Banana Bread
This banana bread is extra moist and decadently good, with chocolate chips and nuts.
This recipe has saved me so many times when we had guests coming over and I needed to make a quick dessert to go along with coffee/tea. It has a secret ingredient (not so secret anymore…) that keeps the banana bread super moist!
Backstory for this recipe
I get it, there are so many banana bread recipes online. I just felt the need to share mine as so many people in my life have loved it. Even my cousin (who’s super picky) loved it. I didn’t tell him there was coconut milk in it though!
My late father-in-law also loved this banana bread. There is a bit of a running joke now in the family regarding this recipe. He would joke about how he wish his wife would make this more often, and my mother-in-law said “but it’s so many bowls”. Always downplaying my own effort, I responded with “well, it’s kinda just two bowls!”. My mother-in-law didn’t really like my response as her husband was now expecting her to make banana bread more often LOL!
Long story short, this recipe has a backstory to it, but it is also incredibly delicious!
Table of Contents
Use this guide to help you navigate through this recipe. You’ll find the full video, the detailed instructions and the full recipe at the end.
How to make this Banana Bread recipe (Video)
Banana Bread Instructions
Step 1. Combine your bananas with coconut milk and lime juice
For this recipe, it is best to use just ripe bananas. Most recipe developers will tell you to use very ripe bananas (when the skin is brown), but I find them too wet and too sweet. I start by peeling the bananas and breaking them into smaller pieces. Then goes in the coconut milk and the lime juice. After that, mash your bananas with your tool of choice. I personally like a potato masher the best. Once your bananas are mashed, set aside.
Step 2. Combine your dry ingredients
In a different bowl, you will combine your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder. Set aside.
Step 3. Cream butter and sugar
In the bowl of a stand mixer, you will add your room temp butter. With the paddle attachment, you will start beating your butter until creamy. Then, add your sugar and beat the mixture until light and fluffy. Make sure to scrape the sides of your bowl throughout the process to ensure even distribution.
Once you are done creaming the butter and sugar, you will add the egg and mix until combined. Following that, you will add your vanilla of choice (bean paste or extract) and mix it until combined.
Step 4. On low Speed, start adding your dry ingredients and banana mixture
You will add half of your dry ingredients first, mix until just combined. Do the same but with the banana mixture. Then repeat: last half of the dry ingredients, followed by the last half of your banana mixture.
If you are adding the chocolate chips and chopped pecans, you will add them once you are done combining your dry ingredients and banana mixture to the creamed butter and sugar. But once again, you will add them on low speed and mix until just combined to prevent the banana bread to be too dense.
Step 5. Pour the batter into the loaf pan
In a parchment paper lined loaf pan, you will slowly pour the batter. You might be tempted to tap the pan to get rid of air bubbles, but don’t. If you get rid of the air bubbles, your banana bread will be very dense.
You can use a spatula to smooth out the top of the batter and ensure it is well distributed in the pan.
Step 6. Bake in the oven until a toothpick comes out clean
You will bake the banana bread for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Once your whole house smells like banana bread and a toothpick comes out clean, you can remove the bread for the loaf pan and let cool of a cooling rack for at least an hour.
Step 7. Slice and enjoy!
Once the banana bread has cooled, you can slice it and enjoy!
Conclusion
Every family has their own version of this recipe. Every mother has been making loafs, muffins, or any form of baked goods using a batter containing mashed bananas. It has always been the easiest thing to do when the bananas would start to go brown on the counter. My recipe is different because of the coconut milk and the lime juice. And the addition of LOTS of dark chocolate chips and chopped nuts (we prefer pecans for this, they are slightly softer). Try it today and tell me this isn’t the best you’ve had. I won’t tell your mom. 😉
Banana Bread
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Line your 9×5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Combine bananas, coconut milk and lime juice by using a potato masher. Set aside.
- Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar using the stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until smooth.
- At low speed, add half of the dry ingredients and half of the banana mixture until combined. Then, add the remaining flour and banana mixture until combined.
- At low speed, add the chocolate chips and the chopped nuts to the batter. Mix until they are included in the batter. Do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into the loaf pan.
- Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. When baked, remove the banana bread from the loaf pan and let cool on a cooling rack for at least an hour. Slice and enjoy!