Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Make this moist peanut butter banana bread for the ultimate sweet meets savory treat! Loaded with ripe bananas, creamy peanut butter, and studded with chocolate chips this is a must-bake recipe!
What makes this recipe fabulous
With so many options and opinions about what makes the best banana bread, I thought it might be helpful to highlight just what makes THE BEST banana bread:
- Ripe Bananas: You are looking for bananas that are speckled brown and maybe even more. The riper they are the sweeter the bread and the bolder of a banana flavor your bread will have.
- Use brown sugar: While the bananas and granulated sugar add sweetness to the bread, brown sugar provides a nice richness (and extra moistness) to the flavor.
- Don’t overmix: Gently fold the ingredients together. If you mix them up too much it creates air pockets that toughen the bread while it bakes.
The Key Ingredients
- Flour: All-purpose flour works to give the banana bread structure as it bakes.
- Bananas: Ripe, mashed bananas add flavor, sweetness, and moisture to the bread. The riper the better!
- Peanut Butter: I like to use creamy peanut butter as it is easier to mix in with the batter. I do not recommend natural peanut butter with oil separation, as it will cause the bread to be too greasy.
- Sugar: I use a blend of granulated and light brown sugar to keep the bread sweet and moist.
- Buttermilk: Tenderizes the batter to make it ultra moist and delicious. If you do not have any on hand, use my simple substitution.
- Vegetable Oil: You can also use canola oil or other neutral-flavored oil like grapeseed.
- Chocolate Chips: I usually reach for classic semisweet, but feel free to use dark, milk, white, or any combination of them!
Nut Butter Substitutes
If you are thinking about using different nut butters either to make the loaf nut-free or to try a different flavor, here are a few options to try!
- SunButter: Made from sunflower seeds and entirely nut-free you can replace the peanut butter with a 1:1 ratio of SunButter.
- Almond Butter: Also can replace the peanut butter with a 1:1 ratio, but be sure to use something like Barney Butter that does not have oil separation.
- Nutella: Give your banana bread a chocolaty finish by replacing the peanut butter with Nutella.
Mix-In Ideas
Here are a few ways to can dress up this peanut butter banana bread to make a truly ultimate loaf!
- Nuts: Pecans, walnuts, and dry-roasted peanuts add a soft crunch to the bread.
- Raisins: Think of this as a twist on peanut butter and jelly.
- Bacon: Think Elivs and use cooked, chopped bacon bits to add a salty touch to the loaf!
How to Make It
This is a very simple quick bread recipe, which consists of whisking the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another, and then folding them together. It takes less than 10 minutes to get it all mixed together, and then into the oven it goes!
- Prepare for baking: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan and then line with parchment paper so that it hangs over the two long sides.
- Mix the dry ingredients: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- Whisk the wet ingredients: In a separate large bowl, whisk together the banana, peanut butter, sugars, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until smooth.
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- Stir the wet and dry ingredients together: Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula until completely combined and there are not spots with raw flour. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, smooth the top into an even layer.
- Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick or thin knife inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. If your bread appears to be browning too quickly, place a tented piece of foil over it.
- Cool entirely: Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Converting the Bread to Muffins
Want to take this peanut butter banana bread loaf and make it into portable muffins perfect for breakfast, lunches, or on the go snacks? Here are some tips to convert this quick bread recipe into individual muffins.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a standard muffin tin or line with cupcake liners.
- Follow directions for making the batter.
- Fill the muffin tin cups two-thirds of the way full.
- Bake for 30 minutes, checking doneness at 25 minutes and adding additional time as needed.
Serving, Storing, and Freezing
- Serving suggestions: Drizzle with honey, smear a slice with additional peanut butter, or dish out with slices of fresh banana mashed on top.
- Storing: For moist banana bread, keep your loaf wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then stored in an air-tight container for up to 5 days at room temperature.
- Freezing: You can store the whole loaf or slices of this banana bread in the freezer for up to 1 month. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then cover with foil. Leave wrapped while thawing.
Banana Bread FAQs
The main difference between these banana-based desserts comes down to the method of their preparation. A banana cake batter is made by whipping butter while a banana bread typically uses bananas and oil in the base.
The loaf typically cracks when the top of the batter sets before the rest of the loaf finishes baking. It’s not a bad thing and is extremely common for a quick bread to crack at the top.
Yes (but only to a point). The best bananas for banana bread are brown/black and ultra ripe! If you open your banana up and it doesn’t smell like banana, it’s probably not good for banana bread.
