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!
If you love banana bread, you'll also want to check out this banana zucchini bread and this blueberry banana bread!
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 the desired amount of quinoa and pour it into a bowl. Fill the bowl with water and rub the grains with your fingers. Then pour it into a fine sieve and rinse under the water again.
Follow the directions for cooking on your package. Most usually have 1 cup of quinoa to 2 cups of water. Boil water, add quinoa, and simmer with a 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
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 whole eggs (lightly beaten)
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup salted butter (melted)
- 3 medium bananas (mashed (1 ½ cups))
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (cooked and cooled)
Instructions
- Measure dry ingredients into a bowl and mix together2 cups flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- In another bowl, mix eggs, sugar and butter together2 whole eggs, 1 cup sugar, ½ cup salted butter
- Fold in bananas3 medium bananas
- Mix in dry ingredients
- Mix in quinoa1 cup cooked quinoa
- Spray loaf pans and divide batter between 4 mini loaf pans
- Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
Notes
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published in March of 2015. The photos and post have been updated.
Cherie Cooper says
can you substitute the flour for almond flour to stay gluten free?
Kathy says
Hi Cherie,
If you want to make gluten free, I'd use a 1:1 gluten free flour.
Elaine says
3/14/25 good flavor, light texture. 1/2 white-1/2 whole wheat flour, 1/2 white-1/2 dk brown sugar, added 3T plant protein & dk chocolate chips.
Kathy says
Thank you 🙂
Sylvie says
Greetings from Fortierville,Quebec, Canada
Just made your recipe, I made them into muffins and it was perfect, love the little crunch of the quinoa. Thank you for sharing
Kathy says
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed the bread/muffins! 🙂
Ronell says
Hi Kathy,
What a lovely yummy recipe! Normally cooked quinoa, diced banana and chopped walnuts is my breakfast porridge, but this quinoa banana bread (I made muffins instead of mini loafs) is my next go to! Thank you from New Zealand.
Kathy says
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Mary says
Hi Kathy,
Greetings from Ireland.
Have just come across your site and this recipe. I love the sound of it and can't wait to make.
Just one question though before I do. Can you please tell me how much uncooked quinoa yields one cup of cooked?
Thank you and I would like to wish you a very Happy and Healthy New Year.
Mary (Dublin)
Kathy says
Hi Mary,
One cup of uncooked quinoa yields approximately 3 cups of cooked quinoa. I'd use 1/3 cup of uncooked to get the amount you need for this recipe. Here's a post on everything you need to know about cooking quinoa. Let me know how the bread turns out!
Happy New Year to you too!!!
Kathy 🙂
Viviere says
Hi.. I'm vegan so wondered what to use instead of butter? Many thanks..
Kathy says
Hi Viviere,
You could use a light tasting oil instead of the butter.
Kathy
Susan Ashcraft says
I made these as muffins, baked for less time, and they're the perfect snack size. Yummy.
Kathy says
Perfect! Muffins are the perfect size for a quick snack! 🙂
Elizabeth says
This is our favorite banana bread at our house! I've made it several times and this time had to get creative as I was running low on many ingredients. I used 1 c white flour and 1 c whole wheat flour (because that's all I had left of both!), made vegan flax egg substitute (because I was out of eggs), and used 2/3 cup white sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar (because, yes, I ran out of white sugar). It tastes delicious this way too.
Kathy says
Love the creativity!!! That's a great way to use up all those odds and ends of everything...now it might be time to go shopping! 😉
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
Kate says
Ms Patricia, you used one teaspoon of Stevia instead of one cup sugar? And it was sweet enough?
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