Filled with naturally sweet bananas and beautiful bright berries, this moist Banana Berry Bread is a perfect quick bread for an easy breakfast, afternoon snack or dessert.
Why Make This Banana Berry Bread
- Kid-Friendly Delight: Your little ones will adore this Banana Berry Bread! Its sweet and fruity taste is sure to captivate young taste buds, making it a fantastic snack or lunchbox treat for school days or playdates.
- Wholesome and Nutritious: This recipe uses white whole wheat flour, offering more nutrients and fiber than regular all-purpose flour. It’s an excellent way to introduce healthy ingredients into your family’s diet while maintaining a soft and moist texture.
- Easy to Make: Don’t worry about complicated steps; this Banana Berry Bread is a breeze to make. With simple instructions, it’s perfect for busy parents and beginners, providing a delightful baking experience. It’s a great one to get kid’s involved with too!
- Versatile Ingredient Options: Get creative with your berry choices! Whether you prefer classic blueberries, vibrant raspberries, or a mix of your favorites, this recipe accommodates various berry combinations to suit your family’s taste preferences.
- Impressive for Guests: Treat your guests to this delectable Banana Berry Bread, and they’ll be asking for the recipe! It’s a crowd-pleaser at family gatherings, potlucks, or any occasion where you want to impress with a delightful homemade baked good.
Banana Berry Bread Ingredients
- White Whole Wheat Flour. I use white whole wheat flour in this recipe to boost the nutrients and fiber in this bread.
- Baking Soda. This ingredient gives this Banana Berry Bread its light and fluffy texture.
- Kosher Salt. Because every sweet treat needs a touch of salt for balance.
- Unsalted Butter. This recipe calls for softened butter and adds to the depth of flavor.
- Sugar. Most of sweetness in this recipe comes from the ripe bananas, so a little extra sugar is all you need to make this the best banana bread ever.
- Eggs. To help bind everything together.
- Ripe Bananas. Go for bananas that are super ripe for this recipe. If the peels are dark and seem like the bananas have gone bad, they’re probably perfect to make banana bread!
- Milk. This ingredient is to moisten the bread and help dissolve the sugar.
- Vanilla Extract. A touch of vanilla is always a good idea in a banana bread recipe.
- Mixed Berries. You can use fresh or frozen berries for this recipe which I love! I always have a bag of mixed berries in my freezer that I’m looking to use up.
How to Make Banana Berry Bread
- Prep the oven. Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine wet ingredients. In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the egg, bananas, milk and vanilla and mix to combine well.
- Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined.
- Fold in berries. Gently fold in the berries. Frozen berries can be substituted for fresh. Add berries while frozen, no need to defrost. This will help the berries from bleeding into and coloring the bread.
- Bake. Pour the batter into a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool and serve. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack and serve.
Storing/Freezing Banana Berry Bread
- How to Store: Keep your Banana Berry Bread fresh by storing it in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. It will stay moist at room temperature for 2-3 days. Extend its shelf life by refrigerating for up to a week.
- How to Freeze: Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap and then place in a labeled zipper bag for up to 3 months. Thaw wrapped or unwrapped in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
How to Ripen Bananas Fast
In a rush and don’t have ripe bananas? Place them in a paper bag and store them at room temperature. Add an apple or avocado to speed up the ripening process. Need bananas to ripen even faster? Place them in a 350°F oven on a rimmed sheet pan (poke a few holes in each one so they don’t explode!) for about 15 minutes to bring out their natural sweetness. Allow the bananas to cool before starting this recipe.
Can I Use Frozen Berries in this Recipe?
Sure can! In fact, that’s what I use most of the time to make Banana Berry Bread. I always have bags of mixed berries in my freezer to make berry smoothies, but this is a great recipe to use them in too! You don’t need to defrost them either! Just gently fold them in to prevent them from bleeding into the bread and coloring it.
More Quick Breads and Muffins
- Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Banana Wheat Germ Muffins
- Flourless Pumpkin Chocolate Muffins
- Very Berry Muffins.
This Banana Berry Bread and a super simple breakfast to start your day off or a great snack to bring to after school pick-up. It’s filled with delicious tart berries and naturally sweet bananas. Put it in your kid’s lunchbox and get ready to be the best parent ever!
Images by Ivan Solis
Banana Berry Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3 small ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for 3 minutes, until light and fluffy.
- Add the egg, bananas, milk and vanilla and mix to combine well.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. Gently fold in the berries. Frozen berries can be substituted for fresh. Add berries while frozen, no need to defrost. This will help from coloring the bread.
- Pour the batter into a 9 x 5 inch greased loaf pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack.
Notes
- How to Store: Keep your Banana Berry Bread fresh by storing it in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. It will stay moist at room temperature for 2-3 days. Extend its shelf life by refrigerating for up to a week.
- How to Freeze: Wrap the bread tightly in plastic wrap and then place in a labeled zipper bag for up to 3 months. Thaw wrapped or unwrapped in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
- Ripening Bananas: In a rush and don’t have ripe bananas? Place them in a paper bag and store them at room temperature. Add an apple or avocado to speed up the ripening process. Need bananas to ripen even faster? Place them in a 350°F oven on a rimmed sheet pan (poke a few holes in each one so they don’t explode!) for about 15 minutes to bring out their natural sweetness. Allow the bananas to cool before starting this recipe.
How do you get berries to go all over bread? I even put a little flour around berries and they all kinda sunk to the middle and bottom of banana berry bread.
I made mini loaf and it came out really good. I’m sure making muffins would work.
What am I doing wrong if it takes a lot longer than an hour to cook?
Can this recipe be used with just one egg?
Absolutely delicious & soooo moist! Made it for Easter brunch yesterday. Another hit, thank you!
My triplets loved this! Do you have nutritional info on this?
Any idea on the calorie amount?
Banana bread is already “berry bread”. Banana is a berry… But your raspberries and strawberries are not. So technically you turned a berry bread into a fruit salad…
I make this a lot! I always use frozen berries. And, the first time I made it I was out of butter, but I HAD just made apple sauce and so substituted. Turned out amazing!
I want to make try this but its hard to find good fresh berries this time of year. Can you use frozen berries?
I made this exactly as the recipe shows. It was delicious!!
Amy is right, this is one of the best banana breads I have ever tasted too. The addition of coconut was genius. I reduced the sugar as well. My 18 month old loved it!