This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.
This post is in partnership with Smucker’s & the National Parks Conservation Association..
Quick breads are comfort food and this Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Peanut Butter frosting will quickly become a family favorite in your home.
This quick bread was inspired by one of my favorite smoothies that I make all the time, Monkey Milkshakes. Something about peanut butter, bananas, and chocolate just hit all my taste buds for a delicious treat.
Y’all the peanut butter frosting is killer! I could seriously eat it by the spoonful…I think I saw hubbyman sneak a couple bites out of the bowl while I was doing the dishes. This Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter rocked my world. All 5 varieties are made with simple, high-quality ingredients and that means the peanut flavor really shines through.
Get outside this weekend and visit a National Park! When you’re in the desert, at the Saguaro National Park, you need to take some additional precautions, but the experience of standing next to the majestic saguaros is definitely something that should be on your bucket list.
The Saguaro National Park is located in southern Arizona, near Tucson. Saguaro’s are found all over the desert southwest in Arizona, but they grow in abundance here in the park. It is a very lush desert with a huge variety of cacti, trees, shrubs, and animals; however, it is one of the driest and hottest regions on the continent. With summer temps well over 100F and less than 12 inches of rain each year the plants and animals have learned to survive this environment.
Saguaros grow extremely slow and don’t produce an arm until they are around 75 years old. They are home to several types of desert birds and produce beautiful flowers and fruit which are food for many desert animals. Saguaros can soak up as much as 200 gallons of water in a single rainfall which can last them an entire year.
Tips for Visiting the Saguaro National Park
- Pack plenty of water and snacks. Due to it’s remote location it’s good to make sure you are well prepared for the desert. Never go into the desert without at least a gallon of water per person per day.
- Make sure your car is in good running order. Many of the roads are dirt and some require high clearance vehicles. Since the park is located in the remote desert it’s a good idea to check your car before heading out.
- Pack hiking shoes, sunscreen, and a hat. There are lots of hiking trails that take you even deeper into the beautiful desert. Just use caution on the hot summer days and take plenty of water too.
- Don’t bother any plants or animals. There are tons of dangerous critters roaming the desert and many of the plants are protected by federal law.
- Stay out of the washes. We noticed most of them are roped off, so it’s a good idea to stay out. The slightest amount of rain can cause the washes to fill with water and can become dangerous very quickly.
- Stop by the visitor center for information, a restroom break, a video about the park, and to pay the park entrance fee.
It’s early April in the desert, so a spring storm is a little unusual, but we decided to make the best of the cooler temps and prayed that the rain would stay away while we visited the Saguaro National Park. We planned a small hike, a stop at the visitor’s center, and to find a picnic spot for a snack before heading back home.
I just love it when the desert is in bloom. The bright colors pop against the green and tan backdrop of the desert.
The storm clouds started to roll back in as we were getting ready to leave. There is no way we wanted to be out on the desert floor when a storm comes in…the washes fill up fast and can be deadly, so we packed up and headed home.
We stopped for our snack and watched the storm roll in and even watched as a little dust storm started up down in the valley below us. The kids loved it!
Even though we didn’t get to hike too much due to the weather and impending storm we still had an amazing time enjoying the beautiful desert.
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bread
Quick breads are comfort food and this Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Banana Bread with Peanut Butter frosting will quickly become a family favorite in your home.
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix (or 2 gluten free yellow cake mixes)
- 2 eggs
- 4 ripe bananas
- 3/4 cup Smucker's Natural Peanut Butter, divided
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2-4 tbls milk (soy, almond, regular, etc)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 2 loaf pans with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Smash bananas in a large bowl. Add cake mix, eggs, and 1/2 cup peanut butter to bananas and mix well by hand. Gently fold in 1/4 cup chocolate chips. Divide batter equally into prepared pans.
- Bake at 350 F for 35-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove bread from pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.
- While bread is cooling, prepare frosting. In a microwave safe bowl, add 1/4 cup peanut butter and heat for 20-30 seconds (it helps it mix better with the sugar). Add sugar and 2 tbls of milk to the peanut butter and stir until smooth. If needed, add additional milk just until the frosting is smooth and thin enough to spread on the bread. Use an offset spatula to spread on bread and top with remaining chocolate chips. Let frosting set up before serving.
Notes
- Note: I use bananas that are too ripe to eat, so I throw them in the freezer until I have enough for this recipe. Just thaw them and then mash them up.*
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 190Total Fat: 2.8gCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 3.7g
Disclaimer: This post is in partnership with Smucker’s & the National Parks Conservation Association.
this sounds amazing i would have never have imagined adding this thank you thank hyou!!! i am going to try this
Oh boy this sounds so good. Cant wait to give this a go.
