Pumpkin Pecan Banana Bread is moist and flavorful, made healthier by replacing most of the butter with lots of bananas, pumpkin puree and apple sauce.
Pumpkin Pecan Banana Bread
Madison, my youngest daughter LOVES banana bread, so I bake it quite often just for her. I was curious how she would feel if I added pumpkin and pumpkin spice to her favorite banana bread – well she loved it!! I used gluten-free flour as a test because I already know all-purpose and white whole wheat flours work and the results were great (she had not idea). You can see more pumpkin recipes here.
Quick breads freeze great for a make ahead breakfast. Let the bread cool before slicing it and then transfer to ziplock bags. You can freeze them up to 3 months. To eat, let it thaw in your bag or pop it in the microwave for a few seconds.
How To Make Pumpkin Pecan Banana Bread
More Banana Bread Recipes:
Pumpkin Banana Pecan Bread
Ingredients
- 2-1/2 cups white whole wheat or all-purpose gluten-free flour
- 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1-1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 tbsp butter, softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar, not packed
- 4 large egg whites
- 1-1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1-1/4 cup 3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
- 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 oz 3/4 cup chopped pecans
- baking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease two 8x5 inch loaf pans with baking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, pumpkin spice, cinnamon and salt with a wire whisk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg whites, pumpkin, bananas, apple sauce and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until thick. Scrape down sides of the bowl.
- Add flour mixture and pecans, then blend at low speed until combined. Do not over mix.
- Pour batter into loaf pans and bake on the center rack for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the pan cool at least 20 minutes, bread should be room temperature before slicing.
How do I convert the temp and time for muffins?
I’d like to add whey isolate protein powder to this recipe to increase the protein macro. How could I go about doing that?
This was absolutely delicious. We made it before Hurricane Ian and had a delicious snack whenever we needed it! Loved it.
Hope you made it through the storm safely!
Overly moist and tastes far more like banana than pumpkin.
Can Splenda brown sugar (or Sweve) be used without altering the texture or cook time of loaf? Looks like a great recipe other than 16g of sugar per slice.
My cake is very wet – not sure if it is undercooked?
I only have one loaf pan. Would the cooking time change if I used a Bundt pan?
I tried this in my large Bundt pan and it cooked perfectly in the 50 minutes noted.
I only had two bananas and after mashing they were not enough, so I used the rest of the pumpkin to reach the 1 and 1/4 cups. I also threw in 1/2 cup of raisins. It’s delicious, great recipe! I’ll definitely try it again with the right amount of bananas.
I wasn’t sure about this one but had both brown bananas and leftover pumpkin I wanted to get rid of so I gave it a try. It was delicious and reminded me of a mellow pumpkin pie flavour. A big hit in this house. (I left out the nuts so I could send it in lunches to school.)
Any option to replace eggs?
Yes, Google how to substitute an egg with a “flaxseed egg.” It is just ground flaxseed and water. I don’t remember the amounts.
Can you use whole eggs instead of egg whites??? If so how many I assume not 4
Patti, I made it with 2 whole eggs and it came out great!
Why only egg whites and not the whole egg?
You can if you wish
Love this recipe! Not too sweet and great consistency.
Can you use dark brown sugar instead of light?
Delicious bread! The consistency was perfect, not dense and chewy like some recipes I’ve tried that reduce the fat and add bananas, applesauce and here, pumpkin into the mix. Not very sweet but very satisfying with a cup of coffee or tea. And tastes good with a little neufchatel cheese on top.
Very good. I baked half in a loaf pan and half in a muffin tin. The muffins went into the freezer. The muffins baked for 30 min.
LOVE this recipe, make 1 loaf of bread & the other half muffins. It never lasts long!
Thanks for your yummy recipes, Gina 🙂
I have whole wheat flour. How much should I use for this recipe? Thanks!
