Whole Wheat Banana Bread with Toasted Walnuts

Jump to Recipe

Over-ripe bananas keep this whole wheat loaf moist and fluffy! Fold toasted walnuts into a simple whole wheat banana bread batter, then bake in a metal loaf pan for a delicious quick bread that keeps well for several days on the counter.

This cozy banana bread is packed with whole wheat flour (but it still feels like a treat!)

Toasted walnuts add some texture and pair wonderfully with the nutty, complex flavor of whole wheat flour. The over-ripe bananas help keep this loaf moist even after a few days on the counter (it's a perfect make-ahead breakfast or snack!)

Use fresh, high quality whole wheat flour for best results: it should smell nutty and slightly sweet, but not sour or musty.

Jessie

Jump to:

Ingredients
Instructions
Make the batter
Storage
Variations and Substitutions
FAQs
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments & Reviews

Ingredients

Find a full ingredients list with exact quantities in the recipe card below.

Over-ripe bananas. Look for bananas with lots of browning and a squishy feel. Ripe, brown bananas are sweeter than their bright yellow counterparts, which impacts the loaf's final flavor. They're also easier to mash, which yields a smoother batter.
If you can, let the egg and milk come to room temperature on the counter for 30 minutes before you start baking. Room temperature ingredients incorporate more smoothly into the batter, giving you a more even texture and a higher rise.
All purpose flour helps control for differences in whole wheat flours, ensuring your bread turns out well regardless of what brand you use (see our note below).

Whole Wheat Flour

Use fresh whole wheat flour here: It should smell slightly sweet and nutty, but not musty or stale. (If the flour smells dusty, that's how the bread will taste.)

Whole wheat flour encompasses a range of wheat varieties and processing methods, which means results vary by brand (whole wheat cookies, in particular, can change a lot depending on the brand of flour). Adding some all purpose flour to this recipe helps control for that variable, although we still recommend King Arthur Flours for best results when baking.

Learn more about baking with whole wheat flour in our Everyday Artisan Bread course!

Use a kitchen scale

Measuring ingredients like flour by volume (with cups) is notoriously unreliable. Because each person fills a cup of flour a little bit differently, it's easy to accidentally use too much in a recipe and end up with dry, dense bread.

But when you use a kitchen scale to measure by weight (in grams), you get a perfect measurement every time. So if you have a kitchen scale, please use it! (No kitchen scale? Measure ingredients like flour with the scoop and level method for best results!)

Instructions

Toast the walnuts

Toast the walnuts in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook nuts for just a few minutes, stirring frequently, until they're fragrant and have barely darkened in color.

If you're short on time, you can skip this step. But if you have a minute to spare, toasting your chopped walnuts will bring out a TON of extra flavor!

Make the batter

Mashing bananas and whisking in wet ingredients.

Mash bananas in a large bowl until they're fairly smooth, then whisk in the sugar, vanilla, melted butter, and an egg.

Add the rest of the dry ingredients — whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt — and stir until everything is not quite combined.

In a separate measuring cup, whisk together milk and apple cider vinegar. Slowly stream this milk mixture into your batter, stirring to incorporate it as you go.

Mixing toasted walnuts into banana bread batter.

Fold in the toasted walnuts. Stir until the mixture is fully incorporated and no dry flour remains. You'll end up with a fairly thick, airy batter.

Pour the batter into a metal 9x5 inch loaf pan lined with parchment paper, and spread it into a relatively even layer.

Bake

Baking banana bread in a metal bread pan.

Bake in a preheated oven at 325° F, until the top is browned and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Let your banana bread cool for just a few minutes in the pan, then use the parchment paper to carefully lift the bread onto a wire rack. Let cool completely before slicing.

Pro Tip: Don't skip the wire cooling rack! If the bread cools completely in the pan, it can stick to the parchment paper and develop a chewy texture along the sides.

Storage

Store cooled, sliced banana bread in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days. Past that, the bread can start to dry out a little. We don't recommend storing this bread in the fridge, as the refrigerator air can dry it out more quickly.

You can freeze sliced banana bread in an airtight container for 3-4 months. Thaw frozen bread on the counter for a few hours when you're ready for it.

Variations and Substitutions

Swap the walnuts for almonds, pecans, raisins, chocolate chips, or chopped baking chocolate ( à la our chocolate chunk banana bread).
Adjust the spices to suit your tastes. Add a pinch of ground cloves or ginger for even more fall flavor.
Add toppings like our simple streusel topping (before baking) or a cinnamon glaze (after the bread is cooled) for a touch of sweetness.
Use light brown sugar in place of some or all of the granulated sugar for a slightly deeper flavor and a somewhat tighter crumb.

FAQs

Can I use 100% whole wheat flour?

Whole wheat flour brands can vary quite a bit; we include a touch of all purpose flour in all of our whole wheat recipes to ensure you get a consistent result regardless of the whole wheat flour brand you use.

You can absolutely use 100% whole wheat flour in this recipe, but just know that the brand of whole wheat flour you choose will have a big impact on the final result. We test all of our recipes with - and highly recommend - King Arthur Flours. They are high quality, have great flavor, and are remarkably consistent from bag to bag.

King Arthur Regular Whole Wheat flour or Organic Whole Wheat Flour will yield the best results here. Both are milled from hard red wheat and deliver rich, complex flavor without feeling dusty or stale. Both of these flours work well in a 100% whole wheat version of this recipe if you don't want to use any all purpose white flour.

If you're using another brand of whole wheat flour, we recommend making this recipe as written the first time, and increasing the amount of whole wheat flour slowly once you're comfortable with the batter. It's also important to use freshly purchased flour that smells nutty and slightly sweet, rather than dusty.

We have NOT tested this recipe with locally milled whole wheat flours, rye or spelt flour, King Arthur's Golden Wheat flour (which is milled from a hard white spring wheat, as opposed to a hard red wheat), or any whole wheat pastry flour. Whole wheat flours can vary quite a bit: If you use a different brand, it may require small adjustments!

Can I turn this recipe into muffins?

Yes! You can bake this easy banana bread batter in a muffin pan. You will need to adjust the bake time: we recommend checking muffins for doneness starting around 20-25 minutes and adding time as needed (for more guidance on great muffins, check out our banana chocolate chip muffins or apple butter muffins!) If you make mini muffins, you'll need to decrease the bake time.

Why does this recipe use baking soda AND baking powder?

Baking soda and baking powder are an important duo in this whole wheat banana bread recipe: Baking soda reacts with a bit of acid (in this case, apple cider vinegar and a touch of baking powder) to make the bread rise. The soda + powder combo also helps baked goods brown, which gives our moist banana bread a richer, deeper color. (See this technique in action in our Banana Muffins, Apple Butter Coffee Cake, and Pumpkin Bread!)

What can I use instead of sugar?

You can swap the granulated sugar here for light or dark brown sugar (brown sugar will yield a slightly tighter, denser crumb). If you'd prefer a healthy banana bread that avoids refined sugar entirely, you could swap the sugar for a bit of pure maple syrup or honey, although we haven't tested this combination and expect it would need some additional adjustments (such as increasing the flour a bit) to achieve the right texture.

Did you make this recipe? Leave a comment and star rating below to let us know how it turned out!