One of my all time favorite foods is peanut butter – it’s right up there with sushi and chocolate. Growing up, I actually used to eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich every morning for breakfast. So I think peanut butter is a very important addition to any good breakfast food! When I set out to make this recipe, I really wanted something that had a strong peanut butter flavor but didn’t completely overshadow the banana either. When something claims to have peanut butter, I really want it to hit me over the head with that flavor, so it wasn’t easy getting the right balance. I also wanted it to be something that was super easy to pull together and didn’t require any special equipment. Banana bread should be no-fuss and something you can throw together when you wake up so you have the perfect breakfast an hour later. This banana bread ticks all of those marks.
To make the banana bread, first you will combine melted butter and brown sugar in a large bowl and whisk it until it’s combined. It should look like caramel! Then you’ll add your bananas and mash them right there in the bowl, followed by peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla. The key to keeping the banana flavor with all of this peanut butter is using really overripe bananas. They should at least have large brown streaks all over, but ideally would be almost entirely brown. Bananas are never TOO ripe for banana bread, so just let them sit a bit longer if you aren’t sure!
Once you have all of your wet ingredients combined, you will add in your dry ingredients. When you are adding in your baking powder and baking soda, make sure you sprinkle them evenly over the top of the mix. This will help them get fully incorporated into the final batter. Unmixed pockets of baking soda can cause a metallic flavor in your baked goods, which you definitely don’t want! So you want to make sure you are using the right amount and mixing it in properly. Once your dry ingredients are fully incorporated (mix a few extra times just to make sure!) use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to fold in the Reese’s peanut butter chips.
Sprinkling baking powder and soda evenly over the batter 
All dry ingredients added 
Final batter
After a few tests of this banana bread, I decided the ultimate best way to bake it is in a square 9×9 cake pan. Since it is such a thick batter with all of the peanut butter and banana, it takes awhile to cook. Increasing the surface area allows for it to cook more evenly, so you don’t end up with lots of dry edges like you do in a loaf tin. Also – I think we can all agree that the best part of any baked good is the crunchy top. And this gives you 3x the crunchy top of a typical loaf pan! Jared is having a field day with this one because there’s so much crunchy top for him to pick off! Once you have finished your batter, spread it out evenly in the cake pan and top with the sparkling sugar. Bake at 350F for about 55 minutes and then go for a walk outside because you won’t be able to resist the smell of this fresh from the oven and you should let it cool before diving in!
PRO TIP: cut a piece of parchment paper so that it fits correctly in the greased pan with overhang only on the two sides (like the images below). This will make it so easy to pull the banana bread out of the cake pan and allow it to cool on the rack. Just lift the parchment paper edges up and out comes your banana bread!
Ready for baking 
Fresh from the oven on the cooling rack 
Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 4 overripe bananas These should be really overripe and brown all over (or at least mostly covered in brown streaks)
- 3/4 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter I actually use half and half because I like the little crunchy bits of peanut, but it’s up to you!
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup powdered peanut butter
- 1 bag Reese’s peanut butter chips
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tbsp sparkling sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and place your rack in the middle.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the butter and brown sugar until combined.
- Add the bananas and use your whisk to mash them up until there no big pieces left. It should be the texture of applesauce. Mix to combine.
- Add the peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.
- Add the dry ingredients (salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, powdered peanut butter, and flour). When adding the baking powder and baking soda, sprinkle it evenly over the top of the batter before mixing in. This will help prevent little pockets of unmixed ingredients.
- Mix until fully incorporated and there are no pockets of unmixed batter. Clumps of baking powder/soda will give your end product a metallic taste so make sure it’s fully mixed in!
- Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir in the peanut butter chips.
- You can definitely make this banana bread in a loaf tin or muffin tin, but after a few rounds of testing, I found the best way to be in a 9×9 square cake pan! Prepare your tin of choice by spraying with cooking spray or greasing with butter. Then, place a sheet of parchment paper in that overhangs on both sides so you can easily remove the bread from the tin after it is done cooking.
- Add your batter to your prepared loaf tin and use a rubber spatula to even out and smooth over the top. Then bang the pan on the counter a few times to remove any air bubbles and help the batter spread out more evenly. Then top with the sparkling sugar.
- Bake in the oven for about 55 minutes for the square cake pan. If the top of the loaf starts to get too dark, cover it with tin foil until it is fully baked through. I like the color at about the 45 minute mark, so I cover with tin foil for the last 10 minutes. The bread is done when it springs back when touched and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
