Pumpkin Banana Bread {A Fall Favorite!}

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This moist pumpkin banana bread is the BEST!! It’s filled with pumpkin spice and bananas for a delicious, easy fall recipe.

I love all pumpkin recipes! Pumpkin Bread, Pumpkin Muffin Top, and Pumpkin Bubble Bread help me get my fill, but this pumpkin banana bread is also a must. It is soft, tender & super flavorful!!

Sliced pumpkin banana bread topped with nuts on wax paper.

The Best of Both Worlds!

I don’t know about you, but when fall rolls around, I start to crave everything pumpkin. It’s also the best time to start baking because temperatures have cooled down and I’m always excited to turn my oven back on.

This fall, I kicked off the pumpkin baking with this pumpkin banana bread—it combines the best of both worlds! It’s the most flavorful Banana Bread, and the moistest & most tender Pumpkin Bread recipe around.

The banana isn’t too potent in this recipe, but it makes this bread very moist and helps enhance the delicious pumpkin spice flavor that’s perfect for fall.

Ingredients prepped and measured out in individual serving containers.

A Simple Quick Bread

Pumpkin and banana bread is simple and so delicious!

PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.

DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder & salt.

WET INGREDIENTS. In a large bowl whisk together the oil, sugars, eggs & vanilla extract until no lumps remain.

COMBINE. Stir in the mashed bananas & 1 cup of pumpkin puree. Carefully stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Then stir in the chopped nuts.

BAKE. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the top feels firm to the touch. The loaf shouldn’t wobble if you nudge the pan.

Baking alternatives

Banana bread with pumpkin can be made into mini loaves or muffins!

Mini loaves. Make 2-3 mini loaves. (5 ¾ x 3 x 2-in. pan) Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Muffins. Bake batter into muffins. Bake 18-20 minutes.

French Toast. Another delicious way to eat this bread is to make it into French Toast. Since this bread is quite moist you will want to let it dry out before making the delicious breakfast dish.

Adding dry ingredients to wet ingredients to a glass dish.

Variations

Want to change it up? Here are a few suggestions to enhance your pumpkin spice banana bread.

Use Pumpkin Pie Spice or a substitute.
Add ½ cup of chopped walnuts for a little texture.
Add ½ cup mini chocolate chips.
Toss in dried cranberries or chopped dried apricots.

Adding nuts to the bread batter in a glass bowl.

Ingredient Info

Make the best pumpkin banana bread recipe with these simple ingredient tips and methods.

Room temperature eggs. Eggs at room temperature will mix better with the other ingredients. To quickly bring them to room temperature, place them into a bowl of warm water.

Ripen bananas quickly. This method works for any banana that no longer has any green in the peel. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay out as many bananas as you wish. Bake for 30-40 minutes and until the peel is completely black and soft.

Allow them to cool before slicing open the peels and mashing the ripened bananas to be used in the recipe. The bananas should be older and soft with a lot of brown spots.

Pumpkin puree. A can of pumpkin is typically 15 oz and contains slightly under 2 cups. This recipe only requires 1 cup of puree. Place the leftover pumpkin puree into a freezer Ziploc and keep it in the freezer for 4-6 months. Thaw and use it in other recipes.

Recipe tips

These tips will ensure the best texture and cook on your easy pumpkin banana bread.

Muffin method. Quick bread utilizes the muffin method; the dry ingredients are mixed together before being added to the wet ingredients. This helps ensure all the ingredients are evenly mixed throughout preventing overmixing.

Prevent over-browning. Quick bread recipes like this one need to bake for a long time. To prevent the sides of the loaf from getting too brown, I recommend using a light-colored loaf pan.

If you notice that the top of the bread is getting too brown but the middle isn’t baked through yet, tent a piece of aluminum foil and place it over top of the loaf while it’s still baking.

Baked pumpkin bread topped with nuts and served on wax paper.

Storing + Freezing

STORE at room temperature for a day or two.

FREEZE. Wrap banana pumpkin bread and freeze it for up to 3 months.

When you’re ready to have more, let it thaw and heat it up. Top it off with some butter or Cinnamon Butter and you’re set!!

SERVE. This bread is absolutely delicious on its own. Eat it warm, at room temperature, or even chilled from the freezer. Enhance the flavor by spreading a warm slice with butter, adding a layer of peanut butter, or drizzling it with honey. You can toast it as well.

Stacked slices of pumpkin banana bread on a white plate.

Recipe FAQ

Why did my pumpkin banana bread split on the top?

Having a split top is very common when baking quick bread. It happens when the crust forms before the middle of the bread is done expanding.

Why is my pumpkin banana bread soggy?

One of the common reasons for wet bread is that the bread was not baked for long enough. Overfilling your bread pan or using a pan that is too small can result in underbaked bread. Another reason is that too much pumpkin puree or mashed bananas were added.

What size is a medium banana used in a banana bread recipe?

A medium-sized banana is about 4 ounces and measures between 7-8 inches. Be sure that the bananas are very ripe when using them in this pumpkin banana bread recipe.

For More Pumpkin Breads, Try:

It’s my favorite recipe now, delicious! I used 1 stick butter instead of 1/2 cup vegetable oil. I also used 1cup brown sugar instead of 1/2 cup sugar. The bread turn out soft and moist. It was the first time I used pumpkin pure and highly recommend to follow this recipe. Thanks for sharing it 🙂

Pumpkin Banana Bread

The Best of Both Worlds!