Fig Bread {Easy Recipe with Walnuts and Banana}

This delicious fig bread recipe features juicy figs and warming baking spices for a delightful dessert, afternoon snack, or breakfast!

This quick bread recipe is quite simple to make. If you enjoy banana bread and/or gingerbread, I highly recommend giving it a try! In addition, the fiber from the figs may help support digestive health.

I made my fig and walnut bread into a bundt cake shape for visual appeal, but feel free to use bread loaf pans for easier freezing and gifting.

You can also add a glaze, cream cheese icing, or up to 1/3 cup more sugar for more of a fig cake, if you prefer, but I thought it was sweet enough as written.

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Figs in history

Both fresh and dried figs are so commonly and widely used throughout the Mediterranean region that the Britannica Encyclopedia online calls figs “the poor man’s food.”

This is fortunate as figs are plentiful and abundant throughout this area, as well as highly nutritious.

Some historians claim that figs were the first (or among the first) plants cultivated by humans. Kris Hirst, an expert in archaeology, states that figs were cultivated five thousand years earlier than wheat or millet (according to Treehugger).

Both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament mention figs and fig trees. Fig leaves formed Adam and Eve’s first garments, and some argue that a fig, rather than an apple, was the real forbidden fruit.

Regardless, people have loved figs throughout history.

Greeks, particularly Spartans, ate figs as a common food, and Pliny the Elder had quite a bit to say about growing different varieties at home.

The Romans liked them too. Figs were sacred to Bacchus and used in religious ceremonies.

In addition, myth has it that Romulus and his twin brother Remus, the legendary founders of Rome, were found as infants under the protection of a sacred fig tree, the ficus ruminalis.

That fig tree was considered an emblem of the future prosperity of Rome.

Since fig trees can live up to 200 years, that’s a good sign!

How to Rehydrate Dried Figs

For this recipe, you’ll want to plump up the dried figs to soften them. Simply measure out about a cup of dried figs, place them in a bowl, and pour boiling water over them until fully covered.

After that, set a timer for 10 minutes, and drain them before chopping.

If you can find fresh figs during fig season (typically late summer to early fall), such as black Mission figs, they would be lovely. However, most of the year that can be challenging. You may have luck at a farmers’ market.

You can sometimes find frozen figs. Thaw and drain them before chopping.

Substituting Fig Preserves in your Fig Bread

You could make fig bread with fig preserves or even strawberry fig jam rather than dried figs or fresh figs if that’s what you have on hand.

However, you may wish to add up to a quarter cup more flour, and only use 3/4 cup jam for best results.

How to “Chop” Walnuts – The Easy Way

If you have walnut halves rather than pre-chopped walnuts, this method will make for easy cleanup!

You can measure out the nuts, pour them into a bag and seal it, then use the bottom of a butter knife or something similar to crush the walnuts through the plastic.

(This also helps prevent the walnuts from shooting all over your kitchen.)

Variations on this recipe

Fresh figs would be wonderful in this if you can find them!

Frozen figs would also work. Just make sure to thaw and drain them before measuring out your cup.

If you’re not crazy about figs, you can always substitute dried apricots, dates, orange zest, or any fruit you would prefer.

This is about the sweetness of banana bread. For a sweeter cake, you can add a simple sugar water glaze, or add a little more sugar to the recipe.

Add ginger to the other baking spices and/or add orange juice for a fruity gingerbread.

Of course, you can always swap out ingredients based on what you have – pecans instead or walnuts (or neither), applesauce instead of the banana, or add some sour cream to make it a bit richer.

Try topping this cake/bread with whipped cream for a decadent dessert.

Make it vegan with flax “eggs” and plant-based milk.

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Do I really need two separate bowls for the wet and dry ingredients?

Technically, no, but it can make it a little easier to mix.

Definitely stir the walnuts into the dry ingredients first, before adding any wet ingredients.

This flour coating will help the walnuts distribute themselves evenly throughout the cake, rather than all falling to the bottom.

If you just use one bowl, you may have to stir a bit longer to get everything evenly combined, but it will definitely still work!

Storage and freezing

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for several days or in the fridge for up to a week to keep fresh.

You can also wrap the fig bread in plastic wrap and freeze it for later, especially if you are preserving fresh fig bread for when figs are no longer in season. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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Fig Bread Ingredients

Before you begin, you will need:

Edible Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar (brown sugar adds great flavor, as would maple syrup, but white sugar is fine too)
• 3/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup oil (I used canola, but olive oil would also be nice, although it has a stronger flavor than vegetable oil. You could also use melted butter.)
• 1/2 cup milk (I used almond)
• 2 eggs
• 1 banana, the riper the better (No bananas? No problem! Add another egg.)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup of dried figs (about 4.5 ounces – a typical round 9 ounce package of dried figs is about twice as much as you will need, depending on how full you pack your measuring cup)
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts (or see my trick for “chopping” them)

Tools and Equipment

• A bundt cake pan or two bread loaf pans
• Mixing bowls (or just one and allow more time for washing and mixing)
• Measuring cups and spoons
• A sharp knife for chopping the figs
• A butter knife or something similar for crushing the walnuts
• A fork to mash the banana
• Optional: parchment paper so your fig bread doesn’t stick to your cooling rack
• Optional: a stand mixer or hand mixer, or allow a little extra time to thoroughly blend

How to Make Fig Bread

1. First, rehydrate the dried figs. Boil water and pour it over the figs until covered, then let them sit for about 10 minutes.
2. While they are softening, if you need to “chop” your walnut halves, pour them into a ziplock bag. Then, place the bag on a cutting board and use the handle of a butter knife to break them into smaller pieces so they go further. If you have a mallet, you could use that here.
3. Once the 10 minutes are up, drain the figs and roughly chop them into large pieces, removing any stems as you go.
4. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
5. In a large mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together to create a flour mixture, including the walnuts.
6. After that, peel the banana and break it into pieces, then mash it in a separate mixing bowl.
7. Continue using this second bowl to mix all the wet ingredients.
8. Then, gradually blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients in the first large bowl until fully incorporated.
9. Grease your pan(s) well and dust with flour.
10. After that, pour all the batter into the prepared pan and bake for around 47 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
11. Allow the cake to cool in the bundt pan for at least ten minutes. Then, turn the pan upside down and set it on a sheet of parchment paper over a wire rack or cutting board until the cake falls out naturally. This will help preserve the pretty bundt shape. You may need to loosen the edges with a plastic knife.
12. Finally, once the cake has cooled enough, cut, serve, and enjoy!

I hope you love this fig bread recipe!