Tahini Banana Bread

By Lawman JohnsonNovember 14, 2025

Makes
Makes one 9-inch loaf
Cook Time
1¼ hours
Active time plus cooling
25 minutes active, plus cooling

Earthy, nutty tahini is as at home in cookies, brownies and cakes as it is in savory hummus. Here, it replaces some of the butter in banana bread, lending the crumb an especially plush, tender texture. Banana slices, arranged on the batter, followed by a sprinkling of sesame seeds, bake into the deeply browned surface of the bread. We also make a tahini glaze that is drizzled onto the cooled bread, but feel free to skip it, especially if you intend to store the leftovers for multiple days (the glaze, which remains sticky, makes storage tricky). Wrapped well in plastic, the unglazed bread will keep at room temperature for up to four days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. If glazed, the bread is best served the day of baking.

Tip

Don’t use underripe bananas. The peels should at least be spotty brown, if not showing large brown patches. The riper the fruits, the easier they are to mash and the sweeter they taste. Also, make sure to thoroughly stir the tahini, scraping along the bottom of the jar, before measuring the amounts needed for the batter and glaze (if making). The oil that separates to the top should be fully integrated into the paste.

Ingredients

For the bread:
260
grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1¼
teaspoons ground cinnamon
1
teaspoon baking powder
1
teaspoon baking soda
½
teaspoon table salt
533
grams (2 cups) mashed ripe bananas (from 4 or 5 large bananas), plus 1 banana, peeled and sliced ¼ inch thick on the diagonal
2
large eggs
149
grams (¾ cup) packed dark brown sugar
80
grams (⅓ cup) tahini
42
grams (3 tablespoons) salted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1
tablespoon vanilla extract
2
teaspoons sesame seeds
For the glaze (optional):
31
grams (¼ cup) powdered sugar
2
tablespoons tahini
1½
tablespoons warm water

Step 1

To make the bread, heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the upper-middle position. Mist a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Dust evenly with flour, then tap out the excess. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Step 2

In a medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, eggs, brown sugar, tahini, butter and vanilla (it's fine if the mixture contains small lumps of banana). Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and, using a silicone spatula, fold until just combined, without any dry streaks.

Step 3

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. Arrange the banana slices on the batter in three rows down the length of the pan, overlapping the slices as needed. Sprinkle evenly with the sesame seeds.

Step 4

Bake until well browned, the top is fissured and a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin-bladed knife between the edges of the bread and the pan to loosen, then invert the loaf out of the pan. Turn it upright and cool completely.

Step 5