2 Banana Nut Bread Recipe

This 2 banana nut bread recipe is for anyone who wants to make a moist & nutty banana bread, but has only 2 ripe bananas on hand.

Are you in crisis mode because you are stuck with 2 ripe bananas… but every banana nut bread recipe seems to call for 3 bananas? Then try my easy 2 banana nut recipe because it helps you to make a nice, crunchy banana nut bread with only 2 bananas.

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

My recipe helps you to make a normal-sized banana nut bread (that fits in a standard 9 by 5 inch metal bread pan). This is different than some other online 2 banana bread recipes. These other recipes often create a smaller 2/3rds-sized banana bread (because they reduce all the ingredients by 1/3 in order to balance out the missing 3rd banana). In turn, for these recipes, you often need to use a smaller bread pan which many people do not have.

Ingredients – 2 Banana Nut Bread Recipe

• 2 – Bananas (ripe & large) – 230 grams – The 2 large bananas should equal roughly 1 cup of mashed bananas. See the tips section below if you have more or less than 1 cup of mashed bananas.
• 1/2 Cup – Plain Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream – 118 milliliters – Use full fat Greek yogurt or sour cream for the best results. If you do not have Greek yogurt or sour cream, you can use 1/2 cup of applesauce. See the tips section below as the combined amount of mashed bananas & Greek yogurt/sour cream should equal exactly 1 1/2 cups.
• 2 – Eggs (large) – 114 grams
• 1/2 Cup – Vegetable Oil – 118 milliliters – Use a mild flavored vegetable oil (e.g. corn oil) for the best results. See the tips section below for other oil ideas.
• 1 Cup – White Granulated Sugar – 200 grams – If you like a less sweet banana nut bread, you can use 2/3 or 3/4 cup of white granulated sugar.
• 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 240 grams – Not bread flour.
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder – 4 grams
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 3 grams
• 1 Cup – Chopped Walnuts – 115 grams – You can also use chopped pecans.
• Optional – 1 Teaspoon – Ground Cinnamon – 3 grams – Some people really like to add ground cinnamon to the batter, especially if their bananas are not super ripe.
• Optional – 1 or 2 Tablespoons – Chopped Walnuts – To sprinkle on top of the batter in order to create a crunchy & nutty topping for your 2 banana nut bread.

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, large mixing bowl, long wooden spoon, 9 by 5 inch metal bread pan, oven mitts, soft silicone spatula, wire cooling rack and an oven.

Need any of these tools? Check out my Banana Bread Equipment page.

Use Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream to Offset Missing Banana

2 Banana Nut Bread Before Being Put In Oven

Instructions – 2 Banana Nut Bread Recipe

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 C).
• If necessary, grease the interior of your bread pan with butter/cooking spray or use baking parchment paper to line the bread pan.
• Lightly beat the eggs.
• Mash the bananas with a fork. FYI – I like to add the mashed bananas to a clear measuring cup first and then I spoon the Greek yogurt/sour cream on top. I add enough Greek yogurt/sour cream until the combined amount fills up to the 1 1/2 cup mark. This ensures that I have the correct liquid amount even if the bananas vary in size. See the picture above for a visual guide & read the tips section below for more info.
• Stir the mashed bananas, Greek yogurt (or sour cream), eggs, vegetable oil and sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Mix until fully blended. FYI – I prefer to use a large spoon to mix the batter. An electric mixer can overmix the batter and this can lead to gummy & rubbery banana nut breads.
• Stir in the remaining ingredients (except the chopped walnuts).
• Finally, add the chopped walnuts to the batter. Stir gently until they are completely mixed in.
• Pour the finished batter into a nonstick bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter with a soft spatula or wooden spoon.
• Optional – Sprinkle 1 or 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts on top of the batter if you want to add a crunchy & nutty topping to your 2 banana nut bread.
• Place the pan in the oven and bake for 65 to 70 minutes at 325 F (163 C).
• When done, remove the pan out of oven and let the banana bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Do not remove the banana bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period. Use oven mitts as the bread pan will be very hot coming out of the oven. FYI – When I remove the pan from the oven, I like to use a digital bread thermometer to test if my 2 banana nut bread is fully baked. See the tips section below for more details.
• After the 10 minutes, remove the banana nut bread from the bread pan. Place the banana nut bread on a wire cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1 to 2 hours.
• Gently slide a soft silicone spatula between the banana nut bread and the bread pan walls if the banana nut bread is stuck in the pan.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common banana nut bread problems.

