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Classic Banana Bread with Walnuts – Easy One Bowl Recipe

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This classic banana bread with walnuts is incredibly moist and tender with a perfectly crackly crust. Made in one bowl with toasted walnuts for crunch, it’s the ultimate comfort food that fills your kitchen with the best smell imaginable.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 large ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 ½ cups or 340g)
  • ⅓ cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted
  • ¾ cup (150g) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 ½ cups (190g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
  • ¾ cup (90g) walnuts, roughly chopped

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Position the rack in the center of the oven. Toast walnuts in a small dry skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, shaking occasionally, until fragrant and slightly darker. Set aside to cool.
  2. Line a 9×5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides. Alternatively, grease the pan thoroughly with butter and dust with flour.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth with a few small lumps. It should measure about 1 ½ cups.
  4. Add the melted butter to the bananas and stir until combined. Stir in the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until well combined and the batter looks thick and glossy.
  5. Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon over the wet ingredients. Gently stir until just combined—stop as soon as no streaks of flour remain. Do not overmix.
  6. Fold in the toasted walnuts with a rubber spatula using about 5-6 strokes, just until evenly distributed.
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly. Tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to release air bubbles. Optionally, sprinkle extra chopped walnuts on top.
  8. Bake for 55-65 minutes at 350°F (175°C) until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. The top should be golden brown and cracked. If browning too quickly after 40 minutes, tent loosely with aluminum foil.
  9. Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Use the parchment paper handles to lift it out and transfer to the rack to cool completely. Wait at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Don’t skip toasting the walnuts—it keeps them crunchy. Use a kitchen scale for accurate flour measurement (1 cup = 125-130g). Check internal temperature (200-205°F) for doneness. Let bananas get heavily spotted for maximum sweetness. Room temperature ingredients mix more evenly. The bread tastes even better on day two.

Nutrition

Keywords: banana bread, walnut banana bread, one bowl banana bread, easy banana bread, classic banana bread, moist banana bread

Find it online: https://bitesienna.com/classic-banana-bread-with-walnuts-easy-one-bowl-recipe/