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Best Banana Bread

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Best Banana Bread

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With its tender crumb, rich banana flavor, and irresistible crisp crust, this is the ultimate banana bread!

banana bread

Are you on the hunt for the perfect banana bread recipe? Look no further — this is the one you’ve been searching for! Tender with a crisp crust, it’s absolutely phenomenal fresh out of the oven, and equally delicious when toasted up for breakfast the next day. You may be surprised to see an unusual ingredient in the recipe: lemon juice. Don’t worry, it doesn’t give the bread a lemony flavor. Like sour cream or buttermilk, the acidity in the lemon juice reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise and give it a beautiful golden color, toasty flavor, and light, fluffy texture.

My family loves this banana bread plain, but you can easily add nuts or chocolate chips to give it some extra oomph. If you’re looking for more variations — because you can never have too many banana bread recipes! — I’ve got you covered with an array of options, including marbled, a chocolate, chai-spiced, whole wheat, and coconut-pecan banana breads. With so many delicious options, you’re sure to find a favorite!

What You’ll Need To Make Banana Bread

ingredients for making banana bread

For a really moist, banana-y banana bread, use very ripe bananas. The bananas should at least be dark yellow with plenty of brown spots, and it’s okay if the skin has turned completely brown.

If you’d like to make banana bread and your bananas are not quite ripe enough, you have a few options:

  • 24-Hour Method: Put the bananas (still attached at the stem) in a loosely sealed brown paper bag and let sit on the counter. The bananas give off ethylene gas which causes ripening, and trapping the gas in a bag speeds up this process.
  • Quick Oven Ripening: Place the bananas in their peels on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean-up in case they leak) and bake at 250˚F for 15 to 20 minutes or as long as it takes them to reach a deep brown color.

If you have overripe bananas and you’re not ready to bake, don’t let them go to waste – freeze them! I typically freeze them in bags of 2 or 3, as when mashed, they usually come out to about 1 cup (which is what most banana bread recipes call for). Simply peel the bananas and put them in an airtight container or freezer bag; when ready to use, thaw them in the bag and then mash.

STEP-BY-STEP Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

dry ingredients in mixing bowl

Whisk to combine.

whisking dry ingredients in bowl

In the bowl of an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

creaming butter and sugar

Add the eggs one at a time.

adding eggs one at a time

Beat well after each addition.

eggs fully incorporated

Add the mashed bananas, lemon juice and vanilla extract.

adding the mashed bananas, lemon and vanilla

Mix well. It will look a little curdled at this point; that’s okay.

grainy batter

Add the dry ingredients.

adding dry ingredients to wet ingredients

Beat on low speed until just incorporated. Do not over mix.

finished banana bread batter

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.

banana bread batter in loaf pan ready to bake

Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.

baked banana bread fresh out of the oven

Then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

banana bread cooling on rack

HOW TO STORE BANANA BREAD

Banana bread is best served fresh out of the oven, but it will keep for a few days, wrapped in foil and stored at room temperature. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil or freezer wrap, or place it in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
banana bread

Video Tutorial

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Best Banana Bread

With its tender crumb, rich banana flavor, and irresistible crisp crust, this is the ultimate banana bread!

Servings: Makes one 9 x 5 inch loaf
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 45 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 5 Minutes

Ingredients

  • 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas, from 2-3 large bananas
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9x5-inch metal loaf pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the mashed bananas, lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix well. It will look a little curdled at this point; that's okay.
  4. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.

Nutrition Information

Powered by Edamam

  • Per serving (12 servings)
  • Serving size: 1 slice
  • Calories: 208
  • Fat: 9 g
  • Saturated fat: 5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 30 g
  • Sugar: 14 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 3 g
  • Sodium: 394 mg
  • Cholesterol: 51 mg

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

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Comments

  • My family loved this recipe for banana bread! My husband is diabetic so I made the recipe for banana bread on the Splenda artificial sweetener bag. Of course this didn’t even come close to your recipe. Is there an artificial sweetener that would work for diabetics in this recipe? Otherwise, the family will need to eat the entire loaf before he gets home from work, lol!

    • — Jan on June 6, 2023
    • Reply
    • Glad it was a hit! While I’ve never made this with a sugar substitute, I have read plenty of comments from readers who have said they’ve replaced some or all of the sugar in baked goods with a substitute like Stevia or Splenda and have had good results.) Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!

      • — Jenn on June 6, 2023
      • Reply
  • I made this into muffins using a 12 tin. 350 for 22 minutes since I filled them up quite a bit. I also made them gluten free using Bobs Red Mill baking flour. They were amazing! Still moist today. They remind me of the ones I used to eat as a kid and I’ve been trying to find that same taste with other recipes with no luck. Thanks Jenn! Will definitely be making again.

    • — Catherine on May 20, 2023
    • Reply
  • Hello, Banana Bread looks good. I will add the lemon juice to Banana Bread. Will taste to see the difference or better taste.
    Thanks for suggestion..

    • — Alice Love on May 9, 2023
    • Reply
    • Hi Alice, it doesn’t give the bread a lemony flavor. The acidity in the lemon juice reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise and give it a nice golden color. Hope you enjoy if you make it!

      • — Jenn on May 9, 2023
      • Reply
  • What will happen if I make muffins with this recipe? Do I need to alter it in any way? Love your recipes!

    • — Jo on May 8, 2023
    • Reply
    • Glad you like the recipes! 🙂
      This should work nicely for muffins. I’d keep the oven temp the same and start checking them for doneness at about 18 minutes.