Simon
How absolutely delicious this loaf looks. Love peanut butter anything!!
Those cactus pictures are making me swoon! So pretty! And the bread too! Also gorgeous! That smuckers honey PB is my alltime fave. It doesn’t get any better!
This looks amazing! The frosting is calling my name!
I gotta try this. The frosting probably makes it so tasty, thanks for sharing
The recipe sounds wonderful and the park looks beautiful!
The Peanut Butter Banana Bread looks delicious! Peanut butter always satisfies my sweet tooth!
I make banana bread but have never thought to add peanut butter, looks yummy
My friend went to Saguaro National Park last week and she said it was amazing. I’ve been living in AZ for 18 years and I haven’t been yet!
OH…you soooo have to go! It’s beautiful. w-
I am all about the Smuckers. Great product. Strawberry is my fav.
The banana bread recipe looks yummy. I never thought of putting a topping on it. Recipe saved!
I have almost unnatural love for peanut butter, and also for banana bread. I make lots of different flavors of banana bread, but peanut butter chocolate chip is always my favorite. Your recipe is very different from what I usually make though, and I’ll have to give it a try.
How beautiful! Saguaro is ! To see all the plants in bloom against that background- this is now on my bucket list to visit. Thank you for sharing.
The Saguaro National Park is a beautiful place I’d like to see again.
I bet I could eat that whole loaf of peanut butter banana bread all by myself! yum!
I literally dont know why I never thought of adding peanut butter to banana bread?? It s genius!!!!! Cannot wait to give it a go 🙂
That recipe looks amazing! You took two of my favorite foods and mixed them together! A must try in my recipe book!
This recipe sounds fantastic! I love combining peanut butter with bananas! The chocolate is great too seeing as I am a chocoholic. Definitely making this in the near future!!
I haven’t tried the chocolate chip peanut butter banana bread, but it does look good.I would give it a try
Mmm…..peanut butter + bananna bread = yumm!
My family loves banana bread and this recipe would be a nice twist on our favorite snacking dessert.
I love this recipe. It looks so rich and so moist not at all like the breads I usually make. I am going to give it a try
We make banana bread about once a month when we have some bananas that are too mushy to eat normally. I would love to try the banana bread recipe on this page with Smucker’s peanut butter and chocolate chips.
I love banana bread, sounds like a delicious recipe thanks for sharing
I’ve been to Saguaro and I loved it! So scenic with all of the cacti!
The beautiful desert backdrop of the Saguaro National Park makes me yearn to visit here. It is breathtaking. The bread recipe looks yummy and using a great quality product like Smuckers would make it even better.
Love banana bread ,and will try the recipe such lovely country would love to see it
The kids love banana bread and peanut butter, this will be an awesome treat for them. And myself.
I love how easy this peanut butter banana bread. My teen doesn’t eat banana bread but I think she’ll eat this one!
This recipe sounds so yummy! I have made banana bread before but not with peanut butter.
After reading about your recipe I really am craving banana bread! I love the addition of peanut butter also. I plan to make this in the next few days. Thanks for the great recipe!
You can currently find about 5 jars of Smuckers natural pb on my basement storage shelves. We LOVE the stuff and it’s my go-to pb of choice. Need to put it to good use in this delicious looking bread!
I am so excited you included a gluten free option out there – never realized that I only need to swap two boxes for every one regular. Sadly, I always look at a recipe and click away if its not automatically gluten free. Thanks for the tidbit of info! And it looks delicious – going to make it this weekend with the kids 🙂
Glad that was helpful Heather. That’s what I usually do..sub 2 boxes of my fav GF boxed mix for 1 traditional…haven’t been disappointed yet. w-
It sounds delicious!
I love receipes with both banana and peanut butter,ssuch a good combo
That looks so yummy!
Good morning Arizona!! The Beauty of the desert
This looks like a delicious sweet treat to make for family 🙂
What a great way to add a little extra to the bread. I would love to try that in mine.
Banananut bread and peanut butter!? It has to be very moist and flavorful. Why haven’t i thought of this?
I never thought of adding peanut butter to banana bread. That sounds delicious!
That bread looks so good. I really like to use peanut butter and chocolate in my recipes. It makes such an excellent combination.
I would love to go to the dessert and explore the various creatures.
That recipe combines all of my most favorite flavors! I will definitely be making some!
