This nutella and hazelnut stuffed banana bread is decadent and so utterly delicious! The nutella and hazelnuts form a cavern of gooey deliciousness right in the center of this bread and while you don’t typically want a bread to cave in at the center, for this recipe that attribute is magical.
What makes this bread fall in at the center?
This recipe doesn’t have eggs, which is an ingredient in most banana breads. Eggs are typically added to help support the structure of a banana and butter packed batter. Therefore, making banana bread a little dense (in a good way) and stabilizing the center and structure of the bread so it doesn’t cave in. This recipe uses baking powder as the only leavening agent so it has a lighter and more delicate crumb and is almost cake-like in texture. The weight of the nutella and hazelnuts are not supported during the cooking process from the lack of eggs in the batter so they sink to the middle and the bread bakes around and up the sides.
My past experiences baking with nutella:
About 9 years ago, I was pregnant with my 2nd baby and I was super sick with morning sickness and terrible, anyone who gets bad morning sickness knows how it feels to be in survival mode for a few months. During that time I got invited to a cookie exchange and I decided it would be good to get out and socialize even if I felt nasty.
So I looked up a cookie recipe online that looked nontraditional and a little fancy. I made the cookies with high hopes. They looked amazing in the pictures online. Well, they weren’t amazing, in fact, they were awful, I mean really bad! They looked good but they were dry and flavorless and just not tasty at all, I brought them to the party anyways because I didn’t have time to make anything else. Not to my surprise, no one liked them, no one wanted the recipe and I think I took most of them home with me to be thrown in the trash.
Because of that experience, I tend to shy away from baking with nutella. I love nutella and do love to add it to things after they are baked, like crepes, ice cream, breads, etc.. However, baking tends to change it’s texture and can really dry it out so I don’t bake with it very much. However, for this recipe it really works great! The nutella does condense a little but it is in a large hunk right in the middle so it retains it gooey nutella charms and flavor!
This recipe has chopped hazelnuts in it too, If you aren’t into hazelnuts you can leave them out or swap them for another favorite nut. I also added the option of adding a sliced banana on top too, which I didn’t do in this picture but I think it could add another layer of texture and deliciousness to this bread if you are really into baked bananas.
What you need to make nutella and hazelnut stuffed banana bread:
Makes 1 standard size bread loaf (9″ x 5″ or 8.5″ x 4.5″ pans)
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup melted salted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup nutella
- 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts – optional
- 1/2 banana – sliced for top – optional
- Optional sprinkle of salt on top – I like a little extra salt in my baked goods so I just add a sprinkle on top but it isn’t necessary.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas with a whisk attachment or a fork until smooth.
- Add melted butter and blend together.
- Add brown sugar, sugar and vanilla to banana mixture and mix well.
- In another bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt and mix together.
- Add flour mixture to banana mixture followed by the milk and blend until batter is smooth and well mixed.
- Grease a bread pan or line bread pan with parchment paper.
- Pour batter into pan.
- Spoon nutella along the center of the loaf across the length wise distance of the pan.
- Sprinkle with hazelnuts and chopped banana if adding it.
- If you like a saltier bake, add a sprinkle of salt on top of loaf before you bake.
- Bake for roughly 1 hour and 10 minutes or until nutella center sinks and sides rise up and a toothpick can be inserted into the side bread part and comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool before slicing and enjoying.
Here are a few other banana recipes you may love:
- Traditional Banana Bread RECIPE HERE
- Honey Pecan Banana Bread RECIPE HERE
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins RECIPE HERE
Nutella and Hazelnut Stuffed Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup melted salted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup nutella
- 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts – optional
- 1/2 banana – sliced for top – optional
- Optional sprinkle of salt on top – I like a little extra salt in my baked goods so I just add a sprinkle on top but it isn’t necessary.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas with a whisk attachment or a fork until smooth.
- Add melted butter and blend together.
- Add brown sugar, sugar and vanilla to banana mixture and mix well.
- In another bowl, add flour, baking powder and salt and mix together.
- Add flour mixture to banana mixture followed by the milk and blend until batter is smooth and well mixed.
- Grease a bread pan or line bread pan with parchment paper.
- Pour batter into pan.
- Spoon nutella along the center of the loaf across the length wise distance of the pan.
- Sprinkle with hazelnuts and chopped banana if adding it.
- If you like a saltier bake, add a sprinkle of salt on top of loaf before you bake.
- Bake for roughly 1 hour and 10 minutes or until nutella center sinks and sides rise up and a toothpick can be inserted into the side bread part and comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool before slicing and enjoying.