This Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread is a comfort food at its best. It’s simple, satisfying and fragrant banana bread full of big chunks of melted chocolate, salty, buttery macadamia nuts and large flakes of sweet coconut.

Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread | SugarHero.com

Whew, you guys dodged a bullet there!

I have bad sleeping habits (ie, I don’t) and I generally end up writing these posts late at night, way past my bedtime. Last night I wrote a long, somewhat melodramatic post that was brought on by a sad blog I’d found and my overtired brain. It started with reflections on our mortality, moved through worries about my sweet boy ever getting hurt, and finished with some truly saccharine clichés and advice to hug your loved ones while you can. Yeah…that kind of post.

It was a little heavy for banana bread, to say the least.

Fortunately for ALL of us, my blog was down for a bit, so I couldn’t post it before I went to bed. (Small mercies.) In the light of day it all seems a little…dramatic? cheesy? unrelated to food in any way, shape, or form?…and so you’ll just have to enjoy this banana bread without a side of death talk today. You’re welcome.

Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread | SugarHero.com

This is comfort food at its most comforting—simple, satisfying, a moist and fragrant banana bread full of big chunks of melted chocolate, salty, buttery macadamia nuts, and large flakes of sweet coconut. I basically took my favorite banana bread recipe, added even more of my favorite things, then ate it all in thick slices over the course of one weekend. As a baking (and life) strategy, it worked out pretty darn well. (Need another quickbread recipe to binge over the weekend? Try this Easy Zucchini Bread.)

Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread | SugarHero.com

If you’re usually a banana bread purist, I really hope you’ll give this a try. Regular banana bread is great, but when you add some textural contrast and tropical flavors, it’s even better. And chocolate. Who could be mad at the addition of chocolate? I usually eat this bread plain, but it also takes nicely to toasting (why hello, hidden pockets of melted chocolate!), and can you imagine warm, freshly toasted pieces slathered in coconut butter? Yes please.

And of course, you can omit or make substitutions for the coconut or nuts to suit your taste. I’m thinking hazelnuts or almonds would be great additions, and if you go the hazelnut route, you know you’re required to top a few slices with Nutella, right? It’s hard to go wrong and easy to get right, so let’s do this thing!

Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread | SugarHero.com

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A loaf of Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread on a white tray and teal napkin with a few cut slices in the front.

Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread

5 from 1 vote
This Banana Coconut Macadamia Nut Bread is a comfort food at its best. It’s simple, satisfying and fragrant banana bread full of big chunks of melted chocolate, salty, buttery macadamia nuts and large flakes of sweet coconut.
Prep20 minutes
Cook1 hour 5 minutes
Total1 hour 15 minutes
Yields8

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup large bananas, coarsely mashed, very ripe, from about 4 medium
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks, or semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 2/3 cup macadamia nuts , salted and toasted
  • 2/3 cup flaked coconut, shredded coconut can be substituted

Instructions 

  • Preheat your oven to 350 F, and spray a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, sugars, coconut oil, milk, egg, and vanilla. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and blend well with a spatula, just until the streaks of flour remain. The batter will not be smooth.
  • Add most of the chocolate chunks, macadamia nuts, and coconut flakes, reserving a handful for decoration, and stir well. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and sprinkle the top with the reserved chocolate, nuts, and coconut. Bake at 350 F for 55-65 minutes. Turn the bread halfway through baking, and cover with a loose tent of foil if the top seems to be getting too dark. The bread is finished when it starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  • Cool the pan on a wire rack for about 20 minutes, until it is warm but not hot to the touch, then remove the loaf and let it cool completely before slicing.

Measuring Tips

Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.

Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?

Nutrition

Calories: 570kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 579mg | Potassium: 284mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 110IU | Vitamin C: 3.8mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Snap a pic and hashtag it #SugarHero. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @elabau.


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Meet Elizabeth!

Hi, I’m Elizabeth — a trained pastry chef, cookbook author, video instructor, and your new Baking BFF! I’m going to teach you everything you need to know to be a sugar hero. ❤️

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15 Comments

  1. Oh heavens, I have been there… Thank goodness I usually walk away from a post if I’m unsure of it and come back to it later and laugh at myself. Like, okay D, people are here for food. Calm yoself.

    That said, I’m sure that even a “MORTALITY, you guys” Sugar Hero post would be wonderful and great. You are good at this!

    Lastly, this bread looks delightful. I could certainly go through a whole loaf in a weekend, especially if you remind me that life is dangerous and then we die.

    1. Haha, oversharing high five! Everything seems really Important and Deep at 2 am, and in the cold light of morning…notsomuch. 🙂

      PS My next blog post is totally just going to say “MORTALITY, you guys!” and then a recipe for cookies. Done!

  2. this banana bread looks delicious and combines my favorites- coconut and macadamia nuts! My kind of comfort food for sure!

    1. Awesome, thanks Rachel! TOTAL comfort food…especially if you’re like me, and just eat the tops and leave the bottoms for your unfortunate family. 🙂

  3. Can I just say that this banana bread is just soooo cool! Loveeeee the additions! Why yes, I’d love some melted chocolate pockets while I’m eating these! Soo Soooo good! 🙂

  4. I need this in my life right now. Banana bread is definitely much better with chocolate and coconut… gosh, it is making my mouth water 😉

  5. I love banana bread I made some for a fishing day this weekend. Now that I am thinking about it I should of added chocolate.. I love how moist your bread came out…

    1. I think that means you need to make another batch with chocolate. 🙂 Glad you enjoyed some banana bread recently too!

  6. I always write my post late at night when my brain is tired and 99 percent of the time I regret what I end up posting. Maybe I should stop doing that…

    Anyways I adore this banana bread. It has all my favorite things.

    1. Is there someone we can outsource blog post writing to? I enjoy it, but it’s always the last thing I tackle on my list and dang it, I’m not always making good editorial decisions late at night. Surely there’s a broke English major somewhere who wants to write freelance food blog posts? 🙂

  7. I’m an all kinds everything kind of bread gal, so yes, I’m totally up for trying this! I like the texture from the nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips and how they look in the photos. I always LOVE your photos, Liz. And your recipes. Like, I wish I was eating this for breakfast. Oh, and you’re not alone in late night post writing … that results in really deep post writing. I’ve done it before, too:)

    1. Mary Frances, you are so sweet! Thanks for the kind words–and I agree, this would make a fabulous breakfast. I tended to eat mine for brunch and elevenses, but obviously I need to make another loaf and try it for breakfast. 🙂 And maybe one day I will learn to write my posts far in advance, but I’m afraid it probably won’t happen any time soon…

  8. Made this today. Only change I made was to adjust flour ratios to incorporate whole wheat in addition to the white. I find the bread oily and wet and did bake it for well over 65 minutes and even allowed it to sit in a warm oven to dry up a bit. My thoughts are that it is ok, a little heavy for my liking. Not sure that I’d make it again.