Coconut Lime Glazed Banana Bread

This Coconut Lime Glazed Banana Bread takes a sweet, tropical twist on traditional banana bread. It’s a great way to use up overripe bananas, and every bite of the crust is studded with toasted coconut and lime zest from a simple glaze.

an aerial view of coconut lime banana bread on a wire rack - 1

Everybody needs a good banana bread recipe in their repertoire for using up those brown-spotted, overripe bananas sitting on the counter. My family’s love of bananas goes in fits and spurts where sometimes I can’t keep up with their demand and other times I end up with bunches of bananas going spotty and brown that need to be used up.

Coconut lime glazed banana bread is so different from your more traditional banana bread . The glaze on top adds extra sweetness, along with the sweetened, toasted coconut, and makes each bite special. I especially love the tartness of the lime and always zest my lime for the extra flavor it adds. Not to mention those bright green specks of lime zest nestled between toasty golden brown coconut just look pretty!

This bread is perfect for summertime snacking too because of the light, tropical flavors. It makes a great afternoon poolside snack and you can pretend you are on a beach in the Caribbean instead of at your 6-year old’s swim lessons. Unless you are actually on a beach in the Caribbean, in which case I’m insanely jealous.

Incidentally, does anyone else have the song “You put the lime in the coconut and drink ’em bot’ together/You put the lime in the coconut and drank ’em bot’ up!” running through their head now?

Slices of coconut lime banana bread leaning against each other. - 2

What You’ll Need

Flour – I always use unbleached all-purpose flour for baking banana bread.
Sugar – You’ll need granulated sugar for the batter and powdered sugar for the glaze.
Bananas – The spottier the better.
Large eggs – These acts as binders to give the banana bread a chewy, moist texture.
Vanilla Extract – This important baking ingredient balances out the other flavors and ties everything together.
Salt – Just enough so the loaf of banana bread doesn’t end up bland.
Baking Soda – This is a leavening agent that gives the loaf of bread a little quick lift so it isn’t too dense.
Salted Butter – Butter gives a better flavor to banana bread than using oil.
Milk – Just a bit of liquid is needed to keep the batter from being too thick and dry. Apple juice makes a great substitute if you have it on hand.
Sour Cream – Adds a little tang and moisture to the bread. You can use greek yogurt as a substitute.
Coconut – I like to use shredded, sweetened coconut but you can use unsweetened coconut flakes if you prefer.
Limes – You need both the lime zest and the juice. Be sure to zest the limes before juicing them.

An overhead image of coconut lime banana bread ingredients. - 3

How to Make This Recipe

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl using an electric mixer until creamy and light. Add the eggs and mix again until completely combined.
Add the mashed bananas, sour cream, milk, and vanilla, beating again until everything is combined.

Add the flour and mix just until combined and no dry streaks of flour remain. Stir in ½ cup of the coconut. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of coconut over the top of the loaf.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, checking for doneness by inserting a sharp knife or skewer into the middle of the bread to see whether it comes out clean. You might want to loosely cover the loaf with a piece of foil around the 40 minute mark if the coconut on top is starting to look too brown and toasty.

Adding sour cream, milk, and eggs to make banana bread. - 5

Allow the bread to cool in the loaf pan on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.
Prepare the lime glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar, lime juice, and lime zest. in a small bowl. Drizzle the glaze over the still warm bread, then let it sit for 15 minutes to set a bit. It helps to do this step on a wire cooling rack set on top of a baking sheet or sheet of aluminum foil so the extra glaze that drips off doesn’t go all over your counter.

Ingredients for making a lime glaze in a bowl. - 6

Recipe Tips

You can decrease the sugar in the recipe by up to ½ if you prefer a less sweet bread. Sometimes ripe bananas are so sweet on their own that you just don’t need quite as much sugar.
Don’t forget to grease and flour your pan or line it with a parchment paper sling to make it easy to remove the banana bread.
If the coconut is getting too dark or burning on top, cover the bread loosely with a piece of aluminum foil while it is baking.
Check doneness with a long wooden skewer. It should come out clean or with just a few crumbs. Loaf pans are all a little different and it can affect the baking time for quick breads.

Stacks of coconut lime banana bread stacked on top of each other. - 7

a sliced loaf of Coconut Lime Glazed Banana Bread on a wire rack - 8

Did you make this recipe?

Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.