Joanna Gaines’ Family-Favorite Banana Bread Recipe Is a Gaines Family Tradition: ‘Its the Comfort of Home’

There are several recipes Joanna Gaines keeps in regular rotation in the home she shares with her husband Chip and their five children Drake, Ella, Emmie, Duke, and Crew. One of these is her family-favorite After School Banana Bread recipe that Gaines has made for years. This comforting snack is delicious, warming, and on the weekly menu at the family’s home. While the In the Kitchen with Joanna Gaines star makes it the way her family prefers, she encourages tinkering with the recipe to personalize it to your family’s tastes.

Joanna Gaines says family recipes are the ‘comfort of home’

In her first book titled Magnolia Table, Gaines wrote that she typically turns ripe bananas into a quick bread.

“I serve this for breakfast with scrambled eggs or leave it on the stove for them to eat when they get some from school,” Gaines penned.

“I’ve made it so many times since they were small that they consider it a kitchen staple, like eggs or milk.

“I find that as they get older, they love the familiarity of their favorites. They can’t articulate it right now, but I think to them that the comfort of home is all about their favorite dishes,” she concluded.

What are the ingredients in Joanna Gaines’s banana bread?

The ingredient list for Gaines’ banana bread are kitchen staples. These are what make this baked treat such an easy snack to throw together at the last minute.

To make the bread, you will need some nonstick baking spray for the pan.

The batter begins with a stick of salted butter, light brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, five ripe bananas, flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, and pecans.

The pecans are optional if you have a person in your home with a nut allergy. The bread can be made sans nuts, or chocolate chips can replace them for an added depth of flavor.

How to make Joanna’s After School Banana Bread

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Use a vegetable spray to coat the interior of a square baking pan, so the batter does not stick.

Cream together butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well blended.

Mash the bananas first and add to the wet mixture until well-combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.

Following, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat just until combined.

If you are using either pecans or chocolate chips, add them at this time, so they do not break up. Mix in by hand.

Pour batter into the pan. You can sprinkle granulated sugar over the top of the bread at this time before baking or omit this step entirely.

Bake around 45 to 50 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.

Allow bread to cool.

Best served immediately or can be left out to snack on for several days.

The complete recipe for After School Banana Bread can be found on the Magnolia website.

In the Kitchen with Joanna Gaines is streaming now on discovery+.