My husband keeps a jar of peanut butter in his car, wedged between the seat and the console. I noticed this this first time I was actually in his car, and it might have made me fall in love. I had to comment and he explained that he was really into peanut butter and liked to keep some around in case he was in need of a snack. It was pretty much a done deal after that. I didn't realize at the time that he was a creamy peanut butter guy, and I a chunky peanut butter girl, with him of the mindset that chunky isn't peanut butter at all, but instead "peanut salad." We're still working through that.
So I was kind of shocked when I made my first batch of peanut butter banana bread and he informed me that, although it was great, maybe it would be better if made with chunky. He must have been equally surprised when I told him I wasn't into that idea.
He was kind of right though. The bread itself tasted mildly of peanut butter, but needed a little crunch. I stuck with creamy peanut butter and added some roasted peanuts. That little bit of extra texture and flavor was exactly what it needed. It's the best of both the creamy and chunky peanut butter worlds if you ask me.
This is a veganized and peanut butterified adaptation of my aunt's recipe. I think she gave me the recipe when I was about 13 and I've been making it ever since. The brown sugar crust is key. It cooks up and adds a light caramely coating on top, which is what made the original recipe, and it's equally awesome here. One thing that's kind of cool about the addition of peanut butter was that it allowed me to skip the oil. Check out the recipe - no oil! I figured peanut butter had plenty of fat and would more than make up for the absence of oil, and I was right. This was every bit as moist and flavorful as the original.
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 over ripe bananas mashed
- ½ cup creamy natural peanut butter
- ½ cup + 2 tbsp. brown sugar divided
- ¼ cup unflavored soy or almond milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups spelt flour could sub all purpose
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 cup roasted and salted peanuts
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a 9 inch loaf pan.
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In large mixing bowl, stir together bananas, peanut butter and ½ cup brown sugar. Add milk and vanilla. Stir until well blended.
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In separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to banana mixture and stir just until blended, being careful not to over blend. Fold in peanuts.
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Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Bake until lightly browned on top, 50 minutes.
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Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool before removing from pan.
I've been meaning to tell you for a long time how much I love your blog. You're a genius!
I always wanted to learn how to make my Dads banana cake- until I saw you're peanut butter banana cake!!!! Sorry Dad :P
I wanted to love this, but I'm a bit on the fence. It came out pretty dense, is that normal? I thought it would be a little lighter and "fluffier." I also thought it was a bit dry and wondered if I didn't use the best option for natural peanut butter and thus the bread lacked oil. Suggested brands? Would trying a different kind of nut be too weird? I felt like I wanted to be biting into a pecan or something and not a peanut, but it's not exactly pecan butter banana bread. I would however, just eat the top of the whole loaf with the brown sugar crust, yum!
This looks fab! I love that crusty brown sugar top, which would not be at all safe in my house. I'd leave the room and my husband would scrape all of the top off and leave only the bottom behind. Also, I love that your husband keeps peanut butter in his car. Smart man! But I'm with you on crunchy. Crunchy all the way!
"This bread is brilliant" were my husband's exact words. It came out perfect.
I just made this bread but I didn't have peanuts. I had some walnuts so i used those in place of the peanuts. Otherwise I followed the recipe as written. Wow!!! This is the best banana bread I've ever had. I think you should call it Elvis bread. Thank you for the recipe.
Yay!! I'm so glad to hear that! Thanks Heather!
I've been meaning to leave a comment here for some time--my partner and I love this recipe! I make it almost every week. For our taste, I omit the crushed peanuts, add a teaspoon of cinnamon to the batter, and mix another half teaspoon of cinnamon with the brown sugar that goes on top of the loaf. Thanks for a great recipe!
Love that this recipe uses peanut butter in place of oil or margarine. It's quite a dense cake but tastes epic! I substituted the chopped peanuts for dark chocolate chips.