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Banana Nut Bread Recipe With Pecans

Banana nut bread recipe with a topping of pecans and orange sugar glaze is perfection in every bite. The easy banana bread recipe freezes well and tastes amazing any time of year.

Moist Banana Bread Recipe

Two loaves of banana nut bread on a counter with orange slices

I can’t get enough of this banana nut bread. It’s a moist and delicious loaf of banana bread and I eat it right out of the oven once it cools down a little.

If I place the sweet bread in the fridge, I’ll toast it later, add a bit of butter and eat it again. 

The pecan banana bread is an easy recipe to make and believe me everyone will love it. 

Can I Make Banana Bread With Pecans?

Absolutely, and this is one delicious moist banana bread with pecans. There are pecans in the bread and on top.

The pecans are nice and crunchy on top and have a little bit of a candied flavor with the orange topping.

Banana bread sliced with oranges.

I found this pecan banana bread recipe in a Taste of Home magazine (they sure know how to make amazing things over there) and adapted it a little bit, using less sugar, bananas, and pecans. But, I added more vanilla extract. 

If you love pecans, you’ll love this pecan pie cobbler.

I’m going to go so far and say this is the best banana bread I’ve ever eaten. It’s so moist, flavorful, and sweet. 

Slices of banana bread on a plate with orange slices

Ingredients Needed For Banana Pecan Bread

Banana Bread

  • Butter, softened
  • Cream cheese, softened
  • White granulated sugar
  • Eggs
  • Large ripe bananas, mashed
  • Vanilla extract
  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking soda
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Chopped pecans

Orange Glaze

  • Powdered sugar
  • Orange zest, grated
  • Orange juice

Full printable recipe with measurements and instructions listed at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.

How To Make Banana Bread:

  1. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
  2. Add the softened butter and cream cheese to a large mixing bowl. 
  3. Next, add the sugar and cream the three ingredients together. 
  4. Now, add the wet ingredients – eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract to the bowl and mix well. 
  5. Add the dry ingredients – the flour mixture, a little bit at a time, to the bowl and mix until well blended. 
  6. Pour half of the chopped pecans into the bowl and fold in.
  7. Now, pour the mixture into two 5″ x 9″ bread pans and sprinkle the remainder of the pecans on top. 
  8. Bake for 75-minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. (If the top begins to brown too soon, place some tinfoil over the top of the bread until baking is complete).
  9. Allow to cool for about 20 minutes. Remove from cake pans.
  10. In a small bowl, mix the powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. 
  11. Pour the orange glaze over the bread. 
Banana bread on a plate with oranges

This is one of those recipes that you can make any time of year, but it’s perfect for giving away as gifts to teachers, neighbors, and friends. They will love this homemade bread recipe, for sure.

The moist banana bread recipes make two loaves, so you can either make half as much or freeze the second loaf if you don’t want to eat it right away. 

Step-By-Step Instructions For Banana Bread

Flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl

Start by adding the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a medium-sized bowl. Mix it together with a fork and set aside. 

Softened butter and cream cheese in a glass bowl

Grab another large bowl and add the softened cream cheese and butter. 

I say this all the time (because I forget all the time), but if you forgot to set the butter and cream cheese out to soften, don’t worry about it. You can spend a minute or so more mixing it with the mixer. 

Sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a glass bowl

Next, pour the sugar into the bowl and cream everything together. 

Sugar, cream cheese, butter, and eggs mixed together in a glass bowl

Add the eggs to the bowl. 

Mashed bananas along with eggs, sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a bowl

Now, add the mashed bananas. 

I let the bananas sit on the counter for a few days and they ripen pretty fast. Overripe bananas mash easily. 

When mashing the bananas, you can use a fork or a potato masher. Either one will work.

Vanilla extract, mashed bananas, eggs, sugar, butter. and cream cheese mixed up in a bowl

Finally, add the vanilla extract to the bowl and mix everything together with the hand electric mixer. 

Flour in a bowl with banana bread mixture.

Now, add about half of the flour and mix. Once you’ve mixed it in, pour in the rest and mix until well blended.

Pecans in a bowl with banana bread mixture

Add half of the chopped pecans to the bowl and fold into the mixture. 

This is a great recipe for the fall season with the pecans and orange glaze. It’s a very comforting recipe. 

Banana bread mixture with pecans in a bread dish.

Pour the cream cheese banana bread mixture into two greased 5″ x 9″ bread pans. Bake for 75-minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

TIP: Check toward the end of the baking time to see if the top is getting too brown. If so, place a large piece of aluminum foil over the top of the bread. I just laid it right on top and it kept the top from getting too brown. 

For this recipe, I used one glass pan and one stone pan and they both baked the same. 

I used some cooking spray to grease the bread pans.

I used two 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pans. If you want to give the bread away as gifts, you can buy some mini loaf pans and make several loaves at a time.

