Brown Sugar Blueberry Banana Bread — Super moist blueberry banana bread made with Greek yogurt and dark brown sugar. Smear some homemade blueberry butter onto a slice of this blueberry brown sugar banana bread and prepare to fall in love!
Moist Blueberry Banana Bread Recipe
Banana bread and blueberry muffins are two of my favorite things. So I combined them into one heavenly mashup.
This blueberry banana bread is ridiculously moist, soft, and bursting with blueberries in every bite. It’s like blueberry coffee cake with the comforting, homey qualities of banana bread.
I have 40+ banana bread and banana recipes, nor do I lack for blueberry muffin or blueberry coffee cake recipes. I don’t know why I haven’t paired blueberries and bananas together before now. Better late than never, right?
This blueberry brown sugar banana bread is a one-bowl, no-mixer recipe that goes from bowl to oven in minutes. I adapted my Banana Yogurt Muffins and Little Banana Bread Loaf recipe. I stuck with Greek yogurt, but changed up the sugars. Rather than using any granulated sugar, I used both light and dark brown sugar.
Light brown sugar typically has about 1 tablespoon of molasses per cup, whereas dark brown sugar has about 3 tablespoons. The extra molasses adds moisture and creates a richer flavored, amber-hued bread.
The blueberry banana bread recipe uses Greek yogurt to provide moisture and richness without adding as much fat as sour cream, although it can be substituted.
There’s no butter in this moist banana bread either, and for the fat source I used coconut oil. I love baking with coconut oil and this quick bread doesn’t taste like coconut. Rather, it adds a nearly imperceptible undertone that’s sweeter and more fragrant than canola or vegetable oil, but those may be substituted if you’re concerned.
I got the coconut oil, sugars, vanilla, cinnamon, flour, baking powder, and baking soda from Vitacost. It’s nice to be able to save money on my shelf-stable dry goods and pantry staples, and they show up on my doorstep, which is great. One less grocery trip to make. Vitacost has a huge array of items from organic cinnamon to Organic King Arthur All-Puprose Flour, my favorite brand.
The blueberry and yogurt banana bread is falling-apart soft and tender, and even though the batter is very thick before baking, the bread turns out soft and fluffy with just the right amount of density.
The cinnamon and nutmeg gently perfume the bread, and when served with a smear of blueberry butter, it’s total comfort food worthy of your ripe bananas. Best banana-anything I’ve ever made!
What’s in Blueberry Banana Bread?
To make this brown sugar blueberry banana bread, you’ll need:
- Egg
- Greek yogurt
- Coconut oil
- Light and dark brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Nutmeg
- Bananas
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Blueberries
And to make the homemade blueberry butter, all you need is:
- Unsalted butter
- Blueberries
How to Make Banana Bread with Blueberries
This is a super easy banana bread recipe! First, combine the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl, along with some cinnamon and nutmeg. Then, add the mashed bananas and stir to incorporate before adding in the dry ingredients.
Fold the fresh blueberries in with a spatula, being careful not to over mix the batter. Pour the blueberry banana bread batter into two greased 8×4-inch loaves and bake until the top is domed, golden, and set in the center.
Let the blueberry brown sugar banana bread cool in the loaf pan for 15 minutes before turning it onto a wire rack.
How to Make Blueberry Butter
Flavored butters are so simple to make, but they taste incredible! To make the homemade blueberry butter, whip together 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter and 1/2 cup blueberries (if you’re using frozen berries, make sure they’re drained well).
The blueberry butter lasts up to a week in the fridge, so you can enjoy it on your morning toast, waffles, pancakes, and more!
Should I Use Fresh or Frozen Blueberries?
You can use either in this blueberry banana bread with oil! I used frozen blueberries since they’re readily available and inexpensive. Not being reliant on fresh berries is nice, but if you have them go for it.
Keep the berries frozen when adding them to the batter because they run and bleed less if kept frozen. I haven’t tried with fresh, but baking time would be reduced.
How to Store Blueberry Banana Bread
This blueberry banana bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Tips for the Best Blueberry Banana Bread
The batter is extremely thick. I used 2 cups flour because I knew that the frozen berries would release a fair amount of juice while baking, so I created an extra-thick batter to compensate. If you’re using fresh berries, start with 1 3/4 flour and use your judgment.
During the last 5 minutes this blueberry banana bread was in the oven, I tented the loaf pans with a sheet of foil so the tops wouldn’t get too browned before centers cooked through. Note that baking times will vary based on moisture content of bananas, blueberries, climate, and oven variances. Bake until done; watch your bread, not the clock.
Lastly, homemade blueberry butter will keep up to 1 week in the fridge. If you can’t eat all of it in a week, I recommend freezing the leftovers to enjoy atop future baked goods.
Pin This Recipe
Brown Sugar Blueberry Banana Bread with Blueberry Butter
Super moist blueberry banana bread made with Greek yogurt and dark brown sugar. Smear some homemade blueberry butter onto a slice of this blueberry brown sugar banana bread and prepare to fall in love!
Ingredients
Blueberry Banana Bread
- 1 large egg
- 6 ounces plain or vanilla Greek yogurt (sour cream may be substituted))
- 1/2 cup liquid-state coconut oil (canola or vegetable oil may be substituted)
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 teaspoons cinnamon, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, or to taste
- 1 to 1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large or 3 small/medium)
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- about 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries (keep them frozen and don’t thaw; fresh may be substituted)
Blueberry Butter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), very well softened
- about 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen (if using frozen, make sure they’re well-drained)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray two 8×4-inch loaf pans with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pans; set aside.
Make the Banana Bread
- In a large bowl, add first 8 ingredients (through nutmeg), and whisk to combine.
- Add the bananas and stir to incorporate.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, optional salt, and fold with spatula or stir gently with a spoon until just combined; don’t overmix. Batter is extremely thick.
- Fold in blueberries with a spatula.
- Turn batter out into prepared pans, smoothing the tops lightly with a spatula and pushing it into corners and sides as necessary.
- Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes (if using fresh berries, baking time will likely be reduced), or until the top is domed, golden, and the center is set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- Allow bread to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving. While bread cools, make the Blueberry Butter.
Make the Blueberry Butter
- In a small bowl, combine the butter, blueberries, and whip vigorously with a spoon to combine. Optionally, instead of blueberry butter, try Strawberry Butter, Honey Butter, Cinnamon-Sugar Butter, or Vanilla Browned Butter Glaze.
Notes
- I baked 42 minutes total, and during the last 5 minutes, tented the pans with a sheet of foil so tops wouldn’t get too browned before centers cooked through. Baking times will vary based on moisture content of bananas, blueberries, climate, and oven variances. Bake until done; watch your bread, not the clock.
- Bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- Blueberry butter will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 1 week
- Adapted from Banana Yogurt Muffins and Little Banana Bread Loaf
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 172Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 87mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 11gProtein: 2g
More Banana Bread Recipes:
ALL OF MY BANANA BREAD RECIPES!
Cream Cheese-Filled Banana Bread — This is the BEST homemade banana bread recipe! This banana bread tastes like it has cheesecake baked in! Soft, fluffy, easy and tastes ahhhh-mazing!!
Strawberry Banana Bread— This strawberry bread is packed with fresh, juicy strawberries in every bite! This is an easy, no-mixer quick bread recipe you’re going to love!
Flour’s Famous Banana Bread — The banana bread is soft, very moist thanks to the use of oil rather than butter, and perfectly dense. If you like denser banana bread with substance, you’ll love this one.
Six-Banana Banana Bread — Six bananas in one loaf of bread means an extremely soft, moist, and richly flavored bread
Browned Butter Buttermilk Banana Bread with Strawberry Butter — The browned butter and buttermilk add richness, softness, and moisture, and the strawberry butter makes it that much better
Pineapple Coconut Oil Banana Bread – Buttermilk, bananas and coconut oil keep this bread super moist, tender and it tastes like a tropical vacation
Banana Bread with Vanilla Browned Butter Glaze — Classic banana bread when you have 2-3 bananas. Vanilla is used four times in this easy recipe that turns out moist and perfect every time. This is the most popular banana bread with readers
This post was brought to you by Vitacost. Recipe and all opinions expressed are my own.
My husband loved this and proclaimed it the best banana bread I had made! Â Because I had larger pans, my loaves were not very high as another had commented. Â I have also wondered about making one large loaf and glad to see that one succeeded. Â I did not have any dark brown sugar on hand so I used all light brown and also threw in a few pecan pieces as my husband loves nuts. Â I will make it again.
Thanks for the 5 star review I am glad this was proclaimed the best banana bread you ever made and you will make it again!
I made this last night and we had it for breakfast. I didn’t have any dark brown sugar and was low on light brown sugar, so I used 3/4 cup light brown sugar and 1 TBS molasses with fresh blueberries and 1.25 cups mashed banana and I split the batter into 2- 7×3 inch loaf pans and both loaves turned out beautiful (pans were full with a nice round top when done) and tasted great. The blueberries and spices melded together nicely.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was a hit and you were able to improvise with the ingredients you had on hand and great idea to split it between two pans. That’s a bit of a nonstandard size, wish I had two of those on hand, it would be great rather than baking one extra-large 9×5 and/or when two 8×4’s would be a bit too much pan, the 7x3s sound perfect!
Hi,Just wanted to leave a note to say that I have used this recipe for years now and it is by far the best banana bread recipe I have ever come across. It has never failed me. Thank you so much xxx
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you’ve used this recipe very successfully for years!
How many slices in each loaf though 😂?
8 – 10. If the stats are super important to you and it sounds like they are, add up the stats of every single ingredient and divide by the slices you choose to slice it into. Very simple.
How much of this is classed as a serving?
1 slice
I made this recipe exactly as you stated. I was concerned that the loaves wouldn’t rise high & I was right. My bread is yummy but only an inch
high. Next time I would just bake all of it in one pan.
Blueberry butter is yummy!
Thanks for great recipe!
Patti
Redwood Valley, CA
This is like your 10th recipe I’ve made and all delicious. Haven’t had time to leave reviews (kids!!) question about the blueberry butter. I’m using frozen, do I need to defrost then drain 😬
Thanks again Averie
Thanks for the nice comment and glad you’ve been having so much success with my recipes! And yes I would say defrost then drain.
thank you , thank you. Your recipes are great and always come out perfect.
Will it be alright if I bake this in a 9×5 loaf pan and how long does it have to be baked?Â
Thank you.Â
A fan from Melbourne, Australia
No, it will likely overflow in a single 9×5 pan.
I reduced the oven temp to 325° and baked it in a 9×5 loaf pan with no problem. Turned out beautiful!
Glad to hear that worked out great for you!
Deelicious!!! Averie – your recipes are ALWAYS a huge success. Two things I can count on…Averie’s recipes and KA multi-purpose gluten free flour. Due to food allergies, I followed the recipe only subbing GF flour for the all purpose, and avocado oil for the coconut oil. No gums and it rose beautifully! The combination of brown sugars added a level of depth kissed with sweetness, but not sickly sweet. The loaf was moist and bursting with flavor. Another winner Averie – pinned and hand written on a recipe card.Â
Fluffy and moist! I can’t eat dairy, so I tried this with some canned coconut milk instead of the yogurt. It turned out great! It didn’t dome in the middle, but it’s still good and fluffy. I usually prefer a denser banana bread with more bananas, but that’s just because lighter breads were usually dry. Not this one! It’s a good recipe when I only have a couple bananas on hand.
So glad it’s a winner for you and that you were able to sub with the canned coconut milk. And I love a good, uber-dense banana bread too usually but this one is a nice change when you only have a couple bananas on hand like you said!
My blueberries all baked in the bottom half of the bread, but other than that it is delicious! I love your recipes and photos!
If you toss them with flour, that can help prevent sinking. Some blueberries just sink more than others. The mini/wild ones tend to sink less but they’re generally about 3x the price :)
Love this – and it’s heart-healthy for my husband when using egg substitute. This is my new go-to banana bread recipe!
Glad you love it and it works well for you and your husband and it’s your new go to!
Oh my goodness this looks absolutely delicious, and so wholesome. My favorite part is the ingredients list, it’s simple. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I love thinking about where food comes from so I work with a company called Cayisa to promote learning gardens, sustainable gardening, and reforestation. They’ve educated 78,000 kids about where their food comes from through their Seed for Seed program! Cayisa also sells some awesome jewerly to support their cause. You should check out the website (www.cayisa.com) and the blog (www.cayisa.wordpress.com)! Thanks!
Thanks for the great recipe. I was looking for something to use my overripe bananas and my “a little tired” blueberries. This was perfect, although I only had light brown sugar and canola oil.
Sounds like your bread turned out great and perfect use for your bananas and tired berries. Thanks for trying the recipe!
It’s even better today! I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Thanks.
Keep me posted what else you try and yes, I think so too about better the 2nd day. I think most good banana bread recipes get better in a day or so after the flavors marry!
Hm. Something’s not right about this. Mine didn’t rise. It tastes good, but it came out looking like cake rather than bread. No dome while it baked, and almost no rise. I’m wondering whether Greek yogurt contains enough acid to activate the baking soda. Followed the recipe to the letter, although I substituted canola oil for the coconut oil. (I don’t like the coconut flavor imparted by coconut oil.) Anyway…it didn’t work for me. Sorry to be a killjoy.
Sorry it didn’t work for you. I had no issue and I remade it and tested it before I posted it, just to make sure it works, and it does. Maybe something about your blueberries, your flour, your oven, the kind of Greek yog you used, how old or new your baking soda was; with baking there are so many variables. I make SO MANY cakes/quickbreads with Greek yogurt and don’t ever have any issues. Many on this page are made with Greek yogurt or you can use it in most places, even if not expressly stated https://www.averiecooks.com/category/dessert/cake I honestly think it could be your baking soda OR your flour. I swear by King Arthur. It has a higher than typical gluten content which tends to give baked goods more structure and prevent things from falling and/or not rising. I would look into either of those ideas – if you retry it, LMK!
Don’t you just love that “Why didn’t I think of this sooner?” moment? ;) This bread looks crazy good!! I love blueberries and bananas together! Pinned!
The sound of blueberry butter made it time to stop, drop, and cook!
This looks delicious! I am going to try making this recipe with our four 3 year-olds who love to cook. I pinned it. Thank you for your recipe!
banana & blueberry is a killer combo! great recipe.
xx,
Elizabeth
http://www.adrian-james.com
Vitacost is AWESOME! After y’all get your first $10 off by using the link in the post, make your re-orders through Ebates and get 4% cash back. (No this isn’t a scam and I’m not trying to put spyware on your computer; I just love me some Ebates and I love me some Vitacost and they’re 2 great tastes that taste great together!)
And I’ve been making tons of banananana bread lately. DEFINITELY going to add this one to the to-do list!
I know, Vitacost is great!
This is a serious lifesaver for supremely indecisive people like me! I can never settle on whether I want a muffin or a quick bread loaf, but when I reach for both, I feel a little bit guilty. But it’s too hard to just eat half of each! Oh, the problems I face… ;) With how much I love bananas — I eat one every day with breakfast! — and berries, this wouldn’t last two days in my house. And I’d be the only one eating it!
I’m with you – banana bread and blueberry are two of my favorites – what a way to combine them!!
Averie, you KNOW I LOVE this bread right?! All those blueberries & that butter look amazing!
I thought you would like this one! I was thinking of you when I was making, photographing & writing about it! :)
I’m all over that blueberry butter! Yum! Quick question- what do you mean when you say that light brown sugar has 1 tbsp per cup and dark brown has 3 tbsp per cup?
Better late than never is right! So glad you decided to do it. Looks perfectly moist and delicious!
Hope you’re having a wonderful Wednesday!
This bread looks delicious!! Wish I had a piece right now!
Definitely an amazing combo!! Love it…wish I had a piece of it now for my afternoon snack. :)
Yummy!
Oh, gurrrrl, this is right up my alley, too!! Definitely is perfect for my morning latte! :-D
What a gorgeous loaf of banana bread! LOVE the combination of blueberries and bananas. I made blueberry banana muffins awhile back, but it was much too long ago and now I’m craving this lovely bread! And I love how you used coconut oil for the oil in this bread. — I’ve never tried that before in breads, but now you’ve got me incensed to try it! Pinning this beautiful banana bread! ;)
Thanks for pinning & coconut oil in quickbread & muffin recipes is just the best!
I’m such a sucker for blueberry! These look great!
Well if I hear te word “butter” I’m probably coming out to play.
I love that you used coconut oil instead of butter! Gonna try this one!
This cake looks crazy good! I already made my grocery list :)
I’m making this to take for our Easter lunch at work. Is the yogurt fluid ounces or weight? Thanks
Just a little 6-ounce cup of yogurt. The size that’s most commonly sold at the grocery store.
I recently started using coconut oil and I LOVE it!
Your bread looks fabulous, Averie. And as always, lovely photos. Thanks for the Vitacost link. I’m going to check it out. I’m always checking for the best online deals on household and pantry staples. If it saves me a trip to the store, then I’m one happy gal! :)
Happy shopping :)
Beautiful! I think I will try and make this tonight! :)
If you try it LMK!
This looks beyond perfect! I love the blueberry butter too!
I am absolutely in love with this combination of blueberry muffins and banana bread! Such a wonderful idea to put the two together in one loaf! I love that you used brown sugar and coconut oil in this as well. It looks heavenly! :)
This is just what my week needs, love the brown sugar and blueberries!
Are you using full fat greek yogurt? or 2%? or fat free? Do you have a preference for this?
Any of the above will work. In this recipe, it’s not going to matter. I mean I think full, heavy-fat yogurt does make things taste slightly better (can be said for most anything, right!), but if it’s not worth the calories/fat to you, just use liter stuff.
Love this recipe – saw it on Pinterest this morning and was drooling over my morning coffee :) Thanks for sharing!
Anisa – The Macadames. xx
http://www.themacadames.com
I bet you know which of your readers will respond to your different posts. :) Not hard to figure out this is my kinda thing. Now I’m just mad because I used up my baking bananas last week in muffins. Darnit.
Yes I do know! And certain posts bring out a certain segment that normally never come out, i.e. like a cheesy baked egg dish will get totally different comments/readers than say gooey chocolate cookies. It’s actually pretty interesting for me to compare. If you try this one, LMK!
Blueberry butter?! WHOA! This bread is awesome!
This is one heavenly matchup for sure! Yum! Pinning!
What a perfect banana blueberry bread! Love it and pinned it!
Thanks for pinning!
Blueberry bread is one of my favorites too! Yours looks fantastic!
Blueberries are my aspirin.
Literally. I eat 2 cups a day (5 days a week) for my arthritis–they work wonders on the body.
So when I saw this post, I just have to steal the blueberry butter! Brilliant!
2 c a day? That’s awesome. I wish I could afford that. LOL Seriously those little buggers can be expensive but in relation to the big picture of life, if they make you feel great, that is awesome and whatever they cost, they’re your medicine so there’s no price :)
Averie! This bread is so pretty!! And to die for of course, you’re the banana bread queen!
