thedessertpantry.com

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Let's Create
  • Newsletter
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Let's Create
  • Newsletter
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • Recipes
    • Let's Create
    • Newsletter
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • TikTok
    • YouTube
  • ×
    • lemon and white chocolate cookies.
      Lemon and White Chocolate Cookies
    • sliced brown butter chocolate chip banana bread.
      Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
    • browned butter cookie with bite.
      Small Batch Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • blueberry muffin in half displaying inside.
      Cake Mix Blueberry Muffins
    • fudgy espresso chocolate brownies.
      Fudgy Espresso Chocolate Brownies
    • white chocolate raspberry blondies stacked on one another.
      Easy White Chocolate and Raspberry Blondies
    • vanilla American buttercream frosting on confetti cake.
      Favorite Vanilla American Buttercream Frosting
    • blueberry blondies with crumble topping.
      Easy Blueberry Blondies Recipe (with Crumble Topping)
    • Strawberry Cut-Out Sugar Cookies No Chill
      Soft Strawberry Cut-Out Sugar Cookies (No Chill)
    • strawberry sugar cookies laid on baking sheet with fresh strawberries.
      Strawberry Sugar Cookies
    • strawberry shortbread cookies spread out on cutting board.
      Strawberry Shortbread Cookies
    • Chocolate Almond Shortbread Cookies
    The Dessert Pantry » Recipes » Breads

    Banana Apple Bread

    Published: Oct 22, 2023 · Modified: Mar 16, 2024 by Sharon Alvarenga · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

    Love it? Share it!

    • Facebook
    • SMS
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Cinnamon apple meets banana in this deliciously moist bread. This Banana Apple Bread is an easy one bowl recipe that comes together quickly! Prepare, bake and enjoy all in the same evening!

    banana apple bread sliced with apple and banana on side.

    Send this recipe to your inbox!

    Get his recipe direct to your inbox along with the monthly Newsletter sharing new recipes, tips and behind the scenes details. We won't be spammy - promise!

    We eat a lot of bananas in my home. My husband and son adore bananas, so I am usually buying a bunch every week. There are some weeks where we do find ourselves with a few brown spotted ones and so I have found myself searching for banana bread combinations. Considering we are heading into Fall - aka Apple season - I figured this would be a great time to pair these two delicious fruits!

    If you are looking for a banana bread with chocolate, then I recommend trying my Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread!

    Jump to:
    • Why You Will Love This Recipe
    • Baking Tips
    • Ingredients
    • Let's Make Banana Apple Bread
    • Variations
    • Troubleshooting
    • Recipe FAQ's
    • Storage
    • More Recipes To Enjoy
    • Banana Apple Bread

    Why You Will Love This Recipe

    Use up your brown spotted bananas! In today's economy we are all doing our best to avoid any waste - especially with food! Banana bread is the perfect way to use up those brown spotted bananas that still have plenty left to give - in bread form!

    One Bowl, One Evening. This recipe comes together so quickly and easily! About 30 minutes of prep, toss together in about 10 to 15 minutes, and bake for about 1 hour and tada! You have yourself a delicious loaf of homemade cinnamon apple banana bread!

    Variations for all. I wanted a few options for a topping on this one, and I give you 3! A cinnamon sugar topping, an apple cinnamon sugar topping, and a streusel topping - much like a dutch apple pie. All delicious in their own way.

    If you are a banana lover then I recommend also trying my Coconut Macadamia Banana Bread, Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins or my Maple Pecan Banana Bread. Or you can try my Banana Bread Cookies which are just as tasty!

    Baking Tips

    Weigh Your Ingredients. You will have a better chance of success with this recipe if you weigh your ingredients. A kitchen scale is a low cost investment - as low as $10 if you purchase a simple one on Amazon. Volume measurements are provided for your convenience as well.

    Use Ripe Bananas. Or in other words, brown spotted bananas. The bananas need to be ripe in order to work well within the batter and lend to a moist bread. Using non-ripe (green or all yellow) bananas may leave the bread tough and not as moist as it could be.

    Loaf Pan. You can either butter and flour the loaf pan, or spray with baking spray and lay a piece of parchment inside. Spray with more baking spray and then add in batter.

