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Pumpkin Banana Bread with Apples - perfect recipe for the Fall season and the holidays. This is a low-fat recipe with only 2 oz of butter (4 tablespoons) used to make a whole loaf ( 9×5 inch loaf pan), the rest of the butter is replaced with pumpkin puree, mashed bananas, and Greek yogurt.
This is one of my favorite dessert and breakfast recipes to make in the Fall and in the Winter. This PUMPKIN banana bread is stuffed with apple chunks, flavored with cinnamon and vanilla, and baked to perfection, with a gorgeous top crust! This recipe rivals my other Fall favorite: Banana Apple Bread with Caramel Sauce and Pecans.
Pumpkin Banana Bread - moist and low-fat recipe
- This recipe combines so many of my favorite things: bananas, pumpkin, apples, cinnamon, vanilla, and Greek yogurt. Yes, since I mentioned Greek yogurt, that means that this bread is also low-fat, with only 4 tablespoons of butter (2 oz) used for a whole loaf!
- If you bake lots of banana breads, you know that ripe bananas and Greek yogurt work great as butter replacement. We're keeping only 2 oz of butter (4 tablespoons of butter) in the whole loaf (for texture). In place of butter, I am using mashed bananas, Greek yogurt, and pumpkin puree - all of these ingredients make this bread really moist, soft and tasty.
Recipe notes
- Do not over mix banana bread batter. The lumps will work themselves out during baking.
- Use a 9×5 inch bread loaf pan. You can also use a smaller, 8×4 inch loaf pan, and pour the remaining banana bread batter into 3 muffin cups. You can also, of course, use mini loaf pans.
- Butter a loaf pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, butter the parchment paper too. Lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper ensures that the bottom of the bread will not get stuck.
What kind of apples to use in pumpkin banana bread?
- You can add any kind of apples, as long as they are crisp (not soft or mushy).
- Use sweet kind of apples (such as Gala), and you'll get a sweeter loaf.
- Use tart apples (such as Granny Smiths), and you'll get a sweet loaf too, with a touch of pleasant tartness from baked apples.
For this pumpkin banana bread loaf, I actually used 2 completely different apples: one very tart Granny Smith apple and one very sweet Gala apple. Chopped up into chunks and folded into the cake batter, these sweet and tart apple chunks add an unforgettable contrast of flavor! You don't even need to peel the apples: after being baked in the bread for about an hour, they get very soft, including the peel, there is really no need to peel them. Plus, I think the peel holds the apple chunks together better: they don't get so mushy.
Why make this recipe
Dear friends, please try this Fall pumpkin banana bread: you won't be disappointed! The pumpkin flavor is so subtle and perfect in this bread, I am convinced this could become a favorite recipe even for those who don't like pumpkin in their desserts: try this recipe and you'll change your mind! And, don't even get me started on what a great breakfast this bread makes!
Other pumpkin banana bread recipes
If you enjoyed this pumpkin banana bread, you might like these recipes:
Pumpkin Banana Bread with Apples
Ingredients
- 2 oz unsalted butter (4 tablespoons butter), very soft, room temperature
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 bananas , very ripe, mashed
- ½ cup Greek yogurt
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups apples , sliced into chunks
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
- In a medium bowl, using electric mixer, beat 4 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup of white sugar on high speed for 1 minute until well-combined. You will get coarse looking mixture (not creamy).
- Add 2 eggs to the butter-sugar mixture and continue beating for another minute until very creamy and very smooth.
- Add mashed bananas, Greek yogurt, pumpkin puree, and vanilla extract to the butter-sugar-eggs mixture, and continue beating, using electric mixer, until well combined – for about another minute.
- In a separate medium bowl, combine sifted flour (do not overpack the flour, when measuring it using measuring cups!), baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Mix until well combined.
- Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients, and mix, using large spoon, just until combined. DO NOT OVERMIX. If there are lumps – they will work themselves out during baking. Fold in apple chunks.
- Butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper, butter the parchment paper too. Note: lining the bottom of the pan with parchment paper ensures that the bottom of the bread will not get stuck.
- Pour the batter in the pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.
