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With 12 years of experience baking banana bread, I’ve perfected every detail to create a loaf that’s incredibly moist and flavorful. Through extensive testing and tweaking, I’ve developed a reliable recipe that balances sweetness, texture, and a hint of rich banana flavor. My years of dedication ensure you can trust this recipe for the best banana bread, whether it’s your first loaf or your fiftieth.
After 12 years of baking banana bread, I’ve refined every detail to achieve a loaf that’s perfectly moist and bursting with flavor. With countless rounds of testing and adjustments, I’ve crafted a foolproof recipe that balances sweetness, texture, and deep banana flavor. My dedication over the years means you can count on this recipe for the best banana bread, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned baker.
This quick banana bread recipe calls for just 10 everyday ingredients and requires less than 10 minutes of prep. Your family will love this moist banana bread again and again!
The secret to great homemade banana bread is starting with ripe—or ideally, overripe—bananas! Mash them thoroughly using a potato masher, electric mixer, or blender, aiming for about 1 & 1/3 to 1 & 1/2 cups of mashed banana. Be sure to measure it out since banana sizes can vary significantly.
I usually place my bananas directly in the mixing bowl and use my electric mixer to mash them. This way, I keep cleanup simple, as I’ll be using the mixer for the batter anyway!
Topics We’ll Cover..
- How to Quickly Ripen Bananas
- How to Properly Measure Flour
- Making Gluten Free Banana Bread
- How to Freeze Banana Bread
- Total Time Required
- Tips for Making Banana Bread
How to Quickly Ripen Bananas
Spotty, over ripe bananas make the best banana bread! If your bananas aren’t ripe, you can fix that! Place the bananas on a foil lined baking sheet in a 300ºF oven for 30-40 minutes, until the peels become black and shiny. Roasting them in the oven causes them to become sweet and mushy.
One Bowl Banana Bread Ingredients
- bananas: adds banana flavor and moisture
- vegetable oil: adds fat and moisture
- granulated sugar: adds sweetness and flavor
- egg: binds the batter together by providing structure
- vanilla extract: adds flavor
- all purpose flour: flour is necessary to build structure
- baking soda & baking powder: helps to leaven and lift the batter
- cinnamon: banana bread benefits from cinnamon!
- salt: just a pinch to balance the sweetness and enhances the other flavors
How to Make Banana Bread
- In a mixing bowl combine the mashed bananas, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla extract.
- Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, stir together with a spatula or mix on low, just until combined.
- Spray a loaf pan and spread the batter evenly in the pan.
- Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes. Check for browning at 45 minutes, tent if needed. If you didn’t tent at 45 minutes, check again at 55 minutes, then tent, and bake for 10 additional minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
How to Properly Measure Flour
- Fluff the flour with a fork
- Use a spoon to scoop the flour into your measuring cup
- Use a butter knife to level off the flour in the measuring cup
Sticking the measuring cup straight into the bag of flour will result in too much flour to be packed into the cup, which can result in dry bread.
Simple Banana Bread with Nuts
If you love banana bread with walnuts or pecans, add 1 cup chopped nuts to the batter when mixing in the flour.
How to Make One Bowl Banana Bread
I have made this bread multiple times with King Arthur’s Gluten Free Measure for Measure Flour with great success. You can also try another brand of gluten free all purpose flour. Be sure to measure the flour properly.
Can you freeze banana bread?
To freeze the whole loaf: allow it to cool completely, then wrap well in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil. Place inside a ziplock bag. To thaw, place the wrapped bread in the fridge overnight.
To freeze individual slices: allow the loaf to cool completely and slice. Wrap each slice in plastic wrap then in aluminum and place inside a ziplock bag. To thaw, place a slice in the fridge overnight. Or unwrap and microwave for 30 second intervals.
Total Time Required
- 5-10 minutes to prep the batter
- Bake for 55-65 minutes at 350ºF
- 20 minutes to cool
Tips for Making Banana Bread
- Be sure to measure the amount of mashed banana. Bananas vary in size so much, for accuracy measure it!
