last updated on April 21, 2026
This miso banana bread is my newest addiction and I hope it becomes yours too! The miso paste adds an ever so slight umami taste that really takes this banana bread to the next level. Plus it is filled with chocolate which just makes everything better!
I love banana bread, banana cake, anything with fresh bananas! The best type of bananas to use is ones that are very brown — very spotted, brown-turning bananas.
what is miso?
Miso is a paste made by fermenting soybeans — it is typically used in Japanese cuisine and is so tasty. If you are skeptical of miso paste in sweet things, that is fair, but it is actually so good. It gives a slight salty / umami taste that is incredible. And if you’re worried about it being overwhelming in this banana bread, just trust me. It really is just a slight taste! If you didn’t know it was miso banana bread, you would just think that it was a really good loaf of banana bread.
ingredients needed for miso banana bread
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 bananas (about 1 1/2 cups), mashed
- 1/4 cup miso paste (i recommend white)
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups flour (230 grams)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips
how to make miso banana bread
This recipe isn’t quite a one bowl recipe, but it’s pretty close! Start by adding the butter and brown sugar to a bowl and whisk until they are creamed together. Add the greek yogurt and miso paste to a small bowl and mix until smooth. This will make the miso paste easier to mix in, because it is pretty thick. Add the mixture to the bowl with the butter and sugar. Add the mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla extract.
Then add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until the batter is just combined. Add the chocolate chips and fold them in. Transfer the batter to a 9 inch loaf pan that is lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 F for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool and enjoy!
other banana recipes you will love
miso banana bread
ingredients
- 1/2 cup (113 g) butter softened
- 1 cup (215 g) brown sugar
- 3 bananas (about 1 1/2 cups) mashed
- 1/4 cup (65 g) miso paste i recommend white
- 1/4 cup (56 g) greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups (230 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup (128 g) chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp turbinado sugar optional
instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Start by adding the butter and brown sugar to a bowl and whisk until they are creamed together (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add the greek yogurt and miso paste to a small bowl and mix until smooth. This will make the miso paste easier to mix in, because it is pretty thick. Add the mixture to the bowl with the butter and sugar.
- Add the mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla extract. Then add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and mix until the batter is just combined. Add the chocolate chips and fold them in.
- Transfer the batter to a 9×5 inch loaf pan that is lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle the turbinado on top of the loaf then transfer to the oven.
- Bake for 55-75 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let it cool and enjoy!
Thoughts on red miso versus white??
i would recommend white! red will work if that’s all you have, it just has a stronger flavor!
I’m not really sure what went wrong. I followed the recipe exactly, but ended up with way too much batter in my standard 9×5 loaf pan. Luckily I placed it on a cookie sheet to bake because it overflowed. It also took way longer to bake. I set it for 40 minutes and after seeing it was still wet, baked for several ten minute increments for an overall total closer to 70 minutes. The taste is great, but I don’t think the recipe is suited for a standard loaf pan.
hi! i’m so sorry this spilled over for you. are you sure it’s a 9×5 loaf pan? if it is a 8×4 inch pan that is significantly smaller. but i hope you still enjoyed the recipe!
Any chance you could update your recipe’s ingredients list to include grams as well as volume measurements. I find baking with a scale is not only more accurate, but easier as well!
hi! i don’t currently have the bandwidth to post my recipes in grams as well — i’m sorry about that. i hope to list everything in grams as well soon!
Hi! Would the recipe change much is I added chocolate chips? What would you recommend?
hi! you can totally add chocolate chips instead of chunks if you’d like — no issues there!
this recipe is super good and it tastes amazing!! the only thing is that it took about twice as long to bake so it got a little toasty on the top (i did make sure to put foil on the top so i think that helped). i took it out at 35 minutes because it looked golden brown and had a nice dome but about five minutes later the whole middle sunk in since it was completely raw inside. i just think the batter is a bit dense and maybe something’s wrong with my oven hahah. i do prefer baked goods to be more on the dense side and it was still moist after baking it for about 80 minutes! will be making again for sure! :))
yay i’m so glad you loved this one! hmm yes banana bread can be fickle because it is so dense but i’m glad you were able to get it cooked all the way through!
I LOVE this recipe! It has the most subtle, almost salted caramel taste and is super easy to follow. The texture is really nice and I love the turbinado sugar crust on top. I made 4 mini loaves with one recipe and they were all eaten within a day!
so so glad you enjoyed this one!!! making 4 mini loaves is such a fun idea. and glad you didn’t skip the turbinado sugar!
Always a hit! I’ll make this for neighbors and everyone asks for the recipe. It’s the perfect salty and sweet combination. I often adjust baking times for my oven and size of loaves so sometimes I bake longer than it says. But it’s always tasty!
yay i’m so glad you love this one!! and such a perfect one to take to neighbors <3
I just made this bread and can confidently say this is one of the BEST banana bread recipes I’ve ever made! Words that literally just came out of my husband’s mouth: “that is the best banana bread I’ve had in my life. Like not even close. I’m serious.” I do agree with other commenters that the bake time needed is significantly longer than stated. Mine took roughly 70min at 350 degrees in a standard loaf pan (mine is 8.5×4.5, Chicago Metallic brand). I also had more batter than what fit in the pan so I made a couple of muffins with the remaining batter. Those turned out phenomenally too! And I’m typically not a muffin person. I baked those roughly 25min. Despite the adjustments, this recipe is delicious and definitely a keeper!!
(Side note, I’m trying to give this 5 stars but I think the site isn’t letting me – bummer cuz I’d love to boost this recipe with a great rating!)
so glad you loved this one!!! the miso makes it so so yum. and thank you for the note on the bake-time! i’ve tested this one again and adjusted the bake time accordingly.
This banana bread is so so good. It tastes just like a standard loaf of banana bread but even better. I will be making this again, so delicious!!!
Would you happen to know if the batter will work well in a different pan? Based on just the volume of the pans, I’m considering either my square brownie pan or my high-sided 8 inch round cake pan. I got the volume part figured out, but I just don’t know if either of these pan changes is a good idea for the type of cake and how it bakes.
hi! depending on how high-sided your round cake pan is, you’ll likely have too much batter / need to divide the batter between two dishes. as far as baking, you’ll need to cut the baking time by quite a bit. if you’re using a regular 8-inch round pan / square pan, i would start checking the cake around 25-30 minutes and go from there. you’ll want to bake until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, or just with a few dry crumbs (no wet batter!).