What do you get when your boyfriend insists that he'll eat an impossible amount of fruit every time you go grocery shopping, but then it sits out on the counter, untouched? Fruit flies! Wait, no, that's not what I was trying to get at. You get brown bananas. Lots of brown bananas.
And being that Hypothetical You (AKA real-life me) doesn't want to waste any food, and is hungry, and is stuck in the house in the middle of a nor'easter, Hypothetical You decides to try to make lemonade out of life's lemons-- banana bread out of life's spoiled bananas.
We're not talking about just any banana bread though. We're talking about 5 Ingredient Nutella Banana Bread. After all, like I said, Hypothetical You is not taking her hypothetical ass to the hypothetical grocery store in this hypothetical weather, so limited ingredients will have to do. (Okay I promise that I won't say "hypothetical" again.)
Luckily, 5 ingredients really is all you need for a moist, sweet, chocolatey banana bread, complete with that mouth-watering nutella drizzle.
So I keep blabberin' on about these 5 ingredients and you're like "Get to the point woman," because I still haven't told you what they are. My apologies, friends. Here are the fabulous five:
- Over-ripe bananas
- Nutella
- Eggs
- Self-rising flour
- Heavy cream
And that's it. Well, plus a pinch of salt but we don't count that.
You probably tend to have most of these ingredients laying around. Don't you love that feeling when you stumble across a recipe and already have everything needed to make it right now? Such a satisfying realization.
Now, though my bananas were already too ripe for eating and beginning to brown, they weren't quite at the ideal softness for banana bread. To make sure that they would easily mix into the batter, I popped them in the oven at 300°F for a few minutes, until they began to feel mushy. Then I was good to go!
So if the craving strikes but all of your bananas are still yellow and firm, bake them for a bit and you won't have to wait days for them to ripen. Banana bread any time-- you know I can get on board with that.
Once my bananas are ready, I simply combine all of the ingredients to form the bread batter, pour it into a loaf pan, and then bake for an hour or so, until it's risen into a pillow of sweet bread beauty (and is no longer wet when pricked with a toothpick, of course). As the 5 Ingredient Nutella Banana Bread cools, I combine some additional nutella and cream to create a chocolate-hazelnut glaze, and I drizzle it over the banana bread.
And you certainly don't have to follow my example here, but at this time I also eat a large spoonful of nutella from the jar. It's a tradition from the old country-- eat a spoonful of nutella for good luck in any endeavor. Like a delicious four-leaf clover.
You can't prove that that's a lie.
Then I finally slice in to reveal the soft inner crumb of the banana bread.
It's moist. So moist that it makes a soft "squish" sound if you poke it, though it's totally baked through. And it's begging to be eaten, so I oblige.
The nutella flavor is absolutely there, but not overwhelming to the banana-ness of the bread at all. It's light despite it's moistness, and flavorful despite the fact that I added no extra spices. (However, if you do want to add ½ a teaspoon of nutmeg and a pinch of ground cloves for more of that old fashioned flavor, feel free.)
It's honestly one of the best banana breads I've ever eaten in my life. And it's certainly the simplest to make.
But don't just take my word for it. Go on and make this 5 Ingredient Nutella Banana Bread yourself and see why we're ready to whip up another loaf today in my house. Don't forget to take a picture and tag #hostthetoast on Instagram so it shows up on the You Made It page. I can't wait to check yours out!
Print5 Ingredient Nutella Banana Bread
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups nutella, divided
- 2 large eggs
- 3 large over-ripe bananas
- ½ cup heavy cream, divided
- Pinch of salt
- 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 1.5 lb loaf pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat 2 cups of the nutella and eggs together until well combined. Peel and mash the bananas and then add them to the nutella mixture along with half of the heavy cream. Mix until smooth.
- Add in a pinch of salt and fold in the flour, a ½ cup at a time. Stir until no white clumps remain.
- Pour the banana bread mixture into the loaf pan and bake until risen and no longer liquidy inside when pricked with a toothpick, but still moist, about 65 minutes. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then remove from the loaf pan to a wire rack.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the remaining nutella and heavy cream. Use a spoon to drizzle the nutella glaze over the banana bread. Allow the drizzle to set for a few minutes and then slice to serve.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 65 mins
Linda says
Love your recipes. Keep trying more. Please keep sharing
Morgan says
Thank you, Linda! =) I will!
Michael says
Could I sub a "homemade" self rising flour (aka AP flour, baking powder, and salt) if I was too lazy to go to the store for some? ...Hypothetically speaking, of course!
Morgan says
That should be fine, Michael!
Kelly Cletheroe says
I look upon this post with equal longing and jealousy, how did I NEVER think of this before?? Haha, I need to try this out soon, Nutella and bananas are like 2 of my four main food groups! Thanks for the recipe!
Karly says
Gosh, do I love this place. Every time I stop by I leave both inspired and very hungry... two things I can't complain about! This bread looks fantastic!!
Merry says
This sounds better than the chocolate covered chocolate chip banana bread at the Lindt cafe. But I think I'd add chocolate chips too... its not like I don't have 3 varieties on hand at any time...
Luke says
Does the cooling in the pan have any benefit apart from making it easier to handle? I was too keen and took mine out of the pan onto the wire rack about 5 mins after I took it out of the oven.
Morgan says
It helps the center of the bread to continue to cook slightly from the warmth but it should be alright.
Bridget P says
want to try this right away but no heavy cream can i use milk
Morgan says
I have never tried it with milk, sorry Bridget. However, if you do use milk, please let us know how it worked for you!