Golden brown on top with deep swirls of nutella, this banana bread is full of ripe bananas and will replace all the other banana bread recipes you have! Rich chocolate hazelnut spread layered in the batter make this nutella banana bread out of this world.
Who doesn't love banana bread? That smell that oozes from the oven while it is baking is heavenly. And the best part about banana bread is that you are typically just trying to use up something that is going bad (or if you are like me, you but extra bananas and avoid eating them just so you can make banana bread). Whether you are using up left over produce or intentionally waiting patiently for those bananas to over ripen, this banana bread will hopefully become a new favorite!
While regular old banana bread is delicious on its own, why not add another yummy ingredient to make it even better. Enter nutella. This chocolate hazelnut spread is so smooth and sweet with hints of hazelnut flavor and complements banana perfectly. My son would agree!
How to make banana bread
Banana bread is a quick bread meaning no yeast or rising time. It comes together with no mixer needed and with typical ingredients you probably already have in your pantry/fridge. The batter comes together quickly and you'll just have to wait in eager anticipation for the baking to finish.
To start, you'll mix together sugar and melted butter. Then add a couple eggs, vanilla extract and lots of mashed bananas. I like to use a potato masher to mash up the bananas. Next, you'll mix together the flour salt and baking soda in a small bowl and then stir it into the wet ingredients. You'll want to avoid overmixing the batter at this step! Last, you'll pour half the batter into a prepared loaf pan and then dollop nutella over the batter. I recommend microwaving the nutella for about 25 seconds to make it easier to dollop and swirl into the batter. You'll swirl the dollops into the batter and then top with the remaining batter. Dollop the rest of the nutella over the top of the batter and swirl away. The bread gets baked for about 50 minutes and then all you have to do is wait for it to be cool enough to slice and eat!
Tips for the best banana bread
- Don't overmix the batter! Again, a common theme in most recipes you will see here, but overmixing is one of the single easiest things you can avoid to produce better baked goods. Overmixing the flour into the batter will develop the gluten more leading to a tougher baked good.
- Don't skimp on the mashed bananas. The bananas are what helps with keeping the bread moist. So if you don't have enough bananas that the recipe calls for then the bread may be on the drier side. This recipe requires about 1 ½ cups of mashed bananas which is about 4 to 5 bananas.
- Don't overbake! Around about 45 minutes of baking time, check the banana bread by sticking a cake tester or toothpick into the center. You want some moist crumbs on the tester but you shouldn't see batter on it. Keep checking between 45 and 50 minutes to see where the bread is at. Mine took 50 minutes to bake.
How to ripen bananas quickly
There's nothing worse than having a craving for banana bread and having only beautiful yellow bananas staring back at you. Well, don't fret, because there is a little trick you can use to ripen those bananas quickly. Preheat your oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with foil or parchment. Place the unpeeled bananas on the sheet and bake them for 15-30 minutes until the skins are completely black. They may weep a little and this is ok. Once they are cool enough to handle, simple peel and squeeze out the now ripened bananas. That's it! Banana bread without waiting for ripe bananas.
Substitutions for nutella
If you don't have nutella on hand to make this nutella banana bread, no worries! Peanut butter would be an excellent substitute if you don't want to make a trip to the store. Other nut butters would work well also! You could also omit it completely and just make a traditional banana bread.
How to store banana bread
Thankfully, banana bread stores quite well on the counter. Keep the loaf wrapped tightly in either foil or plastic wrap on the counter for 3-4 days. If you want it to last a bit longer, you can store it in the fridge in the same way. It is delicious microwaved for 15-20 seconds and topped with butter or more nutella. The bread also freezes well. You can wrap an entire loaf in plastic wrap and then foil. I also like to place it in a zip top bag as another layer of protection. It should last 2-3 months if wrapped well.
I hope you enjoy this nutella banana bread! Check out my apple cinnamon muffins for another quick bread recipe!
Nutella Banana Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter unsalted, melted
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cups mashed ripe bananas about 4-5 medium bananas
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup Nutella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Stir together sugars and melted butter until combined. Mix in 2 eggs, vanilla and mashed bananas, stirring well.
- Stir in flour, salt and baking soda just until no flour remains. Batter will be thick.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top.
- Microwave the Nutella for about 20-25 seconds. Dollop ½ of the Nutella evenly over the batter. Use a knife to swirl the Nutella into the batter.
- Pour the rest of the batter into the pan. Dollop the remaining Nutella over the top of the batter and swirl into the batter the same way as above.
- Bake for about 50-55 minutes until a cake tester or toothpick comes out with only moist crumbs remaining.
- Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
Notes
- Wrap the banana bread in foil or plastic wrap and store on the counter for 3-4 days.
