Unicorn Banana Bread

What’s the wildest food craze to hit the interwebs as of late? We’ve “been there, done that” with the ever-popular avocado rose (not as hard to make as you might think!), and now the edible art is stepping aside to let the next viral trend make waves: unicorn food. We’re talking rainbow-inspired dishes ranging from the savory to the sweet.

Of course my food-loving self had to jump on the trend train with a contribution to the craze. And that comes in the form of Unicorn Banana Bread!

This colorful quickbread is my go-to sour cream banana bread recipe with a little added pizzazz. And it couldn’t be easier to go from your basic breakfast loaf to a razzled and bedazzled update.

Simply divide the banana bread batter into four bowls then stir in a drop or two of blue, yellow, pink and green food coloring. I’ve been a longtime champion for gel-based food coloring because you can use way less than the traditional water-based version and still achieve a standout color.

Once you’ve dyed the unicorn banana bread batter, add alternating dollops to your prepared loaf pan then let the rainbow party proceed with a shower of sprinkles.

I have to admit (and if you watch my Instagram Stories, you already saw a sneak peek!) that this was a bit of an experiment. Culinary visions come to me at all hours of the night and day, and with a whole bunch of overripe bananas perched on my counter, I knew I needed to go beyond any of my dozens of banana bread recipes and really stretch the edible envelope.

I wasn’t quite sure what the bread would look like once I sliced into it. I had visions of the colors seeping into each other to yield a less-than-appetizing brown hue. But thankfully, each color remained in its place. And just like that, Unicorn Banana Bread was born.

This unicorn-inspired breakfast-slash-dessert is perfect for the spring holiday season and is guaranteed to give my Jell-O Easter Eggs (made in real eggs!) some serious competition on the Most Fun Foods Ever list. And if you, too, are a fan of festive sweets, don’t miss recipes for the easiest-ever Rainbow Cake and Rainbow Cupcakes.

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Breakfast

Unicorn Banana Bread

Add a colorful twist to a quickbread favorite with this recipe for extra-moist Unicorn Banana Bread.

4.5 from 2 votes

Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 15 mins

Servings 8 servings

Print Recipe

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/2 cup sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 3 very ripe, darkly speckled bananas, mashed well (about 1 ½ cups)
• ▢ 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 1/4 cup sour cream
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ▢ Pink, blue, green and yellow food coloring
• ▢ Rainbow sprinkles

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the two longer sides, and grease it with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, light brown sugar, baking soda and salt.
• In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, vegetable oil, eggs, sour cream and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients then use a spatula and mix just until combined. Divide the batter among four bowls. Add the pink, blue, green and yellow food coloring to each of the bowls and mix just until combined.
• Add dollops of the batter to the prepared pan, alternating between colors and sprinkling the rainbow sprinkles intermittently throughout. Top the loaf with additional rainbow sprinkles then bake it for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before using the parchment paper overhangs to remove the loaf out of the pan and onto a rack to cool completely. Slice and serve.
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