Bread or cake? Call it what you want, but this hazelnut-swirl banana bread really takes your plain old banana bread and makes it into something extra special!

I don’t think I can possibly get sick of banana bread! It’s one of my favorite baked goods. Truth be told, I’m not really sure why all these delicious loaf-shaped cakes are referred to as “bread.” Let’s not fool ourselves here. They’re cake.

Doesn’t matter what you call it, bread or cake, you’re going to really enjoy this one. Classic banana bread is great, but it’s fun to sometimes change things up and add some funky ingredients. In this version, I had a lot of fun with chocolate hazelnut spread. The classic hazelnut spread is called Nutella. There are lots of versions of Nutella out there, both dairy and pareve (the real Nutella spread is dairy — not chalav Yisrael), so you don’t have to use the actual Nutella brand. I wanted to make my banana bread pareve so I used a vegan spread that I found in my local grocery. You can also buy it here on Amazon. My kids love eating this spread straight out of the jar — which meant I had to hide it to have enough left for my banana bread!

This hazelnut swirl banana bread recipe comes together so easily and quickly — it literally just takes a few minutes to make. Keep it on your counter for people to nosh on or package individual pieces and freeze them so you or your kids can grab a slice to take on the go.

If you want to see the video of me making this recipe, check out this link!

For another delicious loaf cake (or you can call it a bread if you want!), try this cinnamon crumb cake in a loaf pan.

Hazelnut Swirl Banana Bread

This hazelnut-swirl banana bread really takes your plain old banana bread and turns it into something extra special!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

2 ripe bananas
1 egg
¾ cup brown sugar
½ cup oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 Tbsp (heaping) hazelnut spread (Nutella or alternative*)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
Place bananas in a mixing bowl and mash.
Add egg, sugar, oil, and vanilla; mix to combine.
Add the flour and baking soda. Mix until just incorporated
Pour batter into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Using a spoon, drop the dollops of Nutella into the batter and swirl to marbleize.
Bake for 45 minutes.