My 5 year old grandson requests that I make this bread for him all the time. I have to leave the nuts out when I bake it for him, because he doesn’t like nuts, but otherwise I follow the recipe exactly. I have used frozen bananas and fresh ones, and both seem to work out. I also use fresh pumpkin rather than canned. I often bake it 5 minutes longer, but it always turns out perfect. I have even frozen individual slices for me. A really good recipe!
Thanks Patti!
Trying this tonight with gf flour.
FYI
It’s not celiac disease if you are sensitive to wheat products. GF has been a great help to me .
Do you have a cook book in print?
Delicious x 10!
I follow pretty much as written except 1 whole egg, 3 egg whites(a yolk fell in the batter because I was too lazy to crack the eggs separately) and 1/3 c applesauce. Made 24 beautiful muffins. For fun I topped each one with a half pecan!
Sounds SO tasty! Would using (unbleached) AP Flour affect this in any way? We’re not GF, but it seems that all of a sudden a lrg. portion of the population has ‘somehow’ developed Celiac Disease-LOL!
Delicious, moist, and even better the next day! I made this bread using oatmeal instead of the flour. I placed 2 1/2 cups of old fashion oats in the blender and used the grind setting. I also substituted 3/4 cup of maple syrup for the brown sugar. Because I like portion control, I made 24 muffins and cooked them for about 22 minutes rotating the tins on the racks after 11 minutes. Since I always read the reviews, I tried some of the suggestions. I used 2 whole egg. I also used the entire can of pumpkin and reduced the mashed bananas to 3/4 cup. Next time I will try keeping the bananas at 1 1/4 cup and eliminate the 1/2 cup of applesauce. After the muffins cooled, I placed them on a cookie sheet and placed them in the freezer for an hour. I then transferred the muffins to a freezer bag and returned them to a freezer. When I want to serve them, I let them thaw on the counter. If I want just one quickly, I zap it in the microwave for about 20 seconds. Sometimes, I put a 0-point amount of Reddi Wip on top and eat the muffin with a fork. Yum! If you liked this recipe, try her Roasted Strawberry Banana Bread.
Love the flavors but it took a lot longer to cook. Did anyone else have that trouble?
I made the mistake of using bananas from the freezer. Also will get fresh baking Soda. Cooked for 50 minutes, still soggy. I had cooled it before I tasted. Put it back in oven, upside down and baked another 20 minutes. Hard outside , soggy inside. I think too much water in the frozen bananas, my bad. Might try to make biscotti before I throw out. Won’t give up, it smells amazing. Thanks Gina, I’m 66 and have been baking for years. Always a learning curve.
Oh boy. Reading this after using frozen bananas in mine too! Haven’t cooked it yet.
I tweaked the recipe slightly based on ingredients I had on hand and used regular all-purpose flour and 3 whole eggs instead of egg whites. The recipe made 24 regular sized muffins which baked for about 22 minutes. The muffins were moist and not overly sweet. I will definitely be making these again!
in baking is there something I can substitute for butter in a recipe – I’ve substituted applesauce for oil but not sure if it would work for butter….
Delicious! Before I started baking, I read through many of the reviews. I added 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder after reading many. Based on how this turned out for me I will continue to add the baking powder.
Thank you for such a delicious pumpkin treat!
I would like to make in tasse pan, small muffin, what temp and how long, I love to freeze small treats.
Adding pumpkin puree to banana bread? What a brilliant idea! It brings all the comfort of fall flavors to a quick and easy banana bread recipe, plus uses pecans, which I love!
I found this recipe in an email from Relish about 2 weeks ago. It’s amazing! I used 2 whole eggs instead of egg whites and I had walnuts on hand so I substituted them for the pecans. I added raisins as well. The second time I made it I added chocolate chips!
I tried the Banana Pumpkin Pecan Bread and I must say it is THE BEST! It was so easy to make and tasted delicious. I used Walnuts instead of Pecans. 5 stars for this one.
Thank you 🙂
I haven’t had a lot of luck with GF breads, but this one is GREAT! Whenever I have old bananas, this is what I make. It is part of my permanent recipe file. Thanks!
Great!
Hi!
