Banana bread is one of the few things I've found a good majority of people to like. So whenever I hear someone doesn't like banana bread, my heart aches. How, I wonder, could anyone dislike something so delicious?
I feel for those who may have had a bad banana bread experience, closing all doors to giving it another shot. I wholeheartedly believe there is a banana bread recipe out there for everyone, no matter their palate.
That's why I rounded up five out of the ordinary banana bread recipes and put them to the test. So, with 15 bananas and a mess of other ingredients at hand, I set out on my mission to find the ultimate banana bread.
Double Chocolate
Simply adding chocolate chips didn't seem like enough to me, which is why I went for this double chocolate recipe. Let me just say, I had really high hopes for this one. I wouldn't say I was disappointed, but I will say that it tasted more like a brownie than it did banana bread.
While I really love brownies, this loaf is much richer and heavier than a slice of regular banana bread, which is to be expected. Overall I'll definitely be making this one again the next time I want brownies but still want to tell myself I'm being healthy.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup
Let me tell you, I love peanut butter cups. So I was obviously the most excited about this one, because it combined three of my all-time faves: chocolate, peanut butter and bananas. I'm happy to say that this one did not disappoint.
However I did alter the recipe a bit. Instead of putting banana chips on top, I opted for peanut butter cups and peanut butter chips instead. I also put chocolate chips in the bread, which only made it that much better. Overall, this one was by far my favorite and I think you should go make it for yourself ASAP.
Nutella Swirl
Alright, I don't want to sound too harsh, but literally everything about this one was underwhelming. I followed the recipe completely and I think that may have been the problem. There was no real depth of flavor and I couldn't really get a sense of the Nutella.
That, and mine didn't come out nearly as picturesque as it looked on Pinterest (no surprise there). I don't have any plans to recreate this one again, but if you're a die-hard Nutella fan you may consider trying out this Spoon recipe instead.
Red Velvet
I'm not sure if I can even really call this one a banana bread. It's pretty much just a red velvet box cake mix with three bananas added to the mix. And honestly, that's all it really tastes like. This was my least favorite, hands-down, because the flavor was just so confusing. It kind of tasted like bananas and kind of tasted like red velvet, but it didn't really taste good. I added chocolate chips to the top just for fun, but they didn't really do anything for it.
You can go ahead and try this for yourself if you're a fan of red velvet, but my one piece of advice would be to only use two bananas, to get the best texture.
Classic
Here it is, the plain-Jane banana nut bread your grandmother used to make. I know this one isn't out-of-the-box, but I had to make it for the sake of comparison. Now, this isn't the same classic recipe I usually use, but it might be now. I opted for walnuts and put them on top as well as in the batter because I thought it'd make it better, and I was right.
I found this one to be a little too mushy, so the only change I would make is using one less banana. Other than that, I'll be going back to this recipe without a doubt the next time I need my banana bread fix.
After eight hours of mashing bananas, mixing batter and waiting for these breads to bake, I really hope I have opened the eyes of banana bread haters to a world of new possibilities. Just because I may not have fully appreciated a couple of these recipes doesn't mean that nobody else will! Go ahead and try these out for yourself and see what you think, but maybe don't do it all in one day.