How to Make Banana Nut Bread

The easiest bread recipe to make is banana bread. There are many variations on the banana bread recipe. You can add nuts, chocolate chips, applesauce, sour cream, and peanut butter to any banana bread recipe.

Depending on your diet, calorie, sugar, salt, and fat intakes, you can adjust the sugar and margarine to make any of these items lower in your banana bread recipe. The use of butter and brown sugar in the banana bread recipe will increase the calories(230 calories) per one ounce slice of banana bread. The use of butter and white sugar with Bisquick will give a lower calorie count (195 calories) per one ounce slice of banana bread.

Banana Nut Bread Recipe

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup butter or margarine (2 sticks)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 4 cups of flour
• 6 large, very ripe, bananas, mashed
• 1 cup finely chopped nuts, your choice and nuts are optional

Mix dry ingredients together, set aside. Cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs' one at a time, beating after adding each egg. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture. Mix in bananas and the nuts.

Pour banana nut bread batter into two well, greased loaf pans. Bake for one hour and 15 minutes in a 325-degree oven or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of banana nut loaves come out clean.

Variations of Banana Bread

Banana Date Bread

Decrease eggs to two, substitute 1/3 cup shortening for butter, decrease sugar to 2/3 cup, increase salt to ½ teaspoon, omit baking soda and use 2 3/4 baking powder instead, substitute 1 cup finely chopped dates for nuts. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 60 to 70 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 325-degrees

• 1 cup sugar
• 4 ounces softened butter
• 1 ½ cups mashed bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips