar would be fine.
I am making today but adding raisins and walnuts and top with a cream cheese drizzle