We recently discovered the recipe for peanut butter bread. It's a moist quick bread that's delicious on its own, or slathered with butter and jam. Here's how to make our vintage peanut butter bread recipe, including tips for customizing each loaf with mix-ins like chocolate, nuts, and more.
What Is Peanut Butter Bread?
Peanut butter bread is a Depression-era recipe that was created in the 1930s. It's been popular for decades, especially on vintage recipe Reddit threads. The recipe calls for just a handful of inexpensive ingredients. Our Test Kitchen modernized the original to include buttermilk, butter, and eggs for a rich flavor and moist crumb.
Peanut Butter Bread Ingredients
Here's a quick look at what you'll need to make homemade peanut butter bread.
- Dry Ingredients: Like many bread recipes, you'll need all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt whisked together.
- Peanut Butter: Our Test Kitchen found that creamy peanut butter gave the bread the best texture.
- Buttermilk: A cup of buttermilk provides moisture and a bit of tang to the finished peanut butter bread.
- Brown Sugar: Sweeten the bread with brown sugar. Our recipe testers really liked the caramel flavor it added.
- Butter: A couple of tablespoons of unsalted butter goes a long way in adding flavor and moisture to the bread.
- Eggs: Our Test Kitchen always chooses large eggs for baking. You'll need two here.
How to Customize Peanut Butter Bread
The great thing about peanut butter bread is how easy it is to customize. Here are a few ways you can make this peanut butter bread recipe your own.
- Add Chocolate: Try adding chocolate chips to the batter or drizzle melted on top of the loaf.
- Try Mix-Ins: Add a handful of nuts, dried fruit, or coconut to the batter.
- Swirl Jam: Add a few swirls of your favorite jam or jelly to the batter before baking for a take on the flavors of peanut butter and jelly.
- Add a Glaze: If you prefer a sweeter bread, try topping the baked loaf with a simple powdered sugar icing or chocolate glaze.
Ingredients
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Nonstick cooking spray
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1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
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1 teaspoon baking soda
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3/4 teaspoon salt
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1 cup buttermilk
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2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
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1 cup packed brown sugar
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2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
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2 large eggs
Directions
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, letting paper overhang the long sides by about an inch. Coat with nonstick spray.
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In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
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In a large bowl whisk together buttermilk, peanut butter, brown sugar, melted butter and the egg. Add flour and stir until combined. Transfer to prepared pan.
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Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on the wire rack. For easier slicing, wrap* and store cooled loaf overnight.
Test Kitchen Tip: We recommend wrapping cooled quick bread in plastic wrap and letting it stand at room temperature overnight before serving. The loaf's texture will be more evenly moist and less crumbly.
How to Store Peanut Butter Bread
Cover and store at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
| 246 | Calories |
| 10g | Fat |
| 33g | Carbs |
| 7g | Protein |
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings Per Recipe 12 | |
| Calories 246 | |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Total Fat 10.2g | 13% |
| Saturated Fat 3g | 15% |
| Cholesterol 36.9mg | 12% |
| Sodium 361.1mg | 16% |
| Total Carbohydrate 33.3g | 12% |
| Dietary Fiber 1.3g | 5% |
| Total Sugars 16.8g | |
| Protein 6.8g | 14% |
| Vitamin D 0.2mcg | 1% |
| Vitamin C 0.2mg | 0% |
| Calcium 52.1mg | 4% |
| Iron 1.4mg | 8% |
| Potassium 167.9mg | 4% |
| Fatty acids, total trans 0g | |
| Vitamin D 7IU | |
| Alanine 0.3g | |
| Arginine 0.6g | |
| Ash 1.3g | |
| Aspartic acid 0.7g | |
| Caffeine 0mg | |
| Carotene, alpha 0mcg | |
| Choline, total 40.3mg | |
| Copper, Cu 0.1mg | |
| Cystine 0.1g | |
| Energy 1029.7kJ | |
| Fluoride, F 1.4mcg | |
| Folate, total 43.6mcg | |
| Glutamic acid 1.7g | |
| Glycine 0.3g | |
| Histidine 0.2g | |
| Isoleucine 0.2g | |
| Leucine 0.5g | |
| Lysine 0.3g | |
| Methionine 0.1g | |
| Magnesium, Mg 34.5mg | |
| Manganese, Mn 0.3mg | |
| Niacin 3mg | |
| Phosphorus, P 103.8mg | |
| Pantothenic acid 0.4mg | |
| Phenylalanine 0.4g | |
| Phytosterols 0mg | |
| Proline 0.5g | |
| Retinol 31.9mcg | |
| Selenium, Se 15.2mcg | |
| Serine 0.4g | |
| Starch 0.7g | |
| Theobromine 0mg | |
| Threonine 0.2g | |
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 1mg | |
| Tryptophan 0.1g | |
| Tyrosine 0.3g | |
| Valine 0.3g | |
| Vitamin A, IU 113.7IU | |
| Vitamin A, RAE 32.4mcg | |
| Vitamin B-12 0.1mcg | |
| Vitamin B-6 0.1mg | |
| Vitamin K (phylloquinone) 0.3mcg | |
| Water 27.8g | |
| Zinc, Zn 0.7mg | |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.