Mini Walnut Banana Bread Loaves
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Mini Walnut Banana Bread Loaves are moist bread-like mini cakes with ripe mashed bananas as the main ingredients and topped with crunchy walnut.
Bananas are one of those fruits that always lingering around my kitchen. They are great for filling the stomach especially when I do not have time in the morning. But we know that bananas are sold in bunches not soon after, they start getting covered in brown freckles, which is a sign of ripeness. Then in no time, they turn brownish-black and lose their firmness. They do not look great and we might not enjoy those overripe bananas that much, which means they often end up getting thrown away when they should not. When this happens, just mash the bananas and turn them into delicious banana bread. With this Mini Walnut Banana Bread Loaves recipe, you will not waste another banana!
Mini Walnut Banana Bread Loaves are moist mini cake-like bread that is made using ripe mashed bananas and topped with crunchy walnut. They are called bread, but they do not actually contain yeast, just like regular bread recipes, but use leavening agents like baking soda or baking powder, so it is ready to bake right away. You can make these Mini Walnut Banana Bread Loaves in a big loaf pan, but I love the mini version because they look cuter and perfect for one serving. Warm them to accompany your morning coffee or for a sweet treat in the afternoon.
Tips on Making Mini Walnut Banana Bread Loaves
1. Turn them into muffins
What should you do if you do not have a loaf pan and do not intend to buy one, but still want to make banana bread? You can turn these mini loaves into muffins. Each mini loaf is about the size of two muffins. Therefore, just prepare the muffin tins as much as the double serving of the mini loaves.
2. Use overly ripe bananas
What makes banana bread so flavorful? If you want to make out the tasty banana’s flavor in your banana bread, overripe bananas that have yellow skins with an even smattering of brown freckles are perfect for banana bread because they are sweeter and more aromatic. You can still use fully ripe bananas, but the banana bread you make will not taste as good as the ones made with overripe bananas.
3. Speed the ripening process of bananas
Perfectly overripe bananas are essential for tasty banana bread, but sometimes we cannot wait for the bananas to ripen on their own. There are some tricks to ripen them quickly. Firstly, you need to make banana bread on the next day, just place bananas in a brown paper bag and close loosely. Ethylene, the gas that promotes further ripening, will build up and speed up the ripening process.
Secondly, you can also simply bake unpeeled bananas on a baking sheet in 300F/150°C for 15-30 minutes when you need them on the same day. The time may vary, but as soon as the banana peels are shiny and black, take them out from the oven. This method is great to bring out the fruit’s sugar and your bananas cannot be overly green when using this method.
There is also the third method by poking banana peels on all sides with a fork, then place in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time until bananas soften. However, heating bananas in such a short period of time will not develop and sweeten the natural sugars in bananas. Therefore, I do not recommend using this microwave method for ripening bananas for baking.
4. Use brown sugar
Most banana bread recipes use regular granulated sugar, but I love how the richness of brown sugar gives banana bread deep caramel notes in your banana bread. In addition, molasses in brown sugar is the culprit behind the soft and moist texture of banana bread.
5. Mash bananas with a fork
I personally like my banana bread with a mixture of coarse and fine mashed bananas in it. You can easily mash your bananas with a fork and it will turn into a nice pulp with very little effort. If you want your bananas to be completely smooth with no chunk, you can use your electric mixer to mash the bananas until they break down into mashed bananas.
6. How to store banana bread
Banana bread can easily go bad in only a couple of days. To keep it moist, banana bread should always be kept in plastic wrap or an airtight container to keep it from drying out. Remember to cool the bread completely before storing to prevent mold from developing faster. You can refrigerate it for up to a week, and frozen up to three months.
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas, peeled, mashed
- 1/2 cup (113 gr) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup (100 gr) brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 gr) granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups (300 gr) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (65 gr) chopped walnuts, for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180°C and lightly grease the mini loaf pans.
- In a large bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar using a mixer or whisk until well combined. Add eggs, vanilla extract, and mashed bananas, mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt together. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until incorporated.
- Spoon the mixture evenly into the pan. Sprinkle the top with chopped walnuts.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until toothpick inserted into the bread comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn the little loaves out onto the wire rack to finish cooling.
I made the banana nut bread mini loaves to give to the neighbors for Christmas and they were awesome and tasty and easy to do.
Hi Rebecca,
Thanks for trying the recipe and giving feedback. Merry Christmas and I hope you have a great time with your family and friends!
Very very good. The best recipe ever. I did add one cup of toasted walnuts and one half cup of golden raisins to the batter. My my, so so good. I just made them yesterday and today I’m making another batch. Will absolutely keep this recipe.
Strong banana flavor and super love the crunchy walnuts on top.