The recipe says 3 ox 3/4 cup chopped pecans. Is that 3 oz’s & 3/4 cup of pecans? Please clarify. Thank you.
I had the same question until I figured out that it’s 3oz., which is equal to 3/4 cup of pecans. So, she just gave two different ways to measure. HTH.
This was really good! The only sub I made was using two eggs instead of four egg whites since it seemed like a waste of eggs to me. Used a cup for cup gf flour. Very moist! Took about 45 minutes in my oven. I’m used to gluten free flour not getting much rise (especially without baking powder), so that didn’t bother me. Will bake again!
Thank you for a great recipe! I made it as is and a second time with 2 whole eggs because I ran out of eggs and both times it turned out so delicious and great texture. Thanks again!
I made this into muffins today for my breakfasts next week. I made it even “lighter” by subbing 1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar, so NO ADDED SUGAR! I added a scant 1/2 cup of the white whole wheat flour to make up the dry ingredient ratio. I used my own “Pumpkin Spice Mix” because I don’t buy mixes when I already have all of the ingredients in my pantry. I also subbed slivered almonds and walnuts for the pecans because that what I had on hand and needed to use up. The recipe made 18 nice sized regular muffins and cooked for about 27 minutes. Of COURSE, I had to taste test and they are DELICIOUS and very filling.
I tweaked the recipe slightly based on ingredients I had on hand and used regular all-purpose flour and 3 whole eggs instead of egg whites. The recipe made 24 regular sized muffins which baked for about 22 minutes. The muffins were moist and not overly sweet. I will definitely be making these again.
Taste was delicious but it never rose. I did follow the recipe which does not use baking powder, so I wondered if that was why, Next time I plan to put some in and see the difference. Was this recipe intended to be done without it? I really did love the flavor otherwise!
The recipe is missing the amount of sugar??? Help!!!
It says 1 cup light brown sugar.
I made this recipe last night . Gave it an xtra 10 min. Cut into it today, seems undercooked. More pasty than cakey. Too much wet ingredients or should I have cooked it longer? Toothpick was coming out with some goo. I just did not want to overcook it . Any advice?
You need to cook it until a toothpick comes out clean. Put aluminum foil on top of the pan if the top of the loaf is browning too much.
I used whole wheat flour, the recipe was moist and delicious. The recipe was super easy to follow, this will definitely be a reoccurring treat in my home.
Taste great, very moist. I will make it again. I didn’t have unsweetened applesauce so I just used more pumpkin . I also like spice so I added more to my taste. I divided into 2 loaf pans and backed for 35 min and it backed all the way through.
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This is delicious! Thanks for another winner recipe!
I’m usually not good at baking, but this came out amazing! Your recipes help keep my fiance and I on track for the week. Thank you for all the time and effort you put in your recipes!!!
Cooked extra ten minutes still not cooked all the way. They were delicious anyway. Used smaller foil pans could that have been my problem?
I made this delicious looking bread tonight; however, the batter was definitely missing enough moisture. When I put the batter into the loaf pans, I had to shovel the batter and then smush it down. When I pulled the bread out it was cooked but dry as a parchment paper. What should have been included in the recipe?
I just made this and it came out great. Very moist and not too sweet.
Has anyone tried this recipe with ground oatmeal or a nut flour? How did it turn out?
I baked my bread for over 50min at 350. And it still comes out wet in the middle. Do I continue to bake it?
I made this bread last night the smell in my house was fantastic. The taste was awesome but the texture was horrible. I used almond flour so that may have been the issue. Will try this recipe again tonight hopefully I get better results. If it doesn’t I wont be making this bread again.
Any Suggestions?
I made a one loaf I used 2 whole eggs and two mashed bananas and walnuts s instead of pecans.
This was really good. Served it with cool whip. Great texture and was a nice dark color
Absolutely delicious. I halved the sugar because I only had sweetened applesauce, used half all purpose white and half wheat flour, baked them for 18 min as muffins (made 24) and they turned out absolutely perfectly.