It had been awhile since my last one, you know, at least 2 months :) So I was due. LOL
I don’t think I’ve ever tried anything with blueberries + bananas before, good shout!
You are the queen of banana bread! I like the idea of using two kinds of brown sugar. And blueberry butter sounds insanely delicious.
I love, love banana bread. Gotta give it a try with blueberry butter – oh my! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Chelsea!
I just have to make this! Blueberries and bananas are amazing together!
i am going to have 4 kids in my house all week and I am looking for easy recipes for breakfast but that are healthy and delicious! This is a winner! Making it tomrorow! Literally, making it tomorrow! Thanks
Omg FOUR at once. Okay, you need wine more than you need bread :) But please LMK how it goes!
Yum! I feel like I have so many extra bananas these days. I need to put them to use in this!
I go in spurts where I have way too many, then not enough – can’t win :)
I need to make some blueberry banana bread. It looks so pretty with those bright berries! The butter sounds like the perfect complement too.
I have some bananas almost ready for some bread-making, and NEED to try this variation… esp with that butter! Too good, Averie!
Wow 40+ banana bread recipes? How do you choose which one to make when you’re looking to make some banana bread?! ;-) I love the blueberry addition to this version–looks great!
Well some of them are banana bars, banana cake, banana muffins, etc and not all true ‘bread’. And some are like pumpkin-banana bread, zucchini banana bread, etc. So they’re not all straight up banana bread, but they’re all…banana based. I know, nuts. It’s what happens after 5 years of blogging. One every 3 months or so, for 5 years.
Blueberries and bananas is definitely a fabulous combo! I love the look of the whole loaf in your pictures – the top looks so perfect, golden brown and slightly “crinkly.” Just the way a homemade quick bread should be! YUM.
It WAS slightly crinkly and I was like oh this is going to either look horrible on camera or rustic. I’m glad you like it and I think it came out rustic and homey too :)
Remember that one time last year when we both posted banana bread recipes on the same day? I have a recipe for it coming this week. And was thisclose to posting today lol.
Blueberry muffins are my favorite and you know what a sucker I am for banana bread, especially one as moist and flavorful as yours. I love that blueberry butter (and using coconut oil in the bread) – both things I have to try!
You will LOVE coconut oil in banana bread (or really any quickbread/muffin recipe). It adds this very subtle undertone that’s just heavenly. And yes I remember the time we did it last year. I was in Aruba! Wow…the parallels :) Cosmic connection, I tell you! Can’t wait to see your bread!
Oh dear, I loovee blueberries! This banana bread looks really moist. I’d love to have it with a smear of butter on a lazy sunday morning.. yum!
Bananas and blueberries are high up on my favorite fruits list! This would disappear in a hurry….I love how the juice from frozen berries seeps into the bread. I was finally able to start getting outside to run regularly over the past 2 weeks. In fact, it was 64 yesterday am and I celebrated with a blueberry banana smoothie. Today it’s 26 with about 2 inches of snow. Crazy Midwest weather!
I rarely watch national news but had it on last night and most of the country is a mess right now. Storms and snow in…almost May??! CRAZY! Stay warm! And this bread…so good, Paula! One of my best quickbreads ever and I know you’ve made tons of them. LMK if you try this one!
Oh man, this is SO perfect. My hubby loves banana bread and I LOVE blueberry muffins. Thank you for a recipe that please both our taste buds! Pinned!
Thanks for pinning, Taylor! And this is the perfect combo for you two :)
Yum! muffins in a loaf tin? perfect for toasting in my books. Even better when those berries become a bit burnt like healthy caramel in banana bread.
The idea of blue berry butter is very clever.
I might need to try this recipe base as a blue print for when I do pear bread with raspberries this weekend (no stinky bananas right now>_<)
Pear bread with raspberries sounds amazing! Wish I could try that right now!