This pumpkin banana bread is incredibly moist with a delicious pumpkin spice flavor and the perfect banana bread texture. Using both pumpkin and bananas creates a loaf that’s perfectly tender. But it’s the pumpkin and warm spices that will make you fall in love with this fall treat!

Pumpkin bread and banana bread are both classic recipes that are perfect no matter your kitchen experience, and this pumpkin banana bread combines the best of both worlds. It has a delicious pumpkin spice flavor thanks to pumpkin puree, brown sugar, vanilla and warm spices. Then adding mashed bananas makes the loaf even more tender and moist. There’s a slight hint to banana in the bread, but I find you mainly taste the pumpkin. Don’t worry – the combination is delicious.

Ingredients You’ll Need

For this recipe, here’s what you’ll need:

Dry Ingredients:

1 ⅔ Cups All-Purpose Flour. Be sure to measure the flour correctly, either whisk it first then spoon into dry measuring cups and level off the top or use a scale (it will weigh 208 grams or 7.4 ounces). Too much flour and the loaf can get dry.
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda & ¾ Teaspoon Baking Powder. I found the combination of the 2 created the best rise.
¼ Teaspoon Salt. If you only have salted butter on hand, you could leave this out. I always prefer using unsalted butter and adding in the salt because it gives me more control. Different brands of salted butter use different amounts.
Spices: 1 ½ Teaspoons Cinnamon, ½ Teaspoon Ginger Powder, ¼ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg, ¼ Teaspoon Ground Cloves. I like this loaf with a good amount of spices. If you want to use premixed pumpkin pie spice, then use ½ teaspoon cinnamon and 1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice instead of the spices and amounts listed above.

Wet Ingredients:

½ Cup Unsalted Butter, melted. After testing this recipe with both oil and melted butter, I prefer the flavor using melted butter. Plus, the banana and pumpkin add so much moisture that you don’t need the extra moisture that comes form using oil.
½ Cup Brown Sugar and ½ Cup Granulated Sugar. I love combo of sugars for flavor. If you want the loaf less sweet, you could reduce the granulated sugar by ¼ cup.
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Cup Mashed Bananas. You’ll need 2-3 brown bananas, just make sure to measure the 1 cup after mashing. You want bananas that are very brown and spotty so that they have any moisture. Just cut out any bruises.
1 Cup Pumpkin Puree. Note that it’s 1 cup, not one full can. Pumpkin puree (which is pure pumpkin) is not the same as canned pumpkin pie filling. Be sure to use pure pumpkin.

Optional:

½ Cup Chopped Walnuts
or 1 Cup Chocolate Chips

Making the Pumpkin Banana Bread

This recipe comes together with very little effort without an electric mixer. It uses the muffin method – meaning you mix together the dry ingredients in one bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients in another bowl, then mix them both together. Here’s the rundown.

Start by preheating the oven to 350F degrees (180C or 170C on a convection oven). Then you’ll line the bottom of your loaf pan with parchment paper and grease the sides. I strongly prefer this method compared to just greasing the pan because I find the loaf slides out so much easier after baking.
In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon, ginger, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, baking soda and salt. The combination of spices is what gives the perfect pumpkin spice flavor. In the recipe notes, I’ve included a substitution to use pumpkin pie spice instead of all the spices listed.
Then in a separate bowl you’ll whisk together the wet ingredients. I always start by whisking together just the melted butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla to remove any sugar lumps. Then whisk in the pumpkin puree and mashed bananas.
Make a well shape in the dry ingredients. Then pour the wet ingredients into the well.
Gently fold the ingredients together using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. It is key to do this gently. Over mixing can cause the bread to be tough instead of tender.
When the mixture looks about 80% combined, optionally fold in the chopped walnuts or chocolate chips.
Pour/spoon the batter into your prepared tin and pop in the oven to bake.
The loaf will need to bake for about 55-65 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Note: Oven times vary as much as 15-20%. Therefore, don’t be alarmed if your loaf takes longer than 1 hour. When it’s done baking, an inserted toothpick should come out clean or with a few crumbs. If you gently touch the top of your loaf with your finger, it should feel firm or slightly springy to the touch. If you notice the top of the loaf starting to be quite brown, but it’s not cooked through yet, tent a piece of aluminum foil overtop of the pan and continue baking.

Freezing Notes

This pumpkin banana bread freezes beautifully. You can either freeze the entire loaf (unsliced), or freeze slices individually. Make sure the loaf is completely cooled first.

To freeze the entire loaf, wrap tightly in plastic at least 2 times so that all the seems are covered. Then wrap in aluminum foil or place in a freezer bag. To thaw, place in the fridge until thawed.
To freeze slices, wrap each slice in plastic. Then place slices in a freezer bag. To thaw, remove the slices you’d like to thaw and thaw in the fridge (with slices still wrapped in plastic).

**Always thaw in the fridge. If you thaw on the counter, you can end up with the middle still frozen but the edges gummy.

Moist, flavorful and with a delicious pumpkin spice flavor – this pumpkin banana bread is banana bread that’s ready for fall! And if you need more delicious pumpkin recipes for breakfast, morning coffee or afternoon tea, then be sure to try:

Pumpkin banana loaf, with a few pieces sliced

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