Banana Bread with a Nutella Swirl

Apparently it was banana bread day yesterday! That’s when I realized I had no banana bread recipe on the blog which is crazy! Fun fact, I actually eat a banana every morning as a part of my routine. And I always have bananas that get too ripe for me to eat. This particular banana bread recipe has a special sweet surprise on the inside – Nutella! I’ve been having a ton of fun experimenting with Nutella, and I thought it would pair well with bananas because chocolate and bananas are a classic combo!

Ingredients, Substitutions & Adjustments

• Unsalted butter – Adds moisture and a yummy nutty flavor to the banana bread.
• All purpose flour – This is the main dry ingredient in the banana bread!
• Baking soda as a leavener – This gives the bread airiness.
• Cinnamon – Adds some nice flavor to the bread and helps to balance out the sweetness from the sugar.
• Light brown sugar – This ingredients adds sweetness and moisture to the banana bread.
• Eggs – Adds richness and structure to the bread.
• Bananas – The star ingredient! Make sure your bananas are as ripe as can be. Ripe bananas make the banana bread sweeter.
• Vanilla extract – Adds flavor to the banana bread. Substitute with 1 vanilla bean or an equal amount of vanilla paste.
• Salt for seasoning
• Nutella for the swirl – Use as much or as little Nutella as you want.

Making this banana bread

First prep your loaf pan. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan with oil or butter. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Next, brown your butter. Heat butter over medium heat until it fully melts. Lower to low heat and cook until the butter turns a golden yellow color. Remove from the heat and set aside. The butter will continue to brown as it sits.

Add all purpose flour, baking soda, and cinnamon to a bowl. Mix until well combined. Set aside. Add the brown sugar, eggs, and browned butter to a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk until you get a light, fluffy mixture (1-2 minutes). Add the smashed bananas, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix until combined. Lastly, add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined. Be careful not to over mix the batter.

Spoon half the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Drop spoonfuls of the nutella on top of the batter. You will want to use about half the nutella. Use a knife to swirl the nutella into the batter. Repeat this process for the last half of the batter and nutella. Bake for 60-65 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting into it.

Tips on how to make the perfect banana bread

Use a light colored pan to brown your butter

When browning butter, it’s important that you can see the color of the butter as it browns. Using a darker colored pan like a non-stick makes it harder for you to see it. If you only have non-stick pans, you can hold the butter up to the light so you can see the color better.

Don’t over mix your batter

Over mixing your batter will create more gluten, making your banana bread dense. What I do is mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients with a spatula instead of a mixer, so I can better control how much I mix the batter.

Rest the banana bread before cutting into it

This part of the process is important because the banana bread finishes cooking in the loaf pan. If you cut into it too quickly, the banana bread will fall apart.

Add as much Nutella as you want

I added 1/2 cup of Nutella to my banana bread, but you can add as much or as little as you want. You can even add no Nutella!

Did you make this dish?

If you made this dish, I would love to see!

Follow Cooking Therapy on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag and hashtag it with @cooking__therapy and #beccascookingtherapy.

Stay connected and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for all my latest recipes.

Disclaimer: If you purchase anything through a link on this site, I may receive a small commission from the purchase at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products that I would personally use. Thank you so much for the support!