It’s no secret, we love banana bread in this house. We’ve made all kinds of banana bread, with walnuts, topped with peanut butter frosting, infused with brown butter, and, our favorite, a tropical version boasting tons of toasted coconut in every bite. We hadn’t made banana bread in a while, though, and my girls are on a trail mix kick, so it made sense to make a trail mix version, too!
This moist, naturally sweetened version is topped with a trail mix of oats, chopped nuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds, and dried apple bits, which gets lightly toasted while baking in the oven. There’s yogurt in the batter, too, so you can feel even healthier while snacking on a slice or two…
Feel free to use whatever combination of seeds and nuts you have in your pantry, or a store-bought trail mix. Want more nuts? Mix in 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts or almonds in the batter along with the bananas. It’s trail mix…anything goes!
Trail Mix Banana Bread
Makes 1 loaf
Ingredients:
- 1-3/4 cups flour (all-purpose or gluten free)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Pinch of ground nutmeg
- Pinch of ginger
- 1/4 cup maple syrup (or honey)
- 1/4 cup oil (or melted butter)
- 1/4 cup greek style yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk (dairy or non-dairy)
- 2 large bananas, peeled and sliced
- 1/3 cup trail mix (or a mix of sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, oats, chopped almonds/walnuts, and dried cranberries)
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°, and line a loaf pan with parchment paper or greased foil. In the bowl of a standing mixer, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices until combined.
Add the maple syrup, melted butter, yogurt, eggs and milk, and beat until thoroughly combined. Beat in the sliced bananas.
Scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and smooth the top with a spatula. Top with the trail mix, and use your hand to press the trail mix gently on the batter. Bake the banana bread at 350° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Let cool completely before enjoying!
I really love banana bread as well. Sadly I rarely make it since I’m the only one in the house who likes it, and I never manage to eat the entire loaf myself 🙁
But this post certainly made me want to bake one again soon. And what could be better than a gluten free one? 😀