Coconut Banana Bread (Easy Recipe)

Like coconuts? Then you will love the taste of this delicious coconut banana bread recipe. It is moist, very simple to make and uses ripe bananas & coconut flakes. This recipe is a wonderful flavor combination of two fantastic tropical fruits. Coconut banana bread makes a great snack or dessert. My wife loves having it for breakfast!

Sliced Coconut Banana Bread

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

Recipe Rating 5 from 10 votes Featured Comment Cindy “This is the BEST banana bread recipe I have ever tried. For years I used my old standby recipe, but I will never go back to that one again. I followed this recipe exactly as it was written, with one exception, and that was I added a handful of pecans. This will be the only banana bread recipe I use from now on!”

This coconut banana bread recipe takes me about 10-15 minutes to prepare and clean up (excluding the baking time, of course). Please be aware that this is an oven-baked banana bread recipe. It is not made with a bread machine.

Coconut Banana Bread – Fresh from the Oven

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups – Mashed Bananas – 345 grams – Use RIPE bananas for best results
• 2 Eggs (large)
• 1/2 Cup – Vegetable Oil – 115 milliliters – Use a neutral flavored oil such as canola oil or corn oil. FYI – Some of my visitors like to use coconut oil to add even more coconut flavor.
• 1/2 Cup – Flaked Coconut – 50 grams – Or shredded coconut
• 1/2 Cup – White Granulated Sugar – 100 grams
• 1/2 Cup – Light Brown Sugar (packed) – 107 grams
• 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 240 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters – For more coconut flavor, some of my visitors like to replace the 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract with 1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract & 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract. See the tips section below for more info.
• 1 Teaspoon – Ground Cinnamon – 3 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder – 4 grams
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 3 grams
• Optional – 2 Tablespoons – Flaked Coconut – 12 grams – Sprinkle flakes on top of the batter in the bread ban just before baking

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

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

Key Ingredients – Ripe Bananas & Flaked Coconut

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 C).
• Grease the bread pan (if necessary).
• Lightly beat the eggs.
• Add mashed bananas, eggs and oil into a large mixing bowl. Stir with a large spoon until mixed thoroughly.
• Add the flaked coconuts to the bowl. Stir until fully mixed. FYI – Adding the coconuts before the sugar & flour helps to moisten the coconut flakes.
• Add the white sugar and light brown sugar to the mixing bowl. Stir until fully mixed.
• Mix in the remaining ingredients. Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
• Pour the finished batter into a nonstick bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter within the bread pan.
• Optional – After pouring & smoothing the batter in the bread pan, sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flaked coconut on top of the batter. See the picture below.
• Bake in the oven for 65-70 minutes at 325 F (163 C).
• Take out of the oven and let the coconut 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.
• After 10 minutes, remove the coconut banana bread from the bread pan. Place the banana bread on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1-2 hours. Gently slide a silicon spatula between the bread and the bread pan walls if the banana 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 bread problems.

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Sprinkle Coconut Flakes on Top of Batter for Extra Flavor

Helpful Tips

• 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 walnut banana bread, chocolate chip banana bread, eggless banana bread and blueberry banana.

• Use RIPE bananas for the BEST flavor. Ripe bananas are soft and have a yellow peel covered with many small black spots. Hard yellow/green(ish) bananas are too starchy and have much less banana flavor. FYI – A beautiful pure yellow banana (without any spots) is not fully ripe!!
• Using UNRIPE bananas will result in a very bland banana bread (with little banana flavor).
• To avoid any recipe problems (e.g. the banana bread is too dry or too wet), you should use exactly 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas. Unfortunately, bananas can vary in size and this can throw off banana bread recipes. Therefore, it is safer to measure the exact amount of mashed bananas when making any banana bread recipes.
• FYI – 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas is roughly 3 large bananas. However, please use a measuring cup or kitchen scale to measure the mashed bananas in order to avoid potential banana bread problems (e.g. too much moisture being added to the recipe).

