This Traeger Banana Bread takes my classic sour cream banana bread and moves it to the Traeger pellet grill for a rustic, wood-kissed flavor that brings out the sweetness of the banana in the best way. This makes a big batch, so you can feed your whole family or make an extra loaf to take over to a friend or neighbor.
Traeger Banana Bread Recipe
This easy recipe has been adapted specially for your pellet grill, so whether it is the height of summer or late in the fall, if your grill is accessible and able to be fired up, you can have excellent banana bread.
My banana bread recipe has sour cream in the mix and includes a swirl of cinnamon sugar that takes the whole thing right over the top.
This is a bit batch of banana bread. A single loaf pan, even a large one, will not do. This makes enough to feed even my small army, so prepare yourself. If you have a small family and hate all your neighbors, I’d recommend halving things to make a more reasonable amount.
More Easy Traeger Recipes here!
Pellet Grill Banana Bread shopping list
- Brown bananas
- Flour
- Sugar (white & brown)
- Vanilla
- Eggs
- Canola oil
- Sour cream
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
More great BREAKFAST RECIPES here!
How to make
This is just the overview so you can see what you’re actually getting into here. When you are cooking, you’ll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.
I love this bread. It is almost cake-like, in fact, and would be perfect for a spread of cream cheese icing. We usually serve it with a pat of salted butter or the cinnamon butter below.
Banana bread is one of my favorite baked goods to make because it is SO easy, and you just throw ALL of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix for a couple of minutes.
There’s no sifting. No dirtying three different bowls to make sure you can mix wet ingredients, sift dry ones, and all of that stuff.
I love baking, but sometimes it is overwhelming with all the dishes and how particular you usually have to be with all of the steps. I can bake that way, but I have to be in the right mood for it.
This recipe is a snap. Just measure, put it all in one bowl, and mix it up. So simple!
1
Preheat
Fire up the pellet grill and get it heated up to 350°F.
2
Mix
Put all the banana bread ingredients (except the cinnamon sugar) in a bowl and mix with a hand mixer until combined.
In a separate bowl, mix the cinnamon sugar mixture.
3
Prep
Prep your pans by giving them a light spray with baking spray. If you don’t have baking spray, you can also lightly grease and flour them, old-school-like.
Pour half the batter into your pan(s). You shouldn’t fill the pans more than 1/3 of the way up at this stage, so beware.
4
“Bake”
Place the pans on the top rack. If you don’t have a top rack, place the pans on an inverted cake pan for baking.
Bake until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. How long depends on what kind of pan you use. I’d plan on anywhere from 45-90 minutes, ballpark, but please pay more attention to your banana bread and not my guesstimates. 😉
5
Cool & Enjoy
Remove from the grill and let cool on the counter for before slicing and serving.
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Traeger Banana Bread FAQ
What is a good spread for banana bread?
When you’ve got a warm loaf of banana bread that you’ve just pulled off the grill, now is the time to whip up a dish of this cinnamon butter.
I used 2 tablespoons of Spiceology’s Apple Cinnamon blend and mixed it with 1/2 cup of salted butter. It is a perfect mix with the sweet banana bread.
If you don’t have any of that and don’t want to wait to order it, you can mix up a little batch of cinnamon sugar butter instead. Just mix 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon with 1/2 cup of butter and 1/3 cup of honey, or to taste. You’ll find a happy medium.
Why use brown bananas?
Bananas sweeten as they ripen, as the starch turns to sugar in the fruit. However, the texture suffers once they start to become more brown than yellow. These make brown bananas the perfect addition to your baked goods. Sweet, soft, and delicious.
If you don’t have brown bananas around and are desperate for banana bread, you can go ahead and throw in your yellow bananas. I won’t tell anyone.
What kind of pans can you use to bake this banana bread?
I’ve made this bread in traditional loaf pans, 9×13 cake pans, round cake pans, bundt pans, and even in muffins and mini loaves. The pan you use will impact how long the bread takes to bake, but as long as you keep an eye on things you will be good.
Are there any recommended substitutions or additions?
As with most of my recipes, feel free to play with this one too. You can substitute equal amounts of yogurt if you don’t have sour cream. Something like Noosa or another full-fat yogurt would be best. I haven’t tried it with a fat-free Greek yogurt, so I can’t vouch there.
If you aren’t into cinnamon, you can skip that too.
Like nuts? Mix some chopped walnuts or pecans into the batter and go crazy.
Want a brulee top? Sprinkle some raw sugar over everything before you bake it.
I haven’t tested this with any gluten-free ingredients, so if that’s what you’re looking for I’d find a recipe specially designed for gluten-free flours and adapt that one for the grill instead of trying to make this recipe gluten-free.
Can you make this in an oven?
