This Hawaiian Banana Nut Bread is so moist and delicious. Great for gift giving, the combination of pineapple, coconut and cherries is insanely delicious.
I want you to go bananas, to-day! Okay, I really just want you to go buy yourself four bananas, and do it today. Don’t eat them yet…and if you have to do what I do, make a sign warning off anyone (husband!) who might not listen when you tell them HANDS OFF.
You’ll want to make this INCREDIBLE Hawaiian Banana Nut Bread as soon as you can, but very ripe bananas are needed before you can even start. In fact, maybe just buy two bunches and freeze the second, because this bread won’t last long in any kitchen.
I discovered the recipe many years ago and tried several versions until this stood out as a clear winner. You won’t want to change one thing about the ingredients. If you don’t like nuts, you may omit the walnuts but nothing else, trust me. I tried adding more pineapple, less pineapple, no coconut, no cherries, and kept coming back to the perfect combination I’m sharing with you now…
Not only is this bread pretty, it’s so full of flavor and moist texture, I’m warning you, it’ll be hard to eat “just a bite”. Also, it needs no adornment whatsoever but you could glaze the top or sprinkle some powdered sugar over it, but why?… This is divine just as you see it.
The recipe makes two nice size loaves, but you can also make one loaf and 12 muffins if you want the option of popping a few in a bag on-the-go. Perfect for gift giving; just be sure to include a copy of the recipe.
The combination of bananas, maraschino cherries, crushed pineapple and coconut adds a moistness that keeps getting better for days after you bake the bread. And walnuts add the perfect chunky bite. I melt coconut oil to add to the recipe for even more intense tropical flavor; use your own preference for oil here, but do not substitute with applesauce. This is not the time for that.
I mentioned how perfect this bread is for gift giving but if that’s your intent, be sure to save some for your own house. When I made the loaf and muffins you see here, the guys at my house pleaded with me not to share any of it! I kept telling them it was too much for us, and they swore that they needed every bit of it (It’s been a while since I last made it). So to you who were going to be benefactors the other day, I’m ripening more bananas as we speak so don’t worry, Hawaiian Banana Nut Bread is in your future.
A special note to my friend who is one of my best taste-testers, I know… no walnuts for you.
I hope you try this bread soon. It’s delicious and appropriate any time of year and with any meal of the day or all by itself. Just make sure there’s enough to share because stingy behavior seems to be a side effect.
Hawaiian Banana Nut Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup melted coconut oil, or oil of your choice
- 2 cups mashed very ripe banana, 4 medium bananas
- 1- 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup flaked coconut, preferably unsweetened
- 1 cup maraschino cherries, drained and diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour, ¾ teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 cups sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
- Add 1 cup walnuts, 3 eggs, 1 cup oil, 2 cups banana, 8 ounces pineapple, 2 teaspoon vanilla, 1 cup coconut and 1 cup cherries; stir just until blended. Pour batter evenly into the prepared pans.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of a loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
To Make into Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees and bake for 22-25 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick comes out almost clean.
Recipe adapted from All Recipes.
Wow, now are favorite bread! This should be called Banana Split Bread, lol. I did make some small changes. 1 heaping cup of sugar, Veg. oil, no coconut, strained the pineapple and pushed all juice out of it with spoon and cut the cherries in half. Thank you for such a great recipe!!!!
Loved this! I didn’t omit anything, but I did add 1/2 cup sour cream because I’ve never made any banana bread recipe without it. SUPER MOIST! Also, toast those chopped walnuts first… makes a significant difference.
Thanks so much, Maria! I love your ideas and am so happy you liked the bread. Thanks for taking the time to comment. 🙂
I was going to make this I got a 20 oz can of pineapple The recipe says 2/8 oz can is it supposed to be 2/8 oz cans or a 28 oz can It looks like the two and eight are separated I’m not quite sure because can isn’t pluralized
Again, make sure you use only one 8 oz can of pineapple.
This is by far the best Banana Nut Bread ever. I’m not a fan of maraschino cherries but I decided to make the recipe as is. I think because they
are chopped up they are not overwhelming and they add to the moistness of the bread. I did use pecans because that’s what I had on hand.
Had to bake an additional 20 minutes as another commenter stated. This will be my go to recipe from now on. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Hi Mary, this is so great to hear, I’m glad you liked the recipe so much, including the cherries! I think I need to retest the recipe if a couple of you have needed to bake it that much longer and see what could be the reason. Thanks for taking the time to stop by with your nice comment. 🙂
Altitude?
Hi Loi-ann, it is ONE 8 oz can of pineapple.
I’m at 5,000 altitude if that helps.
I used paper towels and blotted the extra cherry juice after cutting them in half and stained the pineapple and pushed the extra juice out and the bread was done at the time you stated. Your recipe is right on baking time.
The Hawaiian banana bread is awesome. I hope you don’t mind but I hate (hate hate hate) coconut so I used shredded carrots instead. The second time I made some other changes to make it mine.
Wayne! I don’t mind at all. Love when people adapt recipes and I’m so glad you liked it. I know many people who hate hate hate 🙂 coconut and so I’m glad you made it work! Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment.
Wayne I left the coconut out period 😂 it’s baking !! I’ll let you know . 😇
Helio this recipe is awesome and family don’t want it to leave home
Hi Deborah, I love this! My family feels the same way about it. It is a unique banana bread recipe, for sure and if you’re interested be sure and try my Banana Carrot Zucchini Bread recipe. It’s probably the best banana bread we’ve ever had. 🙂
Can you make this cake in a bundt pan?
Hi Novalene, I’ve never done this so cannot say how successful this would be. Sorry.
How did the bundt pan work for you?
Beverly, I’ve never used a bundt pan for this bread. The person who asked about using one never reported back whether she did or not and how it turned out if she did. This bread is pretty moist so if I were to guess, I would not think this to be a good recipe for a bundt.
Have you ever tried other nuts? I was thinking macadamia nuts would be really good.
Hi Karen, I haven’t but bet macadamia nuts would be fabulous. Let me know how it turns out with them if you do it!
This is the second time I made this loaf and muffin combo and they are delicious, thanks so much for the recipe.
Hello Lil and thanks for stopping by to let me know how you like it. It’s one of our favorite quick bread recipes at my house, too. 🙂
My bread just came out of the oven but I tried the muffins a little bit ago and this recipe is amazing! My bread took about 20 minutes longer and I ended up having to cover it with tinfoil to keep the top from burning. This is likely my fault though because I split the recipe between muffins and a loaf pan since I only have one of each. I’d be willing to bet my loaf pan ended up with more batter than originally intended. In any case, awesome spin on plain banana bread, I will be making again (though just in muffin form next time or I may die waiting for the bread to finally finish so I can eat it).
This is beautiful! Can’t wait to give it a try!
I hate cherries, do you think maybe cranberries would work or any other suggestions.
Hi Carol, you could just leave out the cherries but I would definitely try cranberries! I have several bags of frozen cranberries because I love them so much so you have given a great idea here. I’m certainly going to add cranberries next time. Much healthier and lower fructose content. I say do it!
I want to thank you for sharing such a great recipe and hope to see more soon. God Bless
If I were going to make muffins, what do you recommend the oven temp and minutes to bake? Thanks for any help….this sounds so YUMMY!
Hi Jane, I just went in an updated the printable recipe for you (I should have added this information in the first place). But for muffins, I baked them for about 25 minutes in a 350F degree oven. Thank you for stopping by!
This is sooo pretty!!! I would never think of adding maraschino cherries to banana bread…but you have intrigued me 🙂