Banana Bread
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Say hello to your new favorite banana bread. This easy recipe bakes up with a tender crumb, rich flavor, and an irresistibly crisp crust. It’s a keeper.
On the hunt for the perfect banana bread recipe? Look no further—this is the one. Moist, fragrant, and just the right amount of sweet, it’s phenomenal fresh out of the oven and just as good toasted for breakfast the next day. My family loves it plain, but you can easily add nuts (I’m partial to walnuts) or chocolate chips if that’s your thing.
If you’re in the mood to mix it up, I’ve got plenty of options: marbled banana bread, chocolate banana bread, banana coconut bread, chai-spiced banana bread—and don’t forget banana nut muffins and banana chocolate chip muffins. After all, you can never have too many banana bread recipes!
“Best banana bread I’ve ever made! But it’s dangerous—I steal a slice each time I’m in the kitchen! Next up is Jenn’s pumpkin bread.”
What You’ll Need To Make Banana Bread
- All-Purpose Flour: Gives the bread its structure. For best results, scoop it into your measuring cup with a spoon and level it off with a knife.
- Baking Soda and Baking Powder: These leavening agents help the banana bread rise and stay light.
- Unsalted Butter: Adds richness and moisture, giving the bread a soft texture and tender crumb. The butter should be close to room temperature so that it’s soft enough to blend with the sugar.
- Sugar: Sweetens the bread and helps create a golden, slightly crisp crust.
- Large Eggs: Hold everything together and give the loaf some lift and structure.
- Mashed Very Ripe Bananas: Provide moisture, natural sweetness, and big banana flavor—the riper, the better. They should be dark yellow with lots of brown spots, or even fully brown. Pro Tip: To ripen quickly, bake bananas in their peels at 250°F for 15 to 20 minutes until soft and blackened. Extra-ripe bananas freeze well too—just peel and store in a freezer bag until you’re ready to thaw and mash.
- Lemon Juice: Adds brightness and helps the baking soda do its job for better rise and color.
- Vanilla Extract: Rounds out the flavor with warm, aromatic notes.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. It’s important to whisk thoroughly; this distributes the leaveners evenly, so the loaf rises uniformly.
Step 2: Cream butter and sugar. 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 incorporates air into the batter, which helps the bread bake up light instead of dense.
Step 3: Beat in the eggs. Add the eggs one at a time and beat the mixture well after each addition.
Step 4: Add the bananas and flavorings. Mix in the mashed bananas, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
Step 5: Mix in the dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Don’t over mix. (Overmixing develops the gluten and can make the bread tough instead of tender.)
Step 6: Bake. Pour the batter from the mixing bowl into the prepared loaf pan, using a rubber spatula to get everything out of the bowl. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Step 7: Cool and store. Let the bread cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Banana bread will stay fresh for 2 to 3 days; freeze for longer storage.
Video Tutorial
More Quick Bread Recipes You May Like
Banana Bread
With big banana flavor, this bread is perfect for snacking, gifting, or having with a cup of coffee—any time of day.
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
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9x5-inch metal loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
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- 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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Hi Jenn! I have so many blueberries on hand and would like to add some to this recipe, probably 1 cup. How do you think that would turn out? And how would this affect baking time? Thanks!!
Hi Renee, I haven’t tried this with berries, but I think it should work. I would suggest tossing them with 1 – 2 tsp. of flour so they don’t sink to the bottom of the loaf. The baking time should be about the same. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Thank you so much, Jenn, for sharing this Banana Bread recipe – it’s the best I have ever baked – Delicious and easy to make!!!
Christina L
Best banana bread ever! I used just four tablespoons of butter and it still turned out delicious!! So looking forward to your cook book! Do you have an estimated release date?
Glad you enjoyed the banana bread! Yes, the cookbook will be released in the Spring of 2018. Still a ways off, but I think it will be worth the wait :).
Hello,
Can you substitute whole wheat for all purpose?
Love your recipes.
thank you,
Jodi
Hi Jodi, Glad you’re enjoying the recipes! If you want to use whole wheat flour,I would suggest using 1/2 whole wheat and half all purpose. I’d love to know how it turns out!
hi Jenn,
I used 1 cup all purpose and 3/4 cup ww pastry flour. It came out perfect and is being devoured as I type.
thanks! Jodi
Hi Jenn! Great recipe! I love the addition of lemon juice which really brightens it up. I was wondering though, would you happen to have the nutritional facts for this recipe, specifically the carb count? Thanks!
Hi Renee, glad you like the bread! I’ve just added the nutritional information to the recipe, and each slice has 30 grams of carbs.
I make this banana bread today in my bread machine. I follow your recipe except no lemon juice- I used apple cider vinegar instead. The bread turns out just like in your picture. It tastes so good, don’t have a chance to take some photos to show you.
Your recipe is very good. For those that don’t have really ripe bananas, you can put them in the oven on a cookie sheet skin on, at 350 for about 10 minutes. Bananas will turn black. Let cool, peel, and they will release a full banana flavor.
Jenn, I am so happy you have a banana bread recipe. I’ve always used the same recipe but since I absolutely love every recipe I’ve tried of yours, I decided to give this one a shot. Your recipe has less sugar and flour then the recipe I use so that got me really excited. I knew it was going to be a hit when I tasted the batter. We love it! Thank you! Now I can’t wait to try it with coconut.
Hi! I’d like to make these as mini muffins; how long should I bake them?
Hi Renee, I’d start checking around 12 minutes.
I made this recipe a couple of times before I became really brave, now I’m adding pecans and cocoa powder, and having to guard it so I get 1 slice! It tastes just like the banana bread I grew up with, and I love it!