With sour cream and nuts, this Classic Banana Walnut Bread is the best you’ll ever taste!
Classic Banana Walnut Bread
I’m always in search of inspiration. So when my daughter spotted a recipe card for a classic banana walnut bread that fell out of one of the myriad catalogs piled up on my kitchen counter, and actually requested a loaf, I had to oblige.
This was in the middle of a long winter cold stretch and it took the bananas forever to ripen in our drafty house. After 6 days, I gave up, popped them in the oven at 300º for a half hour till they were blackened. Instant overripe bananas! Isn’t that a neat trick???
Optional Nuts
The girl (or Queen of the House as she’s been dubbed) is just as picky as her dad, so one nut free loaf was a given. But I also wanted to make a banana bread that reminded me of my mom, and hers were always chock full of crunchy walnuts.
Fragrant, dense but not too heavy, and moist, this was one superb banana bread. So whether you have black bananas in your freezer or yellow bananas ripening on your counter, I suggest you make a loaf or two of this banana walnut bread ASAP.
P.S. If you want an even more decadent version check out this over the top Chocolate Chip Toffee Banana Bread.
Classic Banana Walnut Bread
A moist delicious loaf with sour cream and walnuts. Adapted from AllRecipes.
- Yield: 2 large loaves
Ingredients
- 4 bananas, very ripe (or if just yellow with a few brown spots, cook on a parchment lined sheet pan at 300º for 30 minutes till skins are very dark), peeled and mashed
- 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) butter, melted
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted (350º for 3-5 minutes, till fragrant)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans, and line bottoms with a rectangle of parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the melted butter with the sugar. Add eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet without overworking the batter. Stir in the sour cream, walnuts, and the bananas. Divide batter between the two pans.
- Bake for about 1 hour or till a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove bread from pans to a cooling rack.
Notes
More of My Favorite Quick Breads
Often more like cakes in loaf form than actual bread, quick breads are legitimate breakfast food unlike the former! And these batters can easily be made into muffins by divvying it up into muffin tins and decreasing the baking time. Perfect for a portable breakfast or snack!
Glazed Poppy Seed Bread
Cranberry Pecan Bread
Zucchini Bread
ALL my favorite quick breads in one line up! They all look fantastic
Am I too late??? Am I too late??? If I drive up there in this icy cold rainy weather, will I be on time to grab a slice??? No? I figured as much…this would disappear within minutes at our house…the guys would be all over this and it would not see tomorrow. I did not know you could do that with bananas to ripen them…duh…makes perfect sense, thanks for pointing it out to those of us slow on the uptake on this sort of thing…I will remember that trick forever now!! 🙂 Stay warm…and don’t drive if you have ice. Will make this recipe and take it down to Matt and the roomies this weekend. Thanks.
I think I could eat banana bread every day and never ever get sick of it. This loaf sounds delicious! I wish I had a slice in front of my now!
That’s a perfect quick bread! I love how smooth the crumb is.
I could have spotted this banana bread a mile away to be yours Liz, who else can cut so perfectly straight? Not me, that’s for sure!
We have the opposite problem. My bananas ripen way to fast! But that sounds like the perfect reason to try this wonderful looking bread!
I really like walnuts in banana bread, now I’ve got a serious craving for a slice!
Very interesting tip about ripening the bananas Liz! The bread sounds great and I have some walnuts in the freezer:@)
This looks delicious. I adore banana bread – it’s definitely a classic for good reason.
I hardly ever made banana bread anymore and I’m not sure why because I used to all the time. It’s definitely one of those comfort food items, that aroma as it’s baking, the fresh butter slathered on. Oh my, now I wish I had some bananas in the freezer. But I do have a couple of lemons AND some white poppy seeds that I’ve been dying to use in something! thanks Liz, my colleagues at my consulting gig will be very happy on Thursday because I’m going to bring them lemon poppy seed loaf.
Walnuts and bananas are the favorite combination and we are crazy about them. I have a different recipe that I follow which uses sour cream too.. Yours looks so tempting to try and compare. Thanks for sharing Liz.
I’m a huge fan of banana bread and your version sounds quite tasty!
I never knew you could ripen bananas that way!! Genius!! and that’s how I like my banana bread . . full of crunchy walnuts. This bread is just gorgeous! I hope you are doing well, Liz!!! Big hug!!!
I love walnuts in my banana bread! Best combo. And whaat?! Ripening bananas in the oven? Wow! Who knew!
I adore banana bread. I have never found a loaf I didn’t love. I freeze my ripe bananas so they are there when I want them. That is if I can find them buried in the freezer! You are making me hungry!
Dear Lizzy, this sounds a wonderful bread to have in the morning with some coffee. Banana bread is a favorite of mine. xo, Catherine
Snow Day equates baking day here. Thanks for the inspiration, Liz.
With or without walnuts, either way I would love a slice of this, I adore banana bread so much. One of my all time favs 😀
All your breads look scrumptious, Liz. But your banana bread is truly calling my name! I think you need more than a single Milano for all you do for your hubby, kids and friends =)
Loaf breads are my favorite!!! Love all your breads here..hard to pick one 🙂
That’s such a great tip to ripen bananas! Love that idea!! This bread is just gorgeous! I love all those crunchy walnuts – it sounds perfect!
I like the classique bread like this, they are always good “à l’heure de goûter” !
Lizzy,
I love your idea of instant ripe bananas. Sometimes you only have on ripe banana and need more for the recipe. I would prefer the bread without walnuts too.
Annamaria
I have one nut hater (well, if they arrive in sweet bread or cookies – she likes nuts on their own) so I completely understand the two-loaf baking, Liz. Perhaps I could have a slice from each and decided for myself. Just to be fair, you understand.
There are few things in life that are better than classic banana bread. This looks wonderful! I always like alnuts in mine too, but I leave them big so I can pick them out and eat them first 🙂
A slice of this and a cup of tea and I’m a happy camper!
perfect recipe for Fall! 🙂