- Note: I have also used a 8×4 inch loaf pan, plus 3 muffin cups with this recipe. You can also, of course, use mini loaf pans.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This recipe was originally published on October 9, 2013, and republished in November 2018 with updates.
Looks moist and tasty. Can I substitute greek yogurt with plain yogurt.
Yes, you can definitely substitute Greek yogurt with plain yogurt. Enjoy!
1 cup white sugar is a lot of sugar. Is there anyway of substituting or reducing that? Otherwise it looks like a great recipe.
Yes, you can definitely use less sugar. You can use 2/3 cup of sugar or even less instead of 1 cup, the bread will still be sweet and tasty, thanks to the mashed banana and the apples.
Very tasty--I made it in two 8x4" loaves which I prefer and after baking wonder if the 9x5 might have run over--it's a lot of batter. Only change I made was to sub two teaspoons pumpkin pie spice for the cinnamon--I meant to do just 1 teaspoon but was pleased with the extra flavor. Definitely use the parchment! It's a very moist loaf.
Thank you, JoAnn! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing your feedback about making it in two loaf pans.
If I wanted to make this into smaller loaves how should the cooking time change do you think?
It will depend on the size of smaller loaf pans. Check your bread half time through baking by inserting a toothpick in the thickest portion of the bread - to check if the batter is still runny.
Is there an egg substitute for this recipe?
Flax Seed or Chia Seed can be used as Egg Substitutes in cooking and baking. 1 tablespoon of either seed should be ground to a fine meal, combined with 3 tablespoons of warm water and left to set for 5-10 minutes. This mixture will replace one egg. As Flax and Chia Seed contain oils, only grind the amount you need for each recipe, or grind small amounts and kept it refrigerated so it will stay fresh. Excellent additional information is at: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/tips-for-using-flax-and-chia-seeds-to-replace-eggs-in-baking-and-cooking/
Thank you for the tips!
what would you replace the yogurt with if you're making dairy free?
BAKED this tonight and just tasted a slice still warm and delicious. It will be even tastier when cool tomorrow morn with COFFEE. This is an easy RECIPE and I followed it exactly as written. It is moist and all the flavors blend without overpowering plus the APPLES make it moist and it is not heavy or dense. You definitely have a 5 star RECIPE and I thank you for sharing it.
Hi Julia what a "beautiful" cake , I am going to make it but do you think i should remove the skin off the apples or leave skin on?
Could a sugar substitute be used such as splenda or truvia?
Splenda should work just fine! Just replace use the same quantity - 1 cup of splenda instead of 1 cup of white sugar here. I found this recipe on Splenda site which has approximately same proportions of ingredients and produces the same loaf size, and based on that recipe I feel confident that you replace in 1:1 proportion, so just use 1 cup of splenda for this recipe.
What about nuts? Pecans or walnuts?
Nuts will be great here! Either walnuts or pecans. I made this banana bread with walnuts many times - it's one of my most requested breads! I also topped this apple banana bread (every single slice :)) generously with pecans - so delicious!
I made this and it was delicious and moist. My co-workers devoured it. I made it with raw cane sugar and I did have to bake it over an hour-about an 1 hour and 15 min before it was fully done. Thank You for the wonderful recipe.
Zahra, thank you for stopping by and letting me know you and your co-workers loved the recipe! It always makes me happy to hear this! Also, good to know that raw cane sugar worked just fine here!
Can I make this with raw cane sugar instead of white sugar?
I just did a little research and from everything I've read, it shouldn't really make a difference in this recipe. Using raw cane sugar vs. white sugar will make a difference if you're making a buttercream or some finer desserts, but for this simple bread - it doesn't matter ! 🙂
your page does not have just a "PRINT THE RECIPE" site, at least that i could find. Is that possible to add for those of us who prefer just the recipe printed but not all the comments? Or else let me know where i can find it!:)
thank you!:)
Sydney, the "PRINT" function on my site is long overdue! I don't have it installed right now but but it's on my to-do list - soon it will be added to new recipes and I will have to update the old ones.
Made this yesterday. Came out really good. Thank you so much!
Swati, so glad that you liked the recipe! 🙂 And thank you for stopping by and letting me know that the recipe turned out well for you! 🙂