This Hawaiian banana bread is reminiscent of the amazing bread on the Road to Hana in Maui. Add macadamia nuts for an even more island feel!
All of my friends know that I am a huge fan of the Hawaiian islands. I’m sure I’ve shared this with you before, but I plan on retiring there. To be more specific, I am hoping to retire on the island of Oahu because there is a (seasonal) ice skating rink there. I hope to teach skating lessons when I’m not hanging out at the ocean.
Last year for spring break, my extended family and I took a trip to Maui. We spent one day driving the Hana Highway, which is known as “the Road to Hana.” My husband and I have been once before, during our 1-year wedding anniversary. I remembered how amazing the roadside banana breads were and wanted to make sure we stopped for some on the trip.
I’ve been searching high and low for a good Hawaiian banana bread recipe but haven’t found it yet. I came across this one, which claims that it originated from the Kona Inn on the Big Island. Intrigued, I tried this recipe with the plethora of ripe bananas I had stashed in my freezer.
The full recipe below makes two full loaves, so feel free to halve it if you only want one (although I’m not sure why you’d only want ONE loaf – haha). I made this one morning so my family and I could have something to eat for breakfast. The three of us fell in love with this bread. I bought both loaves to my parents’ house, and they enjoyed it so much that I gave it to them.
Don’t worry – as soon as I got home from my trip, I made myself another loaf!
Hawaiian banana bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 6 super ripe bananas mashed
- 4 eggs well-beaten
- 2 and ½ cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or macadamia nuts optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Generously grease two standard loaf pans and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- In separate bowl, gently mix together the mashed bananas, flour, eggs, baking soda, and salt. Transfer into the large mixing bowl and mix until everything just comes together. Do not over mix. Fold in the nuts if using.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared pan and bake in your preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
- Allow the bread to cool before slicing and serving.
Definitely the macadamia nuts. Our family too loves all things Hawaii and I’ve fantasized about living on Oahu and still being able to skate. My MIL always gave us Hawaiian Host candies for Christmas and I still have a thing for Caramacs!
Author
My goal is to retire on Oahu so I can keep skating! Come visit!! 😄
Hi. Thank you so much for the recipe. The only problem was that the middle was uncooked. The parts that were cooked were so delicious. I love the brown look of outside. The whole middle was not cooked at all. I thought maybe The bananas were used were bigger so they came more than the recipe. Thank you again
Author
Oh no! I wonder if your oven’s temperature is off as well. Every oven is different so it’s possible that yours was at a lower temp. I am glad you enjoyed it, despite the soggy middle!