The Best Easy Pumpkin Banana Bread

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Fall is my favorite time of the year for baking. As the weather gets colder and it starts to get dark earlier, I love baking cozy treats with warm spices. Plus, it’s also the season for pumpkin. Every year, I get a few pie pumpkins from the farmers’ market and I make a big batch of my Homemade Pumpkin Puree to use in a bunch of different recipes, then I freeze the rest for anytime the craving hits.

This fall, I’ve already made this Pumpkin Banana Bread 3 times. It’s super soft and moist, really easy to make, and the pumpkin and banana combination is the perfect fall flavor combo. The recipe below includes two versions, one with a simple Vanilla Glaze and one with a Pumpkin Spice Sugar Coating. Both are delicious and I couldn’t pick a favorite when I was testing this recipe, so make whichever version you prefer. Or, make a double batch and try both versions. You won’t regret it.

Table of Contents

• Quick Recipe Overview and Top Tips For Success
• Equipment You’ll Need For This Recipe
• Ingredients You’ll Need For This Recipe
• How to Make The Best Easy Pumpkin Banana Bread
• Substitution Ideas and Variations
• Recipe FAQs
• More Dessert Recipes You Might Like
• Recipe Card
• Let me know what you think – leave a comment/rating
• Follow me on Social Media

Quick Recipe Overview and Top Tips For Success

Tips for the best Pumpkin Banana Bread:

• Don’t skip the glaze or sugar coating. While you can definitely make this Pumpkin Banana Bread on its own, the glaze or sugar coating add the perfect final touch. Both are really easy to make, so don’t skip that step.
• Don’t overbake the cake. Working with loaf pans can be tricky because the bottom and sides of the cake can overbake while the center remains underdone. To avoid this, make sure your loaf pan is big enough for your batter and don’t fill it more than ⅔ of the way. If you have extra batter, transfer the remainder to a muffin tin.

Flavors: This recipe combines two classic fall flavors: banana and pumpkin. Pumpkin pie spice gives it the classic warm spice flavors you’d find in classic pumpkin recipes, and also pairs great with the bananas.

Difficulty: There’s no fancy equipment required for this recipe and the batter is really simple to make, so this is an easy recipe.

Time: This cake comes together in two bowls in about 15 minutes, and the oven does the rest of the work. You need to give the loaf a little time to cool if you’re adding the glaze, but from start to finish, this recipe takes a little over an hour.

Equipment You’ll Need For This Recipe

Here’s a quick list of necessary or helpful tools you’ll need to make Pumpkin Banana Bread:

• Mixing bowls: you’ll need 3 mixing bowls for this recipe; one for the dry ingredients, one for the wet ingredients, and one for the glaze or sugar and spice coating.
• Whisk: for the dry ingredients.
• Silicone spatula: to mix the batter and scrape the bowl clean.
• 9″x5″ loaf pan: if you don’t have a loaf pan, you can bake this cake in a round or square cake pan, or using a Bundt pan or muffin tin. See the Recipe FAQs for more details on adjusting the baking time accordingly.

Ingredients You’ll Need For This Recipe

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this Pumpkin Banana Bread, including the Vanilla Glaze and the Pumpkin Spice Sugar Coating:

For the Loaf Batter:

• Flour: all purpose flour is great here, but you can use cake flour if you already have it on hand. Either is totally fine!
• Baking soda: helps the cake rise and contributes to the soft, chewy texture.
• Salt: a little salt helps balance out all the sweet flavors in this loaf.
• Pumpkin pie spice: for the classic pumpkin pie flavor.
• Granulated sugar
• Large eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Mashed banana: ripe mashed bananas make up half of the base of the loaf’s flavors.
• Pumpkin puree: pumpkin puree is the other half of the base flavors in this recipe. Find my recipe for easy Homemade Pumpkin Puree here. You can also use canned pumpkin puree; just make sure you use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
• Coconut oil: this cake uses melted and cooled coconut oil to keep it perfectly moist. You can also use any other neutral oil like avocado, vegetable or canola, but I prefer to use coconut oil.

For the Vanilla Glaze:

• Condensed milk: for a smooth, creamy glaze.
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla extract

For the Pumpkin Spice Sugar Topping:

• Granulated sugar
• Pumpkin pie spice

How to Make The Best Easy Pumpkin Banana Bread

Start by gathering and measuring all the ingredients for the batter. This recipe comes together really quickly, so you’ll want to have everything measured out before you start mixing the batter. Mash your banana, leaving them lumpy for added texture. I like this loaf super pumpkin-y, so I use 1 medium banana for this recipe. I find this lets both flavors shine and doesn’t let the banana overpower the pumpkin. If you want a loaf that’s heavier on the banana flavor, use 1 cup of mashed banana, or 2-3 bananas, and 1 cup of pumpkin puree instead of the measurements in the recipe below.

Preheat your oven to 350℉/180℃ and prepare your loaf pan. I prefer to use a 9″x5″ loaf pan for this recipe, but if your loaf pan is a little smaller, you can divide your batter among two loaf pans, filling each about halfway. You can also just use a square pan, a round pan, a Bundt pan or even a muffin tin (see Recipe FAQs below).

If you use a different type of pan, you may need to adjust the cooking time slightly. Use whatever pan you have on hand and check on the loaf after about 30 minutes. If it’s not quite done, continue baking until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, checking every 10 minutes. Spray your cake pan with some cooking spray or brush it with some neutral oil; if you’re making the glazed version, you can also line it with parchment paper if you prefer.

