Straight from my Grandmother’s recipe box, this banana nut bread recipe is tried and true, easy, dense, moist and full of banana flavor.
Serve this with Fried Ham and Potatoes (Country Potatoes) for a good old fashioned breakfast.
What You Can Expect From This Recipe
This is a Old Fashioned Banana Nut Bread recipe that’s been in our family for around 70 years. It’s our go-to quick bread recipe, that’s no fuss, easy and reliable.
- It’s a banana nut bread recipe using shortening. In our case we always used Crisco.
- It’s a banana nut bread recipe using buttermilk.
- It’s made with basic baking ingredients.
- A reliable, moist and old-fashioned banana bread using Crisco. This recipe uses the creaming method where the shortening, sugar and eggs are creamed together before the bananas and dry ingredients are added. Creaming adds air, and affects the volume and texture of the bread.
- Fill the loaf pans and it’s ready to bake. Easy!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Aside from basic pantry ingredients, this recipe for Old Fashioned Banana Nut Bread is unique that it uses Buttermilk and Crisco Shortening.
Step by Step Instructions, It’s So Easy
- Step 1: With a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream shortening and sugar, add eggs and beat until fluffy. About 2 minutes.
- Step 2: Add dry ingredients, mashed bananas, buttermilk and chopped pecans.
- Step 3: Pour batter into greased and floured 9 x 5″, 9 ½ x 5 ½ ” or two 8″ loaf pans. Bake 350 degrees 50 minutes for the larger pans, or 40 minutes for the small pans.
- Step 4: Let the loaves cool completely. Run a butter knife around the edge of the bread and then invert the loaf pan to gently nudge the bread from the pan. If needed, tap the bottom of the pan while the loaf is upside down to encourage it to release.
Tips For Success
- Use very ripe bananas.
- Use a whisk to stir the flour, then use a spoon to gently place in measuring up.
- Use butter to grease the pans before baking. You can also flour the pans for extra protection against sticking and easy removal.
- I like to use two 8-inch loaf pans. You can also use one 9-inch loaf pan. If your use the larger loaf pan, increase cooking time to 50 minutes.
Variations
- You can use walnuts in place of pecans. Or simply omit the nuts if there are allergy issues.
- Add some chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or even butterscotch chips. ½ – ¾ cup will work well here.
Storage
Let each loaf come to room temperature. Wrap in plastic wrap to keep bread moist. Serve at room temperature for up to four days. Or freeze for up to three months.
How To Serve It
- Slice and spread with softened butter or with room temperature cream cheese.
- However you slice and spread it, it’s totally delicious for breakfast, snack or even dessert.
Old Fashioned Banana Nut Bread Recipe
I hope you give this classic banana nut bread recipe a try. It’s our family favorite.
More Quick Bread Recipes
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Old Fashioned Banana Nut Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable shortening Crisco
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup banana very ripe and mashed. Simply use a fork here.
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup pecans — chopped
Instructions
- Sift flour, soda and salt together.
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer, rream shortening and sugar, add eggs and beat until fluffy. About 2 minutes. Add dry ingredients, mashed bananas, buttermilk and chopped pecans.
- Pour batter into greased 9 x 5", 9 ½ x 5 ½ " or two 8" loaf pans. Bake 350 degrees 50 minutes for the larger pans, or 40 minutes for the small pans. Test with a cake tester to make sure batter is cooked through. Oven temps vary, so I start checking doneness after 40 – 50 minutes and add a few minutes on the timer until banana bread is cooked through.
- Let the loaves cool completely. Run a butter knife around the edge of the bread and then invert the loaf to gently nudge out of the pan. If needed, tap the bottom of the pan while the loaf is upside down to encourage it to release.
Notes
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- Use very ripe bananas.
-
- Use butter to grease the pans before baking. You can also flour the pans for extra protection against sticking and easy removal.
-
- I like to use two 8-inch loaf pans. You can also use one 9-inch loaf pan. If your use the larger loaf pan, increase cooking time to 50 minutes.
- Use a whisk to stir the flour, then use a spoon to gently add the flour to the measuring cup. (Rather than scooping the measuring up into the flour)This will help keep the banana bread fluffier in texture and not too dense. As always use the back of a butter knife to scrape the flour even to the top of the measuring cup.
