Quick Moist Banana Bread With Crunchy Walnuts

This classic recipe yields a deeply flavorful, quick, moist banana bread with crunchy walnuts in every bite, balancing tender crumb texture with a lightly golden, crisp top crust.

Quick Moist Banana Bread With Crunchy Walnuts

Prep time: 15 minutes

Bake time: 55–65 minutes

Yield: 1 standard 8.5x4.5-inch loaf (about 8–10 slices)

Ingredients

• 3 ripe bananas, peeled and thoroughly mashed (about 1¼ to 1½ cups)

• ⅓ cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

• ½ cup (100g) granulated white sugar

• ¼ cup (50g) light brown sugar, packed

• 1 large egg, room temperature, lightly beaten

• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 1 tsp baking soda

• ½ tsp fine sea salt

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

• 1½ cups (190g) all-purpose flour

• ¾ cup (85g) raw walnut halves or pieces, coarsely chopped (reserve 2 tablespoons for topping)

Instructions

1. Preheat and Prep: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease an 8.5x4.5-inch metal loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang on the sides for easy removal later.

2. Combine Wet Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, mash the peeled ripe bananas with a fork until smooth with only small lumps remaining. Stir in the melted butter until fully incorporated.

3. Add Sugar, Egg, and Aromatics: Whisk in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, beaten egg, vanilla extract, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until the mixture is uniform.

4. Fold in Flour: Gently fold in the all-purpose flour using a rubber spatula just until no dry flour pockets remain. Avoid overmixing, which makes the crumb dense or tough.

5. Fold Walnuts: Gently fold in most of the chopped walnuts, keeping 2 tablespoons aside.

6. Pan and Top: Pour the batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Scatter the reserved 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts across the surface, pressing them gently into the batter so they adhere while baking.

7. Bake: Bake on the center oven rack for 55 to 65 minutes. A wooden skewer inserted into the center should emerge clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no wet batter. (If the top browns too quickly around minute 40, tent a sheet of aluminum foil loosely over the pan).

8. Cool and Slice: Allow the loaf to rest in the pan on a wire cooling rack for 10 to 15 minutes. Use the parchment overhang to lift the bread out onto the rack, letting it cool completely before slicing with a serrated knife.