This Starbucks Copycat Banana Bread recipe is the perfect homemade version of the famous coffee shop's treat and I promise you, it's SO EASY to make. Not only does it have the irresistible flavor we all crave with a hint of cinnamon spice and PACKED with nutty walnuts and pecans. this loaf bakes up moist, soft, and fluffy that pairs perfectly with your morning coffee. And the best part - you can make this for a fraction of the cost so you'll never have to buy it from Starbucks again.
As I'm currently typing this paragraph, my nearest Starbucks shop sells this Banana, Walnut, and Pecan Loaf Bread slice for $4.25. Each. Damn. Is that shocking to anyone else? Just me? I get it - it's delicious and so convenient to quickly pick up. My easy-to-follow instructions for this Starbucks Copycat Banana Bread can yield you 8 slices pretty identical in size (and more delicious, in my opinion) for a mere fraction of the cost.
If I ask my mom if I can bake her anything, she will answer banana bread almost immediately. It's her favorite! My mom does annoyingly request I add raisins, so I reluctantly sprinkle some as a topping to her half. I mean - I love raisins but in banana bread? I love you, mommy, but hard pass.
So I can say I've definitely made a lot of banana bread loaves over the years. After tweaking it here and there, I can confidently say my version is better than Starbucks while mimicking it to a tee.
If you love these copycat recipes, you may also enjoy making these! Please let me know what other items I need to try replicate next:
- Starbucks Copycat Birthday Cake Pops
- Starbucks Copycat Chocolate Cake Pops
- Starbucks Copycat Lemon Loaf
- Starbucks Cranberry Bliss Bars
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Ingredients You'll Need
- All-purpose flour: Be sure to measure correctly - I highly recommend using a trusty kitchen scale. Refer to my Back to Basics for full details.
- Baking soda: Acts as a leavener to help baked goods rise. It also has a high pH level which helps to darken the crust and leads to a richer flavor.
- Kosher salt: Enhances the flavors of all other ingredients and balances out the sweetness.
- Cinnamon: Ground cinnamon to add a touch of spice in the background.
- Egg: If a recipe doesn't specify, always default to large eggs.
- Granulated & brown sugar: You can use either interchangeably, but I feel a small amount of brown sugar adds more flavor versus using only white sugar.
- Neutral oil: Avocado, vegetable, canola, grapeseed oil - any oil that's flavorless works in this recipe. Oil is essential for a tender moist bread crumb.
- Sour cream: You can also easily swap it with plain or greek yogurt, even buttermilk. The lactic acid aids in breaking down the proteins in the flour, making for a softer, more tender crumb. If your cakes ever came out dry, try adding sour cream!
- Vanilla extract: Pairs great with banana and brings a depth of flavor.
- Overripe bananas: The riper the bananas, the sweeter they will which is what we want! There's truly no such thing as too-ripe bananas for banana bread. I wait till my bunch has a good amount of freckles and black/brown streaks on them with no green on the stems.
- Walnuts/pecans: You can opt to add some nuts straight into your batter or sprinkle them right on top the loaf. I like to do both! Or if you can omit altogether.
How To Make Starbucks Copycat Banana Bread
Gather flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk until combined and set aside.
Combine egg, sugars, and oil in a large bowl. Whisk until well combined.
Peel bananas and mash them in a bowl using a fork.
Add your dry ingredients into your wet ingredients. Using a spatula, fold gently just until flour is no longer visible. Do not over-mix.
Add in your mashed bananas and gently mix in.
You can choose whether you'd like to add a portion of the walnuts/pecans into your batter.
Pour batter into greased/lined loaf pan. I use small stainless steel clips to keep parchment paper in place. Otherwise, the sides sometimes flops and fold down onto the batter while baking. Sprinkle remaining nuts on top the loaf.
Bake until top crust is nice and golden.
To check if bread is baked through, poke a toothpick or knife into the center a few times to see if it comes out fairly clean.
Allow bread to cool in pan for 15 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling for 1 hour min or until it reaches room temperature.