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Key Ingredients – Chopped Walnuts and 2 Bananas

Helpful Tips – 2 Banana Nut Bread Recipe

• The tips below are designed to help banana bread “novices” and/or people with limited baking experience.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include my tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Banana Bread Recipes such as banana nut bread, chocolate chip banana bread, eggless banana bread and many more.

• This recipe differs a little from my original 2 Banana Bread Recipe. For example, beyond adding chopped walnuts, my 2 banana nut bread recipe uses 1/2 cup of full fat Greek yogurt/sour cream in order to add a richer flavor and create a more tender loaf. In contrast, my original 2 banana bread recipe uses 1/3 cup of milk (as most people have that ingredient on hand).
• Also for the some fun Bread Dad experimentation, I wanted to change things up a little from the original!
• This banana nut bread also bakes for 65-70 minutes (versus my other 2 banana bread recipe which bakes for 60-65 minutes). The chopped walnuts in this recipe slow the internal heating of the batter (and thus it needs a little longer to bake than my original recipe). In addition, milk heats faster & evaporates more quickly (because it is mainly water) than full fat Greek yogurt/sour cream. That means that a banana nut bread made with full fat Greek yogurt/sour cream takes a little longer to bake due to the Greek yogurt/sour cream’s fat content and higher density.

• Use RIPE bananas for the best results. The natural sweetness of ripe bananas works best when making banana bread recipes. Ripe bananas are soft and have many small brown & black spots on the exterior of the yellow banana peel.
• FYI – A beautiful pure yellow banana (without any spots) is not fully ripe!!
• If you use unripe green or hard yellow bananas, your banana bread will NOT have much banana flavor. Unripe bananas have more starch and less sugar than ripe bananas. Unripe bananas have a lot less banana flavor when compared to ripe bananas.
• Since you are using only 2 bananas in this recipe, this is another reason to make sure that your bananas are RIPE or you will not be able to taste the bananas.
• Optional – Many people like to add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the batter if their bananas are not super ripe. The cinnamon helps to partially “hide” the missing banana flavor in a banana nut bread with 2 bananas.
• Visitors – Do you like to add ground cinnamon (or other spices) to your banana nut breads? Please post your spice ideas & suggestions in the comment section below.

• For most of my banana bread recipes, I use exactly 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas. This amount equals roughly 3 large bananas and using exactly 1 1/2 cups tends to be more accurate than using 3 random sized bananas. The more precise measuring cup numbers (versus using random sized bananas) also ensures that the banana bread is not too dry or too wet.
• However, since this recipe uses only 2 bananas, I use full fat Greek yogurt or sour cream to make up for the “missing” banana (missing when compared to my 3 banana recipes). Greek yogurt & sour cream have a similar consistency and moisture level to bananas and their natural fat & acidity helps to soften a banana bread. FYI – A little further down in this tips section, I list more details on the reasons for using full fat Greek yogurt/sour cream in banana bread.
• Since you want to create a banana nut bread that is as moist as my regular 3 banana bread recipes, you need to use a combined amount of mashed bananas and Greek yogurt/sour cream that equals exactly 1 1/2 cups (e.g. 1 cup of mashed bananas plus 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt) for this 2 banana nut bread recipe. This ensures that your 2 banana nut bread has right amount moisture (so it does not turn out too dry or too wet).
• You might not know this but 2 large bananas equal roughly 1 cup of mashed bananas. Of course, banana sizes can vary… and 2 large bananas might result in 3/4 cup to 1 1/4 cups of mashed bananas.
• Therefore, you will need to offset any difference with more or less Greek yogurt/sour cream. For example, if your 2 bananas are giant sized and you end up with 1 1/4 cups of mashed bananas, you only need 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt/sour cream (1 1/4 + 1/4 = 1 1/2).
• Visitors – Do you prefer to add Greek yogurt, sour cream or applesauce to banana bread if you are missing a banana? Please add your banana “substitute” preferences & suggestions in the comment section below.

• If you have only 2 MEDIUM sized bananas, you will need to add more Greek yogurt or sour cream. 2 medium sized bananas equal roughly 3/4 cups of mashed bananas. Therefore, if you only have 2 medium sized bananas (that result in 3/4 cups of mashed bananas), you need to use 3/4 cup of Greek yogurt/sour cream (in order to reach the combined 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas and Greek yogurt/sour cream).
• Obviously, a banana nut bread made with 2 medium bananas will have less banana flavor than a banana nut bread made with 2 large bananas.
• As I stated in the instructions, I like to add the mashed bananas to a clear measuring cup first and then I spoon the Greek yogurt/sour cream on top of the mashed bananas. I add just enough Greek yogurt/sour cream until the combined amount (mashed bananas plus Greek yogurt) fills up to the 1 1/2 cup mark. This helps to make sure that I get the required 1 1/2 cups regardless of whether my 2 bananas equals 3/4 cup, 1 cup or 1 1/4 cups of mashed bananas.
• See the picture above of the measuring cup to get an idea on how to “top off” the mashed bananas with Greek yogurt/sour cream. You want the combined amount (of mashed bananas & Greek yogurt/sour cream) to equal exactly 1 1/2 cups. A clear measuring cup allows you to easily see that the combined ingredients has reached the correct amount.

• Use FRESH walnuts. After you have opened a bag of chopped walnuts, the walnuts can go rancid (bad) quickly due to their high oil content.
• Once the walnut package has been opened, you should store the chopped walnuts in an airtight container in your refrigerator or freezer. Do not use old walnuts that have been sitting in your pantry for weeks/months in an open bag.
• Also check the expiration date on sealed (unopened) walnut packages in order to make sure that they are still good.
• Optional – Sprinkle extra 1 or 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts on top of the batter (after the batter has been poured into the bread pan) if you want a more “walnutty” top for your 2 banana nut bread.
• If you run out of walnuts (or you are tired of walnut-based recipes), you can use chopped pecans as a nice substitute.
• Visitors – Do you only use chopped walnuts to make your banana nut breads? Or do you prefer to use another type of nut? Chopped pecans? Sliced almonds? Chopped peanuts? A combination of different chopped nuts? Please post your nut ideas & variations in the comment section below.

• You should make sure to use full fat plain Greek yogurt or sour cream to this banana nut recipe.
• The use of non fat Greek yogurt or sour cream can result in a less tender banana bread. In addition, because non fat Greek yogurt or sour cream often replaces the missing milk fat with water, it can also produce a more gummy or rubbery banana nut bread.
• The natural fat in full fat Greek yogurt/sour cream helps to improve the tenderness of the 2 banana nut bread. Why? Because the fat coats the flour and helps to prevent tough gluten from forming. In turn, this creates a softer & more tender banana nut bread.
• The mild acidity of Greek yogurt/sour cream also tenderizes the gluten and this helps to create a softer banana nut bread.
• Full fat Greek yogurt/sour cream also helps the banana nut bread to taste moister because fat does not evaporate during the baking (unlike water or milk).
• Visitors – Do you have a preferred Greek yogurt or sour cream to use in banana nut breads? Post your Greek yogurt & sour cream ideas in the comment section below.

• Does this 2 banana nut bread recipe have the same banana flavor as a 3 banana nut bread recipe? No! It has a nice mild banana flavor but not as much as banana flavor as a standard 3 banana recipe.
• This 2 banana nut recipe is best as a good “emergency” recipe. Perfect for those times when you trying to figure out what to do with 2 ripe bananas (that you just discovered hiding forgotten on your kitchen counter).
• However, to add even MORE flavor to your 2 banana nut bread, you can easily add chocolate chips, fresh cranberries, fresh blueberries, different chopped nuts, spices, etc.

• Optional – If someone in your family is lactose intolerant, you can replace the 1/2 cup of Greek yogurt/sour cream with 1/2 cup of applesauce. Your banana nut bread with 2 bananas will have a very mild applesauce flavor that combines well with the banana flavor. However, be aware that a banana bread made with applesauce (instead of Greek yogurt/sour cream) will be a little more dense and less tender because applesauce tends not to contain any fat.
• Optional – You can turn this 2 banana nut bread into a chocolate chip 2 banana nut bread by replacing 1/2 of the chopped walnuts with mini chocolate chips. I prefer to use mini chocolate chips because they usually spread out better in the banana bread (whereas regular sized chocolate chips often sink to the bottom of the banana bread). If you add chocolate chips to this banana nut bread, you should use baking parchment paper to line your bread pan. Why? Because chocolate chips in a banana bread can create a “sticky” bottom (and make it difficult to remove a banana bread from the pan without breaking).
• Optional – You can also easily turn this recipe into a blueberry 2 banana nut bread. Just replace 1/2 of the chopped walnuts with fresh blueberries. In the fall, some of my visitors prefer to use fresh cranberries in order to make a more “Thanksgiving” style banana nut bread.
• If you add chocolate chips or blueberries to this 2 banana nut bread, you should consider using baking parchment paper to line your bread pan. Chocolate chips & blueberries can be very sticky after baking (esp. on the bottom of the pan). Baking parchment paper helps you to more easily lift a 2 banana nut bread out of the pan.
• Visitors – What extra ingredients do you like to add to banana nut breads? a variety of nuts? Chocolate chips? Extra spices? Fruit? Please post your banana nut bread variations in the comment section below. Beginners learn a lot from your recipe variations & suggestions.

