Delicious Streusel Topped Banana Nut Bread
This moist banana nut bread is full of scrumptious banana flavor, crunchy walnuts, and is topped with a sweet and crunchy streusel. It’s the perfect recipe for transforming overripe bananas into something special.
Streusel topped Banana Nut Bread is the answer to the age-old question, “what do I do with overripe bananas”? This quick bread is so moist, filled with chopped walnuts, and boasts a delicious crunchy streusel topping.
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INGREDIENTS IN THE BANANA BREAD
Here are the simple ingredients in this easy banana bread recipe…
Bananas- 3 medium very ripe to overripe bananas give this recipe its signature flavor.
Vegetable Oil- vegetable oil makes this bread so moist. No butter in this recipe because butter tends to make a dry loaf.
Sugar- white sugar is used in the batter and brown sugar is used for the topping. It makes this bread just sweet enough!
Eggs- eggs help to bind the ingredients and help the bread rise.
Lemon juice- keeps the bananas from darkening. And balances the sweetness.
Vanilla Extract- adds flavor to the bread.
All Purpose Flour- I use white flour for this recipe. But you can use 1/3 cup of whole wheat flour and 2/3 white flour in this recipe. This will change the texture of the banana bread a bit. There is also flour in the streusel topping.
Baking Soda and Baking Powder- are leavening agents that help the bread to rise. You might want to check the expiration dates on your baking soda and powder. If they have expired there is a chance they will not activate and your bread won’t rise.
Salt- gives this banana bread recipe balance.
Softened Butter- use softened butter in the streusel topping and not melted butter. Leave the butter out on the counter until it reaches room temperature.
Light Brown Sugar- makes the topping sweet and crunchy.
THINGS YOU MIGHT WANT TO ADD TO YOUR BANANA BREAD
There are so many wonderful things you can add to the batter to give banana bread extra goodness. Here are a few things that will help you upgrade this recipe.
- substituting other nuts, like pecans
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder makes this recipe a chocolate banana bread bread
- 2 tsp of orange zest give this bread a fresh flavor
- use one ripe banana and 3/4 cup of pumpkin for a fall-flavored banana bread
- forgo the streusel topping and glaze the cooled banana bread. See the MAPLE GLAZE I used to drizzle over banana bread scones.
HOW TO RIPEN BANANAS IN THE OVEN
If you can’t wait for your bananas to ripen to make this yummy recipe you can speed the process along.
Here’s what to do…
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Put the bananas on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 15 -20 minutes until the skins are shiny and black.
Peel them (be careful they are hot) into a small bowl, mash them, and put them into the refrigerator until they are cold.
THINGS TO KNOW TO MAKE YOUR BANANA BREAD SUCCESSFUL
I have 9×5 loaf pans. But 8 1/2x 4 1/2 would work just fine too.
Line the loaf pans with a parchment paper sling. It makes taking the warm quick bread out of the pans so much easier.
I use butter to grease my loaf pans and then grease the parchment paper slings. I think it imparts a little more flavor. You can also use a baking or cooking spray to grease the pans.
The mashed bananas should be lumpy but not chunky.
This recipe is mixed by hand. No need to get out the stand mixer or hand mixer! Yay!
Put the mashed banana and wet ingredients in a large bowl.
Put the dry ingredients in another bowl and whisk them to combine. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients little by little.
Pour or spoon the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
Use a toothpick to check if the banana bread is done. When a toothpick is inserted into the middle of the bread and comes out clean, it is done.
Put the loaf pans on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Then lift the banana bread out of the pan by the parchment sling onto the wire rack and cool completely.
CAN I FREEZE BANANA BREAD
Banana bread freezes wonderfully!
You can freeze a whole loaf, part of a loaf, or individual slices.
Here’s the best way to keep it fresh and avoid freezer burn.
Wrap cooled bread in aluminum foil (I used heavy-duty foil) and slip it into a zip-top bag. Try to get as much air out of the bag as possible.
You can also wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil.
Thaw the banana bread on the counter or microwave on defrost.
STREUSEL TOPPED BANANA BREAD RECIPE
STREUSEL TOPPED BANANA BREAD RECIPE
Ingredients
FOR BANANA BREAD
- 3 medium very ripe bananas
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
FOR STREUSEL TOPPING
- 1/3 cup softened butter
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 2/3 cup all purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease two 8×5 inch loaf pans and line with a parchment paper sling. Grease the parchment paper too.
- In a large mixing bowl mash the bananas. Add the oil, eggs, sugar and lemon juice to the bowl and whisk to combine.
- In another bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
- Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until combined.
- Fold in chopped nuts.
- Divide the batter between the two prepared pans.
- For the crumb topping: in a bowl add softened butter, brown sugar and flour. Mix with a fork until crumbly.
- Top the banana breads evenly.
- Bake for 45 minutes.
- Let cool 15 minutes on a wire rack then take the banana breads out of the plans and completely cool on a wire rack.
Enjoy!
YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE RECIPES…
MAPLE GLAZED BANANA BREAD SCONES
SWEET CREAM CORNBREAD FROM A BOX MIX
PUMPKIN SPICE BUNDT CAKE FROM A BOX MIX WITH A MAPLE GLAZE
Never knew you could ripen bananas in the oven! From now on, I will be baking more banana bread! Game changer! Thank you.
Right! So glad you will be baking more banana bread!
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I cut the recipe in half to make one loaf, and it turned out fine. The streusel topping is a fun surprise. My husband said, “this is a keeper”! I think it is, too.
Yay! Husband approved!
I’m wondering if this would fit in one loaf pan for one large loaf, or would it be too much? I’m excited to make this in the next day or so. Love the streusel topping idea. Also, I’ve never seen a recipe with lemon juice, can I use orange instead? Thanks for the wonderful recipe, I’ll let you know how it turns out
One loaf pan would be too big. The middle will probably not cook. Yes, I think you can use orange juice.