      • — Jenn on May 9, 2023
      • Reply
  • I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve made this recipe, it’s always a winner!

    Today I didn’t have any lemons so I subbed 2 tsp of distilled white vinegar. (Recipe calls for 2 tbsps of lemon juice and usually I’d sub half of vinegar but I was worried about it tasting vinegary so I cut back a bit…. I probably could have done 1 tbsp of vinegar and it would have been fine!) Anyway, it worked a treat, I couldn’t taste the vinegar but the banana bread still came out light and moist. Leaving this note here in case it’s useful to anyone else!

    • — Laura on April 30, 2023
    • Reply
  • Just out of the oven!

    Because of the dark psn I baked for 30 minutes.

    Thank goodness I did.

    It looks and smells awesome!

    I added chocolate chips.

    Can’t wait to eat some.

    Keeper!

    Thank you for sharing your recipe. 💞

    • — Laurette on April 27, 2023
    • Reply
  • Hiya Jenn. This banana bread recipes phenomenal. I’m in my seventies and I’ve been making banana bread for over 50 years, and I really love the way this one turned out. I had three large very ripe bananas that I mashed and I ended up with one and a half cups of mashed banana. Which is one and a half times the amount the recipe calls for. So I added one and a half times every ingredient. Then to bake the banana bread I used my Pampered Chef stoneware mini loaf pan, which makes four small loaves all at once. I baked them at 350° for 33-35 minutes. Thank you so much. I will definitely make this again and the next time I think I’ll add some crushed walnuts. I love banana and walnut together.

    • — Arlene B on April 23, 2023
    • Reply
    • I will be using a mini loaf pan (from King Arthur). Did you fill the pans halfway up as the large pan seems to be? Thanks for the cooking times.

      • — Chip on May 6, 2023
      • Reply
  • Except for using gluten free flour (Cup 4 Cup), I followed the recipe exactly as written. The bread rose beautifully and tastes so flavorful! This recipe is a keeper!

    • — Kathy on April 23, 2023
    • Reply
  • Hi Jenn,
    I print so many of your recipes rather than check to see if they are published in one of your cookbooks (which I have both). Is there a way you could mention that the posted recipe is in one of your books? My husband and I LOVE your recipes – I can honestly say I make one to two of your recipes every week…….Thank you in advance for more recipes to follow! BTW, I have purchased your cookbooks as gifts for my “foodie friends” and they love the book!

    • — Cindy Lehmann on April 23, 2023
    • Reply
    • Hi Cindy, Thanks for your nice words about the recipes and support of the cookbooks! I actually have a “stamp” in the bottom left corner of the main picture for any blog recipe that is also in one of the cookbooks. See the Peruvian Chicken as an example. Hope that helps and keeps you from printing anything unnecessarily! 😊

      • — Jenn on April 24, 2023
      • Reply
  • Well…I’ve been making the same banana bread recipe for 38 years, have tried others, however my husband always prefers the old recipe. Made yours today…he agreed your recipe …is now replacing the old recipe! I’ve been following you for roughly 8 years, and always my go to…you never disappoint! THANK YOU !

    • — Cynnthia on April 23, 2023
    • Reply
  • My loaf pan is 8×4. Would you suggest adjusting both the time and temperature? If yes, by how much? Thank you!

    • — Jeanne McCormick on March 4, 2023
    • Reply
    • Hi Jeanne, an 8 x 4 is not large enough for the batter. You’d actually need to use two of them for this (believe it or not, a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan holds double the amount of batter compared to an 8 x 4.)

      • — Jenn on March 6, 2023
      • Reply
    • Jenn
      This is a super easy fast delicious
      Banana bread recipe the lemon
      Is the icing to this recipe made
      Three Loaves all the same times
      We’re what recipe said
      ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Five stars
      Your recipes are awesome
      Easy delicious thank you so very much for sharing

      • — Aeil on April 23, 2023
      • Reply
  • This was an excellent banana bread. Having made a few that were less than good, I was quite happy with it! But I did have to cook it longer than 45 minutes – it sunk in the middle my first try. I did use 3 bananas. Also, I used every Pumpkin pie like spice in my drawer with abandon – nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, allspice – the lot. I liked it, I’m sure everyone has their own opinion on such things. My sons finished it off in one hour.

    • — Lida Rose on February 22, 2023
    • Reply
  • First time ive made a Banana Bread…..whole loaf was consumed within the same day by the family….now I have to bake another 😋

    • — John Leondis on February 22, 2023
    • Reply
  • The recipe has become a staple in our house for using up old bananas. I actually make these as cupcakes and bake at 350 for 18 minutes. I few substitutions I’ve done to make these vegan and use unprocessed sugar: sub flax meal for eggs (1 Tbsp meal + 3 Tbsp water per egg) and vegan butter (1:1 sub with regular butter), and sub 1/2 cup of agave nectar for the sugar. Yum!

    • — Lauren on February 12, 2023
    • Reply
  • Hi Jenn, getting ready to make the banana bread and wanted to add pecan, how much can I add to the batter without messing up the recipe. Thanks in advance.

    • — Arlene Nelson on February 9, 2023
    • Reply
    • Hi Arlene, I think I’d go with about 1 cup.

      • — Jenn on February 11, 2023
      • Reply
      • Thanks for the reply Jenn. The banana bread was awesome as all your recipes.

        • — Arlene Nelson on February 12, 2023
        • Reply

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