Deliciously rich Nutella, super-moist texture, buttery banana and brown sugar flavours, and an incredibly soft crumb- this is my favorite banana bread recipe so far!

I collated a few different recipes online to create a ‘best fit recipe’ for our family- minus me as I am REALLY not a fan of bananas, or Nutella as a matter of fact… that being said, everyone else really enjoyed it!

Ingredients

• 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup (1 stick or 115g) unsalted butter– softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup (80g) plain yogurt or sour cream (I used Greek style yogurt)
• 2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 medium ripe bananas)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Nutella

Method

1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 177°C.
2. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan or coat with nonstick spray and set aside.
3. Whisk the flour and baking soda together in a large bowl.
4. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, for roughly 2 minutes.
5. On medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. Beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract on medium speed until combined.
7. With the mixer running on low speed, slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no flour pockets remain-Do not overmix.
8. Spoon half the batter into the prepared baking pan.
9. Add 1 tablespoon of Nutella and swirl gently throughout the mixture.
10. Spoon in the remaining half of the batter over and repeat with the final table spoon of Nutella- See pictures below for guidance if needed.
11. Bake for 60 minutes- Loosely cover the bread with tinfoil after 30 minutes to help prevent the top and sides from getting too brown.
12. Remove from the oven and allow the bread to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack.
13. Cover and store banana bread at room temperature for 2 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Notes-

• A toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf will come out clean when the bread is done.
• Banana bread tastes best on day 2 after the flavors have settled together
• Fancy Banana Bread Muffins? Use this banana bread recipe to make 2 dozen banana bread muffins. Pour the batter into a lined or greased muffin pan and bake for 5 minutes at 220°C then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 177°C. Bake for an additional 16-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total bake time for the banana bread muffins is about 22-23 minutes. The initial burst of hot air helps those muffins rise nice and tall!
• Brown Sugar- Feel free to substitute the same amount of regular white granulated sugar or coconut sugar. It’s not recommended to use any liquid sweeteners.
• No Sour Cream or Yogurt? Feel free to use 1/3 cup mashed banana (in addition to the 2 cups), or unsweetened applesauce.
• Click here and here for links to the other banana bread recipes I used to create this recipe.