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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!!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Recipe FAQ
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.
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.
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:
- Pumpkin Streusel Bread
- Pumpkin Bubble Bread
- Pumpkin Bread
- Pumpkin Butterscotch Muffins
- Pumpkin Beignets
Pumpkin Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice*
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 medium bananas mashed
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder & salt.
- In a large bowl whisk together the oil, sugars, eggs & vanilla extract until no lumps remain.
- Stir in the mashed bananas & pumpkin puree.
- Carefully stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Then stir in the chopped nuts.
- 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.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can’t get enough of this bread!! I think we are making it every other week. We take it to our family & friends.
Two of my favorite breads in one. Pumpkin and Banana= Perfection.
The easiest to make, smells wonderful in the oven. I used a pyex glass bread pan so I could keep an eye on the sides. It took 60 minutes to bake on 350° in my oven. It’s still hot and I can’t wait to taste it!!
Hope you enjoyed the bread!! There’s nothing like the smell of fresh banana bread in the oven. Mmmm!
Super tasty! I accidentally used an extra banana and it was still really good.
So delicious even though I had to use some substitutions. Used Gluten Free flour that was 1 to 1 ratio, substituted 1/2 cup of applesauce and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil for the 1/2 cup
Oil and added some mini chocolate chips. Baked for 50 min and it turned out Perfectly. Our family loved it! Thank you for the recipe.
You’re welcome!! Thanks for sharing what you did. Sounds delicious and I’m glad to hear it was a hit with the family!
Can I use apple sauce instead of oil
You sure can!
This was a great quick bread recipe! I don’t have a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, so I made the recipe as regular size muffins and had enough batter for 12 muffins and one mini loaf. (The muffins needed 20 minutes and the mini loaf needed 27 minutes in my oven at 350.) They turned out really good! I think next time I’ll try adding some extra nutmeg, ginger, or cloves for an extra bit of spice. Thanks so much! I always enjoy your recipes.
Great idea!! Thank you so much for sharing that!
Im not sure what i did wrong…but this bread was so dense and heavy. I baked it for 65 minutes and it still DIDN’T seem fully done. I thinK the bananas and a full can of pumpkin wAs too heavy. Going to try TOMORROW with only 1 banana and half a can. The flavor was pretty good.
Darn, I am sorry that happened. I haven’t had that issue, so you will have to let me know how they turn out by changing the amounts.
She mentions using a can of pumpkin, not a cup as per recipe. Maybe she was reading too fast and didn’t notice the correct amount. A can is quite a bit more than a cup so it would have been way too much wet ingredients.
I made it exactly as written and it turned out fantastic! Great flavour and very moist and tender.
I did bake 5 minutes longer, but that’s just my basic oven, everything takes 5 minutes longer.
Yes – a using a cup of pumpkin instead of a can should help. Hopefully it will turn out better this time. Let me know if that does the trick!
Great recipe! Thanks for sharing.
I am so glad to share 🙂 Thank you for letting me know!
DelIcious!! I Only used regular sugar didnt have any bRown.. and made 12 muffins and put the rest in a mini loaf pan. About 20 min for the muffinS and 25 for the mini loaf. My kitchen smElls like oCtobEr! Love it thaNk you!
You are welcome!! Glad you liked them! Thank you!