Soft, spiced, and loaded with melty chocolate, this pumpkin banana bread is the best of both worlds. Banana makes it tender; pumpkin keeps it moist for days. It's the fall loaf I reach for first.
Here's how this one got into my rotation. Spotty bananas on the counter, an almost full can of pumpkin in the fridge from something else. Throwing both into my usual banana bread felt obvious.
It was also a small disaster. Sliceable at the edges, pudding in the center. So I figured out why, then I fixed it.
It's an easy loaf. One bowl for the wet, one for the dry, no mixer.
More loaves I keep on repeat
This one borrows from a few of my other quick breads. My bread machine banana bread is the hands-off version, and cranberry banana bread is the tart, holiday-leaning one. More of a pumpkin person? Sour cream pumpkin bread is the plush, spiced classic, and bread machine pumpkin bread does it all in the machine.
A few ingredient notes that matter.
- Pumpkin puree, not pie filling. Pie filling is pre-sweetened, pre-spiced, and has more moisture. The cans sit right next to each other in the grocery store, so check the label.
- Butter over oil. Butter browns a little and carries your bloomed spice through the batter. Oil works if it's what you have, but butter is better here.
- Flour-toss the chips. Toss the chocolate chips with a spoonful of the flour before they go in. A light coat keeps them suspended through the loaf.
Why This Recipe Works
Pumpkin puree and mashed banana both bring a lot of moisture. This is why pumpkin banana bread can get gummy.
The fix is a ratio. You want two mashed bananas, which is about a cup, and one cup of pumpkin. Not a whole can. I found in testing that you had to increase both the leavening and flour to carry the extra moisture.
Bloom the spices
Bloom the pumpkin pie spice in the melted butter to take the flavors to the next level. It needs just 30 seconds over heat. Warm fat wakes the spices up. Skip it, and the pumpkin flavor doesn’t come through the banana flavor.
Make pumpkin banana muffins instead
No changes need to be made to the batter. Divide it into a lined 12-cup tin. Keep the oven at 350°F, and start checking at 20 to 24 minutes. Same temperature target in the middle. They just get there faster, so don't wander off.
Or go the nut bread route
For pumpkin banana nut bread, scatter chopped walnuts or pecans over the top, or fold half a cup into the batter with the chips. In my experience, toasting them in a dry skillet for a few minutes first is well worth the effort.
Don't have exactly what you need?
Only one banana? Bump the pumpkin to a cup and a quarter and add an extra spoonful of flour. Only half a can, about half a cup? Go three bananas. Keep the total puree the same.
Step by Step
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Do the Right Doneness Test
One thing I learned in testing this loaf is that the toothpick test doesn’t work here. If you hit a melty chip, it comes out gooey when the loaf is cooked through. Use an instant-read thermometer instead. You want 200 to 205°F in the center. It runs 70 to 85 minutes, and if the top is browning ahead of the middle, tent it loosely with foil around 40 minutes.
Pumpkin Banana Bread
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup unsalted butter, melted, 150 grams
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups brown sugar packed, 250 gram
- 2 ripe bananas well mashed, about a cup
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour 300 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips about 130 g, plus a few for the top
- Optional: Chopped nuts for topping
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan and line it with a parchment sling.
- Melt the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Whisk the pumpkin pie spice into the warm butter, and cook for 30 seconds, until the spice is fragrant. Remove from the heat.
- Whisk the eggs and the brown sugar until smooth. Add the mashed banana, pumpkin, and spiced butter, and whisk to a loose batter.
- In a second bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Before adding it in, toss the chocolate chips with about a tablespoon of that flour mix — it keeps them from sinking to the bottom.
- Fold the dry into the wet just until you don't see flour, then fold in the chips. Don't overmix.
- Scrape into the pan, scatter nuts on top if you like. on top, and set it on a sheet pan (it'll dome). Bake at 350°F for 70–85 minutes, tenting loosely with foil around 40 minutes if the top is browning fast. Pull it at 200–205°F in the center — trust the thermometer over the toothpick, especially with melty chips in there faking you out.
- Cool in the pan 15 minutes, lift out onto a rack, and cool completely.
Notes
Wrapped tight on the counter, pumpkin banana bread stays soft for three or four days. I find it lasts a touch longer than a plain banana bread would.
I have found it best to slice it before freezing. Let it get solid on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You can then wrap them individually, or put them in a zip-top bag.
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