- The loaf can also be frozen, wrapped in plastic wrap and foil for up to 3 months. Let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
- Peanut butter or other nut butters can be substituted for nutella if desired. Or omit the nutella for traditional banana bread.
Madeline says
This is SO good! My family loves it. I used 4 medium bananas and about half the sugar it called for, and it was still plenty sweet. I also cut back to half a cup on the Nutella instead of 3/4 cup. However, I could've definitely used alllll the Nutella it called for 😋
Tara Kringlen says
I'm so glad you love it and it worked well with your substitutions! More Nutella is always a good thing!
Carol says
My bread did not cook in the middle! I had to throw it away. I followed the recipe.
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Carol. Sorry to hear this! Did you test the bread in the middle with a cake tester/toothpick? Ovens can run at different temps so testing it toward the end of baking is your best bet. I hope you'll give it another try.
Mira link says
Hello. I only have 2 bananas. Can I just add banana yogurt so it won’t be dry? Thank you.
Tara Kringlen says
I have not tested it this way, so I can’t tell you if this would turn out or not. The bananas are an integral ingredient for the bread though. Good luck!
Melissa W. says
I also followed the directions. The outcome was a very dense bread that fell after removing from oven & was nothing like a bread. I made cupcakes as well & they turned out the same. Something is wrong somewhere.
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Melissa. I’m sorry this happened and I know it’s frustrating when things don’t turn out! I have not had this issue with the bread (I’ve not baked these into muffins). There are a few things that can cause bread to sink. 1. Pan size and type-did you use a glass pan or a too small (maybe an 8x4) pan. The batter can’t be too full or it doesn’t have enough area to rise and can then sink. With glass pans, you typically need to lower the oven temp a bit. 2. Did you measure all ingredients correctly (especially the bananas and the flour)? Too much liquids can cause the bread to sink so if you used too many bananas that could impact it. Under or over measuring flour can also have an impact. 3. Is your baking soda fresh. Expired baking soda is one of the biggest culprits. It’s good for 6 months. 4. Do you know if your oven temp is correct? The wrong oven temperature can affect how it bakes as well as underbaking it. Hope this helps!
shahira says
ahhh i should have read the comments first. i followed the recipe but loke what the others said, bread turned out super dense and dry 😅
i didnt have this issue with other recipes. you may want to make changes 🤷♀️
Tara Kringlen says
Hi Shahira,
I just baked this bread again exactly as written last week and it turned out beautifully with no collapsing in the middle. And it was definitely not dry. It looked just like the pictures in the blog post. You may have used too much flour. See my response above to Melissa for some tips.
Kev says
I halved the recipe and it worked out great! I only baked it around 35 minutes., so I think the 50-55 recommended is too long, and perhaps why it turned out dry for some?
Tara Kringlen says
If you halved it, then 35 minutes is probably the correct baking time for the smaller amount of batter. It wouldn't be done at 35 minutes with the full recipe. Glad you liked it!
Dee says
Can you list the size of loaf pan you used?
Tara Kringlen says
It's a 9 x 5.
Dorothy says
I always failed at baking, and I succeed with this recipe! I was so excited when I saw the rise of the bread. it was so good looking and the bread was not dense. I don't have a loaf tin and used 2 silicone 5" circle cake mould. They fit all the called for ingredients in them. I baked for 35 mins and then added 10 mins to get it fulky cooked. My teenage son loves it, he said I should put more Nutella, who does t like more Nutella.
Tara Kringlen says
Thanks for the comment! So glad it turned out well in the cake pans you had!
Adeline says
Can I use salted butter because I don’t have unsalted butter?
Tara Kringlen says
Yes, definitely! You could reduce the salt by half if you use salted butter or keep it the same if you don't mind the extra saltiness.
Brewer McCarty says
Holy smokes!! I bake quite a bit and get most recipes from random sites like this one. I've never left a review or subscribed to any of them but today... I'm a believer, baby!!! This bread is one of the best things that I've ever baked and I bake a lot.and get lots of compliments and requests for my treats. I buttered my glass bread pan instead of parchment and baked it for about an hour and ten minutes till my cake tester came out perfect. Other than that I followed the recipe to a "T". Thank you!!
Tara Kringlen says
Wow! Thanks for the compliment. So glad you loved it!
Liz says
This was incredible! I did make some changes due to ingredients that I had available, and it still came out wonderful. I substituted 1 cup whole wheat flour for 1 cup of the all-purpose, omitted the white sugar and used just the 1/2 cup brown sugar, and used 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce + 1/4 cup unsalted butter. The resulting loaf rose beautifully while baking and did not sink in the middle at all--a problem I have had with other banana bread recipes but not this one! It was perfectly moist and lightly sweet. I will definitely be making this again and again!
Tara Kringlen says
Thanks Liz! I'm happy it turned out well with the substitutions!