Better than Starbucks Banana Walnut Bread (with cream cheese frosting!) is a new fall ritual. Imagine no waiting in line…no worry about getting the mangy looking slice at the back of the case…no sad face after taking your last bite ~ because you’ve got the whole dang loaf sitting right in your kitchen!
Starbucks banana bread is good…mine is fabulous!
That first pumpkin spice latte of the season is totally worth standing in line for, it’s part of the whole change of seasons ritual for me. But after that, I roll up my sleeves, tie on my apron, and get down to it in my own kitchen. Instead of spending my hard earned money at Starbucks, I like to make my own. This better than Starbucks banana walnut bread is better because it’s fresher, chunkier, and it’s got a thick layer of tangy cream cheese frosting. Touché Starbucks!
what you’ll need
- banana
- walnuts
- flour
- sugar ~ both granulated and confectioner’s
- egg
- vegetable oil
- cream cheese
- milk
- baking powder, baking soda, salt
- cinnamon
- vanilla extract
The nice thing about this particular bread is that, in addition to being tender and moist, it’s got a chunky texture from lots of walnuts and banana. I don’t mash the banana to a pulp, I leave small bits in there. If you’re a super banana freak you could even take an extra banana and chop it into small pieces and add them as well.
I like to slice it in satisfyingly fat coffee shop style slices, too, that makes it feel extra luxurious.
what makes this banana loaf better than Starbucks?
Well, the thick layer of vanilla scented cream cheese frosting, for one! That takes a good banana bread to the next level. I spread it on nice and thick so I can get a bit of frosting in every bite.
we love to bake with bananas!
A quick search for ‘banana‘ on tvfgi brings up lots of other options if you’re craving mashed banana ~ how about my Pineapple Banana Bread, my Bourbon Banana Butter, or my super popular Banana Blondies? My Banana Cake with Spiced Vanilla Buttercream is a personal favorite. And if you’ve only got one lonely banana available, definitely make my One Banana Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips.
“I made this, and it was fantastic 🙂 I don’t even like banana bread and I loved it! And it was gorgeous.”
~ Cheryl
Better than Starbucks Chunky Banana Walnut Bread
Equipment
- standard 9×5 loaf pan
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 extra large egg (you can use a large egg if that's all you have)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil, I used safflower
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup roughly mashed banana
- 2/3 cups chopped walnuts, plus more for garnish
frosting
- 2 Tbsp cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 heaping cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- milk or cream to thin
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F. Spray and line a standard 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper with long ends. This is so you can lift it out easily for slicing.
- Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and sugar together in a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer.
- Beat in the egg, oil, and vanilla.
- Fold in the banana and nuts, and make sure everything is well combined. Turn into the pan and even out the batter. Bake for about an hour, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it. (Moist crumbs are fine.) Let the bread cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then remove to a rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Blend the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla with enough milk or cream to make a spreadable frosting. Spread over the top of the cooled bread, Sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Notes
- This bread bakes at 325F. This allows the entire loaf to cook through without the edges getting too dry. Be sure your oven is calibrated correctly. I use an inexpensive oven thermometer which I leave in the oven at all time, and always check before putting anything in to bake.
- Loaf pans can vary in size. I used a standard metal 9×5 pan. If yours is smaller or larger, or made of glass, the baking time will vary.
Nutrition
OMGOSH! This recipe is the Bomb! I make it every few weeks… small loaves, large loaves, with or without frosting- they are all delicious! Freezes well too…
I use 2 large eggs (I rarely have XL eggs), a full cup of chopped walnuts, and an extra mashed banana or two… always a yummy hit!! Enjoy ?
I’ve made allot of banana bread in my 66 years of life and this is by far THE BEST!!
Yay!! Thanks for coming back to let me know 🙂
OMG! I made this banana loaf today, added crushed pineapple and instead of adding milk to the cream cheese I added pineapple juice, left it all day while I went out and played golf, came home had dinner, thought I would try a piece of the loaf, 5 pieces in and now I’m typing this to say it’s just the best ever!
Thanks Mike, I like your pineapple riff on this!
PERFECTION! And so easy! Even better with dark chocolate chips.
Everything’s better with chocolate 🙂
How much sugar is safe to cut out? Is half okay?
The general rule is that you can cut up to 1/3 of the sugar in baked goods, so I’d probably try that.
If I could give this recipe 10 stars I would. I’ve had people offer to pay me to make this for them. Best banana bread ever, thanks so much for sharing!!
Haha, I love this Linda!
I really like this recipe. I’ve done both the bread and the muffins. I use a combination of walnuts and pecans just because I love pecans. I also sprinkle coarse sparkle sugar on top. This is a great tasting banana bread, my favorite.
Can I replace the nuts for chocolate chips?
Yes and yum!
Best banana vread. Look no further
Can I use Splenda for this recipe?
I don’t have experience baking with Splenda, but officially they say: Splenda recommends using a one-to-one ratio of Splenda Granulated to sugar when the amount of sugar is 1 1/4 cups or less, or the amount of flour used in the recipe is at least two times the amount of sugar.
So for this recipe the amount of flour isn’t quite double the sugar, I think you’d have to experiment and give it a try.
Best banana walnut bread ever. Just added half the sugar and rest everything was same. Husband loved it. I’m so glad that I tried your recipe and this is for keeps. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
This is the MOST DELICIOUS banana nut bead EVER!!! It is the ONLY rcipe I use!!!