This recipe isn’t really one of my “test” or practice recipes. It’s a definite go-to in my recipe book. This is a fantastic recipe to get rid of bananas that I tend to buy then forget about. It’s also great to use up other frozen fruit, as the blueberries are optional, but can also be switched up for anything you’ve got hanging around in the kitchen.

Well I wouldn’t suggest meat, that would be kind of off putting. Steak/banana bread doesn’t sound very appetizing. 😛

No extra fruit? No problem, I’ve added nuts or raisins to the banana bread batter as well and the results have been awesome. You can also leave all extras out, as the banana bread itself is pretty epic.

This recipe is considered low fat, since we use applesauce instead of oil and the amount of butter (or coconut oil) and sugar per loaf is pretty minimal.

I’ve made this recipe more than enough to know that you don’t have to be super careful when measuring the ingredients. Obviously I wouldn’t just dump things in, but it’s a pretty resilient batter and allows for some substitutions or whatnot. 😀

Banana Blueberry Bread

Ingredients: *(There is more stuff than needed in the photo, but it’s cause I was doubling the recipe.)

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, softened*
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 cup ripe bananas, mashed (3 small)
• ½ cup blueberries
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine softened butter and sugar, and beat with a mixer at medium speed, about 3 minutes or until well combined. Add the egg and applesauce, and beat another 2 minutes. Fold in the bananas.

3. Lightly spoon the all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the two flours, baking soda, and salt in a separate large bowl.

4. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing after each addition until moistened. Add blueberries after tossing them in a tbsp of flour

5. Coat one loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour the batter into the loaf pan. (I made two loaves this time, to use up 4 bananas. Also, there is no difference between glass and metal pans, or so I’ve found. I’ve used both with this recipe.)

6. Bake at 350° for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted in center of the bread comes out clean.

7. Allow the bread to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Remove the bread and cool completely on a wire rack.

Yield: 1 loaf (or 2 if you double the recipe like I did.) 😛

*Bear in mind, the coconut oil is a substitution I’ve made. The recipe originally called for butter, so for those with nut allergies, don’t worry about changing it back. Coconut oil measure cup for cup with butter, so the measurements stay the same.*

I rate this recipe 8 out of 10 forks for it’s ease to put together and it’s overall versatility and taste.

Chef-In-Training Mandy 😀