Studded Banana Bread

Looking for something to make a mom in your life or something for yourself this weekend? This Studded Banana Bread is where it is at, so delicious and bejeweled, it is filled with bling, aka nuts, seeds, and dried cranberries. I know there are some people who like their nanner bread simple, this beaut is for those who like it extra. My kids hated this which was win for me because I got to eat it without them stealing it! This was inspired by a Better Homes and Garden recipe for Hippie Banana Bread, it was a good start but I wanted to change it up. This is definitely in the rotation for any time I have some brown bananas hanging around. Perfect for breakfasts or snacks or even gifting, slice it up and you can freeze it for anytime you have a hankering.

This is really a simple recipe, the ingredient list is just a little long, but don’t fear, nothing is hard to find and you probably have it in your pantry. If you are missing something, its easy to adjust and personalize it, you can always leave a comment or message me too. I like the mix of flours, whole wheat for extra nutrition, almond for nuttiness, and AP for lightness. You can easily swap the whole wheat and AP for some gluten free flour, and a couple flax eggs to make it vegan. So make this for someone special, especially your bad-*ss self! I personally love it with a smear of Greek yogurt or dairy free cream cheese, it adds tang and creaminess to it.

Studded Banana Bread

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 1/2 cup coconut sugar

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

• 2 eggs

• 2-3 bananas, mashed, 1 cup

• 1/2 cup pistachios, roughly chopped

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

- Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8x4 loaf pan and line with parchment paper, spray again.

- In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients: flours, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

- In another, large bowl, mix the oil and coconut sugar until combined, add in the maple syrup and vanilla, stir until smooth. Add in the eggs, one at a time, stirring for each.

- Stir in the mashed bananas and the dry mixture, just until combined. Gently blend in the pistachios, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and pepitas. Pour into the loaf pan.

- Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack, cool completely before slicing.

Get all your things together, the dry, wet, and mashed bananas.

mix in the eggs, one at a time, that way you don’t overmix and they get combined well.

Mix in the bananas, you can use a spatula for this, super easy.

Dump the flour mixture into the wet ingredients.

Stir until just combined.

The batter is looking good and ready for the studs!

The cast of characters to make it bejeweled - mix it up to what you like but these make a pretty stellar group - pistachios, sunflower seeds (make sure these aren’t salted), pepitas (also known as shelled pumpkin seeds), and cranberries. The perfect crunch and sweetness to make this incredible.

Stir it all in there…

Grab your prepped loaf pan and pour it all in there!

I grabbed another banana and quartered it, using three of the quarters and some of the studding to sprinkle on top. That way, everyone knows what they are biting into! Now it is ready for the oven.