Sweet Maple Banana Cornbread
This heavenly family favorite recipe brings well loved banana bread and cornbread together to make a moist, delicious, and sweet cornbread that's fantastic as a side dish for the holidays or with brunch!
For more quick bread recipes, try my super moist chocolate chip banana bread recipe, jiffy mix style cast iron southern buttermilk cornbread, or my favorite pumpkin bread!
Banana Bread meets Cornbread Recipe for Fall
Since it's fall time, I can finally bake bread again. Y'all it was so hot this summer I threw a whole fit! Almost quit cooking for a season, I couldn't get near the stove without needing to overwork my A/C!
I am so here for whipping up baked goods again. And quick breads like banana bread are always at the top of the list.
This buttery, crunchy, sweet banana cornbread is a wonderful addition to the Thanksgiving line up this year! It's fabulous with candied yams and mac and cheese, or just simply with a cup of milk for a snack.
What? In the south we eat cornbread with milk! Some people even like it with buttermilk.
And when I was testing this recipe, my husband said this was very similar to a snack cake they, too, eat in D.R. with milk. Amazing how close the South is with so many cultures when it comes to food!
If you love cornbread as much as I do, you're going to love this recipe with a little slather of butter melting on top!
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Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Easy, Easy, Easy Cornbread Recipe - this is a fabulous beginner's recipe, you can even make it with kids!
- Make Muffins - this recipe makes a good muffin! Banana corn muffins are great to bring to soccer games for the kids or share with neighbors or at a brunch.
- Versatile Add-Ins - this banana cornbread is great sweet or savory! Try adding chocolate chips, bacon crumbles, or mix the pecans into the batter instead of sprinkling them on top of the cornbread.
Equipment
- 9×5-inch loaf pan or 8x8 baking pan
- Mixing Bowls
- Wire Racks
- Crisco - this is in the tools, not the ingredients, because we're using it to grease the pan! You can also use magic cake release, it's a go-to whenever I'm doing a ton of baking during the holiday season.
- Mini muffin pans - if you're making banana cornbread muffins instead.
Ingredients
Full ingredients, measurements, and printable instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Overripe Bananas - mash the bananas with a fork to get them ready to add to the batter.
- Cornmeal - corn meal gives great flavor and texture, and a lovely crumb! Yellow cornmeal or white can be used.
- All Purpose Flour
- Vanilla Extract
- Buttermilk - powdered buttermilk is a game changer. I don't ever have to worry about using half a gallon of buttermilk, just scoop some into water or milk and it's buttermilk!
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Eggs - make sure they're room temperature. This helps everything bake at together at the right temperatures.
- Vegetable Oil or Melted Butter - either or works here!
- Baking Powder and Baking Soda
- Brown Sugar
- Maple Syrup - this really emphasized that fall flavor, but you can swap in honey instead!
- Pecans - these give a great nutty flavor, like banana nut bread vibes!
How to Make My Maple Banana Cornbread Recipe
Step 1 | Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Greased your baking dish or pan and Set the prepared pan aside. Whisk together all the wet ingredients, including the brown sugar and mashed banana, in a medium bowl.
Step 2 | Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Step 3 | Use a silicone baking spatula to stir the banana mixture into the dry ingredients.
Step 4 | Pour the batter into your prepared baking dish.
Step 5 | Sprinkle on the pecans or walnuts, then bake for 25 minute to 30 minutes, until a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean with a few crumbs and the top is a lovely golden brown.
Step 6 | Let it cool for 15 minutes before removing from the pan and let come to room temperature on a wire rack.
Variations and Substitutions
- Swap the buttermilk for sour cream, to keep that tangy flavor and moistness.
- If you're not a fan of the banana nut bread vibe, omit the pecans completely.
- Coconut oil or avocado oil can be used instead of butter/vegetable oil!
Pro Tips
- Parchment paper gives extra protection so your cornbread releases easily from the pan. Give it some extra to hang from the sides so you can lift it right out!
- Always use fresh baking powder! Baking powder (and baking soda) have a lifespan of about 6 months, and then their leavening power dies down and becomes unreliable. Label your baking powder and soda with a date and replace every 6 months for the best baked goods.
Storage and Reheating
Wrap the cornbread in plastic wrap or keep on the counter in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
FAQs
If the banana is brown with absolutely no yellow showing, is soft and squishy, falling off the bunch, has mold, is leaking, or smells rotten, throw it out!
More Cozy Fall Dishes
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📖 Recipe
Sweet Banana Cornbread
Ingredients
- 2 overripe bananas mashed
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup coarse cornmeal
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup roasted pecans chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Grease your pan with vegetable shortening or baking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, vegetable oil or butter, buttermilk, maple syrup, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until everything is homogenous.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and use a silicone baking spatula to mix everything together until it becomes just combined. Don't overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle the pecans all over the top.
- Bake the maple banana cornbread for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick or cake tester poked in the center comes out clean with a few crumbs.
- Let the cornbread cool for 15-30 minutes, then remove from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack until room temperature.
- Slice and serve with butter or a cup of milk! Keep on the counter in an airtight container for 3 days.
