APPLE BANANA BREAD

Apple Banana Bread made with ripe bananas and diced sweet apple, topped with a cinnamon streusel and drizzled with icing. Our favorite banana bread recipe ever!

I’ve made many a banana bread recipe in my life, but I am going on record saying, this is my absolute favorite. It’s a moist and flavorful banana bread with apple chunks in every bite, what’s not to like? This recipe is so simple and easy to make that it might quickly become one of your favorites too. 

What is Apple Banana Bread?

It’s exactly as it sounds, and it’s incredible. With a banana bread filled with chunks of diced apple. To make it even better, it’s covered in an easy homemade cinnamon streusel topping and then topped with a powdered sugar glaze. You know it’s going to taste great because it looks AMAZING. In fact, you may never be able to enjoy a plain banana bread recipe again- it’s THAT good!

Apple Banana Bread Ingredients

-Eggs: Eggs are important to create a leavening, adds flavor, and with the flour, combine to make the perfect crumb.  

-Sour cream: You can use sour cream or plain/vanilla Greek yogurt, both have similar results and make this bread rich and moist.

-Vegetable oil: Using vegetable oil or canola oil you get the needed fats to make this bread irresistible and moist.

-Mashed bananas: Using ripe bananas is ideal for banana bread, the darker the color, the sweeter and stronger their presence will be in the final results!

-Sugars: Using a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar, we get the needed sweetness this apple banana bread needs.

-Vanilla extract: A very common baking ingredient and found in most recipes, it helps to highlight the flavors in a recipe without overpowering them. 

-Flour: Using all purpose flour or bread flour, you can get that tasty crumb from the bread once baked. Bread flour has more protein and can alter the flavor for the better, but using either will give your bread tasty results!

-Baking soda: The leavening agent in this quick bread recipe. It helps to give the bread the much needed height and without it your bread will fall flat, pun intended.

-Cinnamon: A great flavorful addition to help meld together the flavors of apple and banana. Cinnamon is always welcomed in my book!

-Salt: Salt is a basic staple in recipes because it not only helps to give it a little something extra, but it helps to highlight the flavors in recipes and really makes them POP.

-Apple: You’ll want your apple diced and peeled so it’s ready to go but you can choose between apple varieties and select a sweet or tart apple based on what you’re looking for.

Streusel Topping Ingredients

Flour: The base of the streusel. It helps to absorb liquids and create the little crumbly bits you’ll be sprinkling over the bread.

Brown Sugar: Adding a level of sweetness and depth to the molasses without being overpoweringly sweet, this brown sugar gives that caramelization we want to see.

Cinnamon: A streusel topping almost wouldn’t exist without cinnamon. The flavor, smell, and nice brown color it gives really helps to make the streusel incredible.

Butter: Melt your butter and use it to help bring together the dry ingredients in this streusel and give it that much needed depth and richness.

Icing Ingredients

-Powdered sugar: This sugar will give us a great white glaze that’s smooth and sweet.

-Hot water: Using hot water we can dissolve the sugar and turn it into a spreadable glaze. You can add a little more or less depending on the desired glaze thickness you want but don’t overdo it. A little water goes a long way!

How to Make Apple Banana Bread

Preheat your oven to 325°F and spray two 8″ or 9″ loaf pans with non-stick baking spray, then set them aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream, and vegetable oil. Add in the mashed bananas, sugars and vanilla. Stir until everything is well combined.

In a smaller bowl combine the dry ingredients and then whisk them until well incorporated.

Pour the flour mixture into the banana mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in the apples.

Pour half of the batter into each baking pan. 

Combine the streusel ingredients in another bowl and stir until the mixture is uniform and crumbly. Sprinkle half streusel mix over each loaf.

Bake for 60-70 minutes, until the internal temp of the middle of baked bread registers 200°F with a cooking thermometer.

Remove from the oven and then let cool in bread pans for about 20 minutes. Turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool fully.

Whisk the powdered sugar together with the hot water. Drizzle over the cooled bread. Let the icing cool to set (it’s fast!) then slice and serve. Store the leftovers in an airtight container.

AVOID SUNKEN BREAD

The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!

How ripe should banana be for banana bread?

You want your bananas to be at the very least yellow with brown spots. But at most they can be solid black. The more ripe that the bananas are the sweeter they are (and the easier they are to mash). 

How do you keep banana bread moist after baking?

Keeping your banana bread properly stored can help to keep the moisture inside and maximize the shelf life. By keeping the banana bread in an airtight container at room temperature you can keep the banana bread moist for as long as possible. Keeping it out of the fridge can also help as the cold air often dries out baked goods.

How long does banana bread last on the counter?

You can get banana bread to last up to 5 days on the counter at room temperature f you keep it well wrapped and covered. This should give you plenty of time to snack your way through a loaf. Don’t forget that you can freeze any leftovers if you can’t finish it off fast enough!

Why is there sour cream in banana bread?

Sour cream is one of those awesome baking secrets that helps to add a deeper level of richness and moisture when it comes to the flavor and texture. What makes it really great is that it’s completely unnoticeable once baked into goods and if you hadn’t put it in there, you probably wouldn’t know it was in there.

Can you freeze apple banana bread?

Yes, this bread is great for freezing. Just make sure to have a completely cooled loaf and then to wrap the baked loaf in plastic wrap before storing in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Then let it thaw on the counter for a few hours before eating.

Our favorite banana recipes:

• Banana Pound Cake
• Zucchini Banana Bread
• White Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Banana Cream Cheesecake Bars
• Chocolate Chip Banana Bars
• Double Chocolate Banana Bread
• Caramel Banana Cream Tiramisu
• Glazed Blueberry Banana Bars
• Nutells Banana Muffins
• Chocolate Banana Ice Cream
• Banana Split Milkshakes
• Cranberry Banana Bread
• Caramel Banana Nut Bread
• Easy Banana Bread
• Banana Split Pie

You’re going to love this Apple Banana Bread. Made with fresh diced apples and topped with a cinnamon streusel crumb topping and drizzled in a powdered sugar icing, it’s simply the best banana bread recipe ever.