Salted Caramel Banana Nut Bread—a super moist and flavorful banana bread, with a buttery, brown sugar crumb topping that has finely chopped pecans to give it just a little crunch! Add to that a thick caramel sauce that’s not only swirled and baked inside, but drizzled all over the top along with sea salt flakes! It is a must-make recipe that is out of this world!
5 reasons why you should make this salted caramel banana nut bread recipe
so much flavor
Overly ripe bananas help give this recipe it's flavorful, classic banana bread taste. Add to that the sweet and salty crumb topping with a thick caramel sauce and your taste buds will be in heaven.
the texture
This bread is without a doubt very moist, and the sweet and salty crumb topping gives you just a little bit of crunch thanks to the finely chopped pecans.
Drizzled over that is a thick caramel sauce, which brings it all together.
easy to make
I made this without the use of my hand-held mixer or stand mixer. Which, let me tell you, is so nice! You just need the basic baking tools when it comes to this making recipe.
use up those overly ripe bananas
I'm willing to bet a lot of you reading this already have overly ripe bananas in your kitchen. You buy them fully intending to eat them all within a few days, and then there they sit gaining more freckles by the day.
And then those freckles turn to an overall brown. A day or two later, the bananas become so brown you wonder if they're still usable.
The answer to that is yes. Yes they are!
bake and share
This recipe makes 2 loaves of salted caramel banana nut bread. Save one for you and share the other with a friend, neighbor, or family member! It's a sweet and simple way to show someone you're thinking of them.
how ripe should my bananas be for making banana nut bread?
Remember this—the browner and darker the banana, the sweeter the bread!
Your bananas should be to the point where the freckles have started to morph into larger dark spots. And while just about all the bananas in the above visual will work, the last row are the best!
salted caramel banana nut bread ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this recipe!
crumb topping
- All-Purpose Flour
- Light Brown Sugar
- Unsalted Butter. This needs to be super cold and cubed
- Pecans. Finely chopped is the best and helps to just give it a little crunchiness to the top of the banana bread.
banana bread
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar
- Coconut Oil. You can also use vegetable oil or canola oil. I'm on a coconut oil kick at the moment though, so that's what I went with. I'm also saving my vegetable and canola oil for when I make my homemade donuts!
- Eggs. Always at room temperature!
- Buttermilk
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Bananas. 2 large or 3 medium-size bananas will give you the 1 cup of mashed bananas you need for this recipe.
- Caramel Sauce. The thicker the better, and preferably the kind you'd drizzle over ice cream.
- Sea Salt Flakes. You can add this to the crumb topping prior to baking or you can add it after along with the caramel sauce.
how to make salted caramel banana nut bread
Let's walk-through of how to make this super moist salted caramel banana nut bread!
make the crumb topping
You'll need a small- to medium-size bowl to whisk together the all-purpose flour and light brown sugar. Make sure the 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter that's added next is very cold and cut into little cubes.
You can use a pastry blender or a fork to get it to the crumbly mixture. Lastly, stir in the chopped pecans, then set to the side.
mash the bananas
I used a small mixing bowl to mash up the bananas with a fork. That's the extent of this step—it's a pretty easy one!
whisk together the wet ingredients
Make sure you have a large mixing bowl for this part because in the next step you will add in the dry ingredients. You'll whisk together the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, coconut oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract until everything is well combined.
add in your dry ingredients
Add in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Then mix it all together using a whisk (my preference) or switch to a spatula. The batter will become thick.
add the mashed bananas and caramel sauce
Next up is adding the mashed bananas and caramel sauce to the batter. Do not mash the bananas up with the other ingredients. Doing so can over mix the batter. For the caramel sauce, you can heat it up for a few seconds in the microwave to help make it a little easier when you add it to the batter.
divide the batter and add the toppings
Evenly divide the banana bread batter into the two prepared loaf tins. Next, top with the crumb topping.
Then you can sprinkle on some sea salt flakes or you can add it at the end when you drizzle on the additional caramel sauce. Or you can do both. It's up to you! I chose to add them in this step and also at the end.
bake the salted caramel banana nut bread
Bake the 2 loaf tins for 55-60 minutes at 350ºF. Let them cool for about 10 minutes before lifting them out of the tins. Then let them cool for about another 20 minutes before serving.
