Easy Moist Banana Walnut Cake Recipe

I used to throw away brown bananas until my neighbor Ruth caught me doing it last September. She looked at me like I'd committed a crime and said "those are perfect for my banana walnut cake." Two hours later, she showed up at my door with a slice and I got it - this was what I'd been missing. The cake was ridiculously moist, almost pudding-like in the center, with toasted walnuts that added this buttery crunch. It didn't taste like those fake banana cakes from grocery stores. This tasted like real bananas, but better. I begged her for the recipe and she said yes, but only if I promised to use the ugliest bananas I could find.

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Why This Banana Walnut Cake Works

I've made this banana walnut cake for potlucks, birthday parties, and just because we had brown bananas on the counter, and here's why it keeps working: This recipe is really simple. You mash bananas, mix wet stuff, add dry stuff, fold in walnuts, and bake. That's it. No electric mixer needed, no complicated steps, no fancy techniques. Takes maybe 15 minutes to get it in the oven. But here's what gets people - it tastes like you worked on it all day. The banana flavor is so strong and real, not that fake banana taste you get from extract or those gross banana candies. I've had people ask if I added extra bananas because the flavor is that intense.

The texture is what really hooks people though. It's moist - like, really moist. The kind where you can leave it on the counter for three days and it's still soft. I made one on Monday and liam was eating it on Thursday saying it tasted better than when it first came out. Most cakes dry out after a day, but this one just keeps getting better. The overripe bananas are what make it work - all that brown mushiness turns into moisture and sweetness. Ruth was right about using the ugliest bananas. I tried it once with barely-brown bananas and the cake was okay but not great. Now I won't make it unless the bananas look completely dead.

Jump to:

• Why This Banana Walnut Cake Works
• Ingredients For Banana Walnut Cake
• Step by Step Method
• Storing Your Banana Walnut Cake
• Banana Walnut Cake Variations
• Smart Swaps for Banana Walnut Cake
• Equipment For Banana Walnut Cake
• Top Tip
• Why You'll Love This Banana Walnut Cake
• FAQ
• Time to Use Those Brown Bananas!
• Related
• Pairing
• Banana Walnut Cake

Ingredients For Banana Walnut Cake

Main Players:

• Overripe bananas
• All-purpose flour
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Butter
• Eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Walnuts

Optional Add-Ins:

• Cinnamon
• Sour cream
• Cream cheese frosting

See recipe card for quantities.

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Step by Step Method

Prep Your Bananas and Walnuts:

• Peel those brown bananas and mash them with a fork in a bowl
• You want them smooth but a few lumps are fine
• Toast the walnuts in the oven at 350°F for 8 minutes
• Let them cool and then chop them roughly

Mix the Wet Stuff:

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• Cream the softened butter with both sugars until it looks fluffy
• This takes about 3 minutes with a spoon or 2 minutes with a mixer
• Add the eggs one at a time and mix after each one
• Stir in the mashed bananas and vanilla
• The mixture will look a little curdled - that's normal

Add the Dry Ingredients:

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• Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in another bowl
• Dump it into the wet mixture
• Stir it gently until you can't see any more flour
• Don't overmix or the cake will be tough
• Fold in the toasted walnuts

Bake It:

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• Pour the batter into a greased 9x13 pan or two loaf pans
• Spread it out evenly
• Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes for the big pan, 45-50 for loaf pans
• It's done when a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs
• Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes before cutting

Storing Your Banana Walnut Cake

I've stored this Banana Walnut Cake every way you can think of to figure out what keeps it best:

Counter Storage (4-5 days):

• Cover it tightly with plastic wrap or put it in an airtight container
• Don't refrigerate it - that dries it out
• It stays moist at room temperature
• Honestly tastes better on day 2 and 3 when the flavors have had time to blend
• liam sneaks pieces for breakfast and swears it's "basically healthy because bananas"

Freezer Storage (3 months):

• Wrap individual slices in plastic wrap, then put them in a freezer bag
• Or wrap the whole cake if you want
• Thaw at room temperature for about an hour
• Tastes just as good as fresh
• I keep slices in the freezer for when liam wants cake but I don't want to make a whole new one

Freezing Tip:

• You can also freeze just the batter in a loaf pan
• Cover it really well with plastic wrap and foil
• When you want fresh cake, bake it straight from frozen
• Add 10-15 minutes to the baking time
• The house smells incredible and people think you spent all day baking

Banana Walnut Cake Variations

I've messed around with this Banana Walnut Cake over the past year, and here are the variations that people ask for again:

