And Chocolate Chunks. It’s Amazing.
Can’t you just taste it? Banana Bread with Pecans, Chocolate Chunks and Brown Butter. Brown butter!! This bread is richly flavoured, moist and super easy to make. This is your new favourite banana bread recipe.
If you’re reading this I know you’re a banana bread lover. Same. I’m on your team. And this just might be the best one I’ve ever made. For reals. I know that’s a big statement, but the combination of nutty brown butter, toasty pecans and rich, melty dark chocolate is just perfection. Slice it up warm, smear on a big slather of salted butter and repeat forever. It’s so good.
Baking season has begun friends and I am all in (started off with a bang with these Banana and Pumpkin Muffins) and I have MANY more ideas brewing in this here cabeza. That’s a lie. Nothing stays in this brain these days… the ideas are actually brewing in the ill-organized notes app on my phone where I save bazillions of recipe ideas that are just waiting for their time to shine. Like this one. Shine away B Bread. Shine away.
Every single one of the many, many times I’ve made this banana bread it disappears almost immediately after I set it on the counter. It’s incredibly easy to make. A couple of bowls and a loaf pan is pretty much all you need. Mix it up in a flash, bake it and dig in.
Scroll past the recipe if you’re looking for tips, substitutions, questions, etc. and details on how to make this recipe, but if you want to get straight to it, here’s my recipe-ish…
Banana Bread with Pecans
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter browned and cooled
- 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 4 very ripe bananas mashed
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup chopped pecans
- 2/3 cup chocolate chunks
- 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the browned butter with the brown sugar until smooth and well combined.
- Add in the eggs, the vanilla and the mashed bananas and mix until fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture, stirring until just combined.
- Fold in the chopped pecans and the chocolate chunks.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and evenly sprinkle the top with the 1 1/2 tablespoons of sugar.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
banana bread with pecans Recipe ingredients, tips, substitutions:
Butter – if you need a little tutorial on how to make browned butter here it is.
Brown Sugar – I like dark brown sugar for its’ rich flavour, but light brown sugar will work too.
Pecans – chopped pecans are obviously a key ingredient in banana bread with pecans, but if you absolutely must switch them up I would suggest chopped walnuts.
Bananas – the riper the better.
Chocolate Chunks – you can sub in chocolate chips if needed.
Banana Bread with Pecans Recipe Variations:
Triple Chocolate Version – instead of the chocolate chunks fold in 1/4 cup each dark, milk and white chocolate chips.
Cinnamon Sugar Version – add 1 tsp cinnamon into the flour mixture and then mix the sugar for the topping with 1/2 tsp cinnamon before sprinkling on the batter. I also do this in my Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread.
Chocolate Cherry Version – add in 1/2 cup dried cherries along with the chocolate and the pecans.
banana bread with pecans recipe, how to make it…
Preheat your oven and grease up your loaf pan so the banana bread doesn’t stick. You can line the bottom with parchment too if you want extra protection, but it’s not essential.
In a large bowl, whisk together the cooled brown butter and the brown sugar until it’s nice and smooth. Next, toss in the eggs, the vanilla, and the mashed bananas, and mix everything together until it’s all fully combined.
In a separate bowl, mix up the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to your banana mixture, stirring until just combined (you know exactly what I’m going to say here… don’t overmix it!).
Now, fold in the chopped pecans and chocolate chunks and pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle the sugar evenly over the top for the perfect sweet, crunchy crunch.
looking for some other yummy banana recipes? try these…
- Banana Bread with Oat Flour, Chocolate & Cinnamon Sugar
- Banana Muffins with Almond Flour
- Carrot Banana Muffins with Yogurt and Oats
- Banana Cream Pie Cookies
- Banana Almond Flour Cookies with Chocolate Drizzle and Banana Crunch
- Cashew Chia Pudding with Coconut Cream, Chocolate & Bananas
If you like this Banana Bread with Pecans Recipe let me know what you think in the comments below and please find and follow me on Social Media!