I added the additional caramel sauce and sea salt flakes before cutting into the bread. You can always add these after cutting the slices too.
what baking equipment will I need?
You can use a hand-held mixer or a stand mixer, but honestly the absolute easiest way to go is by using these baking basics:
- 2 Loaf Tins. These can be 9" x 5" or 8" x 4" in size. I used these Jaime Oliver loaf tins for this banana nut bread recipe. They're well made and easy to clean. I also just love the light blue, vintage look to them.
- Mixing Bowls. Having a set of these, whether it be glass, stainless steel, or ceramic—they always comes in handy!
- Whisks and Spatulas. Not paid at all by them to say this, but I love GIR whisks and spatulas. They're very well made, can withstand high temps, and come in a rainbow of colors!
- Baking Spray. If you've been coming here for a while now, you know I only love Baker's Joy baking spray!
- Parchment Paper. Because of the crumb topping, I highly recommend adding the parchment paper sling to the loaf tins! This will eliminate the need to invert the bread loaves after baking.
It's good to have a fork to mash up the bananas and a spoon for the caramel sauce too.
recipe tips before starting
- With this bread having a crumb topping, I found using the parchment paper slings to lift the bread out of the tins very helpful.
- If you don't have a jar of caramel sauce, you can melt down a bag of caramel squares over medium heat along with 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream or water.
- No cooling time is included with the recipe notes. You do not have to serve this bread completely cooled. See next tip.
- This salted caramel banana bread is best served slightly warm, drizzled with extra caramel sauce, and sprinkled with sea salt flakes.
- For storing, wrap the bread in aluminum foil and keep it at room temperature for up to 2 days. You can reheat slices of it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds.
Salted Caramel Banana Nut Bread
Author:Ingredients
crumb topping
- ¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Light Brown Sugar, lightly packed
- ⅛ cup Unsalted Butter , very cold and cubed
- ¼ cup Finely Chopped Pecans, optional
banana bread
- 1 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 cup Light Brown Sugar
- ½ cup Coconut Oil
- 2 Large Eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup Buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons Baking Soda
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Mashed Bananas , about 2-3 medium size and overly ripen
- ⅓ cup Thick Caramel Sauce, plus more for drizzling over the top
- 2 tablespoon Sea Salt Flakes, optional garnish for top of each loaf (approx. 1 tablespoon per loaf)
Instructions
crumb topping
- In a medium-size mixing bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour and light brown sugar.
- Add the cold, cubed unsalted butter and using a pastry blender or a fork, cut the butter into the mixture until it forms into the crumbly mixture.
- Add in the chopped pecans. Set to the side.
banana bread
- Adjust the oven rack to the 2nd level position (just above center) and preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Generously spray 2 bread loaf tins (either 9" x 5" or 8" x 4") with a flour-based baking spray or grease with vegetable shortening and lightly flour. Optional step: add a parchment paper sling to each tin, then lightly respray with the baking spray. This will eliminate having to invert the tins to remove the bread later for cooling. Set the tins to the side.
- In a large-size mixing bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar, light brown sugar, coconut oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract.
- Add in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until combined.
- Using a spatula, fold in the mashed bananas and caramel sauce. Baking tip: heat up the caramel sauce in the microwave for a few seconds to help add it to the bread batter.
- Evenly divide half the banana bread batter into the two prepared loaf tins, top with the crumb topping, then sprinkle with sea salt flakes.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes at 350ºF or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the salted caramel banana bread loaves in the pans for approximately 10 minutes before removing them from the tins. Then transfer them to a wire cooling rack, and allow the bread to cool for about 20 minutes before serving.
- Drizzle with more caramel and sea salt flakes.
Recipe Notes
enjoy these other delicious breads and breakfast sweets!
- One Bowl Chocolate Zucchini Bread - a Beyond the Butter reader favorite!
- 5 Ingredient Butterscotch Bundt Rolls
- Homemade Sticky Buns from Scratch
Shawn says
Great texture and flavor. Added chocolate chips to one for the chocolate lovers in my family.