The Best Pumpkin Banana Bread
Pumpkin banana bread combines two of my favorite flavors into the perfect fall bread recipe!
I waited until September, but I can’t wait any longer. It’s PUMPKIN season so let’s begin with a bang, shall we? Time for the best pumpkin banana bread you’ve ever tasted.
It’s a nice ease into #allthingspumpkin because it still has all your favorite things about typical banana bread but with the added pumpkin flavor!
I always seems to have over-ripe 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
- 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! 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.
You can certainly add nuts or even raisins to this recipe, but I like to make it with just the pumpkin and banana. It’s so good, trust me. 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! 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!
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:
“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
Pumpkin Banana Bread
Pumpkin Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened (2 sticks)
- 2 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 can 15 oz pumpkin
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 5 ripe bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with paddle attachment. Cream together until combined. Add in eggs, one at a time. Add in canned pumpkin and mix until combined. Add in flour, baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until combined. Stir in ripe bananas (mashed) and vanilla extract until mixed.
- Pour into two regular-sized bread loaf 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
Nutrition
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!
And if you’re looking for more breakfast recipe ideas to pair with this bread, try our my croque madame cups (perfect brunch food)!
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!
In your recipe for pumpkin Banana Bread
You didn’t say if you mashed the bananas first or put them in and mix and let the mixer nash them around
Plz pm me , I want to make this
Thank 2
Hi Betty, I just updated it to make it more clear. Yes, ripe bananas that have been mashed. If you’re using an electric mixer and just place in the bananas whole, the result would be pretty similar, but for detail-sake… I do mash mine with the back of a fork and add in.
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!
I just made this I had to bake longer because I didn’t have that size loaf pan so I used 9×5 loaf pan, but when I took out of oven and checked it well it was done everything come out clean but after a few min the top sunk down some
Is it because of pan size, I know how to bake so baking it’s new and I followed the directions to the T can u plz help me Plz pm me, I’m sad
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.
Is it possible the pumpkin or bananas need amounts cut back
Courtney, I followed your recipe to the T and it never got done just bout to bottom tried baking longer, nope just like gooey
So my question is
Are the amounts for the bananas & pumpkin right cause that’s a lot of moisture
I’m not happy
Plz contact me
I wasted all the ingredients and have nothing
Betty, I’m so sorry the recipe gave you trouble. Many readers have been sharing pictures with me of theirs and it always looks just fine. Perhaps it was varying by oven or altitude or baking pan type. We’ve had so many successes and I’ve re-made it many times with no issue. The ingredients are correct. Please feel free to adjust them if it doesn’t work for you.
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