07
2010Banana Bread with Coconut and Pecans
I just came back to freezing cold reality after a long and relaxing vacation surrounded by palm trees. So you can hardly blame me (despite this being the season for virtuous New Year’s resolutions and all) for craving something warm and comforting, something with a hint of tropical flavor, to ease the transition. I’m talking about this heavenly banana bread…I’ve been making it for years, but it’s never tasted better than right now.
Banana and coconut are a natural combination and this delicious quick bread is a great way to enjoy them. It’s also ridiculously easy to make…you can throw the ingredients together in twenty minutes, then just let the oven do its work.
While my go-to banana bread recipe is wonderfully plain and simple (perfect for those prefer-it-plain eaters), this one is a bit heartier and more complex with the subtle flavor of unsweetened coconut and crunchy toasted pecans. It’s wonderful right out of the oven but it’s just as good, if not better, toasted for breakfast the next day.
So if you’re holed up inside and seeking a little comfort food, this might be just what the doctor ordered.
New Year’s resolutions are great…but then again, so is banana bread.
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Banana Bread with Coconut and Pecans
Printable Recipe
Makes one 9 x 5-inch loaf
Ingredients
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 cup very ripe bananas, mashed with a fork until smooth (about 3 bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut (available at Whole Foods)
½ cup pecans, toasted* and chopped (you can also use walnuts, or a combination)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
2. Mix together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the melted butter and sugar until just combined. Beat in the eggs, bananas and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the bowl and mix on low speed until just combined. Do not over mix. Gently stir in the coconut and nuts (the batter will look lumpy).
4. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, until tester inserted into center is relatively clean (tester should not be totally dry; the bananas keep it moist) and top is golden brown. Do not overcook. Let cool in pan for about ten minutes, then turn out onto rack to cool. Slice while still warm or store in an airtight container. Once cool, toast individual slices for best results.
*To toast pecans, spread on foil lined baking sheet and bake in 350-degree oven for 4-5 minutes.
Shauna from Piece of Cake
One can never try too many banana bread recipes! Especially recipes that improve a they sit–those are gems. Bookmarking this one now. Happy New Year, Jenn!
Chris
This is absolutely delish. Another winner Jen! I didn’t have unsweetened coconut, but I just omitted the 2 tbs of sugar, and added my sweetened with wonderful results!
The difficulty will be sticking to just ONE piece, even fresh out of the oven. The coconut and banana are a wonderful complimentary combo -
alice
wow. fantastic banana bread recipe. I always freeze my overripe bananas and make bread or muffins. this recipe is a keeper. I am truly enjoying your recipes, have made several of them already.
Dawn
Oh my word! This is so good. It just got done literally 10 minutes ago and I had to try it 5 minutes after it came out of the oven. I did not have unsweetened coconut so I also omitted the 2 tbsp of sugar like the one poster above me.
Cheryl Arkison
I had to search forever to find this recipe. I’d remembered seeing it, but never bookmarked it. So worth the search.
Bread Making Machines
Thanks for the post, I want to try this recipe this weekend.
ritu
can we use whole wheat or spelt flour instead of all purpose flour ?
m duncan
loved this bread! the addition of coconut subtley enhances the banana flavor for a fruitier tasting banana bread. yum!
Michelle
This is our favorite ” go to ” banana bread recipe….thank you for sharing!
pcentorbi
This is an awesome recipe! I first made muffins thinking it would help control how much I ate! Ha! Ha! These are so good & moist!! Luv, luv luv them!!
Cassie
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! My grandmother is barely eating now a days but has been asking for banana bread for days now – this looks brilliant!
Jackie Gaskins
Love the addition of coconut. I buy a cookie with pecans and coconut that is to die for. Looking forward to this recipe.
Sri
I made this last week to take to a play date. Everyone loved it! I also substituted sweetened coconut and omitted the sugar as that’s what I had on hand. This is going to be my favorite banana bread recipe from now on.
Angela
This recipe looks delicious! We love coconut at my house. I bought some overripe bananas the other day, but my hubby ate them already. I’ll have to try it next week.
Cathy OConnell
I have made this several times, but used the regular coconut it my local grocery store. Tastes great. Next time I get to Whole Foods (not too often), I will pick up the unsweetened coconut and try it. Freezes well.
jacquie
i do love banana bread but have never thought about adding coconut to it but that certainly does look delicious. i look forward to trying it.
Adrian
The coconut and pecans take regular banana bread to a whole new level – it makes a wonderful dessert with coffee or a quick breakfast. I especially liked it toasted with peanut butter.
susan
I always save old bananas in the freezer to make banana bread and this recipe looks like a delicious addition to my same old same old recipe. I cannot wait to try it this weekend.
Patty Jensen
Love the idea of toasting each slice before tasting. I am going to give this a try tonight. Thanks! Also, am so excited about the Boos cutting board giveaway.
Kathryn Reitman
OOOH! I am on such a coconut kick right now….this sounds amazing!
kathy
i love the addition of the coconut. my son doesn’t like nuts in his banana bread so I made some with and some without and everyone loved it!
Helen
Love how the coconut makes the banana bread a bit more special… yum!
Donna
I have 8 mini loaves of this now baking. I think it will be delicious. I didn’t notice until too late that the coconut is unsweetened, so I just used the sweetened coconut that I had on hand. We’ll see how that turns out! I doubled the recipe, so you can tell I was pretty confident that it will be wonderful.
Roberta
I ate way too many pieces of banana bread when I was a kid. It’s a favorite all across America so I had to give in and bake another. I wanted something different and not so “bananaish” so I tried this recipe. It’s different and I am so happy to say I like banana bread again! The coconut and pecans give it that extra “something” that brought me back to the world of banana bread!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Amy Simonson
I made this for my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group last week. It was a total hit! I must have given your website to at least 20 moms! My 5 year old wants me to make it every day!
Karen
I made this banana bread and the coconut really takes it up a notch. It is great sliced and toasted even days after making it (if it last that long). It is very easy to whip up and I always have the ingredients on hand. Thank you!
Jennifer Marcus
Thank you for providing some variation to the traditional banana bread. Theaddition of coconut and pecan really enhance this bread.
Kelly
I really loved this as a change from my usual banana bread. I used half white & half whole wheat flours and it was delicious. Very, very moist. I also had to use sweetened coconut since its what I had on-hand, so I reduced the sugar a little. Turned out perfectly. Had no nuts in the pantry, but I didn’t miss them at all. This recipe is a keeper!