    Use an oven thermometer. They are a low cost investment and can help you keep an eye on the temperature within your oven. Some ovens run too hot, others too cold - and an oven thermometer can help you determine if yours is doing either one.

    top of sliced banana apple bread showing details of apples.

    Ingredients

    Please read through the ingredients list so you can familiarize yourself with each ingredient, along with suggestions or recommendations during the preparation or baking process. Please see the Recipe Card for all details.

    ingredients displayed and identified for banana apple bread.

    Bananas. The star of the show has some rules we need to try and follow to help make this recipe delicious. First - the bananas need to be very ripe. I mean almost spotted brown ripe (as shown in photo). You want your bananas to be very ripe because it will mean a sweeter banana. Check out this guide from Southern Living that helps break down more details on a ripe banana.

    Apples. I use a combination of freeze dried apples and fresh apples. The fresh apples are optional, the freeze dried apples are not. The freeze dried apples will be ground into a powder and added to the batter to help provide the apple flavor. The fresh apples you can choose to chop into small cubes and then add on top of the loaf prior to baking.

    Sour Cream. This ingredient helps lend a bit of a tang into our bread while also helping to provide added moisture. You can substitute with Greek yogurt if need be.

    Sugars. I use a combination of dark brown sugar and granulated sugar. The dark brown sugar has added moisture, and the molasses in the sugar helps amplify the apple flavor. You can substitute the dark brown sugar for light brown sugar.

    Spices. I used a combination of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice. You can also opt to use an Apple Pie Spice mix at a 1 ¼ tsp ratio. If you love more of an apple spice banana bread than I recommend increasing the nutmeg to ½ tsp and the all spice to ¼ tsp.

    Butter. I use unsalted here. If you choose to use salted butter then just omit the fine sea salt.

    Pure Vanilla Extract. We only need a small amount, 1 tsp. You can also use imitation vanilla extract.

    Eggs. Make sure they are room temperature before you begin. Place on kitchen counter about 30 minutes before you begin, or place in warm water for about 10 minutes.

    crumble topping displayed from top view for apple banana bread.

    Let's Make Banana Apple Bread

    This recipe uses baking tools and ingredients that can be found in most homes. Please see recipe card for full list of equipment and ingredients.

    Step 1: Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, baking soda and fine sea salt and sift well. Set aside.

    Step 2: In a separate bowl mash bananas until texture looks similar to applesauce.

    sifting dry ingredients in bowl.
    mashing bananas with fork to create loose consistency.

    Step 3: Melt butter in large bowl and allow to cool.

    Step 4: Combine butter, bananas, sugars, eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.

    Step 5: Place freeze dried apples in blender and grind down into a powder. Add to batter and whisk well.

    adding more ingredients to bowl to begin mixing.
    adding dry ingredients to wet ingredients.

    Step 6: Add dry ingredients and whisk until the flour is just combined.

    Step 7: Prepare 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, or butter and flour method. Add batter to loaf pan.

    whisking ingredients.
    banana apple bread mixture placed in loaf pan lined with parchment paper.

    Step 8: You can choose to either top with diced apples and cinnamon sugar, or with cinnamon sugar streusel. Ingredients and instructions on the recipe card below.

    Step 9: Bake at 350 F for 50 - 60 minutes, or until tester comes out with only a few moist crumbs.

    adding diced apples on top of batter.
    banana apple bread cooling after baking.

    Variations

    By variations I mean options available for topping the bread. I attempted just a cinnamon sugar, an apple cinnamon sugar, as well as a cinnamon sugar streusel topping. My favorite was the cinnamon sugar streusel because it reminded me of a dutch apple pie, but it truly depends on your preference! Details on how to achieve each topping is within the recipe card.

    Also, if you prefer more of an apple spice bread than I recommend increasing the cinnamon to 1 ½ teaspoons, nutmeg to ½ teaspoon, and the all spice to ¼ teaspoon. The banana flavor is essentially almost overpowered at this point but you can still taste it subtly.

    Troubleshooting

    Gummy Bread. Over mixing is going to overdevelop the gluten and cause the bread to get gummy. So make sure when folding in the dry ingredients you do it gently and stop when you see just the barest of flour streaks remaining. This will help ensure you get a soft and moist bread all throughout.