Visiting a desert is on my bucket list.This park would keep me busy for weeks.
There is so much life in the desert & the recipe looks delicious.
I love banana bread. When I really like something I can be kind of boring because I don’t like to change it up. I’ve seen a few different variations on banana bread recently but your recipe looks like one I would venture out to try.
That looks delicious
It sounds like a great experience but a little scary with all of the dangerous critters and washes! I would go but I’d probably be nervous, LOL!
I’m a horrible cook, but I think I can tackle this one maybe 😉
I’m sure the Park is beautiful! I love the outdoors 🙂 Thanks <3
the recipe sounds delicious. i want to make it this weekend for my family. i will love the peanut butter frosting too!
i would really like to visit it sounds like an awesome experience
I love the recipe and I think the peanut butter as an ingredient would ensure that it would be a nice filling snack or meal.
The recipe sounds good.
The recipe looks so good and the park looks very beautiful!
There is something comforting (and delicious!) about the peanut butter and banana combination! Of course the addition of chocolate chips puts it over the top!
Peanut butter is one of my favourite foods. Thanks for this yummy looking recipe.
Looks like a nice place to unplug and get away from it all..
Looks so peaceful!
Would like to try this recipe, my family would enjoy this
Saguaro Park is beautiful, but it is HOT in the summer. Last summer it had more than 40 days in a row where the temperature broke 100 degrees.
I would like this recipe because I like peanut butter and banana’s but my husband of the few things he is not a fan of is peanut butter or bananas, so I probably won’t be making it. The park looks neat but I live in desert country so I would rather go somewhere greener and with water.
The recipe looks amazing! I’m making this today! 🙂
the recipie sounds delish!! I am always looking for new things to try out looks like this will be my sunday baking! 🙂 thanks for the share
looks and sounds delicious – have to try it
Thank you for including a GF version of this recipe! I love that it uses boxed mixes so it’s easy.
I made it GF and it was amazing! My family couldn’t tell which is a win in my book! Enjoy. w-
This looks really good, my kids would enjoy this as an afternoon snack!
It looks delicious.
That recipe looks really good , I will have to try it.
The peanut butter banana bread looks so good, but then I could live on peanut butter, lol. I love bread recipes like this one—because they are really like a yummy piece of cake!
My daughter Loves Banana Bread And she Adores Chocolate, I’m gonna make this for her and the Peanut Butter just adds more flavor and protein!! Sounds Yummy!
I think the park is fantastic and I surely have it on my bucket list
The recipe sounds good. I am always looking for new things to try
I printed the recipe because it sounds like something my family would love!! Thanks for the chance 🙂
This recipe sounds so good!! I love Chocolate banana combo!
Thank you for the chance.
Would love to try this recipe
The bread sounds delicious. I am curious to try the bread batter in the waffle iron to see how that comes out too.
This recipe looks really delicious
I am obsessed with quick bread, peanut butter and banana bread! So yeah, I’ll be making this.
Oh I need to try this recipe. My husbands favorite flavors, bananas and peanut butter, he will love this!
This looks like a tasty recipe! My husband just asked me about making some banana bread last night, we might be trying this out today!
I like to make banana bread for mother’s day. Mom likes to spread it with butter. I think she’d like your peanut butter banana bread, and I’d love to win this. Thanks!
i think my mouth watered a little. and i love peanut butter
Would love to try this recipe – sounds good for in my hubby’s lunch!!~
I have gotten bored with traditional banana bread. However, peanut butter is one of my favorite foods and this recipe makes me want to try banana bread again.
I would like to try the banana bread using a home baked cake recipe. I’m not a fan of boxed cake mixes and would like to experiment. The flavors sound good.
My family would just devour this recipe! I love that it is simple!
My boys would love this bread. It looks so good.
I have never been to Saguaro National Park. It actually is quite beautiful, and I bet the sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. I am used to far more green colors, but there is so much variation there. You captured the beauty well.
my kids would love this.
This peanut butter is in my fridge right now, I love it!
It’s so good, isn’t it….I just love this PB! w-
The pictures look great. I’d love to eat that!
I love visiting National Parks and just being outdoors. I lived in Boulder, CO for five years and really enjoyed it. I havent been to this park but hope to with my kids.
While I consider banana bread one of my favorites, I’ve never tried a cake-based banana bread recipe with peanut butter. Sounds good if not too sweet.
I am a long distance backpacker and would love to visit that park.
I printed the recipe. It looks really good. I’ve been to AZ and saw those cactus a few years ago.