A few reasons lead to a dry loaf of banana bread. If you over-mix the batter, bake the loaf too long, don’t allow the bread to cool completely before slicing in, or use under-ripe bananas you might be looking at a dry loaf of bread.
Delicious Banana Recipes to Try Next
- Banana Popsicles
- Bananas Foster Banana Bread
- Banana Macadamia Nut Muffins
- Traditional Southern Banana Pudding
- Banana Muffins
- Banana Chocolate Chip Snack Cake
Tender peanut butter banana bread studded with chocolate chips is the perfect balance of salty and sweet. Whether you have fond family memories that revolve around banana bread, or you simply love the combination of banana and peanut butter, this is a banana bread version that you don’t want to skip!
If you make this recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon (0.75 teaspoon) baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 3 medium bananas, mashed
- ½ cup (129 g) creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (80 ml) buttermilk
- ¼ cup (54.5 ml) vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (180 g) semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan and then line with parchment paper so that it hangs over the two long sides.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the banana, peanut butter, sugars, buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla extract until smooth.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold together with a rubber spatula until completely combined and there are no spots with raw flour. Gently stir in the chocolate chips.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top into an even layer. Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick or thin knife inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. If your bread appears to be browning too quickly, place a tented piece of foil over it (I did this at the 45-minute mark).
- Allow the bread to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. The cooled bread should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap; it can be stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Equipment: 8×4-inch loaf pan
- Nut Butter Substitutes: You can use Sunbutter, almond or cashew butter (make sure it does not have oil separation – I recommend Barney Butter), or Nutella.
- Mix-Ins: Use different types of chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans or peanuts work great!), raisins, or even cooked, chopped bacon bits.
- Storing: For moist banana bread, keep your loaf wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then stored in an air-tight container for up to 5 days at room temperature.
- Freezing: You can store the whole loaf or slices of this banana bread in the freezer for up to 1 month. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then cover with foil. Leave wrapped while thawing.
- Converting to Muffins: Fill muffin cups two-thirds full and bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Photography by Lauren Grant.
When your little one is big enough, I make this recipe into mini muffins all the time and my kids love them. 15 minutes to bake and they’re good to go!
I make banana bread often and for a similar volume of ingredients, I use two loaf pans. I could not fit all of the batter in the pan with this recipe – although I filled the pan to the top and it did not cook all the way through in the oven. Was this supposed produce two loaves?
Hi Susan, No, this should definitely just make one large loaf.
I tried this recipe but made muffins instead of bread, and it worked fabulously!! I also made a batch with cinnamon chips and finely chopped apples instead of pb, bananas, and chocolate chips, and those turned out great, too! This is a wonderful base for any muffin/bread creation, thanks so much!!
I just got around to making this recipe. Was so excited because I really like loaf breads and I especially like PB, bananas and chocolate chips. But mine baked over the 8×4 inch pan. The batter completely filled the pan. I was concerned it might bake over so I placed the pan on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet to catch the over flow…just in case. Good thing I did. What do you think I did wrong? I’ve read over the recipe to make sure I used the right quantities, and I did. So? Thanks!
Hi Janice, The loaf is definitely meant to rise about the pan, but it should not have spilled out. It seems there were was maybe too much moisture. I wonder if you used large bananas?
I just made this bread and it is SOOO good! Thank you for the recipe!
My goodness, these are the greatest banana muffins i have ever made. EVER! Lovelovelove. I also added about 1/3 cup of peanut butter chips. Mmmm.
Will use this recipe for our church bake sale! I have made sugarfree banana bread for the sale as well as bread with sugar. will make this one sugarfree as well. I will add sugar substitute to the recipe in place of sugar and add sugarfree chocolate chips. Can’t wait to try it!!
This was easy to make and super delicious! My hubby says it’s his new favorite. It’s been 2 days since I made it and it still tastes the same. Thanks for a great recipe.
I found this recipe after wondering if there were any good ideas for peanut butter and banana bread with chocolate chips–and here it is! The bread looks great and tastes heavenly! And it used up the spare buttermilk from a scone recipe. Thanks so much for posting this. My 4 year old kept rhapsodizing about how awesome it smelled while baking.
Definitely use a 9×5 loaf pan to avoid the “burnt on the outside raw in the middle” phenomenon. Absolutely delicious!
Made this yesterday and it is amazing!! My kids ate man size slices. I made the buttermilk with vinegar and it was perfect. I didn’t have a full 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter, so I added some crunchy, and it’s yummy too. I wouldn’t change a thing!