You sure can! If you don’t have a pellet grill, or just don’t feel like firing it up, you can definitely cook this in an oven.
How do you store leftover banana bread?
I always keep mine right on the counter, covered lightly with plastic wrap. It doesn’t last more than a day or so on my counter though, so I’d suggest moving it to the fridge if you think it’ll be around more than a day or two.
You can also wrap tightly in several layers of plastic wrap and then place it into a freezer bag to save it for longer in your freezer.
Once you want to eat it, put it in the fridge overnight and then reheat in your oven on low heat. (The “warm” setting is usually great for that, but you know your oven best!)
How can you tell when your banana bread is done?
Banana bread is one of the most forgiving quick breads, ever. If you overcook it by a few minutes, it’ll still be great as long as it doesn’t burn.
The best way to tell if it is done is to first check for jiggle. If you give the pan a light tap, does any part jiggle? If so – it isn’t done.
If there’s no jiggle, the next thing you need to do is to stick a wooden toothpick or small wooden skewer into the bread. It shouldn’t have any batter when it comes out with moist crumbs on it.
Tips for Baking in the Traeger
A pellet grill is just a big wood-fired outdoor oven, but baking in it needs a few special considerations to keep in mind.
Use the top rack
Baked goods and casseroles have a tendency to scotch on the bottom sometimes. If you use the top rack, if you have one, it’ll create some welcome separation between the fire and your pan to help prevent that.
No top rack? No worries.
Invert a high-sided rectangular baking pan. Like this (click the image to buy):
This creates enough separation to prevent burning in most cases. I keep a closer eye on things using this method than I do when I use the top rack, so you’re aware.
It is a good idea to place the pans in the areas that are NOT directly above the fire pot, to be on the safe side.
Try our Blueberry Muffins too!
Love banana? Try this Banana Crumb Cake!
Get all of my easy dessert recipes here!
Traeger Banana Bread
My homemade cinnamon-swirl banana bread recipe is baked right in your Traeger pellet grill!
Ingredients
- 4 extra ripe bananas
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
Cinnamon Topping
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat your Traeger to 350 degrees following factory instructions.
- Mix all of the bread ingredients together (NOT the Cinnamon Topping) for 2-3 minutes using a mixer.
- Pour half of the batter into a prepared bundt pan. Combine the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle half over the batter. Cover with the rest of the batter, and spread gently if necessary. Sprinkle on the rest of the cinnamon sugar topping.
- Bake on the top rack (or if you don't have a rack, bake on top of an inverted rectangular cake pan to create some additional space between the fire and the food) for about 1 hour, rotating halfway through. Cook until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. The exact time will vary based on many factors.
- Watch carefully! Your bread might take a little less time, or a little more time depending on the grill and your specific pan.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 530Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 18gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 245mgCarbohydrates: 77gFiber: 2gSugar: 49gProtein: 7g
Nicole Johnson
Nicole Johnson, a self-taught expert in grilling and outdoor cooking, launched Or Whatever You Do in 2010. Her blog, renowned for its comprehensive and creative outdoor cooking recipes, has garnered a vast audience of millions. Nicole's hands-on experience and passion for grilling shine through her work. Her husband, Jeremiah Johnson, also plays a pivotal role in recipe development, adding his culinary flair to the mix. Together, they form a dynamic duo, offering a rich and varied outdoor cooking experience to their followers.
Darren
Thursday 21st of September 2023
This is a mental amount of batter. I put it in a 5 pound loaf pan and it overflowed that in 30 minutes.
Nicole Johnson
Thursday 21st of September 2023
I mean - to each their own as far as classifying this as a "mental" amount. I specified the types of pans I bake this in, and if you have baked before you should be aware that things that baked goods rise and to leave some room for that. I'd definitely split it between 2 - 5 pound loaf pans. I usually use a big bundt cake pan, personally, which holds a lot of batter. I've also used a 9x13 pan, 3 regular sized loaf pans, or 2 regular sized loaf pans with some muffins on the side. I'll add some more information to the post itself too. I haven't had this type of feedback before, but not everyone has the same level of experience with banana bread, so I'd like to prevent any future mishaps.
Nikki
Tuesday 4th of July 2023
I’d be curious how it would taste using pecan blend pellets
Nicole Johnson
Wednesday 5th of July 2023
Would likely taste amazing! This doesn't really cook long enough or at a low enough temp for the type of pellet to make a big difference. We're basically using it as an outdoor oven at this temp. You'll notice a slight wood-fired flavor, but nothing major.
Barrie
Saturday 9th of July 2022
Looking forward to making this soon! What flavor pellets did you use?
Nicole Johnson
Sunday 10th of July 2022
Whatever happened to be in my hopper. ;) I tend to use mild fruit woods mostly though!