Did you get distracted by the nice weather and forget about the bananas that are turning black on your kitchen counter like I did? Well, don’t throw them away because you can put them to good use by making my favorite banana walnut bread recipe!

Banana bread is a great way to avoid food waste by utilizing overripe fruit that might otherwise be thrown away. According to some food historians, it’s in part how banana bread began to make an appearance in cookbooks in the 1930s around the time of the Great Depression when food was scarce. It makes perfect sense.

Many decades later, banana bread remains popular and even though National Banana Bread Day is February 23rd, I like to celebrate it all year round.

I don’t know about you but I LOVE banana bread. It has always been one of my go-to comfort foods. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but when it comes to banana bread, I always want seconds and thirds.

There are numerous ways to make banana bread but my all-time favorite recipe comes courtesy of Joanne Chang from Boston’s Flour + Bakery. There is a reason it’s famous. It’s that good. I’ve tried other recipes but I find myself coming back to this one. Every. Single. Time.

In my opinion, the first criteria for a great banana bread recipe are the number of bananas used which should be at least three. Any less and the banana flavor doesn’t shine as much. This one calls for three and a half – perfect! The next, is the addition of nuts. Any nut works well but my favorite is walnut. The final criteria, believe it or not, is oil. While some recipes call for butter, I find that oil makes the banana bread moist. I prefer using a mild olive oil which only in my head sounds healthier but any oil will do as long as it doesn’t have a strong flavor.

So the next time you have bananas approaching their expiration date, think twice before discarding. Instead, whip up some banana bread or, better yet, freeze the bananas and make it later!

Banana Walnut Bread

Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 1 hour Passive Time 5 minutes

Servings 10 people Total Cost $5.53 Cost per Serving $0.55

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Ingredients

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour ($0.35)
• 1 tsp baking soda ($0.01)
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon ($0.04)
• 1/2 tsp salt ($0.00)
• 1 cup sugar ($1.31)
• 2 eggs ($0.58)
• 1/2 cup olive oil ($0.96)
• 3 1/2 bananas, very ripe ($1.16)
• 2 Tbsp greek yogurt ($0.15)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract ($0.19)
• 2/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped ($0.78)

Instructions

1. Prepare all your ingredients. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease sides of the pan with olive oil or butter.
2. Mash the bananas in a bowl and set aside.
3. In a new bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and eggs with a large whisk until light and fluffy, approximately 10 minutes. (If using an electric or stand mixer, mix on med/high for 5 minutes.) Note: Use a large bowl since everything will be combined into this bowl. I used a medium bowl by mistake and switched bowls in step 7.
5. Slowly add olive oil into bowl with egg mixture.
6. Incorporate mashed bananas, yogurt, and vanilla into bowl (this becomes your wet ingredients).
7. Now fold dry ingredients (flour mix) with your wet ingredients until combined.
8. Fold nuts into bowl until combined.
9. Pour mixture into a lined loaf pan and bake in center of oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until toothpick (or skewer) in the center is clean.
10. Once it’s out of the oven, let rest for 5 minute in the pan. Enjoy!

Instructions with photos

1. Prepare all your ingredients. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line the bottom of a loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease sides of the pan with olive oil or butter.

   
2. Mash the bananas in a bowl and set aside.

   
3. In a new bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

   
4. In a separate bowl, beat the sugar and eggs with a large whisk until light and fluffy, approximately 10 minutes. (If using an electric or stand mixer, mix on med/high for 5 minutes.) Note: Use a large bowl since everything will be combined into this bowl. I used a medium bowl by mistake and switched bowls in step 7.

   
5. Slowly add olive oil into bowl with egg mixture.

   
6. Incorporate mashed bananas, yogurt, and vanilla into bowl (this becomes your wet ingredients).

   
7. Now fold dry ingredients (flour mix) with your wet ingredients until combined.

   
8. Fold nuts into bowl until combined.

   
9. Pour mixture into a lined loaf pan and bake in center of oven for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until toothpick (or skewer) in the center is clean.

   
10. Once it’s out of the oven, let rest for 5 minute in the pan. Enjoy!

    

Recipe Notes

* Note regarding pricing:  The price for the pantry items such as olive oil and salt takes into account the cost of the amount used for the recipe and not the cost if you had to purchase the entire jar or bottle.

** All prices in US dollars.