• You should use a NEUTRAL flavored vegetable oil (e.g. corn) in order to make this 2 banana nut bread recipe.
• Stronger flavored oils (e.g. peanut oil or extra virgin olive oil) may NEGATIVELY impact or change the taste of banana nut bread. You want to use an oil that has very little flavor (so it does not interfere with the banana flavor).
• If you want to use olive oil, I would recommend using a “mild”, “light” or “extra light” olive oil as they would have the least flavor impact on the banana nut bread. Unfortunately, extra virgin and virgin olive oil have stronger flavors and are more likely to negatively impact the taste of your 2 banana nut bread.
• A number of my visitors like to use avocado oil in order to make their banana nut breads. Avocado oil has a neutral flavor and is high in monounsaturated fats. However, as you are probably aware, avocado oil is usually significantly more expensive than corn oil.

• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life and avoid spoilage (e.g. exposure to moisture, pests and dust).
• Flour (if stored in an open bag and not in an airtight container) can absorb a lot of moisture from the air. This extra moisture throws off recipes and can lead to banana bread collapses, etc.
• Do NOT use an electric mixer to mix your ingredients (when combining the wet and dry ingredients). Stick to an old fashioned wooden spoon. An electric mixer can overmix the ingredients and the banana bread will turn out rubbery & gummy.
• Always try to use FRESH baking soda & powder for the best results. For example, using baking soda from an open container (that has been deodorizing your refrigerator for months) may lead to subpar results. Old & hard baking soda/powder may lead to rising problems and/or leave small bitter clumps in your banana nut bread with 2 bananas.

• My banana bread recipes are based on using leveled ingredients within a standardized measuring cup (e.g. a leveled cup of flour). For more accuracy, you should use various sizes of measuring cups (e.g. a set that includes 1 cup, 3/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, 1/4 cup, etc.). These “fractional” cups will be more accurate for recipe measurements (e.g. add 2 1/4 cups of flour) versus using a single large measuring cup and trying to guess if that cup is holding a 1/2 cup or 1/4 cup of ingredients.
• If you use measuring cups to make this recipe, you need to make sure the ingredients have been leveled flat with the rim of the cup. No heaping mountain of ingredients.
• Or if you have a kitchen scale, you can also weigh your ingredients. You will find gram/milliliter measurements on the right side of my recipe’s ingredient list.
• FYI – Many of my international visitors prefer to use a kitchen scale to weigh their ingredients versus using volume-based measuring cups & spoons.

• This doesn’t happen often but if the top of the banana bread looks too moist or undercooked, you should try the “toothpick test”. Gently push a long wooden toothpick or wooden skewer into the top of the banana bread and see if any batter sticks to the toothpick. If batter is sticking to the toothpick then it hasn’t completely cooked. Place the bread pan back into the still hot oven for another 3 to 5 minutes. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan will be very hot. After the 3 to 5 minutes, remove the bread pan and test the banana bread again with a toothpick or skewer.
• Given variability in banana sizes, banana breads tend to have more moistness variability than many other quick bread recipes. This can lead to excess moisture and the banana bread being potentially undercooked. Therefore, many bakers like to use the “toothpick” test to ensure that their banana bread with 2 bananas is completely baked.
• Instead of the “toothpick test”, some people (including me) like to use a digital bread thermometer to test if their banana bread is done. Generally, a “quick bread” (e.g. banana bread or pumpkin bread) is done when the internal temperature reaches 200 to 205 degrees F. Just make sure to measure the temperature in the center of the loaf for the most accurate reading.