Do Not Over Mix the Batter
- I have been guilty of this myself and I am learning to be okay with lumps in my batter. For quick bread, do not use your electric mixer to beat in the dry ingredients, using a spatula and mixing by hand will give you more control. “Mix just until incorporated” means mixing the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until you can just no longer see any flour streaks. Yes, you should still scrape the sides and the bottom of the bowl, but do that as you’re mixing in the flour.
Be careful to not over bake the bread
- Sometimes the bread can trick you, it can look done on the outside but still be doughy in the middle. That’s when tenting the bread with aluminum foil comes in handy. It protects the top from becoming too brown, overcooked or crusty.
Know what size loaf pan you have
- There’s two popular loaf pan sizes – 9×5 and 8.5×4.5. Even though the numbers are similar, the pans actually differ in size by 15%. The 8.5×4.5 pan will yield a tall, more domed bread and will take 5-10 minutes longer when baking. The total suggested bake time for a 8.5×4.5 inch pan is 55-65 minutes and 9×5 inch pan is 45-60 minutes.
More Banana Recipes
Simple Banana Bread Recipe FAQs
For banana bread, bananas should be very ripe—almost entirely brown or spotty with a soft texture. The riper they are, the sweeter and more flavorful your bread will be.
No, banana bread doesn’t need to be refrigerated and can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, but refrigerating can extend its freshness.
Yes, frozen bananas work well for banana bread and can add extra moisture. Just thaw them first, and mash as usual before adding to the batter.
My recipe has been specifically tested with baking soda.
Banana bread is done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs, and the top feels firm to the touch.
I personally let my banana bread cool completely in the pan before removing to slice.
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Easy Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 4 over ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 & 1/3 – 1 & 1/2 cups mashed)
- ½ cup (118ml) vegetable oil
- ¾ cup (149g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (240g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- Mash the bananas in a blender, mixing bowl with mixer or with potato masher. Be sure to actually measure the mashed banana, you want about 1 & 1/3 to 1 & 1/2 cups mashed banana. This might be 3 large bananas or 4-5 small bananas.
- In a mixing bowl combine the mashed bananas, vegetable oil, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Stir to combine with a spatula or mixer on low.
- Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt, stir together with a spatula or mix on low, just until combined.
- Spray a loaf pan (either 9×5 or 8.5×4.5) with non-stick cooking spray. Transfer the batter to the pan and spread even with a spatula.
- Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes check to see if the bread is browning too much. If so, tent the bread with aluminum foil and bake for 10-20 more minutes. **If you didn’t tent at 45 minutes, check again at 55 minutes, then tent, and bake for 10 additional minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- The total suggested bake time for a 8.5×4.5 inch pan is 55-65 minutes and 9×5 inch pan is 45-60 minutes. Be sure to know what size your pan is.
Video
Notes
- Banana Nut Bread: add 1 to 1 & 1/2 cups of nuts to the batter when mixing in the flour
- Banana Chocolate Chip Bread: add 1 to 1 & 1/2 cups of chocolate chips to the batter when mixing in the flour
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Amazing banana 🍌 bread 🍞 recipe… so easy, fast and delicious 😋
The best banana bread in the world. I made it yesterday and my family really love it. I definitely make it again and again. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome
Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Delicious. I have made it multiple times for myself, family and my Penn State Health Coworkers and they absolutely love it! Definitely my favorite banana bread recipe I’ve made.
So yummy. My whole family loved it.
I just made this banana bread,but instead of vanilla I put in almond extract. I don’t like vanilla. I’ll let you know how it turns out and tastes.
Seriously the best banana bread. My picky toddler never strays from her usual peanut butter bread for breakfast but she gobbled this up. 🤣
Looking fwd to trying this recipe. It has much less sugar in it than my recipe that people really love that has buttermilk in it also. I would like to make banana bread with less sugar like this recipe.
This banana bread is so delicious. It cooks evenly and my granddaughter really likes it. I add walnuts and a streusel topping on all of my breads.