Here’s how to make this Pumpkin Banana Bread:

Mix your Dry and Wet Ingredients

You’ll need two mixing bowls for the batter, and a third for the glaze. In the first bowl, combine the 2 cups of flour, the teaspoon of baking soda, the ½ teaspoon of salt, and the tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice. Whisk everything together then set that bowl aside while you combine your wet ingredients in the second bowl. In that bowl, combine the cup of sugar, the 2 large eggs, the teaspoon of vanilla extract, the ½ cup of mashed banana, the 1 ½ cups of pumpkin puree and the ⅓ cup of coconut oil. Make sure it’s cooled down because you don’t want to start cooking the eggs. Whisk everything together until the mixture is smooth.

This recipe could also be made in one big mixing bowl if you prefer. Just whisk together the dry ingredients then move them to one side of the bowl using a spatula. Then, combine the wet ingredients on the other side of the bowl. Mix everything together and you’re done (if you do it this way, skip the next section).

Make the Batter

Now we combine the contents of both bowls for the loaf batter. I prefer to pour my dry ingredients into my wet ingredients and do the mixing in that bowl. This way, there’s no little pockets of flour at the bottom of the bowl, but this isn’t a rule, just my preference. Once your ingredients are combined, mix with a silicone or wooden spatula until just combined. As soon as you can no longer see flour, you can stop mixing. You don’t want to overmix the batter, but it only requires about 20-30 seconds of mixing, so you don’t really have to worry about overmixing here. The batter should be a little lumpy from the bananas, and fairly thick.

Choose a Variation

Before you transfer your batter to the prepared loaf pan, decide which version of this recipe you’re making. If you’re making the variation that includes the Vanilla Glaze, skip the next section, pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and bake according to the directions 2 sections below. If you’re making the variation with the Pumpkin Spice Sugar Coating, follow the steps in the next section. Or, you can even make both! The Pumpkin Spice Sugar Coating gives the top and edges of this loaf a little extra crunch and sweetness, while the Vanilla Glaze is poured directly into the cake to make it super moist and rich. You can definitely add both the glaze and the sugar coating.

Make the Pumpkin Spice Sugar Coating

In a small bowl, combine the 2 tablespoons of granulated sugar and the teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, then mix until combined. Ensure the bottom and sides of your loaf pan are greased, and sprinkle half the mixture into the loaf pan. Tilt or shake it as needed to ensure all sides are equally coated in the sugar and spice blend.

Pour the loaf batter into the pan, then smooth it out. Sprinkle the remaining half of the sugar and pumpkin spice blend all over the top of the batter.

Bake the Loaf

Bake at 350℉/180℃ for about 45-50 minutes. Depending on how hot your oven is, and the type of pan you used, it could take a little longer. After 40 minutes, check on it by inserting a toothpick in the middle. If it comes out clean, it’s done. If not, return it to the oven and continue to bake, checking on it every 10 minutes, until the toothpick comes out clean.

Make the Vanilla Glaze

While you’re waiting for the loaf to finish baking, get started on the Vanilla Glaze. In a small bowl, combine the ½ cup of condensed milk, the ¾ cup of powdered sugar and the teaspoon of vanilla extract. Whisk until completely smooth. Once the loaf is baked, poke about 9-12 holes all over it with a chopstick while it’s still warm. Don’t poke entirely through to the bottom of the loaf, but over halfway.

Very slowly pour about three quarters of the glaze over the loaf, tilting the loaf pan to help the cake absorb the glaze. Don’t pour too quickly and give the glaze time to sink into the holes you poked. Then, let the loaf cool for about 10-15 minutes. After it’s cooled slightly, pour the reserved quarter of the glaze over the loaf and let it set.

Once the glaze has set, slice the cake into 8-10 slices and serve. This loaf is best served warm.

Substitution Ideas and Variations

Substitutions

If you don’t have some of the ingredients for this recipe on hand or just don’t like them, here are a few substitution ideas. All substitutions are in equal quantities, or a 1:1 ratio, unless specified:

For the Loaf Batter:

• Flour: cake flour. You can also use gluten free flour if needed. Some gluten free flours can dry out baked goods. If your loaf batter is too thick or feels dry (see photos or video), add an extra egg.
• Pumpkin pie spice: use some or all of the following spices: 2 ¼ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp allspice and a tiny pinch of cloves.
• Granulated sugar: light or dark brown sugar, or coconut sugar.
• Large eggs: use ¼ cup of unsweetened applesauce for each egg, or a flax egg (mix 1 tbsp of ground flaxseed with 3 tbsp water for each egg).
• Pumpkin puree: pumpkin puree is essential to the recipe, but you can use the puree of other kinds of squash or pumpkins such as butternut or kabocha squash.
• Coconut oil: any other neutral oil like avocado, vegetable or canola. You can also use ½ cup of unsalted butter.

For the Vanilla Glaze:

• Condensed milk: whole milk. Reduce the amount to 3 tbsp due to the difference in thickness.

For the Pumpkin Spice Sugar Topping:

• Granulated sugar: light or dark brown sugar, or coconut sugar.
• Pumpkin pie spice: use some or all of the following spices: 2 ¼ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp nutmeg, ¼ tsp ground ginger, ¼ tsp allspice and a tiny pinch of cloves.

Variations

• Add some extra crunch: mix in ½ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts, or use them to garnish the cake.
• Make it chocolatey: mix in ½ cup of milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips.

Recipe FAQs

More Dessert Recipes You Might Like

If you loved this Pumpkin Banana Bread, here are some more dessert recipes you might want to try:

Layered Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Brownies

Apple Butter Bars with Browned Butter

Glazed Chocolate Maraschino Cherry Cake

Easy Ube Cookies

Orange Ricotta Cookies

Recipe Card

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