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Hawaiian Banana Bread With Nuts

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This Hawaiian Banana Bread puts a tropical spin on traditional banana bread and is full of flavor!

As I write this post, it is 17 degrees and everything in sight is covered in snow – brrr!  I couldn’t be farther from the warm, sunny beaches of Kauai.  

While I don’t have current plans to visit my favorite island, I’ll have to settle for remembering past trips as I snack on a slice of Hawaiian Banana Bread. 

Two slices of Hawaiian Banana Bread, one with butter, on a plate | A Reinvented Mom

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One of my favorite treats on Kauai was the locally made banana bread.  So delicious with breakfast or as a snack at the beach.  The sweet pineapple is a nice complement to the bananas and the chopped nuts add just the right amount of texture.

Although banana bread shows up regularly in the ARM house, sometimes I like to change things up. Hawaiian Mac Nut Banana Bread is a tasty variation of a family favorite. The crushed pineapple and macadamia nuts add a wonderful tropical flavor and turn a basic quick bread into something special.

I’ve included some helpful tips to make this recipe but scroll to the bottom for a printable recipe card if you don’t want the tips.

What You Need To Make Hawaiian Banana Bread 🍌

Bananas – you will need bananas that are ripe! If you have some that aren’t ready yet, keep reading to learn how to ripen bananas fast

Greek Yogurt – Use plain or pineapple flavor for more of a Hawaiian feel! 

Pineapple – Crushed pineapple from the can works best! Or you can always use fresh and crush it yourself!

Oil – I used sunflower oil, you can also use coconut or vegetable.

Nuts – We really like using macadamia nuts but you can swap these out for walnuts or pecans!

Sugar – Use granulated or coconut sugar

Other Ingredients: vanilla, flour, cinnamon, eggs, salt, and baking soda.

Kitchen Tools and Accessories Needed

How To Ripen Bananas Fast

You’ll want to use overripe bananas for the best results. The ones that have gone soft and are covered in brown spots will give you the optimum flavor.

And that’s perfect because your family won’t eat a banana with a brown spot (or is that just my family?!).

To ripen bananas when you are pinched for time, simply lay them on a cookie sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes.

The outside will start turning brown/black and should be fork tender when they are done.

Allow them to cool completely before adding them to the banana bread mixture.

Cropped photo of 2 loaves of Hawaiian Mac Nut Banana Bread | A Reinvented Mom

Can I Add Coconut?

Yes! If you want a more tropical taste you can add up to a 1/4 cup of shredded coconut.

Do I Have to Use Nuts?

Check your local membership warehouse for the best prices on nuts. My Costco had 24 oz. bags of macadamia nuts for an affordable price.  

If macadamia nuts aren’t in your budget, simply substitute with walnuts.  It will still be amazing – promise.

You can also leave the nuts out if you must. The Boy doesn’t like nuts, so I make one nut-free loaf for him.  If you have the same issue in your home, cut the number of nuts in half for a single loaf.

Reserve a few nuts to sprinkle on top of the loaf before baking.  You don’t want the nut-hater to mistakenly take a bite of nuts, after all. 😱

Is Banana Bread Healthy?

The recipe has bananas so it’s gotta be healthy, right?! Yea, not so much. 

I’ve modified the original recipe to make it healthier, without compromising the amazing tropical flavor.  Greek yogurt replaces most of the oil. And the quantity of sugar is fairly low (less than 1/2 cup per loaf). 

Go ahead….have 2 slices.  You know you want to.

Instructions for Freezing Hawaiian Banana Bread

This recipe yields 2 lovely loaves of quick bread, more than enough for a tasty breakfast or mid-day snack. Hawaiian Banana Bread also freezes well.

Simply wrap the second loaf in 2 layers of plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag, and pop in the freezer to use another day.

To serve after freezing, allow it to come to room temperature or microwave it for a few seconds.

More Baked Goods You May Enjoy:

*** Pin Hawaiian Banana Bread Recipe for Later ***

Two slices of Hawaiian Banana Bread, one with butter, on a plate | A Reinvented Mom

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Two slices of Hawaiian Banana Bread, one with butter, on a plate | A Reinvented Mom

Hawaiian Mac Nut Banana Bread

With sweet pineapple and buttery macadamia nuts, Hawaiian Mac Nut Banana Bread will have you dreaming of the islands.
4.75 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Baked Goods, Snack
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings: 16
Calories: 262kcal
Author: Lori @ www.AReinventedMom.com

Ingredients

  • 3 cups flour
  • 3/4 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 3 eggs, beaten
  • 1/4 cup oil, I used sunflower oil
  • 1/3 cup Greek yogurt, use plain, vanilla or pineapple flavored
  • 2 cups mashed ripe bananas
  • 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained then flaked/separated
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped (or walnuts)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350.
  • Grease and flour 2 loaf pans. Set aside.
  • Combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon in a medium bowl.
  • Add sugar, eggs and oil in a large bowl and mix until combined.
  • Add yogurt, bananas, pineapple, vanilla and macadamia nuts to the sugar mixture and stir to combine.
  • Add flour mixture to egg mixture and stir just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
  • Pour batter into the prepared loaf pans, dividing equally.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for about 60-70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
  • Cool for 10 minutes in pans, then transfer loaves from pan and continue cooling on a wire rack.

Notes

  • Recipe makes 2 loaves.
  • To store in freezer: double layer of plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag.
    Recipe was adapted from The Splitcoaststampers Cookbook Volume 1 – 2005.
  • Nutritional information is provided as a reference.
Tried this recipe?Mention @AReinventedMom or tag #areinventedmom

Nutritional Estimate

Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 30mg | Sodium: 188mg | Potassium: 191mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 70IU | Vitamin C: 3.9mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1.7mg

Nutritional information is provided as a reference, using an online calculator. We recommend verifying the information independently for accuracy.

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7 Comments

  1. I wonder if the nuts need to be roasted or toasted? I ask because I live in an area where I have macadamia trees and the property is new to me so if I have fresh nuts do they need to be roasted or just raw?

    1. How lucky to have fresh macadamia trees in your yard! Unfortunately I don’t have any experience with fresh macadamia nuts and can’t offer any advice on how to best process them.

  2. I love homemade bread and have made many different types this one is not only new to me but sounds like I have to try soon. Oh so yummy thanks for sharing

  3. Your Hawaiian Banana Nut Bread looks fantastic! Hope you are having a great day and thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

  4. Oh my! What a treat to stumble across this recipe. Growing up my mom would make Hawaiian banana bread for us! There is a good foot of snow on the ground where I live too (currently in Oslo!) and I even have some macadamias in the fridge and bananas in the freezer. I WANT. Thanks for sharing. 😉

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