This Apple Banana Bread Recipe is exploding with Fall flavors. Ripe Bananas, Tart Apples, Cinnamon and Brown Sugar in a moist, soft bread are topped with a Vanilla Icing. A simple, fun recipe that gives a new twist on a classic banana bread.
Why You Will Love Apple Banana Bread
- SIMPLE, HOMEMADE INGREDIENTS: Making you own, homemade dessert bread gives you the peace of mind that you know exactly what you are putting in you and your families bodies! This Apple Banana Bread has easy, simple ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen!
- DELICIOUS – As Fall comes around the corner, we are all about our apple recipes! This Banana Bread is infused with cinnamon, brown sugar and tart apples for a delicious recipe perfect for the Autumn. And top it with our homemade icing and your taste buds are in heaven!
- EASY RECIPE – This is an easy recipe perfect for beginners. You can even let the kids help out with this one!
Apple Banana Bread
Who knew that Apples and Bananas would go so well together? The soft sweetness of the bananas along with the subtle tartness of the Granny Smith Apples works so well, especially with the cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla holding it all together. This recipe was a HUGE success in my family and I’m excited to share it with you!
For step-by-step instructions, check out the printable recipe card below. But here is what you’ll need to get started:
FOR THE BREAD
- ALL PURPOSE FLOUR – Any brand will do. For a gluten-free banana bread, you can use Gluten Free Flour.
- BROWN SUGAR – How can you have an apple dessert without brown sugar?
- WHITE SUGAR –
- CINNAMON – Also, how can you have an apple dessert without cinnamon!?!
- BAKING SODA – A leavening agent that helps the bread to rise.
- SALT – It’s always important to bake with salt to balance out the sweet flavors.
- BUTTER – Unsalted butter. Melted.
- BANANAS – Very ripe and mashed. Look for bananas that have a lot of brown spots on them. If you see any green, they are not ripe enough!
- APPLES – Peeled, cored and diced.
- LARGE EGGS – If possible, let the eggs come to room temperature before adding them to this recipe.
- GREEK YOGURT – Our secret ingredient! Baking with yogurt gives your Banana Bread a super moist result that everyone will love!
- VANILLA EXTRACT – We always recommend using a high quality vanilla extract when baking. Don’t use the store brand stuff!
FOR THE ICING
- CONFECTIONERS SUGAR – Also called heavy sugar.
- HEAVY CREAM – Don’t substitute with half and half or anything with less fat.
- VANILLA EXTRACT –
What Type Of Apple Is Best To Bake With?
In basically all of our apple recipes, we use Granny Smith Apples. They seem to work really well for us. You want to have a firmer apple that will hold up to the stress of baking. Granny Smiths are nice and firm and they aren’t too sweet, so it gives the dish a subtle tartness. Other apples that we may use are Jonagolds, Braeburns or Honey Crisps. Honey Crisps are SUPER sweet, this could be a good or a bad thing in your dish depending on what you are going for or the other ingredients involved.
Storing Apple Banana Bread
This bread should be kept in an airtight container or plastic wrap at room temperature. It should be good for about 5 days if kept sealed. When serving, I love to put mine in the microwave for about 15 seconds. The difference between a warm slice of banana bread and a room temperature slice of banana bread is huge to me! But that’s just me….
You can freeze this Apple Banana Bread Recipe. Let the loaf fully cool and wrap it tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. I also like to then put it into a freezer bag for double protection. Don’t forget to label and date it. You can also slice the Apple Banana Bread up into individual servings, and freeze them that way. So you can just take out what you need as you need it! This recipe should be good in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes, Tips and Variations
- Apples Falling To The Bottom Of The Loaf?- If you look at my pictures, you’ll see that my apples went to the bottom of the loaf. I completely forgot to coat them with a light dusting of flour. This helps them “grip” the batter and stay where they are.
- Add Nuts- My son is allergic to tree nuts so we couldn’t add any nuts. But adding crushed pecans or walnuts would be delicious in this recipe. Shaved almonds would be tasty too!
- Caramel Icing Recipe- If you really want to amp up the Fall flavors of this recipe, you can use our Caramel Icing as well. It’s super easy! In a small saucepan, bring 4 tbsp butter, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, 1/3 cup of heavy cream and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract to a boil, stirring often. Once it is boiling, remove from heat.
- Substitute Greek Yogurt– We opted to use Greek Yogurt in this recipe to shave a couple of calories off of it. But if you want to use Sour Cream instead, you can go for it!
- Don’t overmix! – You want to stir your dry ingredients and wet ingredients until just incorporated. Overmixing can result in dry, dense bread.
- Let the Banana Bread Cool – Before icing, always let the bread fully cool or you’ll have a mess on your hands. To expedite this, use a cooling rack.
Tools To Help With This Recipe
- AIRTIGHT BREAD CONTAINER– We LOVE this! Everyone should have one. This keeps any loaf of bread super fresh!
- 9×5 INCH LOAF PANS, SET OF 2– Super affordable and perfect to bake any breads!
- BAKING THERMOMETER– A must have for any kitchen and the first line in defense to keep your bread from sinking.
- ELECTRIC STAND MIXER– This simple, affordable mixer makes any recipe easy and quick!
LOOKING FOR MORE APPLE INSPIRED DESSERTS AND TREATS? CHECK OUT:
12 FUN AND EASY APPLE RECIPES!
Apple Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups A/P Flour
- 3/4 cups Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup White Sugar
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Butter melted
- 2 Mashed Bananas Very Ripe
- 1 cup of Apple Peeled, Cored and Diced
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
- 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
For The Icing
- 1 Cup Confectioners Sugar
- 2-3 tbsp Heavy Cream
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place parchment paper in a 9"X 5" loaf pan. Grease the inside of the ends of the pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.
- With an electric mixer, mix together butter, brown sugar and white sugar until creamy,.
- Add eggs, one at a time to butter and sugar.
- Add Greek Yogurt and Vanilla extract.
- Slowly add in flour mixture until just blended. Don't over mix.
- Carefully fold in bananas and apples.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick is inserted into the center and comes out clean.
- Let fully cool, remove from pan and drizzle icing on top.
Nutrition
2 cups A/P Flour
3/4 cups Brown Sugar
1/4 cup White Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
3 tbsp Butter, melted
2 Mashed Bananas, Very Ripe
1 cup of Apple, Peeled, Cored and Diced
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Preheat the oven to 35o degrees.
Place parchment paper in a 9″X 5″ loaf pan. Grease the inside of the ends of the pan.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon.
With an electric mixer, mix together butter, brown sugar and white sugar until creamy,.
Add eggs, one at a time to butter and sugar.
Add Greek Yogurt and Vanilla extract.
Slowly add in flour mixture until just blended. Don’t over mix.
Carefully fold in bananas and apples.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick is inserted into the center and comes out clean.
Let fully cool, remove from pan and drizzle icing on top.
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