Apples and bananas all in one loaf of moist bread! This quick to come together delicious Apple Banana Bread recipe has grated apples and mashed ripe bananas. It is baked to perfection with a hint of cinnamon and a delicious chewy crust. Eaten plain or slathered with butter, this bread is so good! You could eat it for breakfast, dessert or just a snack.
I don't know about you but I'm a major fan of any kind of banana bread. My family also loves banana bread and we usually don't have an entire loaf around for long. If you are a frequent Hey, Snickerdoodle reader you have probably figured out we have a bit of a problem when it comes to grazing on baked goods! I think I can justify eating more than one serving of this bread though, since it has both bananas AND apples...and they are healthy fruits, which makes this healthy bread, right?
This recipe came together after finding a recipe in my grandma's recipe box for Apple Banana Cake. With a few adjustments and some testing on oven temperature and time, I think this final recipe is delish! The best part about the bread is that it is the perfect density and slices nicely into any size slice you desire. This is now one of our favorite banana bread recipes!
I originally had all kinds of plans for a glaze to pour on the top of this, but it's so good as is, that it really doesn't need anything extra! The crust on this bread is so good!
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Ingredients Needed
- Apples: Since the apples are grated for this recipe, any apple variety will do.
- Bananas: Extra ripe mashed bananas are going to be the sweetest and best for the bread. You will want a banana that has a peel that is completely black or mostly black.
- Eggs
- Sugar
- Butter: Unsalted butter is best for baking so you have more control over the amount of salt in the recipe.
- Vanilla Extract
- Flour: All-purpose flour works well for this.
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Salt
How to Make Apple Banana Bread
The first thing you will want to do is to preheat your oven to 350°F. You will also want to spray a 10x5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. I also like to line mine with parchment paper so I can easily pull it out to cool, but this is not necessary because you can tip the bread out when it cools or slice it right in the pan!
Prepare Apples and Bananas
To prepare the apples for grating, peel the apples first. Then, with a box grater, grate the apples and discard the core.
To prepare the bananas, I like to add the bananas to the large bowl that I will be mixing my ingredients in first. Then with a fork, mash the bananas until they are fully mashed.
Prepare Bread
In a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients (apples, bananas, eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla.) Stir until the mixture is fully combined. Set this aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.) Stir with a whisk to combine. Add the flour mixture to the apple mixture. Stir just until all the ingredients are combined.
Pour the apple mixture into the prepared loaf pan. The loaf pan will be pretty full and while baking, it might look like it's going to overflow, but it hasn't done that for me yet. It stays put for the entire baking time!
Bake in the 350°F oven on the middle rack for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until an inserted toothpick in the middle comes out with just a few crumbs. While it's really hard to do, you will want to make sure you let it cool completely on a wire rack before slicing. Eat plain or slather with butter. Enjoy!
FAQ
- I like nuts in my banana bread, can I add any to this recipe? Yes! This is equally delicious with 1 cup chopped walnuts mixed in to the batter.
- My bananas always get too ripe before I find time to bake with them. Any tips? Yes. I used to have this problem all the time. When we have bananas that are getting extra ripe and I'm not sure when I will get to bake with them, I peel them, put them in a zip top bag and keep them in the freezer. When I am ready to use them, I just take them out about an hour before I need them and they are ready to be mashed!
- How should I store the Apple Banana Bread after I bake it? Wrap your cooled loaf of bread in plastic wrap or foil and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, although I don't think you'll have it around for that long!
Looking For More Apple Recipes?
Try these recipes:
Recipe
Apple Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 medium apples, peeled, cored and grated
- 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 5x10-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the apples, bananas, sugar, butter, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir with a whisk to combine.
- Add the flour mixture to the apple mixture and stir just until combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake in 350°F oven for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out mostly clean.
Jean Davis
This bread is delicious toasted with peanut butter.
Ashlyn Meredith
Oooh, that sounds delicious and I'm definitely trying that next time I make it!
Gloria Corgnali
Can I substitute oil to butter and use less sugar?
Ashlyn Meredith
This is a great question and if I had some apples I'd try this out for you. While I haven't ever tried making this bread with oil and less sugar, this is what I would try: replace the butter with oil and reduce sugar by 1/2 cup and add an extra banana. My experience with quick breads like this is that you can play around with ingredients and quantities a bit and still end up with a pretty good loaf of bread. I hope this helps!
Vic catullo
Can I add glazed pecans to this banana bread recipe? If I can add glazed pecans then how many can I add?
Ashlyn Meredith
That sounds like a delicious addition. I would try 1/2 cup of chopped pecans in the batter and 1/4 cup sprinkled on top. Let me know how it is!
Doris
I don't have that size pan and have 8 by 4 or 9 by 5. This looks good would like to make as soon as I get apples and banana
Ashlyn Meredith
I think it would be best to use the 9x5. You will want to adjust the baking time and watch it to be sure it's not getting too done. I would start checking it around the 50 minute mark and keep checking for doneness every 5-10 minutes. You'll know it's done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs. Also, don't overfill your pan. You may find that you will want to divide the batter between your two loaf pans because this recipe fills that bigger loaf pan almost to the top! Be sure to fill no more than 1/2 inch from the top of the pan. I hope this helps!!