• You can use sweetened or unsweetened flaked coconut to make this recipe. I prefer the sweetened coconut flakes… but I have a severe sweet tooth!
• What is the difference between flaked coconut and shredded coconut? Flaked coconut are slightly larger flakes/shreds of coconut whereas shredded coconut are smaller flakes/shreds. They are very similar and either one can be used to make this recipe.
• According to Wikipedia, “Freshly shredded mature coconut meat, known as “grated coconut”, “shredded coconut”, or “coconut flakes”, is used in the extraction of coconut milk” and “Grated coconut that is dehydrated by drying or baking is known as “desiccated coconut.” It contains less than 3% of the original moisture content of coconut meat. It is predominantly used in the bakery and confectionary industries”.

• You should use a NEUTRAL flavored vegetable oil (e.g. corn or canola oil) in order to make this coconut banana bread recipe. Stronger flavored oils (e.g. peanut oil) may negatively impact the taste of this banana bread.
• For extra flavor, some of my visitors like to use coconut oil (instead of vegetable oil) when making their banana breads. They often use unrefined food-grade coconut oil to add some coconut flavor to their baked goods (whereas refined coconut oil has a more neutral flavor). For information on unrefined versus refined coconut oil, you should read this Wikipedia article.
• If you want to use olive oil in your banana bread, I would recommend that using an olive oil with “light” or “mild” on the label. Light/mild olive oil is a type of olive oil with a lighter color and more neutral flavor. In contrast, extra virgin olive oil usually has a stronger taste and this can negatively impact the taste of coconut banana breads.
• Economic Benefit – Many vegetable oils (e.g. canola and corn oil) are less expensive than butter (on an ounce-to-ounce basis). This helps to lower the cost of homemade baked goods.
• Many vegetable oils also contain less saturated fat than butter.
• Visitors – What type of oil do you like to use when making coconut banana bread? Corn oil? Olive oil? Coconut oil? Other? Please leave your suggestions in the comment section below.

• Optional – I like to sprinkle coconut flakes on top of this coconut banana bread. This gives the banana bread some extra coconut flavor and a slightly crunchy top. However, you need to make sure not to place the banana bread too close to the heating element in your oven… or some of the coconut flakes might come out brown & extra crispy!
• Nevertheless, even if a few of the top flakes come out brown, the brown ones are very easy to pick off with your fingers. As you probably know, the best location to bake banana bread is in the center of your oven (and not near the heating element in the oven).
• Optional – Some of my visitors like to replace the vanilla extract in the recipe with coconut extract (in order to add even more coconut flavor). However, this can give the coconut banana bread a semi-artificial taste. Therefore, many people like to use 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon of coconut extract (versus using either 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon of coconut extract). This vanilla & coconut extract combo results in a more balanced & natural taste.

• Optional – If you would like to make a coconut banana nut bread, you can add 1 cup (115 grams) of chopped walnuts or chopped pecans to the batter after you have finished mixing in the other ingredients.
• Optional – If you would like to make a chocolate chip coconut banana bread, you can add 1 cup (170 grams) of semi-sweet chocolate chips to the batter after you have finished mixing in the other ingredients.
• Optional – If you don’t want a “crunchy” coconut top, you can bake a “plain” topped coconut banana bread and then add a coconut glaze topping (after baking the banana bread). Or spread some homemade banana bread glaze on top of the banana bread and then sprinkle some coconut flakes on top of the glaze. The glaze helps to stick the coconut flakes to the banana bread.
• Visitors – What do you like to add to your coconut banana bread to make it even better? Do you add chocolate chips? Extra spices (e.g. nutmeg)? Chopped nuts? Dried fruit? Please post your coconut banana bread tips & suggestions in the comment box below.
• Visitor variations – Matt “used actual maple extract in lieu of coconut extract and it turned it up a notch…good combo”, Barbara “used coconut oil, 1/2 vanilla extract and 1/2 coconut extract, topped with coconut flakes and crumbled brown sugar. It was delicious!!!” (corrected for spelling), Maria added “coconut oil, coconut and banana extract and I added coconut sugar with chocolate covered almonds crushed with coconut flakes”, Claire likes to “toast it then smear it in butter”, Ellie said “My family has some gluten allergies, so I swap the flour with 1:1 Bob’s Red Mill gluten free flour and add some chocolate chips and it always comes out delicious”, etc.

