Banana Pumpkin Bread
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This Banana Pumpkin Bread is moist, nutritious, and delicious! Learn how to freeze it for later or make it into muffins, too.
To develop this recipe, I started with a Basic Banana Bread recipe from Cooking Light Magazine and then simplified and healthified it a bit. To up the nutrition, I added pumpkin, substituted some whole wheat flour for part of the all-purpose flour, used a bit less sugar, and changed up the seasoning a little.
Let me tell you, my kids–pardon the pun–go bananas over it!
How to Turn Banana Bread Into Muffins
What’s fun is that you can easily turn this bread into muffins, too. To do so, divide the batter evenly among the cups of a greased muffin tin. Bake at 350°F for 15-18 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. If making mini muffins, check them at 11 minutes.
How to Freeze Banana Pumpkin Bread
I often bake up a double batch of this bread and then freeze one to have on hand for quick school morning breakfasts.
To freeze, fully bake, fully cool, and remove the loaf from the pan. Then wrap the loaf in several layers of plastic wrap and then in a layer of foil. Label it with the recipe name and date and freeze.
When you’re ready to enjoy your frozen bread, let it thaw in on the counter, in the fridge, or using the defrost setting on your microwave. Cut a slice and warm it for about 20 seconds in the microwave.
More Baked Goods to Double and Freeze
Try doubling and freezing a few more of our favorite baked goods, using our freezing instructions in these recipes:
Banana Breakfast Cake
Blueberry Avocado Muffins
Cinnamon Applesauce Bread
Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
Enjoy this tasty baked bread for breakfast, snack, or even dessert with no shame!
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Banana Pumpkin Bread (or Muffins)
This baked sweet bread packed with all the best flavors of fall and nutritious ingredients like whole wheat flour, flaxseed, pumpkin, and bananas. We’ve also included directions for making this into muffins and how to double the recipe and freeze one batch for later.
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed overripe bananas (about 1 banana)
- 1/2 cup canned pureed pumpkin
- 1/3 cup plain yogurt
- 5 tablespoons butter, melted (Can you freeze butter? Yes! Here’s how.)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup unrefined sugar
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour (Sub: white whole wheat flour)
- 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (Sub: all purpose flour or whole wheat flour)
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan (or muffin tin) with cooking spray
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the bananas, pumpkin, yogurt, melted butter, eggs, vanilla and sugar, until well combined. (Or, put all the wet ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Use a spatula to help remove it in the next step.)
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together the flours*, flaxseed, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add this flour mixture to the wet mixture; stir just until blended. *Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.
- Pour batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan (or evenly into the muffin cups). Use a scraper to make sure all the batter gets used.
- For the bread, bake for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (For muffins, bake at for 15-18 minutes until a wooden pick comes out clean.)
- Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove bread or muffins from pan and cool completely. (Freezing instructions begin here.)
Freeze For Later: Bake and cool completely. Remove bread from pan and wrap tightly with plastic wrap and a layer of foil. For muffins, remove from pan, place in freezer bag in a single layer, press out all air, and seal. Freeze.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw in fridge or on counter or use defrost setting of microwave. Warm in 15 second increments in microwave.
If you liked this recipe, you might like these 10 other recipes that use up ripe bananas. You’ll never throw away brown bananas again!
1 overripe banana at my house is not 1 cup of mashed bananas…the recipe needs about 3 “medium” bananas and it doesn’t hurt to throw in 4 of them out of frustration LOL.
Is unrefined sugar the turbinado sugar?
Yep.