Best pumpkin banana bread ever. With or without the pecans. To top it off not one person thought it was a healthy to eat bread. Everyone loved it! Every Skinnytaste recipe that I have tried has been wonderful. My family members are very picky, but there are no complaints.
Made this last week and it is delicious! One piece is definitely enough. Love your recipes!
Do you have any suggestions on a substitute for the egg whites? Do you think flax eggs would work in this recipe?
Thanks in advance!
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I am having trouble with the bread not keeping. I followed the recipe exactly, leaving out the nuts. I baked the batter into 4 mini-loaf pans for 45 minutes (instead of 2 larger loaf pans). I cut each loaf into 10 slices for 2sp each. I put the cooled loaves into rubbermaid containers on the counter. They are fine for 2-3 days and then they start to smell or taste funny. I put the remaining 2 loaves in the fridge hoping to extend the life. They do not taste good out of the fridge but taste ok when heated in the toaster oven. How long should the bread keep and how should I store it? Thank you.
If using whole eggs instead of egg whites, how many would I use?
Used some persimmons instead of the pumpkin. Didn’t rise very much. I thought it was because of expired baking powder, then I realized I had accidently used corn starch instead (similar can). Oh well, the flavor isn’t bad, so I’ll have to try it again one day.
How long would you cook the muffins for? I’ve made this recipe several times and love it, but the bottom portion never comes out fully cooked even after 60 minutes of baking.
I recently made this and it was awesome! Did not taste “skinny” at all- rivaled my go to unhealthy version of banana bread! My husband loved it too!
Soooo good!! I used Bobs Red Mill all purpose GF flour and added 3/4 teaspoon of Xantham gum. Im so happy I tried it.
What brand of Gluten Free flour blend do you use? I have tried a variety of brands with vastly differing results, generally due to absorption potential and ratio of xanthan gum
I like Cup4Cuo
I will use recipe builder, but do you count the pumpkin puree and bananas as 0 SPs??
Please help! What can I subsitute applesauce for? My leg is in brace and it’s only thing I forgot. Anyone please help
More mashed banana
i used the xtra pumpkin and banana i had and it was still great!
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WW calculator requires a number for saturated fat…any idea what this would be?
It’s in the recipe. I believe 1.5
Will whole wheat pastry flour work with this recipe?
Made this & it was so yummy! It didn’t rise so I’m making it a second time & following everything exact to see what happens. I used gf oat flour& I will keep experimenting til I get it right. Thanks for the yummy recipe!:-)
Has anyone used this recipe for muffins, and if so, how many of what size muffin does it make? I think I am just going to wing it, and decide when I see the batter… but if anyone has any experience to share, I’d appreciate it.
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I used half white AP and half whole wheat AP, only had two bananas and added the whole can of pumpkin (same weight as bananas and pumpkin) and substituted chocolate mini choirs for the pecans. I also made three loaves (7×4). OMG. SO DELICIOUS! Thanks, Gina! Another winner!
I had the same issue some other people had with the middle. Ring mushy. I used regular wheat flour, would that be why?
Make sure you measure the banana in cups as they can vary in size.
I made this on a Thursday left it covered on counter and by Monday it was spoiled. Didn’t realize until I ate it! It was horrible and had to spit it out…just wondering it was delicious originally. I froze the other loaf. Anyone have a problem with this.
You always have to refrigerate or freeze quick breads you don’t eat that day as it’s made with fresh ingredients.
I figured that’s what I did wrong, I have made others from scratch and never had this problem. I froze the other loaf so now I can enjoy that one. Also could I have used some stevia to make it sweeter? Thank you for your response
Made this yesterday afternoon and it was a hit! I used pumpkin seeds instead of pecans & added a bit more spices to my taste ! Thank you for this awesome bread!!
Can this recipe be used for muffins as well?
Sure that should work fine.
OMG! Fantastic, wonderful, amazing.