    Dry Bread. The culprit here might be the bread was over baked which can easily happen in an overly hot oven. I recommend an oven thermometer, but you can also watch for signs of doneness. Look for the bread pulling away from the sides, and you can insert a toothpick to the center - if it pulls away with only a bit of crumbs or banana than your loaf is done. Remove from oven and allow to set in the loaf pan for at least an hour.

    banana apple bread sliced with apple and banana next to it.

    Recipe FAQ's

    Can I use unripe bananas in my banana bread?

    You technically can, but it is not recommended. Unripe bananas will not offer the moisture or flavor (sweetness) that ripe bananas provide.

    How do I know when my bananas are ripe?

    Brown spotted bananas are your indicator that they are ready to be used in banana bread! The photo of ingredients above can show you roughly how many brown spots mine have when I use them for baking banana bread.

    Can I omit the sour cream?

    You can if you are substituting with another like ingredients - such as greek yogurt. These help provide moisture to the bread.

    Can I substitute dried or dehydrated apples for freeze dried apples?

    I wouldn't recommend it because freeze dried fruit contains more of the fruit flavor than the dried fruit does. Dried fruit also has higher water content and this can alter the texture of the bread.

    Storage

    The flavors of this banana apple bread really come alive the next day, and the following 2 to 3 days after. To keep the bread fresh store in a ziplock bag, or airtight container at room temperature. It will keep at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also freeze the bread in a freezer safe ziplock bag or container for up to 3 months. To defrost remove from freezer and allow to come to room temperature in the bag/container - do not open. Microwave your slice of banana bread between 5 to 10 seconds before enjoying.

    More Recipes To Enjoy

    mexican cinnamon cookies recipe

    Mexican Cinnamon Cookies

    apple pie cookies recipe

    Apple Pie Cookies

    banana chocolate chunk muffins recipe

    Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins

    If you have tried this Banana Apple Bread recipe, or any other recipe on this website, please don't forget to leave a star ⭐️ review! Your feedback and comments are appreciated!

    banana apple bread recipe showing diced apples on top

    Banana Apple Bread

    Sharon Alvarenga
    This Banana Apple Bread is an easy one bowl recipe that comes together quickly!
    5 from 2 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 30 minutes mins
    Cook Time 55 minutes mins
    Total Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins
    Course Breakfast, Dessert
    Cuisine American
    Servings 1 loaf

    Send this recipe to your inbox!

    Get his recipe direct to your inbox along with the monthly Newsletter sharing new recipes, tips and behind the scenes details. We won't be spammy - promise!

    Equipment

    • mixing bowls
    • rubber spatula
    • whisk
    • kitchen scale optional but recommended
    • parchment paper optional
    • 9x5 baking loaf pan
    • blender or food processor

    Ingredients
      

    Homemade Cinnamon Apple Banana Bread

    • 1 ¾ cup all purpose flour 230 g
    • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted 113 g
    • ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed 100 g
    • ¼ cup sugar 50 g
    • 2 cup freeze dried apples 35 g
    • 2 large ripe bananas approximately 200 g
    • 2 large eggs room temperature
    • 2 tbsp sour cream, full fat room temperature
    • 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 tsp fine sea salt
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
    • ¼ tsp nutmeg
    • ⅛ tsp all spice

    Cinnamon Apple Topping (Optional)

    • ½ Honeycrisp apple, peeled and cubed
    • 1 ½ tbsp sugar
    • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

    Cinnamon Sugar Streusel (Optional)

    • ¼ cup all purpose flour
    • 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
    • 2 tbsp sugar
    • 2 tbsp unsalted butter very cold and cubed
    • ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon

    Cinnamon Sugar Topping (Optional)

    • 1 ½ tbsp sugar
    • ¼ tbsp ground cinnamon
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions
     

    Preparing Topping (Optional)

    • If preparing cinnamon sugar streusel, cube butter and place in freezer for about 5 to 10 minutes.
    • Gather remaining cinnamon sugar streusel ingredients and whisk into a small bowl.
    • Add very cold butter and use fork to mash / combine butter into sugars. You can also use your fingers. You want to create a crumbly texture. Place back into refrigerator once done so the butter can remain cold.
    • If preparing the cinnamon sugar topping, combine into a small bowl and set aside.
    • If preparing the cinnamon apple sugar topping, peel and dice apples and place on top of a paper towel to help absorb excess water. Combine sugars in a separate bowl. Set aside.

