This Pumpkin Banana Bread is the ultimate fall breakfast or dessert! It’s moist, soft, and flavored with warm fall spices. It’s so good that you’ll want to make this recipe on repeat all season long!
Looking for other ways to enjoy pumpkin? Don’t miss this creamy no-bake cheesecake, my easy pumpkin cake recipe, or this healthy pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin banana bread is one of those recipes that I just love making during the fall season! It’s loaded with pumpkin flavor, warm spices and tastes especially delicious with a cup of hot coffee or tea.
My kids love it so much, and I sometimes add some chocolate chips to change it up a bit. If you prefer to use muffin tin pans and make them into muffins instead, you can!
Recipe highlights
- Perfect fluffy texture: Just imagine biting into warm, moist pumpkin banana bread, it’s so addicting. And the banana and pumpkin flavor combo is wonderful!
- Easy to prep: You can have this recipe prepped and ready to bake in just about 15 minutes. No mixer is required!
- Customizable: Make this bread exactly how you like it! Feel free to add nuts or chocolate chips.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Ripe bananas: Use spotted bananas that are plenty ripe for the most flavor and extra sweetness.
- Pumpkin: The pumpkin puree is a key ingredient for real pumpkin flavor! Make sure to use 100% pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling, which has added spices and sugar.
- Vanilla extract: Boosts the sweet flavor.
- Eggs: You’ll need 2 eggs to bind the ingredients together, plus add structure to the loaf.
- Coconut oil: Melted coconut oil adds moisture and richness.
- Coconut sugar: For the perfect amount of sweetness and wonderful texture.
- Flour: When making this bread, I like to use all-purpose flour for a super tender crumb.
- Pumpkin pie spice: Provides warm and cozy flavor.
- Baking essentials: Baking powder and baking soda will help the loaf have plenty of lift and the salt balances the flavors.
See a full list of ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below!
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Substitutions and variations
- Oil: Any oil will work for this recipe! You can use light olive oil or avocado oil instead of the coconut oil if you’d like.
- Sugar: I like using coconut sugar to keep things refined and sugar-free. However, granulated sugar or brown sugar also works. Light brown sugar works great, too.
- Flour: You can substitute whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose flour or a mix of all-purpose and regular whole wheat flour. I haven’t tried this bread with a gluten-free alternative, but a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour would probably work.
- Pumpkin spice: For the three teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice that this recipe calls for, you can combine two teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/8 slightly heaping teaspoon ground cloves or allspice.
How to make Pumpkin Banana Bread
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a loaf pan with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or a potato masher.
Step 2: Add the pumpkin puree, vanilla, eggs, coconut oil and sugar. Whisk until smooth.
Step 3: In a second bowl, mix the flour with spices, baking soda, and salt. Transfer the dry mixture over the wet ingredients and whisk until combined.
Step 4: Pour the batter into your lined loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. If you’d like, sprinkle some pumpkin seeds over the top. Arrange the banana halves on top.
Step 5: Bake for around 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. If the bread starts to brown too fast, place a piece of aluminum foil over the pan. Allow the loaf to completely cool before slicing.
Reena’s Tips
Recipe Tips
- Use two bowls: The texture will be best if you use separate bowls for wet ingredients and dry ingredients. Don’t just mix everything together in one bowl.
- Don’t over-mix: Avoid over-mixing the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. This can make your bread overly dense.
- Cover with foil: If the bread starts to brown too fast, place a piece of aluminum foil over the pan.
Common questions
Sometimes quick bread will sink in the middle or not rise because your baking soda or baking powder is expired. This also can be from adding too much batter to the pan (batter should fill the pan no more than 3/4 full).
To ensure your loaf is perfectly baked, I recommend testing it a little early with a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs, then it’s ready, if not place it back in the oven for an additional 5-10 minutes.
A 15-ounce can of canned pumpkin puree holds nearly 2 cups, so you will have about 1 cup leftover. Use it to make pumpkin waffles, or healthy pumpkin pancakes. To keep it for later, transfer the leftover pumpkin puree into an airtight container and keep it refrigerated for up to one week.
Storage recommendations
- Storing leftovers: Once completely cool, store pumpkin banana bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: I recommend slicing it into individual pieces before freezing so you can easily pull one slice out at a time. Freeze in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 2 months. To defrost, place the bread in the fridge overnight to thaw.
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or a potato masher. Add the pumpkin puree, vanilla, eggs, coconut oil and sugar. Whisk until smooth.
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In a second bowl, mix the flour with spices, baking soda and salt.
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Transfer the dry mixture over the wet ingredients and whisk until combined.
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Pour the batter into your lined loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. If you’d like, sprinkle some pumpkin seeds over the top. Arrange the banana halves on top.
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Bake for around 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean. If the bread starts to brown too fast, place a piece of aluminum foil over the pan towards the end.
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Allow the loaf to completely cool before slicing.
- Storing leftovers: Once completely cool, store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freezing: I recommend slicing it into individual pieces before freezing so you can easily pull one slice out at a time. Freeze in a freezer-safe bag or container for up to 2 months. To defrost, place the bread in the fridge overnight to thaw.
Serving: 1servingCalories: 323kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 5gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.004gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 311mgPotassium: 197mgFiber: 2gSugar: 20gVitamin A: 3886IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 34mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
