Banana Streusel Bread

A family-favorite recipe jazzed up with crunchy walnut crumb topping.

A classic banana bread is one of our family’s favorite recipes. There’s something so satisfying about that pillowy soft quick bread infused with tons of banana flavor. Will I add some chopped walnuts and chocolate chips in there? Maybe—my boys love it. I like it plain, but it’s always a toss-up. While the classic recipe is always a crowd pleaser and I love it dearly, I thought it’d be fun to mix it up a little bit and add something extra for everyone who loves a crunchy, textured topping.

Banana bread with a lovely streusel topping gives you such a nice play of textures and added flavor. It’s like a crunchy icing filled with brown sugar, chopped toasted walnuts, and kissed with cinnamon and cardamom. It’s a truly lovely addition. In fact, you can make this crumb topping for any of your favorite muffins or quick breads, sprinkle it on, and bake as normal, and you will really enjoy it.

I give you the option of adding toasted walnuts and semisweet chocolate chunks—you could add one, you could add both, you could play around with different add-ins. For example, pecans are also lovely in this. Play around with it to really make this recipe your own. You could also switch up the spices a bit. I kept it simple with cinnamon and cardamom, but allspice, nutmeg, and even a tiny pinch of clove will all do nicely here.

If you make this recipe, let me know what you think, and I would be so pleased to see a photo. I’ll definitely try and share any that I see up on here!