Hi, can I use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar? Also, I only got dark chocolate morsels, can I use it? If I substitute the sugar n the morsel with what I have on hand, should I adjust the amount? Thank you!
Hi Han, Yes, you can substitute the dark brown sugar and dark chocolate morsels without modifying anything else. Enjoy!
I was thinking of trying out a pb banana bread when I came across this recipe. I tweaked it a bit for our taste & for what I had on hand but they tasted great! (made mini muffins for the kids lunch boxes)
Delicious!! Just made this today. Substituted applesauce for the veg. oil – yummy!!!!!! Thanks for your great recipes :)
I will use a larger loaf pan next time since the bread rose way higher than the pan and over the sides as well. I followed the ingredients exactly.
This was wonderful. I used crunchy peanut butter and mini chocolate chips. I didn’t have buttermilk so I used regular. my batter seemed a bit runny so I added a bit more flour. I hadn’t thought of that when i put it in the pan. I had some bake over into my oven and had to add an extra 15 minutes to the bake time. so next time I will adjust my loaf size and make a mini loaf in addition to the big one. Or perhaps I will make two regular loafs and use less bake time. The taste and texture is wonderful though even with the use of regular milk.
I made this banana bread..let me tell you- what a hit! Love love love it! I did add a hunk of Nutella to the batter..delicious!
Thanks for this yummy bread!
Since you posted this I cannot make this fast enough. Never before have I used up all of the frozen bananas in my freezer. I also made it into muffins for my kids. (Of course less cooking time as well)
Just made this recipe and followed the directions but mine turned out very doughy, I even put a little less flour. But even before I baked it, when I poured the dry to the wet ingredients that it doesn’t have the right consistency. What do you think went wrong?
Question: Why do I need to grease the pan AND use parchment paper?
Greasing the pan helps the parchment stick to the pan so it doesn’t just float up and crinkle when you pour the batter in.
Looking Awesome..thanks for share this wonderful recipe..kids will going to love this yummy treat!
I’d like to make this using a standard muffin pan instead of a loaf pan. Any suggestions on bake time? Love your blog!
Hi Allison, I would probably start checking around 15 minutes just to be sure they aren’t over done.
Just took it out of the oven! Smells and looks GREAT! Thank you for this recipe.
Just made this, although only had two bananas and also tried to healthify it a bit by substituting 1/2 cup of the white flour with wholemeal, reducing the sugar by half, reducing the chocolate chips by half (it was still a tad too chocolately for my liking, but very nice flavor otherwise). I also misread the amount of peanut butter and used only 1/4 cup, would definitely use at least 1/2 cup next time. Can just about detect it, especially in the smell, but it’s subtle. I also added some chopped up dried bananas to the mix since I had only had two fresh ones. That was actually a really good addition. In conclusion: the substituted wholemeal flour was fine, reducing the sugar and chocolate chips was fine, should have used more peanut butter, dried bananas were a nice addition. The result is a nicely risen, rich, delicious cake which is also actually very filling (thank goodness!). Now that it’s got peanut butter inside it I don’t need to spread it on top! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
WOW! It looks awesome! I can’t wait to make this! Thanks for the great recipe.
This bread is DELICIOUS!! I used safflower oil, whole wheat flour, and added a bit of honey to my batter since my bananas weren’t that ripe. The outside got a tinny bit burned but it’s still really yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
This tasted really good – I upped the peanut butter and choc chips and used regular milk.
I was wondering why you use parchment paper – I never have with quick breads, and this just caused the bread to “wrinkle” where the parchment was wrinkled and the batter that got on the edges of the paper burned. There is also an almost burned edge all along the upper side of the bread, while the rest is ok.
I the fact you used chocolate chips in this banana bread recipe.
Wow – this is reallly good. Unfortunately we lost electricity four minutes after I put the loaf in the oven and our generator took a couple minutes to kick on so I had a few issues with the baking part — but it’s very, very god. Just like the other post, I don’t think I’ll make banana bread any othe way again! Especially since my kids don’t really like banana bread, but this recipe they like. Thank you!!
I made this yesterday and it is the best banana bread my husband and I have had yet! I followed the recipe exactly except that I used white whole wheat flour and “made” buttermilk out of regular milk and cream of tarter. I baked it for 1 hour and 15 minutes, putting a foil tent over the top at the 45 minute mark and it turned out perfect! Thank you so much for a great recipe! I can never go back to making “plain” banana bread ever again :)