Pumpkin Banana Bread

This pumpkin banana bread is a delicious twist on a family favorite. And just like almost all of my recipes, there are many ways you can customize it to make it yours! I made mine gluten-free, but I’ll give you other options if you prefer not to.

In the blink of an eye, summer arrived and is now firmly in the rearview mirror. And now that it officially looks like our summer-like temperatures in the 70s are in the past too, I like to step away from the grill, fire up the oven, and cook up some comfort food. 

In our family, banana bread has always been a comfort food staple. And, one of my first recipes on this blog was my better for you sourdough banana bread. Warm from the oven, it has that delicious, slightly crispy texture on the outside and yummy sweetness on the inside. But since we’re in full-blown pumpkin season right now, I thought it would be fun to mix up our standard recipe to include some nutritious and seasonal pumpkin. 

What’s So Great About Pumpkin?

Growing up, we only ate pumpkin on one occasion and that was in a pie on Thanksgiving. However, as a foodie who is always playing around with recipes, I’ve discovered how amazing pumpkin is in so many things, like overnight oats, or even in a macaroni and cheese dish, which I will share in the near future! It’s chock full of vitamins A and B, plus potassium and antioxidants. This banana pumpkin bread tastes very similar to carrot cake, hence why I decided to also top it with a tasty cream cheese frosting! But, to be honest, it tastes amazing even without the frosting.

Pumpkin Banana Bread Highlighted Ingredients

I’ll gloss over the givens, like vanilla, baking soda, eggs, and salt, which you’ll also need to make this recipe, and elaborate more on the stars of the show.

Pumpkin Puree – 3/4 of a cup adds just the right amount of pumpkin taste. Use canned or make my easy homemade pumpkin puree.

Mashed Bananas – You’ll need 2 preferably overripe bananas. I hate wasting food and using up old bananas is a great reason to make banana bread!

Sweeteners – You can use honey or maple syrup as one of the sweeteners and brown sugar or coconut sugar for the other. I used my own harvested honey and coconut sugar.

Plain Greek Yogurt – I LOVE adding plain Greek nonfat yogurt to many of my recipes. It adds a nice moistness and a probiotic punch! I used nonfat but you can use whatever fat level you prefer, just keep the flavor plain.

Coconut Oil – I prefer to use coconut oil in most of my baking recipes. You’ll want to make sure it’s melted and cooled a bit before adding it in. You can substitute canola oil or vegetable oil if you prefer. You only need 1/4 cup!

Almond and Oat Flour – I have been trying to really cut back on my gluten, although I am not intolerant. These are gluten-free options and I’m using both in this recipe. If gluten is not an issue for you, you can use a high-quality all-purpose, and unbleached flour or a standard gluten-free flour.

Pumpkin Pie Spice – This adds an amazing seasonal flavor to this banana bread.

Pumpkin Banana Bread Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 mashed bananas
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup or honey
• 1/2 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 1 1/2 cups almond flour
• 1 cup oat flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• 4 ounces cream cheese
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350 and grease an 8″ x 8″ pan
• In a large bowl, add pumpkin puree, bananas, egg, coconut sugar, maple syrup, yogurt, and vanilla extract and whisk. Stir in melted and cooled coconut oil.

• Add dry ingredients – flour(s), pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt. Mix until combined with a wooden spoon.

• Pour batter into the greased pan.

• Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool.
• If you’re frosting the pumpkin banana bread, mix the frosting ingredients on medium speed and spread on the cooled bread.
• Slice and enjoy!

Tips

• If you use homemade pumpkin puree, you’ll want to bake for an additional 5 minutes as it tends to be a little runnier than canned.
• You can skip the cinnamon in the frosting ingredients, but I think it adds the perfect touch of fall flavor!
• If you don’t have maple syrup, honey is great. Just don’t use pancake syrup!
• The egg, butter, and cream cheese are ideally used at room temperature.

I took this pumpkin banana bread to a neighborhood Halloween party and it was a hit. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!