Banana Bread with added quinoa for extra protein, fiber and nutrients. This delicious banana bread is moist and full of flavor.
This is a perfect recipe for using up those ripe bananas we always seem to have.
Thank goodness for banana bread! Otherwise I would have a whole lot of wasted bananas. For me, bananas have a perfect ripeness window of about two days max. Before then, they are too green.
After, they are too ripe. I end up making a lot of banana bread, banana muffins and other banana recipes with all those ripe bananas. This time I decided to amp up my regular banana bread by adding quinoa!
How to cook quinoa
When cooking quinoa, you want to first rinse it thoroughly in water. There is an outer coating that can taste bitter if you don't rinse it off first.
Measure desired amount of quinoa and pour it into a bowl. Fill the bowl with water and rub the grains with fingers. Then pour it into a fine sieve and rinse under the water again.
Follow directions for cooking on your package. Most usually have 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water. Boil water, add quinoa, simmer with lid for 10-15 minutes until all water is absorbed. Quinoa can be eaten hot or cold and takes on the flavor of whatever dish it's in.
You can also check out this recipe on how to cook quinoa.
Can you taste the quinoa in this bread?
The quinoa is almost unrecognizable in this bread. You really can't taste it at all. It does add a bit of a crunch on the outer edges.
My husband says he doesn't like quinoa, so he didn't believe me when I told him it was in the banana bread! Nothing like sneaking extra nutrition into something everyone is going to eat anyway!
Steps to make banana bread
- Use really ripe bananas - the browner the better
- Mash bananas before adding to mixture
- Mix dry ingredients together and set aside
- Mix eggs, sugar and butter together
- Fold in mashed bananas
- Add dry ingredients
- Fold in cooked quinoa
- Bake
Full sized or mini loaves?
I used mini loaf pans for this bread. I like the small size and the slices are just a perfect size!
To make mini loaves bake in 4 mini loaf pans for 45 minutes. To make full sized loaves use 2 full size loaf pans and bake for 55-60 minutes.
Other Great Recipes Using Quinoa:
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my bread recipes!
Quinoa Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 whole eggs (lightly beaten)
- 3 bananas (mashed)
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup butter (melted)
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (cooked and cooled)
Instructions
- Measure dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together
- In another bowl, mix eggs, sugar and butter together
- Fold in bananas
- Mix in dry ingredients
- Mix in quinoa
- Spray loaf pans and divide batter between 4 mini loaf pans
- Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in March of 2015. The photos and post have been updated.
Erin D says
Delicious! I added flax seeds for extra crunch appeal. Love the idea of adding some protein to banana bread. I may try baking it at 325 for longer as I find it is harder to avoid burning the sides while still making sure it is cooked thoroughly at 350.
Kathy says
Hi Erin,
Let me know how it turns out! I love the idea of adding flax seed too!
Kathy 🙂
Abigail says
Maybe you answered this already but is it one cup of cooked quinoa or one cup of uncooked quinoa. ?
Kathy says
You want one cup of cooked quinoa.
O Shu Xian says
Hi can I use quinoa flour instead of cooked quinoa? If yes, is it 1 cup to 1 cup replacement? Would love to try out this recipe.
Kathy says
Hi,
I'm afraid I haven't used quinoa flour before so I don't know how it would work in these pancakes.
Thanks,
Kathy
Jim says
I may be a little dense, but the recipe says 1 cup quinoa (cooked). Does that mean I cook 1 cup of quinoa, or use 1 cup of cooked quinoa?
Kathy says
Use one cup of quinoa already cooked.
Chika says
Yeah i just made it, this is so good. I have ripped bananas & quinoa. I don't have any idea for this until i googling and find this link. I love it. Thanks, Kathy. 😘😋
Kathy says
Thanks! I'm so glad you loved this. 🙂 Thanks for leaving a comment.
Heidi says
I will never make another banana bread after trying this recipe. It is moist, flavorful, sturdy, freezes beautifully. I creamed the sugar/eggs/butter, rather than melting the butter, only because I forgot to melt the butter and had to self-rescue! I used 6 small bananas instead of the recommended three. And I added a tsp. of vanilla extract, because, why not? Made mine in one large loaf pan and 10 extra minutes was perfect. Thanks for the recipe! I'll make sure and try others of yours.
Kathy says
Hi Heidi,
Thanks so much for your lovely comment! 🙂 I'm so glad this was a hit! It's one of our favorites.
Patricia says
This bread is spongy, delicious and healthy.
I replaced sugar for one teaspoon of liquid stevia, and it worked perfect.
You can also add raisins or dark chocolate chips.
Kathy says
So glad you loved it! It's a favorite in our house!
Steph Ryall says
From a vegan: This is the best banana bread recipe out there. I use 1c flour and 1c oats and replace sugar with coconut sugar and 2 flax eggs for eggs. Love feeding this to my toddlers and indulging myself!
Kathy says
Hi Steph,
Thanks so much for you comment! I love how you found a way to make this vegan - great job!
Happy Baking!
Kathy
Alex says
What a great idea to use quinoa - I am a huge fan of it, but I never think to bake with it. Will have to change that very soon 🙂
Valentina says
I love the quinoa addition! Such a great way to add nutrients and texture. In my world this is the perfect breakfast or afternoon snack. Toasted with butter, and a cup of coffee.Love it! 🙂 ~Valentina