• In case, you didn’t see this in the “equipment used to make this recipe” section, this recipe is based on using a standard 9 by 5 inch metal bread pan. This means that the interior of the bread pan (not exterior) measures 9 inches in length, 5 inches in width and 2 1/2 inches in depth/height. Of course, Bread Dads are crazy about exact measurements… thus the use of measuring tapes! Ha!
• Please use the suggested 9 x 5 inch metal bread pan to make this recipe. If you start using different sized pans, there is a greater potential for bread top collapses (potentially less bread pan “wall” support for the quick bread as it rises), different interior batter to exterior bread ratios (thus the need for different baking lengths), smaller pans can overflow, etc.
• FYI – Many other 2 banana recipes use much smaller pans (e.g. 8 x 4 inch bread pans). However, most people usually own 9 x 5 and/or 8.5 x 4.5 bread pans (and not 8 x 4 bread pans). My recipe is based on the traditional 9 x 5 inch bread pan which is used for most banana bread and quick bread recipes.
• In case you are interested, 8.5 x 4.5 bread pans (the other popular size for bread pans) are typically used for baking sandwich-type breads (and not banana breads).
• My recipes are based on using a metal bread pan and NOT a glass bread pan. Glass bread pans bake faster than metal bread pans. If you use a glass bread pan for my recipes, you are more likely to overbake your banana bread (e.g. burnt crust).

• If your banana breads are sticking to the bottom of your bread pan, you should consider either “greasing” the bottom of the pan with butter or vegetable oil, using a cooking spray, using a nonstick pan or lining the interior of the bread pan with baking parchment paper.
• Baking parchment paper is probably the best solution to prevent sticking (especially if you are using really sticky ingredients such as chocolate chips or fresh cranberries). It also allows you to lift the banana bread out of the pan without disturbing the top of the banana bread… in case you have added any special ingredients (such as chopped nuts or chocolate chips) to the top of the banana bread.
• Baking parchment paper is NOT regular paper. It is a specialty paper designed for use with baking.
• Optional – If you are finding small white clumps of flour in your banana breads, you can use a fine mesh strainer or flour sifter to sift your flour (before mixing the flour with the wet ingredients). This “aerates” the flour and breaks up & screens out small flour lumps.

• Make sure that your oven has been completely preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this quick bread could come out undercooked. Use an oven thermometer (e.g. one that hangs inside your oven) to check the interior oven temperature before baking.
• It can take roughly 10 to 20 minutes to preheat most ovens with some variability due to the size of the oven, planned baking temperature (hotter takes longer), etc.
• Portable oven thermometers are also great for telling if your oven temperature matches what you set on the oven temperature dial. Some ovens (esp. older ovens) can be off by 25+ degrees.
• My recipes are based on using a regular oven and NOT a convection oven. Convection ovens bake faster than regular ovens and require less baking time than what is stated in my recipes.
• Place your banana nut bread in the middle of your oven. If you place it on the top or bottom racks, the banana bread may be too near the oven’s heating element and bake faster than expected.

• Problem with sinking middles? Then check out my Why Does My Banana Bread Sink In The Middle? page for reasons & potential solutions.
• Problem with dry banana breads? Check out my Tips For Making A Moist Banana Bread for information on how to avoid making dry banana breads!
• Long-term storage – If you want to keep your banana bread for more than 1 to 2 days (depending on your home’s temperature & humidity), you will need to freeze it. Please read Bread Dad’s How To Freeze Banana Bread for more details.

• If you have a problem with a banana bread recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (e.g. using the correct oven temperature), using the correct amounts of ingredients (e.g. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup or accidentally add a tablespoon when a teaspoon is called for), using the correct ingredients (e.g. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a hot oven and bread pan.
• For more easy banana bread recipes (e.g. blueberry, chocolate chip or eggless), please visit Bread Dad’s main section on Banana Bread Recipes.

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Want more Bread Dad recipes? Check out these sections:

1. Bread Machine Recipes – 90+ recipes such as banana bread, sourdough bread, pizza dough, cinnamon raisin bread, etc.
2. Bread Recipes – French bread, buttermilk bread, bagels, Italian bread, etc.
3. Banana Bread Recipes – 60+ recipes such as banana nut bread, eggless banana bread, blueberry banana bread, etc.
4. Quick Bread Recipes – Recipes using baking soda such as pumpkin bread, cranberry bread, gingerbread, etc.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Banana Bread
2. Wikipedia, Pecan
3. Wikipedia, Walnut

Related Recipes

1. Almond Flour Banana Nut Bread
2. Easy Banana Nut Bread
3. Eggless Banana Bread
4. 4 Banana Bread
5. No Butter Banana Bread
6. Bread Machine Banana Nut Bread

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