Easy Peanut Butter Bread

Quick breads aren’t just banana bread! This easy peanut butter bread is delicious and perfect for breakfast or a quick snack. It will make your entire house smell like peanut butter and provide a comforting hearty bread the entire family will enjoy.

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Quick breads are an easy way to get fresh bread taste without having to bother with yeast and rising times. Whether it is an easy 5 ingredient banana bread or a traditional zucchini bread you can have fresh bread baked and ready to eat in about an hour.

Sometimes quick breads are kind of like dessert, but this peanut butter bread is more of a breakfast or snack bread. It is sweet but not overwhelmingly sweet and it has a delicious and distinctive peanut butter taste.

Peanuts and Peanut Butter

Naturally peanuts and peanut butter are two of the main ingredients in the bread. I used creamy peanut butter, but you could also substitute crunchy if that is what you have on hand.

If you are using a natural peanut butter that separates you will need to make sure you stir it well so that it is completely mixed before you measure the peanut butter out.

I topped the bread off with chopped peanuts, which provide a nice crunch and add texture to the bread. You could also stir the peanuts into the batter if you’d rather have them distributed throughout instead of just on top.

Cuisinart AMB-9LP 9-Inch Chef’s Classic Nonstick Bakeware Loaf Pan, SilverOXO 1169600 Good Grips 3-piece Mixing Bowl Set, Blue/Green/Yellow

 

Sweetener

I use honey to sweeten the peanut butter bread. Honey and peanut butter are two flavors that just go well together – after all peanut butter and honey sandwiches taste amazing! A light corn syrup like karo could also be substituted if you don’t have honey.

Other Possible Substitutions

Although I haven’t tried it I think you could also use maple syrup to sweeten the bread, although that would change the taste a bit. Still maple and peanut butter are also a great flavor combination, so it should be tasty!

If you don’t have buttermilk you can combine 1 Tablespoon of vinegar with 1 cup of milk. Let the mixture sit for about 2 minutes and then use in place of buttermilk.

I have only made this with peanut butter, not almond butter or cashew butter or any other nut butters. Substitutions in baking can be tricky, but theoretically any of these nut butters should also work in place of the peanut butter in this recipe.

If you try making this with almond butter or maple syrup or make some other adjustments be sure to let me know how it worked. Or didn’t work!

Most Important Tip for Making Quick Bread

The most important thing to remember when making any quick bread is not to over mix the bread. Since quick breads don’t have yeast the bread rises mostly because of the baking powder and baking soda.

The baking powder and baking soda start to work as soon as they are mixed with the liquid ingredients. If you stir too much the leavening action will occur in the bowl and not as the bread bakes in the oven.

Over mixing will result in loves which are dense and heavy. Quick breads means quick mixing.

How to Make Peanut Butter Bread

1. Blend the Wet Ingredients

First thoroughly mix the peanut butter and honey in a mixing bowl. They are both thick so you will need to stir hard to mix the two together. You could use a mixer for this if you really want to, but hand mixing works with a little effort.

Once the peanut butter and honey are combined add the eggs and milk. Continue to stir the mixture by hand until the ingredients are well combined. You can’t over mix at this stage!

2. Blend the Dry Ingredients

In a separate mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to combine. I used white flour but whole wheat pastry flour would work also.

3. Combine

Pour the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture and stir. This is where you want to be certain to mix everything, but not over mix.

Stir the mixture until you no longer see streaks of flour. Scrape the sides of the bowl with the spoon as you stir so that everything is well mixed. The batter will be thick.

Pour the dough into a loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. Then top the loaf off with a bunch of chopped peanuts.

4. Bake

Bake the bread in a preheated 325 F oven for about 60 minutes. The bread is done when a knife or toothpick comes out clean from the center of the bread.

I used a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, which took about 65 minutes to bake in my oven. The bread would cook a little more quickly in a large loaf pan.

Once it is baked cool it in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then take it out of the pan and let it continue cooling.

It cuts best if you let it cool completely. But it fills the entire house with the smell of peanut butter, so you might be tempted to start slicing it early!

Serving Peanut Butter Bread

This bread has a distinctive peanut butter taste with a nice crunch from the peanut topping. It is subtly sweet but not a dessert bread.

It is great for eating at almost any meal – as a snack or for dinner or breakfast. My favorite way to eat it is topped with raspberry jam for a tasty peanut butter and jelly treat!

Find More Quick Bread Recipes

• Five Ingredient Banana Bread
• Caramel Pecan Apple Bread
• Guinness Beer Bread