Nutrition
Old Fashioned Banana Nut Bread …It’s What’s for Baking.
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
Sounds good, my Mom’s and her Mom’s (they were from North Dakota, farm country)… recipe has Crisco, but no moisture (sour cream or buttermilk)…so I have adjusted to the sour cream), but I think the buttermilk sounds better, as to let the true taste of the bananas shine! Also, my recipe calls for 3 bananas! which I’ve always used…and walnuts. Gonna switch it up today and try all the different things…. thanks tons!
Very good will definitely use this recipe again.
I am going to bake a loaf of this today. We love banana bread. The only difference in our recipes is the Crisco (my recipe calls for butter) and the amount of sugar (mine calls for 2 cups). I’m using your recipe today , except using butter since that’s what I have on hand. Also I’m using only 1 cup of sugar, like you
I appreciate your directions. My recipe was handwritten and the directions are confusing. Thats what made me start searching for recipes. Thank you!
I have used and LOVED this recipe for years. I like to add a dusting of sugar on top. You can also substitute (or add) ANYTHING such as 1 cup of blueberries or chopped apples. I make my own buttermilk by mixing 1 cup milk with 1 tbs lemon juice or vinegar – and just let it stand for 5 minutes.
Tired of all the B-nan bread recipes @ Allrecipes so tried Google. Never heard of using Crisco so tried your recipe. Oh wow, turned out so good with a nice “crust” and delicate texture. Gotta share with my sister, she will love this too. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Deb and thanks for your note.
In this day and age, using Crisco in a bread recipe does sound “different”. This recipe is a recipe that my mom made all of her life that she got from her Mom. In a day when Crisco was used more commonly. Hence the title, “Old Fashioned”.
It’s the only way I’ve ever made it.
I so much appreciate your note, I’m glad you tried it and so glad you liked it.
MMMMMM! A lovely banana bread! I love it too! 🙂
Thanks Sophie. Happy New Year.
One of my boys’ favorites! I hate the stuff but the rest of the family LOVES it. The hardest part is getting bananas to last long enough in our house to get ripe, the boys devour them before they get ripe.
I always have good intentions with bananas but always seem to have a few that end up getting too ripe. I think you’re the first person I know that doesn’t like banana nut bread.
I love holiday baking but get tired of all the overly rich foods and go quickly back to old standby recipes like this one. A little bit of cream cheese is the perfect addition. Happy holiday, Lea Ann.
You can never have too many banana bread recipes! I have some bananas ready for baking in the kitchen now. This recipe will be perfect, thanks!
The classics are always best!!!
Your photo captured the soft crust of banana bread perfectly. I can almost taste it. I will add this to my cookbook as the “go to” recipe – thanks! (of course I’m drooling over the vintage silver – it’s a total weakness) 🙂
There’s nothing like old-fashioned banana bread! 🙂
I most always have a few mini loaves of banana bread in my freezer. It’s a perennial favorite of ours. I have a tried and true recipe that we love but yours sounds well worth trying. It looks delicious! I also love your mother’s idea of cream cheese on it! That’s something I’ve never tried but certainly will now.
You can never go wrong with good old banana bread! Loving this recipe!
Aaaaaaahhh… just like the banana bread recipe in my family.. I love this!! Simple and perfect…. and I am so going to try the cream cheese spread idea next time I make it… that sounds decadent and wonderful!
Love the idea of cream cheese on the bread in place of butter. We use cream cheese more and more and the low fat version isn’t too bad for you calorie and fat wise.
Sam
You just can’t beat an old fashioned banana bread recipe!
I love any kind of quick bread with cream cheese on it. Yummy!
Yummy is right Karen. 🙂
I love banana nut bread especially when made with black walnuts, like Bev’s mom did. Her dad would spend hours cracking those pesky things and digging out the nut meat.
I would imagine the reward of that banana bread made it worth the tedious task of cracking those walnuts. I love family food memories like this.
Love the creaming part. My Mom and Grandma were great fans of Crisco. That was what made their pie crusts so great. Happy Holidays Lee Ann.