This Cocoa Walnuts Banana Bread recipe is a very popular, delicious and easy to bake that can be made with left over bananas sitting in your kitchen.

When I moved to Minnesota many years ago, one of the first traditional Minnesota recipe I learned how to make was banana bread. I used to make sweet breads before, like this Marbled Pound Cake for example, but I never made a banana bread in my entire life.  

I made the recipe few times, but after a while, I thought it was a little bit too bland for my taste. As I tend to put my stamp on everything I make, I decided to add cocoa powder and walnuts to this recipe, just to make it more interesting.

As you know, banana Bread is a very popular recipe in the U.S. There are thousands of banana recipes out there, so you just have to find the PERFECT one for you and stick with it.

Delicious and easy to bake, banana bread is an easy way to use up the leftover bananas sitting on your kitchen counter. You know, the ones that everyone avoids because they are too dark.

The Midwest is all about casseroles and bread that bring comfort to long, cold winters and banana bread is definitely one of these recipes that fit into the picture.

And who doesn’t like a warm home where the aroma of the freshly baked bread brings the family together?

How To Make this Cocoa Walnuts Banana Bread?

To make this recipe, you will need only few ingredients. The recipe calls for butter or oil and it is nice because you can choose whatever you have available.

I like to use oil instead of butter because I believe the oil makes it better, but both options are fine. 

The recipe is simple and there is not much room for error. You start by creaming together the butter(oil), sugar and eggs.

The bananas are mashed, then added to the mixture. The dry ingredients are mixed separately. The wet ingredients are poured over the dry ingredients and everything is mixed well together.

The idea is to not overmix, so just make sure that the batter comes together, then stop mixing.

I added nuts to my bread. I grew up with walnuts and I love them. In Eastern Europe, walnuts are very popular in all baked goods, so why not?

However,  they are not mandatory, so you can skip them if you are in a hurry or you just avoid them.

If you want to add some cocoa powder to some of the batter, remove 1/3 of the batter and mix it with cocoa powder. Get rid of any lumps by stirring well.

Spoon the first batter(without cocoa) into the prepared loaf pan, then add the cocoa mixture over it. Take a fork and make swirls in the batter to slightly combine the mixtures.

Bake, remove from the pan and place the bread on a rack to cool. HOW EASY IS THAT?

The recipe is perfect for a busy household. You can also make a double batch and freeze whatever you don’t eat right away. 

If you have leftover bananas and have no time to bake this bread soon, you can freeze the bananas. Do not peel them, just throw them in a ziploc-bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. 

I hope you enjoy the recipe and try to make it! You will thank me later!

If you make the recipe, share it with the hashtag #thebossykitchen on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter so we can all see what you’re cooking!

Yield: 1 loaf

Cocoa Walnuts Banana Bread Recipe

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This Cocoa Walnuts Banana Bread recipe is a very popular, delicious and easy to bake that can be made with left over bananas sitting in your kitchen.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 55 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup melted butter or oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 ripe bananas peeled
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/3 cup raw walnuts(optional)
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

Grease a 9x5 inch(23x13cm) loaf pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter(oil), sugar and eggs.

Mash the bananas and add them to the mixture.

Separately, mix together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.

Put the wet mixed ingredients into the dry ones and mix well. Add nuts.(optional)

In a separate bowl place 1/3 of the batter and mix it with cocoa powder. Get rid of any lumps by stirring well.

Spoon the first batter(without cocoa) into the prepared loaf pan, then add the cocoa mixture over it.

Take a fork and make swirls in the batter to slightly combine the mixtures.

Bake at 350F for 55 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove from the pan and place the bread on a rack to cool.

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