I used white, unbleached flour because it’s what I had on hand and skipped the nuts (because my kids are nuts for not liking nuts in their baked goods)
I recalculated the portions to 20, I did one loaf + 8 muffins (as my other loaf pan is MIA) = 4 SP
Don’t know how I would ever cook another meal without you Gina, keep ’em coming!
Thank you!
Just made this. Took way longer to cook and it is sense and mushy-like bread pudding. Any ideas?
I’m going to retest this to see what the issue is.
I just retested this following my directions and it came out perfect. Did you use 1 1/4 cups mashed banana?
There is no calculation for saturated fat. what are the smart point for this pumpkin banana pecan bread / muffins
4 SP
Ours came out black and completely mush. Any idea why??
No idea, I just retested this to make sure there wasn’t an error following my own directions and it came out perfect and exactly like the photo.
Is the serving 1/24 of the whole recipe (1/12 of one loaf), or 1/24 of one loaf? Thanks!
1/12 of 1 loaf
Really good pumpkin flavor & moist bread. It doesn’t rise much, but texture was very nice. I made without pecans. My bread didn’t need all 50 minutes in the oven. Recommended recipe – thanks!
If i want to use less brown sugar should I change any other ingredients?
On my ww smart calculator I get 7 pts per slice!!
Calculator is never right, you have to use recipe builder.
Can you use egg beaters 100% egg whites?
what kind of pumpkin spice, liquid extract or powder? Do you think baking powder would help it rise better?
Just made this recipe! Oh my GOSH! This was fantastic. I had a hard time waiting for it to cool! It was soooo tasty I ate 3 pieces! I substituted walnuts because that's what I had on hand. Will definitely make this again!
hola! aquí en México no se consigue el pumpkin spice, ¿ algo con lo que lo pueda reemplazar?
Gracias!
You can use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Hope that helps!
hi! Could I substitute a vanilla protein powder for the flour? Also, do I need the butter – wouldn't the applesauce and banana keep it moist? Thanks! Looking forward to trying!
I'm surprised at the amount of brown sugar in this recipe. I would think the applesauce and banana would provide more than enough sweetness. I'm going to try making it without the added sugar.
Would like to hear how it turns out without sugar. I usually cut my sugar in recipes anyway. With all the banana and applesauce I would think that would be enough.
I'd like to know what WHITE WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR is? i'm in canada and i can't find it. Anyone know? mines baking right now. i'm hoping it's not mushy inside cuz that's what always happens to my loaves. WHY Why?
Bought White Whole Wheat flour at Bulk Barn yesterday.
Second try with fresh baking soda. I also used whole eggs, had no use for so many egg yolks and hated to waste them. It turned out much better. I/2 I put in muffin cups–best. Loaf took about an hour to cook, sort of dry on bottom but done inside. Any ideas about how to keep the nice lofty loaf? After it cooled it "fell". Still yummy.
I made this today using white whole wheat flour and it came out great. I followed your instructions exactly and it rose and is moist but not mushy at all. It's delicious and I'll definitely be making it again.
I timed it and tooth picked it. It seemed done but was just flat. Kinda stuck to the pan too. I'm trying it again right now. I bought fresh baking soda. Fingers crossed!
White whole wheat flour. Generic brand from the bulk bin at Fred Meyer. Didn't change anything. I did use homemade applesauce.
I used gluten-free flour and it was perfect but I am going to test it again with white whole wheat and see if it's a time issue. Did you go by my time or the tooth pick test?
My bread also didn't rise and was dense/mushy inside. Bummer because it smelled delicious when it was cooking!
Interesting, what kind of flour did you use? Did you change anything at all?
I had the same results that Renee posted. Very carefully followed recipe as I was planning to give these away. Didn't rise, mushy inside. If I left them in longer they would have burnt. Help!
What kind of flour did you use?
Same here
Can this recipe be made with regular flour and eggs or egg beaters?
I followed the recipe exactly but my bread turned out rather mushy. I kept it in 20 minutes longer and it's still mushy in the center. HELP!!
I wonder if it had to do with the flour, although I doubt it. What flour did you use? Did you change anything?