Baked banana bread on a cooling rack with oranges.

Let the cake cool in the pans for about twenty minutes, then you can remove them and let them cool a few more minutes on top of a cooling wire rack while you make the glaze.

The top of the bread gets a nice golden brown color after baking and you end up with deliciously crunchy pecans.

Orange Sugar Glaze

Orange zest and powdered sugar in a glass bowl

Start by adding the powdered sugar to a small bowl, along with the orange zest. 

Orange juice being poured on powdered sugar and orange zest

Next, pour the orange juice into the bowl and mix together.

If your glaze comes out a little too runny, just add more powdered sugar, and if it’s too thick, add more juice. 

I had a juicy orange and was able to squeeze enough juice out for the glaze. 

Orange glaze in a glass bowl
Orange glaze being poured over banana bread with pecans

Pour the glaze onto the homemade banana bread. 

Banana bread with orange glaze

More Pecan Recipes

Banana nut bread with pecans and oranges.

Other Delicious Desserts

I know this will become your favorite banana bread recipe. It’s full of flavor, and is perfect for gift-giving, taking to a bake sale, or for eating with friends and family.

Be sure to get the recipe below.

The Best Banana Nut Bread Recipe with Pecans and Orange Sugar Glaze

Two loaves of banana nut bread on a counter with orange slices

Banana Nut Bread with Pecans

Yield: 16 slices
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Additional Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes

Banana nut bread with orange glaze is a classic banana bread recipe. It's easy to make and will become a family favorite.

Ingredients

Banana Bread

  • 3/4 cup butter, softened
  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1-1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 large ripe bananas, mashed
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1-1/2 cups chopped pecans (reserve half for sprinkling over the top)

Orange glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 tsp. orange zest, grated
  • 3 Tbsp. orange juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350-degrees and grease two 5" x 9" loaf pans. (If your pans are a little bit different in size, that is ok).

Banana Bread

  1. In a medium-sized bowl add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix together and set aside.
  2. Grab another large bowl and add the softened butter and cream cheese.
  3. Next, add the sugar and cream together.
  4. Add the eggs, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract and mix together well.
  5. Now, add a little bit of the flour to the banana mixture and mix. Keep adding a little at a time until all of flour is mixed in.
  6. Sprinkle half of the pecans into the mixture and fold in.
  7. Pour into two 5" x 9" prepared loaf pans and sprinkle the rest of the pecans on top.
  8. Bake for 75-minutes (cover with tinfoil if the top begins to get too brown toward the end of the baking process).
  9. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before removing bread from bread pans. Once cooled, the bread should slide out easily.

Orange Glaze

  1. Add the powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange zest to a small bowl.
  2. Mix together and pour over the warm banana bread.

Notes

If the top seems to be browning too fast while baking, lay a piece of aluminum foil on top of the bread pan until done baking.

This freezes well. Make sure you store in an airtight container or freezer bag. When you're ready to eat it, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw to room temperature.

You can also slice the bread into individual slices and wrap in plastic wrap and freeze. Simply take out of the freezer and allow it to thaw and toast.

You can give the easy banana nut bread recipe away as gifts. After the bread cools and the glaze hardens, wrap the bread in plastic bags and seal with a twist tie.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 415Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 60mgSodium: 274mgCarbohydrates: 52gFiber: 2gSugar: 30gProtein: 5g

Did you make this recipe?

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Pecan Pie Cobbler - Back To My Southern Roots

Monday 19th of August 2019

[…] Banana Nut Bread with pecans, with an orange glaze, is one of my favorite breads, or should I call it dessert? Either way, it’s absolutely delicious.  […]

Miz Helen

Tuesday 13th of August 2019

Oh my goodness, I can't wait to try this recipe, which I just pinned. Your Banana Nut Bread with Pecans looks so moist and delicious! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Full Plate Thursday,444 and hope you have a great week! Miz Helen

Julie Pollitt

Tuesday 13th of August 2019

Thanks so much, Miz Helen!

Marilyn Lesniak

Monday 12th of August 2019

Thank you for sharing at #ThursdayFavoriteThings. Pinned and shared. Have a lovely week. I hope to see you at next week’s party too!

Julie Pollitt

Tuesday 13th of August 2019

Hi Marilyn! Thank you! See you at the next Thursday Favorite Things!

Millican Pecan

Wednesday 7th of August 2019

This looks delicious! Why would I want to do banana bread any other way? There are so many recipes for banana bread out there, but this one is the best. Adding pecans, and the glaze on top...a sure way to impress those that I can serve this to! Thanks for your recipe!

Julie Pollitt

Wednesday 7th of August 2019

Thanks so much! I appreciate you stopping by! Pecans make desserts so much more delicious. :)

Homemade Banana Pudding - Back To My Southern Roots

Monday 5th of August 2019

[…] Banana Nut Bread with Pecans […]

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