Pumpkin Banana Bread

By: Erin Clarke of Well Plated by Erin

Prep time: 25 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

Total time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

• ½ cup pecan halves or walnut halves optional; you can also swap other mix-ins of choice such as golden raisins, cranberries, or chocolate chips

• 1 cup mashed banana the riper the better (about 2 large bananas)

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

• ¼ cup coconut sugar or light brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons nonfat plain Greek yogurt

• ⅓ cup honey

• 2 large eggs at room temperature

• 1 cup pumpkin purée NOT pumpkin pie filling

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, and a pinch of ground cloves

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ¼ teaspoon baking powder

• 1 ½ cups white whole wheat flour

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. If using nuts for the mix-ins, spread them onto a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake until toasted and fragrant, about 8 to 12 minutes depending upon the size of the nuts. Do not walk away during the last few minutes of baking (this is when nuts love to burn). Immediately transfer to a cutting board. Let cool a few minutes, then roughly chop. Lightly coat an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.

• In a small bowl, mash the bananas and measure them out to ensure that you have 1 cup. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and coconut sugar until smooth and combined. Beat in the measured banana, Greek yogurt, honey, eggs, pumpkin (feel free to reuse the measuring cup you used for the banana to measure the pumpkin), and vanilla.

• Sprinkle the pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt over the top. Sprinkle the flour over the top, then with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir by hand, just until the flour disappears. Fold in the pecans or another mix-ins.

• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and let rest uncovered at room temperature for 15 minutes (Don’t skip this step! Resting helps the flour absorb the wet ingredients and will give you a better texture and flavor).

• Bake the bread for 55 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Another quick check is to see if the bread reaches 190 to 200 F degrees F on an instant read thermometer. Check the bread at the 35-minute mark. If it is browning more quickly than you would like, loosely tent the pan with foil and continue baking as directed.

• Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool completely, then remove the bread from the pan wrap the loaf tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or even better, overnight (I know this step sounds odd but it works and makes the bread taste incredible). Slice and devour!