Funfetti Banana Bread
Banana bread with a little sprinkle of fun. Light, fluffy, and made in just one bowl!
If you ask us, adding sprinkles to just about anything makes it instantly better. Banana bread is no exception. We took our classic banana bread recipe and gave it a funfetti twist for an instant mood boost. Made in just one bowl, this super simple banana bread recipe is perfect when you’re craving a classic with a little extra sweetness.
Soft and pillow-y on the inside and golden and crunchy on the outside – it’s the best of both worlds. The addition of colourful sprinkles on top provides the perfect crunchy, yet sweet topping for this delicious dessert.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
Quick and easy with minimal ingredients.
Made in just one bowl for easy clean-up.
Sprinkles. Sprinkles. Sprinkles.
Top tips for making banana bread:
Use overripe bananas. The key to a great banana bread is bananas that are VERY overripe. We’re talking almost entirely brown. There should be very few, if any, yellow patches visible.
Use an electric mixer. Most people will tell you to mash bananas with a fork or potato masher but we say use an electric hand mixer. It gets the bananas super smooth and creamy and mashes them in just seconds.
Don’t overmix the dough. Overworking flour develops gluten and can result in tough and chewy texture, which we don’t want that for our banana bread. When adding the dry ingredients we recommend switching to a spatula and folding in the flour until no more dry flour is visible.
There’s no such thing as too many sprinkles. We fold sprinkles into our dough and sprinkle more on top for a crunchy and colourful appearance. We have a measurement in this recipe as a guideline, but we say measure with your heart.
Fill the pan. We love a large and tall banana bread with that classic loaf shape. To achieve this we fill our 8.5″Wx4.5″Dx2.75″H loaf pan about 3/4 full.
Test doneness. There’s nothing worse than slicing into a banana bread loaf and discovering it’s under baked in the centre. To test doneness we insert a toothpick or wood skewer in the center, if it comes out clean it’s ready! We also like to gently press on the top, if it bounces back it’s fully baked. Finally, aroma is also a great sign of doneness. When your home is filled with a rich banana bread aroma it’s time to test.
Let cool completely. Before slicing, let the loaf come to room temperature. This will make it much easier to slice.
How to make funfetti banana bread:
Prep Time: | Bake Time: | Total Time:
Makes: 1 loaf (approx. 8 slices)
Ingredients
300 g overripe bananas
1 cup sparkling water
¾ cup vegetable oil
125 g (⁓⅔ cup) brown sugar
5 tbsp non-dairy milk
1 tbsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
450 g (3¾ cup) all-purpose flour
8 g (1¼ tsp) baking soda
12½ g (2½ tsp) baking powder
pinch kosher salt
¼ cup sprinkles, + more for topping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a loaf pan with non-stick spray and parchment paper to make removing the loaf easy. Set aside.
In a large bowl add bananas and using an electric hand mixer blend until smooth. Add sparkling water, vegetable oil. brown sugar, non-dairy milk, vanilla extract, and almond extract – mix until combined.
To the wet ingredients add all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine with the electric hand mixer until no dry flour remains. Fold sprinkles into the batter. Careful not to overmix.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly into each corner. Top with a generous amount of sprinkles.
Bake in preheated oven for 55-70 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean when you poke it through the centre.
Allow to cool completely before removing from the baking pan and slicing.
Ingredient Notes:
Overripe Bananas – As bananas ripen they get sweeter, so a banana that is completely brown is as sweet as it can get. These bananas make the best banana bread texture and flavour!
Sparkling Water – Instead of eggs we use sparkling water in this recipe to get a soft and fluffy texture. We have also made this recipe using non-dairy yogurt instead of sparkling water if you prefer.
Vegetable Oil – Use a neutral tasting oil as to not overpower the flavour of the loaf. We like to use vegetable oil for this recipe.
Non-Dairy Milk – We opt for soy milk for this recipe, but any non-dairy milk should work.
All-Purpose Flour – We use No Name Unbleached All-Purpose Flour for this recipe and highly recommend it.
Coarse Sugar – For a crunchy topping we sprinkle coarse sugar over the top before baking.
Sprinkles – We use a classic colourful sprinkle blend for this recipe, but you can use your any of your favourite varieties. The most important thing here is that it’s vegan, as not all sprinkles are vegan friendly. We like getting sprinkles from Sweetapolita as they have a large selection of vegan-friendly options.