Pistachio Banana Bread with Pomegranate Seeds ~ Macheesmo

If there’s one thing I’ve instilled in my kids, it’s that bananas aren’t too brown for banana bread: On that side of lazy, making banana bread is good. If we have a stack of browning bananas on our counter, no doubt one of my kids will ask to bake a loaf of bread over the weekend. While we usually make a very simple banana bread, sometimes I like to twist it up like this Pistachio Banana Bread with Pomegranate Seeds!

After all, who doesn’t love a quickly stirred bowl of banana bread?

This Pomegranate Pistachio Banana Bread is a slight flavor upgrade over the standard, but mostly it’s a texture upgrade. Regular banana bread is good, but if you want to add some texture to your bread recipes, you’ll appreciate the crunch that pistachios and pomegranate seeds add to the loaf.

There’s no better time of year to use pomegranates, so it’s now or never!

The best way to peel and core a pomegranate

Peeling pomegranates can be a bit of a chore. There are a few methods I’ve tried over the years that work pretty well.

What I like to do is cut off the end of the pomegranate so you can see where the sections separate. Then you can cut off each section and divide the pomegranate into quarters.

Turn each quarter over and shell the seeds over a bowl of water. The seeds will fall to the bottom and you can strain them out.

You can also buy just the seeds, but they are much more expensive than buying the pomegranates whole.

Which bananas are best for banana bread?

In short, very ripe bananas work best in banana bread. I’m talking almost black bananas that are mushy inside. If you think they’re lazy, they probably make great banana bread.

If you have very ripe bananas but don’t want to make banana bread just yet, you can put them in the freezer until you’re done. When you thaw them, they’re completely slimy and mushy, but they’re still great in the banana bread recipe!

They’re also great for smoothies straight from the freezer!

If you want a great easy banana bread recipe, I’ll use Simply Recipes’ Banana Bread Recipe to get you started!

Pistachio Banana Bread Instructions

Those were the bananas I used for this bread. I’ve also used MUCH riper bananas in the past.

For the add-ins you need pomegranate seeds and pistachios. Actually, you can now buy the Poms seeded, but as mentioned above, I still like to sow them myself.

The banana bread comes together in a bowl. Puree banana, sugar, butter and egg.

Then stir in the flour mixture and all the nice ingredients including the nuts. The batter should be thick enough to support the ingredients so they don’t just sink to the bottom.

Into a box shape! I recommend lightly buttering the pan or spraying it with some oil. You can also line it with parchment paper if you’re really worried about it sticking, but I’ve never had any trouble getting this bread out of the pan.

This bread will probably take 50 minutes at 350 degrees F. As with all breads of this type, use a tester down the center to ensure it’s cooked through, then allow to cool (ideally on a wire rack) before slicing and serving.

However, it is a winner!

The pomegranate pistachio banana bread has amazing texture. Give this a try next time you have some lingering bananas on your counter!

Save banana bread

This banana bread keeps well on the counter for a day or two at room temperature. If you keep it longer I would put it in the fridge and it will be fine for at least a week.

Banana bread also freezes very well. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and it will freeze well for three months. Thaw slowly on the counter before serving.

Here are a few other great recipes to try!