This pumpkin banana bread is soft, moist and full of cozy pumpkin spice flavor! It’s easy to make and combines two favorites, pumpkin and banana, into one quick bread for fall.
Give me all the pumpkin recipes during autumn! Try pumpkin muffins with a cake mix, pumpkin cream cheese bread and pumpkin crumb muffins just to name a few.
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Two Favorite Quick Breads in One
I absolutely love this pumpkin banana bread recipe. It combines my two favorites: a pumpkin bread recipe with banana bread. It is melt in your mouth tender and delicious!
The quick bread is soft (thanks to the bananas and pumpkin combo) and full of pumpkin spice flavor. Add this to your list of pumpkin recipes to make this season, it’s perfect for a fall breakfast or snack!
Ingredients for Pumpkin Banana Bread
Find the full printable recipe below.
- Pumpkin: 100% pure pumpkin puree is needed for this recipe, either canned or homemade pumpkin puree. Make sure not to mistake this for canned pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar and spices.
- Bananas: Use very ripe bananas with brown spots. The riper the bananas, the sweeter the bread.
- Flour: A simple all-purpose flour works great in this recipe.
- Eggs: Fresh are best.
- Butter: Using unsalted butter is my preference, as I like to have control over the amount of salt included. If using salted butter, simply omit the added salt.
- Sugar: Both granulated and light brown sugar are added for sweetness and flavor.
- Sour cream: This is optional, although I highly recommend it! It will make your bread extra moist and soft. I love adding it to all my banana bread recipes!
- Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract for a boost of vanilla flavor.
- Spices: Pantry staples like cinnamon, sea salt and pumpkin pie spice help add the perfect amount of flavor in this banana pumpkin bread.
Variations
Make this pumpkin spice banana bread your own by getting creative with these add ins!
- Mix in chocolate chips to make a sweeter banana pumpkin chocolate chip bread. I usually do one loaf with chocolate and one without.
- Add nuts such as pecans or walnuts for a delicious twist and crunch like I do in this recipe for banana nut bread.
- Once the batter is in the pan, top with a simple crumble topping or streusel topping before baking.
- Drizzle with a powdered sugar icing or maple glaze for a sweeter finish.
How to Make Pumpkin Banana Bread
Mash bananas very well using a potato masher. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars then mix in the eggs, vanilla and pumpkin. Whisk together dry ingredients then slowly combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients until combined. Fold in mashed bananas.
Whisk together dry ingredients then slowly combine wet ingredients with dry ingredients until combined. Fold in mashed bananas.
Pour pumpkin and banana bread batter into 2 greased 8×4″ loaf pans and bake at 325°F for 55 minutes, or until bread is lightly browned and a toothpick comes clean. Remove from oven and cool slightly before removing from pan and cooling on a wire rack. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Make sure to use very ripe brown bananas. It will create a softer and sweeter bread.
- Spray the loaf pan with nonstick spray and add parchment paper for easy removal.
- Add 1/4 cup sour cream for an extra moist loaf.
- If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand, make your own with a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
- Gently place foil over the bread (don’t seal tight) if the top is beginning to brown too fast.
- This recipes makes 2 loaves of pumpkin banana bread. I love to freeze one for later. If you would prefer only 1 loaf, simply cut the recipe in half.
Baking Alternatives
- To make pumpkin muffins: Simply prepare banana bread with pumpkin batter as directed, then pour into two greased regular-sized muffin tins. Bake at 325°F for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. If making a mini banana muffin start checking at 10 minutes.
- Mini loaves: For mini loaves, prepare 2-3 mini loaf pans and bake for 25-30 minutes.
Love banana bread? You’ll love my banana bread muffins, chocolate chip banana bread and chocolate banana bread.
More Pumpkin Recipes
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Pumpkin Banana Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 1 cup (225 g) very ripe bananas (3 bananas with brown spots on them)
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter , slightly softened
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar , packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240 g) pumpkin puree
- 2 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice , add an extra teaspoon for extra spice
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt , use 3/4 teaspoon with salted butter
Optional add in's: 1 cup chocolate chips and/or 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Instructions
- Prep. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease one 9×5" loaf pan or two 8×4" loaf pans and line with parchment paper if desired. Set aside.
- Mash bananas. Peel and then mash 3 spotty brown bananas with a potato masher or fork. You want them to be mashed very well, so there are no chunks. You should have 1 cup mashed bananas, set aside.
- Cream wet ingredients. In a large bowl, cream 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar until smooth and creamy (about 1 minute). Then mix in 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla and 1 cup pumpkin.
- Dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1 teaspoon salt. Slowly add flour mixture to sugar mixture and stir until combined. Fold in bananas and chocolate chips or nuts (if desired).
- Bake. Pour into the loaf pans and bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes clean. If using one 9×5" pan, you will need to bake 10-15 minutes longer. You want the bread to be lightly browned. If it is browning too fast, cover lightly with foil. Remove from oven once a toothpick comes clean.
- Cool and store. Once the bread has slightly cooled, remove from the pan and place on a cooling rack. Then slice using a bread knife. Store any leftovers in a ziplock bag or covered container.
Notes
- Add in a cup of chocolate chips to make it a kid favorite.
- Add in 1/2-1 cup chopped walnuts.
- Add in 1/4 cup sour cream to make it extra moist, however it is already pretty soft.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
This bread will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days. You may also keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Wrap in plastic wrap or foil or place in an airtight container or bag to store.
Sour cream is optional, however I always add it to my pumpkin banana bread. It makes the bread super soft and moist.
If you prefer a texture that’s similar to traditional banana bread, then you can leave it out.
Sure, simply cut the recipe in half to make one 8×4″ loaf of banana pumpkin bread.
The great thing about this pumpkin banana bread is that it doesn’t dry out in the freezer because it’s so soft and moist. Let the bread cool completely, then wrap tightly with saran wrap or foil. Place in a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight or at room temperature for a few hours (don’t unwrap it so that it stays moist)
Categorized as: American, Bread, Freezer-Friendly, Halloween, Nut-Free, Quick Bread, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
This recipe says it makes two loaves, but only mentions greasing one loaf pan. I just want to make sure that the quantities in the 1x recipe are for TWO loaves, not one? Thank you!
Sorry about that! You can use one 9×5 inch pan or two 8×4 inch pans.
So….the quantities are for one loaf, I guess? The description above the recipe card also has you making the bread in ONE 8×4….I’m not trying to be pain but it’s confusing that the recipe says it makes two loaves, but then the description uses one 8×4 and the recipe itself uses one 9×5. Sorry!
Hi, sorry for any confusion, but you can make this in one or two pans. Two 8×4 pans or one 9×5. So it really depends on the size of your loaf pan. Pouring the batter all into one 8×4 pan will make it too dense and possibly overflow, so in that case use two pans. If you only have one 9×5 loaf pan, that will work, but you will need to increase the baking time slightly to accommodate using only pan. Hope that helps!
Can you make this recipe Gluten Free using 1 for 1 gluten free flour? Would you do anything different besides the flour?
Hi Nancy! I haven’t tested this recipe using GF flour. If you try it, let me know how it turns out :) Happy baking!
Im wanting to add ground flax for extra fiber. Can you recommend an appropriate measurement? Thanks!
I would start with one to two teaspoons of flax adding a little more or less depending on your prefrence. It is also a thickener so you will want to be careful not to have too much and take away from the moist bread.
Is there a way to replace the sour cream with a dairy free replacement?? I love all of the recipes for the different breads and would love to make them moist, thank you!
Thank you for the nice compliments! I am so glad that you have found some delicious recipes. I have not tried it with a dairy free replacement. Let me know how it turns out!
I almost always replace sour cream in recipes with plain unflavored Greek yogurt and it comes out moist and delicious, plus adds protein. I haven’t tried them, but I know there are dairy-free alternative yogurts, so I think those would probably work here as a substitute (and possibly on savory dishes like baked potatoes.. plain yogurt is excellent there as well, in my opinion :).
I didn’t see where to use the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, all spice, and cloves…did I miss something?
Woops! Thanks for catching that, Melissa – we’ve updated the recipe card. The brown sugar and white sugar gets creamed with the butter and then the spices are mixed in with the dry flour mixture.
Very yummy…I have also used unsweetened applesauce instead of pumpkin and it’s wonderful.
Thanks for sharing your substitution, Jill! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe :)
Disappears faster than it can cool
The same thing happens at our house too :)
What size can of pumpkin does this recipe call for?
Hi Kelly! It doesn’t use a full can, just 1 cup. :)
Yum! A fall twist on my favorite bread!!
Pumpkin is the perfect addition to this banana bread. So good!