Chocolate Chip Banana:

• Fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips with the walnuts
• Use dark chocolate for less sweetness
• liam calls this "the best cake ever invented"
• The chocolate melts into pockets of fudge

Cream Cheese Swirl:

• Mix 8 oz cream cheese with ¼ cup sugar and 1 egg
• Drop spoonfuls on the batter before baking
• Swirl with a knife
• Tastes like cheesecake meets banana cake

Cinnamon Streusel Top:

• Mix brown sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon
• Sprinkle on top before baking
• Gets crunchy and sweet
• Ruth said this version is "dangerous" because she can't stop eating it

Peanut Butter Banana:

• Swirl ½ cup peanut butter into the batter
• Skip the walnuts or keep them
• Add chocolate chips if you want to go crazy
• Tastes like a peanut butter banana sandwich in cake form

Healthy Version:

• Replace half the flour with whole wheat
• Use coconut oil instead of butter
• Cut the sugar by ⅓
• Add flax seeds with the walnuts
• Still tastes good, just less guilty

Smart Swaps for Banana Walnut Cake

Banana Swaps:

• Fresh overripe → Frozen and thawed bananas (they're even mushier)
• Regular bananas → Red bananas (sweeter, different flavor)
• Three large → Four small bananas

Flour Changes:

• All-purpose → Whole wheat (denser but nuttier)
• Regular flour → Gluten-free 1:1 blend (add ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum)
• White flour → Half white, half almond flour (more protein, less rise)

Sugar Swaps:

• White sugar → All brown sugar (more molasses flavor)
• Granulated → Coconut sugar (caramel taste)
• Regular sugar → Half the amount plus mashed dates (healthier but different texture)

Nut Options:

• Walnuts → Pecans (sweeter, softer)
• Regular → Almonds (crunchier)
• Tree nuts → Sunflower seeds if allergies (totally different but works)

Dairy Switches:

• Butter → Coconut oil (works but tastes slightly coconutty)
• Regular → Plant butter (less rich but fine)

Equipment For Banana Walnut Cake

• 9x13 baking pan or two loaf pans
• Mixing bowls
• Fork for mashing bananas
• Whisk or wooden spoon
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Cooling rack

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Why You'll Love This Banana Walnut Cake

I've made this banana walnut cake for potlucks, birthday parties, and just because we had brown bananas on the counter, and here's why it keeps working: This recipe is really simple. You mash bananas, mix wet stuff, add dry stuff, fold in walnuts, and bake. That's it. No electric mixer needed, no complicated steps, no fancy techniques. Takes maybe 15 minutes to get it in the oven. But here's what gets people - it tastes like you worked on it all day. The banana flavor is so strong and real, not that fake banana taste you get from extract or those gross banana candies. I've had people ask if I added extra bananas because the flavor is that strong.

The texture is what really gets people though. It's moist - like, really moist. The kind where you can leave it on the counter for three days and it's still soft. I made one on Monday and liam was eating it on Thursday saying it tasted better than when it first came out. Most cakes dry out after a day, but this one just keeps getting better. The overripe bananas are what make it work - all that brown mushiness turns into moisture and sweetness. Ruth was right about using the ugliest bananas. I tried it once with barely-brown bananas and the Banana Walnut Cake was okay but not great. Now I won't make it unless the bananas look completely dead.

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FAQ

Time to Use Those Brown Bananas!

Now you've got everything you need to make this banana walnut cake - from picking the ugliest bananas to toasting the walnuts just right. This recipe has saved so many brown bananas from the trash in my kitchen, and it's become one of those things I make without even thinking about it anymore. I probably make it twice a month at this point because liam asks for it constantly and I always have brown bananas sitting around. Ruth was right to stop me from throwing those bananas away that day. Sometimes the best recipes come from neighbors who catch you doing something dumb and decide to teach you better.

Want more recipes that use up stuff sitting in your kitchen? Try our Healthy Honey Peach Cream Cheese Cupcakes when you've got ripe peaches that need using before they go bad. The cream cheese frosting on those is really good. Craving chocolate? Our Easy Chocolate Brownie Cookies Recipe is really simple and uses basic pantry stuff you probably already have. They're fudgy in the middle and have that crackly top everyone loves. Or make our Easy Kings Hawaiian Cheesecake Danish for breakfast when you want something that tastes fancy but takes 20 minutes start to finish. All of these recipes are the kind you'll make over and over because they're just that easy and that good.

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Pairing

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