Suzy's Tips For Success
- Plan and buy your bananas ahead of time: I like to buy my bananas 5-7 days prior. I've heard of many hacks to ripen your bananas quickly, however. I do not use them. Although they help to darken/soften the bananas, only time sweetens them. You can opt to freeze your already-ripen bananas so you can thaw them the night prior. This method definitely works - I'm just not the biggest fan since the thawed banana texture changes in the freezer.
- Preheat your oven for at least 30 minutes: Allow ample time for your oven to reach the desired baking temperature. I have had multiple appliance repairmen tell me even new modern ovens do not reach the temperature it's set to when it beeps notifying you that preheating is finished. I find 30 minutes is enough time for it to heat up properly. Until you know how your oven functions (some run hotter or cooler than others), it's always a great idea to keep a second independent thermometer in your oven.
- Avoid over-mixing your batter after adding in the dry ingredients: This is a good habit to form when combining all types of batters. Once you add in your flour, gently and slowly fold the ingredients with a spatula. If you've ever baked a touch dense loaf of bread, cupcakes, cookies, etc, many times it's due to gluten developing from over-mixing.
- Use a toothpick or knife to check if loaf is done: This is a bread I feel we tend to underbake by mistake. We see the golden crust and want to pull it out of the oven prematurely. I've done this many times, and found that the center still hasn't baked all the way through. To avoid this, push the baking close to 70-75 minutes depending on your oven temperature. Poke a toothpick into the center of the loaf. It may poke into banana, so do it a few times in different spots. If it comes out almost clean, it's ready. I use a 8x5-inch (20x12cm) loaf pan. If you use a wider 9-inch pan, it will bake faster. Adjust bake time accordingly.
- Allow to cool to almost room temperature for easier slicing: I know, it's so hard to wait when your kitchen just smells of delicious fresh-baked banana bread! Remember breads are still baking from the residual heat even after it's taken out of the oven. Allowing it to cool as much as you can bear. The loaf will also slice neatly when cooled.
Best Way To Store Starbucks Copycat Banana Bread
You can keep banana bread on the counter for 4-5 days wrapped in plastic wrap or an airtight container, a full week in the refrigerator, or up to 9 months in the freezer. To thaw, place in refrigerator overnight or at room temperature.
FAQ
I would recommend searching Google for a more reliable gluten-free banana bread recipe. I am not confident to suggest substituting gluten-free flour for this recipe and know it will have the same outcome. The gums and fiber in gluten-free flour holds onto water more than gluten, so they take much longer to bake yielding a dryer bread. I have not tested this out using this recipe's ratios.
Yes. When ready to use, you can thaw bananas overnight in the fridge, on the counter, or defrost in the microwave. They will be mushy, but this is typical.
Yes. You can use coconut cream with a little vinegar or lemon juice (mimicking buttermilk) to substitute the sour cream.
You can definitely leave out all nuts and the banana bread will be just as delicious! You can also add chocolate chips, dried fruits, and peanut butter.
I would try flax egg, aquafaba, applesauce, pureed tofu, pumpkin puree, and of course the egg replacer. Keep in mind these substitutions may change the overall bread.
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Equipment
- 8x5-inch loaf pan 20x12cm
- parchment paper
- Rubber Spatula
- whisk or handheld mixer
- toothpick or butter knife
- stainless steel clips optional
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup any neutral oil
- 2 tablespoon sour cream or plain or greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 over-ripe bananas
- ¼ cup walnuts halves roughly chopped
- ⅓ cup pecans roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉ (162℃). Grease and line loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- In another large mixing bowl, combine egg, both sugar, and oil. Whisk or beat until smooth and oil has been incorporated. Add in sour cream, vanilla, and mix.1 large egg, ¾ cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup brown sugar, ½ cup any neutral oil, 2 tablespoon sour cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Peel bananas and mash them in a bowl using a fork. It's okay if it remains lumpy.3 over-ripe bananas
- Combine dry ingredients into your wet mixture. Fold flour in gently using a rubber spatula - do not over-mix. Add in your mashed banana. Once combined, add in your walnut/pecans if desired. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Sprinkled remaining nuts on top and transfer to oven.¼ cup walnuts halves, ⅓ cup pecans
- Bake for 65-75 minutes until golden brown, and a toothpick or knife poked in the center comes out clean. My 8x5-inch loaf usually takes 70 minutes. If you use a wider 9-inch loaf pan, your loaf will bake faster. Check it at 60 minutes.