• Use FRESH ingredients (e.g. flour) for the best results. Ingredients sitting around in open packages can go stale and this can ruin the taste of a banana bread.
• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour & sugar) in airtight containers in order to extend their shelf life and avoid spoilage (e.g. exposure to moisture, pests and dust).
• Flour (when 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 the middle sinking in banana breads, 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.
• Make sure that your oven has been COMPLETELY preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this banana bread could come out undercooked.
• Depending on the size of your oven and the temperature used, it can take 10-20 minutes to fully preheated an oven.
• If your oven does not have a built-in thermometer, you consider buying an inexpensive oven thermometer that you can place inside your oven (in order to correctly gauge the temperature). This will tell you if your oven has been preheated to the correct temperature.

• To prevent your banana bread from sticking to the bottom of the 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 have added sticky ingredients such as chocolate chips or blueberries to your banana bread). 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) to the top of the banana bread.
• FYI – Baking parchment paper is NOT regular paper. It is a specialty paper designed for use with baking.

• Banana breads can dry out if left unprotected. After the coconut banana bread has been completely cooled (and you have eaten some of this delicious banana bread), you should wrap it in aluminum foil or plastic wrap and then store it in an airtight container or a large resealable bag. Depending on the heat & humidity of your kitchen, banana bread generally only lasts for 1-2 days at room temperature before it starts to spoil. For longer storage, you should freeze the banana bread.
• If you enjoy sweet “quick breads” made with tropical fruits, you should also try Bread Dad’s recipes for Pineapple Bread or Hawaiian Banana Bread.
• Or check out my Hawaiian Bread Recipe. It is a soft & slightly sweet sandwich bread made with pineapple juice and coconut flakes.

• This doesn’t happen often but if the top of the banana bread looks too moist or under cooked, you should try the “toothpick test”. Gently push a long wooden skewer into the top of the bread and see if any batter sticks to the skewer. If batter is sticking to the skewer then it hasn’t completely cooked. Place the bread pan back into the still hot oven for another 2 or 3 minutes. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan will be very hot. After the 2 or 3 minutes, remove the bread pan and test the banana bread again with a long wooden skewer.
• Instead of the “toothpick test”, some people 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 200-205 degrees F. Just make sure to measure the temperature in the center of the loaf for the most accurate reading.
• 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 crust ratios (thus the need for different baking time lengths), smaller pans are more likely to overflow, etc.

• 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 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.
• Long-term storage – If you want to keep your banana bread for more than 1-2 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.
• In addition, you should always try to use relatively 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 bread.
• Problem with sinking middles? Then check out my Why Does My Banana Bread Sink In The Middle? page for reasons & potential solutions.
• Be aware that some people are allergic to coconut. Always check your family & guests for potential food allergies before serving food. Do not serve this banana bread to anyone with a coconut allergy.

• If you like banana bread then check out my Easy Muffin Recipes section. Banana muffins are basically mini banana breads! Banana muffins make great snacks & are much quicker to bake versus larger banana breads.
• My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (e.g. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (e.g. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (e.g. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with bread pans & a hot oven.
• For more delicious banana bread recipes (e.g. cranberry banana bread or blueberry banana bread), please visit Bread Dad’s sections on easy Banana Bread Recipes or Quick Bread Recipes.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Banana
2. Wikipedia, Banana Bread
3. Wikipedia, Coconut
4. Wikipedia, Coconut Oil

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