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This Butter Pecan Banana Bread is rich, nutty, and tastes like your favorite ice cream flavor in loaf form. It comes together quickly, bakes up into a golden, fragrant loaf, and gets topped with a fluffy cream cheese frosting. Pair it with an iced latte for the perfect breakfast treat or midday pick-me-up.
I love nutty, buttery baking recipesโ everything from my bourbon pecan chocolate chip cookies and brown butter pecan sheet cake to my dark chocolate pecan pie. This banana bread is a favorite because browning the butter with the toasted pecans adds deep, layered flavor that takes a classic loaf to another level. Plain banana bread is great, but butter pecan just might be the upgrade you didn’t know you needed.
Ingredients Youโll Need for Butter Pecan Banana Bread
- Unsalted butter – Browning the butter deepens its flavor and adds a subtle caramel note that complements the bananas.
- Pecans – They get toasted in butter adding a rich, nutty, and slightly sweet element along with texture throughout the loaf.
- Bananas – One of our main flavor drivers in this recipe. Ripe bananas mash easily and provide natural sweetness and moisture.
- White sugar – Keeps the crumb tender and lets the butter and banana flavors shine without overpowering them.
- All-purpose flour – Provides structure while keeping the loaf soft.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How to Make Butter Pecan Banana Bread
- Brown the butter and toast the pecans. In a small saucepan, add the butter and chopped pecans and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for 15 minutes.
- Mix the wet ingredients. To the cooled butter-pecan mixture, add the mashed bananas, sugar, neutral oil, and vanilla extract. Whisk until smooth. Add the eggs and whisk until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients. Whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Fold in the flour.
- Bake the loaf on 350ยฐF. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 55-65 minutes.
- Make the frosting. In a medium bowl using an electric hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and beat again until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and heavy cream and beat for about 2 minutes.
- Frost and serve.
Quick Tips for the Best Butter Pecan Banana Bread
Do not over-mix the batter. Stir just until the flour disappears to keep the crumb soft and tender.
Cool completely before frosting. If the loaf is warm, the frosting will melt and slide off.
Storage
Store the frosted loaf tightly wrapped with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.
For longer storage, freeze the unfrosted loaf. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.
If you tried this Butter Pecan Banana Bread recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a ๐ star rating and let me know how it went in the ๐ comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Butter Pecan Banana Bread
Video
Equipment
- (8×4-inch or 9×5-inch) loaf pan.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup (75g) finely chopped pecans
- 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas, (from 3 large or 4 small very ripe bananas)
- 1 cup (200g) white granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons (37g) neutral oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 3/4 cups (195g) all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Pinch kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To Make the Banana Loaf:
- Start by making the butter pecan mixture. In a small saucepan over low heat melt a stick of butter. Once the butter has melted, Stir in the pecans and turn the heat to medium. Once the butter starts to bubble and foam up, cook the mixture for a full 2 minutes, stir very frequently with a silicone spatula, making sure you scrape down the bottom of the pan, this will ensure nothing burns and the butter and pecans brown evenly. After the two minutes the pecans and butter should be very fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat and immediately transfer the butter pecan mixture to a large bowl to cool for 15 minutes.
- During the 15-minute cool down, preheat your oven to 350ยบF and grease and line an 8-inch x 4-inch or a 9-inch x 5-inch loaf pan, and put a piece of parchment that spans just the center length with the ends of the parchment hanging over the edge of the pan for an easy way to release the loaf to cool. This cool-down period is also a perfect time to prep and mash the banana.
- After the 15 minutes are up, add the mashed banana, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract to the butter pecan mixture and whisk to combine. Add the eggs together and whisk until the eggs are fully combined, then whisk in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Finally, add the flour and use a large silicone spatula to mix everything just until the batter has come together, trying not to over-mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes, until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Let the loaf cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then use the parchment paper to lift the loaf out of the pan and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely.
To Make the Frosting:
- In a medium bowl using an electric hand mixer, add the cream cheese and beat it until smooth. Next, add the butter and beat it until smooth, about 15 seconds.
- Add the powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, and heavy cream. Beat for a full 2 minutes for fluffy and smooth frosting.
To Assemble:
- Once the loaf is cooled, dollop the frosting over the top of the loaf and use the back of a spoon to swirl it all over. Slice up the butter pecan banana loaf and serve.
- Store any leftover banana bread tightly wrapped with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
Quick Tips
Do not over-mix the batter. Stir just until the flour disappears to keep the crumb soft and tender. Cool completely before frosting. If the loaf is warm, the frosting will melt and slide off.Storage
Store the frosted loaf tightly wrapped with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze the unfrosted loaf. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is perfect! Easy and exactly to my tasting likes-not too sweet as a cake and you just get your extra sweetness with the frosting:) love it!
Hi Kate! So glad you loved it yay!!!
Made this and it was a hit with my friends! Pretty simple as well to make.
Hi Ash! So happy to hear it! YAY! Thanks for the feedback ๐
I love this recipe so much! Made it twice already and it’s become a family favorite. Your photos are stunning – they remind me of the professional food shots I see on https://www.dreamstime.com/photos-images/plant-based-food.html. You have such a talent for food styling!
Can this be made in a 9×9, reduced baking time?
Hi Jen! I don’t see why not. I feel like it would probably need to be baked for about 40 minutes? That’s just my guess but I would check it at the 30 minute mark to see how it’s doing.
Can I substitute the oil with 1/2c buttermilkโฆif Iโm assuming the oil is for moistness? I usually use 1/2c buttermilk in my banana bread recipe and no oil.
hi! you can try but i would recommend making the recipe as stated because that’s what i developed and am sure of:)