- Let bread to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then transfer loaf to a cooling rack. Allow it to cool for 1 hour or until it's room temperature. Enjoy it for breakfast or snack, as is or with good quality butter.
Notes
Nutrition
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Ocaria says
Why not mesure the banana also? Every banana is different and I might have big bananas and make the bread too moist or small ones and would get too dry, so please make sure to mesure in metric all ingredients. Thank you
Suzy says
Sure - measure the bananas if you feel inclined to. If you're selling these, you'd want all the loaves to be the same. But what if it's just for you and your family to enjoy? After baking for a while, you start to learn which ingredients you can start to eyeball over time and which ones you need to always measure. Bananas, vanilla, the nuts - these are some ingredients in this recipe that is more forgiving. If you baked two loaves, one with large bananas and one with smaller ones, the texture of the loaves will be different but they would not suffer in quality compared to using two different amounts of flour. It'll be more about preference.
Sandra Batjiaka says
The ingredients don’t have quantities?
Suzy says
Hi Sandra. Did you read down the recipe card right above this comment section? I just checked - all the ingredients and measurements are listed there. You can also click the "Jump To Recipe" at the beginning of the blog and it'll scroll straight down to it.
Steph says
I love that I can just click a button to double this recipe, and I just realized that I could have clicked for metric weight.. I did one plain and one with chocolate chips. Just like Starbucks but better! I’ve never made banana bread when the bananas were mixed in last, that threw me for a loop.
Suzy says
I know, but it works! Thank you for trying it - so glad you enjoyed it!
Niya says
I dont think the way you wrote the recipie is correct. Any blog post for recipies - dont make people scrolldown all the way and then you gave some features about metrics and serving sizes but these features dont work at all in mobile version and desktop/laptop version. I honestly skipped your blog a lot of times because I got confused like where are the quantities for the ingredients? And then i scrolled all the way just out of boredom and then i found them. Please try to change the way you are writing these recipies.
Also, i just made this recipie and put in the oven i will let you or readers know in 1 to 1.5hours
Suzy says
Hello Niya. I do have a "Jump To Recipe" button you can click at the very top of the page. Click this will automatically scroll the page for you straight to the recipe card with all the measurements. I also do like. to give the option to use metric measurements, since many people like to use grams. I apologize if you do not agree with this layout, as this is pretty standard practice among U.S. recipes online. Thank you for scrolling my recipes, and hope this helps better navigate it.
Niya says
Hi Suzy, I do know the standard metrics used in US recipies, but this blog site is not working properly when i try to use them. It is giving completely wrong measurements and then I have to refresh entire page to get to standard serving size measurements. I think you should look into the code written that is converting or the measurements itself you have written for the other sizes because they were not working on the website properly. The feature is broken.
Suzy says
Hello Niya. Thank you for the feedback. I actually write in the conversion measurements myself, since I know that it can differ greatly. I just took a look at it myself again before replying here. I wrote in myself 240g for 2 cups of all purpose flour, and 150g for 3/4 cup of gr sugar, 50g for brown sugar, and so forth. I know 1 cup of flour can be determined anywhere between 120-130g - I use 120g per cup. I also checked the oil conversion, and it is accurate. So I don't believe it's an issue of coding. Serving size will always be for 1 cookie, and nutritional facts will always just be an estimate. I have made this loaf multiple times (this week, in fact), and so have a few of my friends with no issues in conversion. I hope this helps.
Stacie says
My mom and I made two loaves (one with and one without chocolate chips, HEB organics brand) and they were an instant hit!! Thank you for sharing the recipe! Have you ever made them into muffins? My friends and coworkers would love this as well and was wondering if you have any tips for making muffins next time.
Suzy says
That makes me so happy, Stacie! Yes, I think we would have to make adjustments in bake time. It would take a shorter amount since muffins will cook through quicker than a loaf. I would definitely add more nuts (or chocolate chips!) so each muffin would have a good amount. Thank you so much for trying my recipe!