    Preparing Homemade Cinnamon Apple Banana Bread

    • Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice, baking soda and fine sea salt and sift well. Set aside.
      1 ¾ cup all purpose flour, 1 tsp fine sea salt, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ⅛ tsp all spice
    • In a separate bowl mash bananas until texture looks similar to applesauce.
      2 large ripe bananas
    • Melt butter in large bowl and allow to cool.
    • Combine butter, bananas, sugars, eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
      ½ cup unsalted butter, melted, ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed, ¼ cup sugar, 2 large eggs, 2 tbsp sour cream, full fat, 1 tsp vanilla extract
    • Place freeze dried apples in blender and grind down into a powder. Add to batter and whisk well.
      2 cup freeze dried apples
    • Add dry ingredients and whisk until the flour is just combined.
    • Prepare 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper, or butter and flour method. Add batter to loaf pan.
    • Top with preferred topping (optional).
    • Bake at 350 F for 50 - 60 minutes, or until tester comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
    • Remove from oven and allow to cool for at least 1 hour in loaf pan. Remove from pan to continue cooling.

    Notes

    Weigh Your Ingredients. You will have a better chance of success with this recipe if you weigh your ingredients.
    Use Ripe Bananas. Or in other words, brown spotted bananas. The bananas need to be ripe in order to work well within the batter and lend to a moist bread. Using non-ripe (green or all yellow) bananas may leave the bread tough and not as moist as it could be.
    Loaf Pan. You can either butter and flour the loaf pan, or spray with baking spray and lay a piece of parchment inside. Spray with more baking spray and then add in batter.
    Use an oven thermometer. They are a low cost investment and can help you keep an eye on the temperature within your oven.
    Spices. I used a combination of ground cinnamon, nutmeg and all spice. You can also opt to use an Apple Pie Spice mix at a 1 ¼ tsp ratio. If you love more of an apple spice banana bread than I recommend increasing the nutmeg to ½ tsp and the all spice to ¼ tsp.
    Keyword apple banana bread, banana bread, cinnamon apple banana bread
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    More Breads

    • Banana Pumpkin Muffins
    • coconut macadamia banana bread
      Coconut Macadamia Banana Bread
    • Maple Pecan Banana Bread

    Comments

    1. Ana says

      January 02, 2024 at 8:36 pm

      5 stars
      Yummy bread recipe! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Sharon Alvarenga says

        January 03, 2024 at 11:58 pm

        thank you so much Ana for trying it!

        Reply
    5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Hi, I'm Sharon!

    I'm the baker, creator and photographer behind The Dessert Pantry. My hope is to help inspire you to create your own delicious and beautiful dessert in your home!

    More about Sharon →

    Favorite Cookies

    • rainbow butter cookies with sprinkles.
      Rainbow Butter Cookies
    • lemon and white chocolate cookies.
      Lemon and White Chocolate Cookies
    • browned butter cookie with bite.
      Small Batch Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
    • Soft Cut-Out Blueberry Lemon Sugar Cookies with buttercream frosting.
      Soft Cut-Out Blueberry Lemon Sugar Cookies

    Snack Cakes

    • Lemon Snack Cake
    • Funfetti Cake
    • Berry Cake
    • Vanilla Cake Recipe

    Did you try a recipe or tutorial? Tag @thedessertpantry or use hashtag #TheDessertPantry on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook so I may see your amazing creation!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • About Me
    • Contact
    • Let's Work Together

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 Brunch Pro on the Feast Plugin

    • Pinterest
    • Facebook
    • Save
    • Email
    • Print

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    Please let me know what you thought of this recipe! Feedback helps me know what you loved, or what I can do to make it better!

    This worked exactly as written, thanks!
    My family loved this!
    Thank you for sharing this recipe!

    Or write in your own words:

    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.