Strawberry Recipes - Strawberry Banana Bread

I am so excited! I have been looking forward to strawberry season all Winter long. I am pretty tired of the options of banana, apple or grapes offered by my grocery store out of season.

Oh, yeah... the patch is finally filled with red, juicy strawberries.

So for the next few weeks, until we run out of ripe berries,  I will be bringing you a wide variety of strawberry recipes as I try them, modify them and decide which are best. I have a lot, I have been clipping, pinning and bookmarking them all Winter long. My family may love to eat theirs warm and straight off the plant, but I love creating something fun with them as well.

And here is my first recipe share with the fresh farm berries, Strawberry Banana Bread.

I knew I wantd to make at least one quick bread. It seemed like great choice for getting things started in the kitchen. My kids grabbed all the best berries to wolf down and I was left with the leftovers from our morning of picking. Quick bread is so forgiving and the smooshed and very ripe berries worked well.

I was about set to make a second batch yesterday, I wasn't sure this loaf had set up properly... too much moisture from the berries? But, no. Once it cooled it firmed up nicely and was a big hit with my youngest. The beauty of this recipe is how simple it is.

Start with a few basic ingredients.

Mash and mix, mix and mash. Then put it all in your loaf pan to bake for an hour.

It is always hard to wait for my quick breads to cool completely before slicing. You can enjoy them warm, but they often fall apart before while still warm.

Okay, ready for a fun bake?

Strawberry Banana Bread

You Will Need:

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 1/3 c. canola oil
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/4 c. brown sugar, packed
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
• 1 c. diced strawberries
• 1 strawberry sliced and reserved for the top

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mash the banana. Mix in the oil, sugars, egg and vanilla. In another bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until moistened. Fold in the strawberry slices and then pour into a greased loaf pan.

Bake for about an hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

All the strawberry banana bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Wrap tightly with kitchen wrap then slice and serve the following day. The bread will be more moist and tender if you allow it to sit overnight before slicing.

Enjoy!

Looking for more great strawberry recipes? Check these out:

Strawberry Cardamon Muffins

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp