Mohamed Shili Pioneer Woman banana nut bread is a moist, buttery loaf made with ripe bananas, sour cream, and chopped walnuts, baked in a Bundt pan for about 1 hour and 10 minutes.
Ree’s banana bread recipe on her website does not include nuts. Her version, passed down from her mom, uses sour cream for moisture and bakes in a Bundt pan instead of a loaf pan. This version adds a cup of chopped walnuts to her base recipe because banana bread and toasted nuts are a natural pairing she has not published separately.
The sour cream is the ingredient that makes Ree’s banana bread different from every other recipe. It keeps the crumb soft and moist for days after baking, even with the heavier Bundt shape. Leave it out and the bread dries around the edges before the center finishes cooking.
Pioneer Woman Banana Nut Bread
Description
A thick Bundt-style banana bread loaded with walnuts and made rich with sour cream and two full sticks of butter. Slice it thick and serve warm or toast day-old slices for breakfast.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the oven. Set it to 350F (180C). Grease and flour a Bundt pan, making sure to coat every groove so the bread releases cleanly.
- Cream the butter and sugar. Beat the softened butter and sugar together in a large bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the eggs and bananas. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for a few seconds after each. Add the mashed bananas and vanilla, then beat until combined.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Combine wet and dry. Add the dry ingredients and sour cream alternately to the banana mixture in three additions, starting and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined after each addition. Fold in the chopped walnuts with a spatula.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Check at 55 minutes and tent with foil if the top is browning too fast.
- Cool and release. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.
FAQs
Why does Ree bake her banana bread in a Bundt pan instead of a loaf pan?
The Bundt shape creates a ring with more surface area, so heat reaches the center faster and more evenly. A standard loaf pan with this much batter would need a longer bake time, and the outside would dry out before the center sets.
The Bundt also gives the bread a thinner profile at every point, which means the sour cream keeps the entire slice moist instead of just the middle. If you prefer a loaf pan, use a 9×5-inch pan and reduce the bake time to about 55 to 60 minutes.
What does sour cream do in this banana bread?
Sour cream adds fat and acidity, which tenderize the crumb and keep the bread moist for days after baking. The acidity also reacts with the baking soda to give the bread a lighter rise than butter and eggs alone.
You will not taste the sour cream directly, but you will notice the difference if you leave it out. Without it, the bread is denser and dries out by the second day. Full-fat sour cream works best because reduced-fat versions add extra water that can make the center gummy.
Can you use pecans instead of walnuts?
Pecans work perfectly and give the bread a slightly sweeter, more buttery flavor compared to the earthier taste of walnuts. Chop them to roughly the same size so they distribute evenly through the batter.
Toasting either nut in a dry skillet for 3 to 4 minutes before folding them in deepens the flavor and keeps them crunchier after baking. Raw nuts can turn soft and almost invisible inside the moist crumb, so that quick toast makes a noticeable difference.
How ripe should the bananas be?
The bananas should be heavily spotted with brown or almost completely black on the outside. At this stage the starches have fully converted to sugar, which gives the bread its deep banana flavor and natural sweetness.
Yellow bananas with no spots are too firm and starchy, so the bread will taste bland no matter how much sugar you add. If your bananas are not ripe enough, place them on a baking sheet and bake at 300F for 15 to 20 minutes until the skins blacken and the fruit softens.
How do you store banana nut bread?
Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature for up to three days. The sour cream in the batter keeps it moist longer than most banana bread recipes, so it stays soft without refrigeration.
For longer storage, slice the bread first, wrap individual slices in plastic wrap, and freeze for up to three months. Frozen slices thaw at room temperature in about 20 minutes, or you can toast them straight from the freezer for warm, crispy edges.