I had this issue too. It's not very tall either. I'm gonna cut it in to sticks and toast it under the broiler in the morning for my kids breakfast.
Think this can be made in the microwave? We just got a microwave that does convection cooking/baking. Wanting to try it out but haven't been able to find recipes.
Thanks
Bev
No.
Hi Gina,
I wonder if it's OK to freeze this bread for later use…. I'd appreciate your response. Thank you! I'm so grateful for all you do. Your recipes are amazing!
Yes you can freeze it.
Hi Gina,
Two of my favorite treats together – banana and pumpkin bread. I can't wait to try this recipe out on my own. How do you think it would taste if we added walnuts instead of pecans? I usually have walnuts in the kitchen to make traditional banana bread anyway.
Could you make it with regular flour? Also could you use 2 eggs or egg beaters instead of 4 egg whites?
Made this yesterday. Very good although it does take a little time to prepare. So good with a big dollop of peanut butter.
I have printed this out to make this weekend. It looks scrumptious! Someone mentioned that they successfully broke the recipe down into four small loaf pans. Great idea!
Che bontà!!!! Un bacione
Thank you for sharing this gluten-free bread recipe. Whenever I prepare brunch I always have some bread. Now your pumpkin banana bread is just right.
My 2 favorite breads in 1! If I leave out the nuts, the fat content goes to 2.2 g, which makes it healthy for me! I think I have both bananas and pumpkin in the freezer. My furnace died yesterday and I refuse to call for emergency service on a weekend! This seems like the perfect way to heat up the house on the chilly, rainy New England day!
If we make these as muffins, what would the baking time be like? And PP value? Thanks, Gina!!
I was too excited, so I went ahead and made them, and did my best to estimate cooking time. SO good. Thank you Gina! These brought a family friends' family together during a hard time, through the loss of one of their family members. Thank you. <3
Glad they worked out well for you!
Can't wait to make this first thing tomorrow!! (BTW – the title and ingredients list say "pecans" but the directions say "walnuts." Just thought you might want to fix it. 😉
Thanks for noticing! Just fixed it.
Oh, yes! I love the addition of pumpkin! This is going to be on my Sunday baking list!
Half the recipe?!? That's crazy talk. Don't do that. Make 2 loaves. You'll eat them!
yummy 🙂
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When using the GF flour, do you need to add xanthan gum as well? I noticed it wasn't in the ingredients list, so I'm curious. I'd like to make this for T'giving, and there are several family members who need to eat GF. Thanks!
All Purpose gluten free flour or flour blend usually has the xanthan gum in it already, so check the label.
Love pumpkin bread. Love banana bread. When I saw these were combined with applesauce, I knew I had to make them right away. I used smaller pans to make 4 loaves so that I can share them more easily with others. They're cooling on the rack right now, looking delicious.
I just took mine out of the oven, and it smells good!! I used glass loaf pans, so I turned the temp. down to 335 degrees. I might of mixed it up too much, using the electric mixer. it said not to over mix. I used half whole wheat flour and half all purpose.
This sounds delicious!
xo, Liz
http://lipstickandconfetti.com
Pumpkin Bread is delicious, pumpkin Banana bread is something special
Can this be made with regular flour- half whole wheat and half all purpose white? I don't want it to be gluten free. Would the points be the same then?
the brown sugar measurement is packed, yes?
Yes
The recipe says not packed
Not packed
What is the glaze on top? Also, could I use whole wheat flour or does it have to be WHITE whole wheat flour? Thanks!
I think thats just the crust. I had to take a second look, too.
Yes, me too! I thought it was an icing! Buts its just the crust!
What would the point value be without the pecans?
I think it would reduce the point value by 1/2-3/4 of a point. It is 6 points for 1 oz. That makes it 18 points for the 2 loaves. There are 24 serving
Yum! I do ths same with zucchini bread — I add mashed bananas and applesauce in place of oil! always moist and delish! and no one knows there's zucchini in it! LOL
For those of us who don't like pecans, the point is they don't make or break the recipe. It can stand on its own.