Blueberry Banana Nut Bread

4.80 from 5 votes

This blueberry banana nut bread is moist, bakery-style, and easy to make in one bowl. Overripe bananas, juicy blueberries, pecans, and buttermilk create a tender loaf with balanced sweetness. Fully tested with foolproof tips for perfect results every time.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 35

Course: Bread, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 317kcal

Author: Sharon Rigsby

Ingredients

2 overripe bananas, mashed (average size, a little less than a cup)
2 eggs beaten
1½ cups sugar
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup plus one tablespoon buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
1¾ cups all-purpose flour, not sifted, plus 1 scant tablespoon (divided)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup blueberries, stems removed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F
Grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan, or spray with non-stick baking spray with flour. Add a parchment paper sling to lift the bread out. (Blueberries tend to be sticky if they burst next to the pan.)
Add the bananas, eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, buttermilk, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt to a large bowl and stir to combine.
Add the flour, except the extra tablespoon, and stir to combine.
Toss the blueberries with the tablespoon of flour, discard any excess, and gently fold in the with the pecans.
Transfer batter to your prepared pan.
Bake for 30 minutes and loosely cover the tip with a sheet of foil. Then bake an additional 50-60 minutes, until the top is golden brown and splits slightly, and a toothpick or wooden skewer comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, not wet batter. Insert the skewer off-center, not straight down the middle.
The internal temperature, as measured with a digital thermometer, should be between 200 and 205 °. When checking the internal temperature, insert the thermometer into the center of the loaf and stop before reaching the bottom of the pan, which can give a false high reading. Avoid visible blueberries
Let the bread rest 15 minutes in the pan. Use a thin knife and slide between the bread and the exposed ends. Use the parchment sling and lift it out of the pan. Let cool completely before slicing.
Slice and serve or wrap well and freeze for up to 60 days.

Notes

I used a metal loaf pan. If a glass or light-colored pan is used, the batter may not cook evenly, and the cooking time may vary.

Tent with foil after 30 minutes to avoid over-browning

Use an instant-read digital thermometer to ensure your bread is done. When testing, insert the probe into the thickest part and pull it out slowly until the temperature begins to drop. Whichever depth has the lowest temperature is where you should test.

I tried various tricks or hacks to make my bananas ripen quicker, including putting them in a sealed brown paper bag with an apple, storing them in a warm spot, baking them in the oven, and even heating them up in the microwave. I didn’t find that any of these methods worked particularly well, though putting them in the oven or microwave does make them easier to mash. But it doesn’t give you the sweet banana flavor you get from overripe bananas.

Insert testing skewers at an angle, not straight down, and avoid blueberry pockets when testing for doneness.

Let cool completely before slicing, and use a serrated knife for clean slices

Consider using an oven thermometer to confirm your oven temperature is correct.

Additionally, because blueberries can burst along the sides of the pan and stick, even if the pan is greased and floured, I added a parchment sling that should be long enough to reach both long sides of the pan and cover the bottom. I secured it with binder clips. This makes it even easier to lift it out of the pan.

For picture-perfect slices, let the bread cool completely and use a serrated bread knife.

If a banana looks good enough to eat, it will not work well in banana bread. Your bananas should have visible dark spots and be overripe, meaning the starches have turned to sugar, which is perfect for banana bread.

If you have overripe bananas but don’t have time to make banana bread, simply peel them and place the amount your recipe calls for in an airtight freezer bag, then freeze them. They thaw quickly.

I use a fork to mash my bananas, but you could also use a potato masher.

Nutrition