Banana Bread
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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, baking soda & baking powder: These dry ingredients give the bread structure and lift. For best results with the flour, scoop it into your measuring cup with a spoon and level it off with a knife.
- Unsalted butter, sugar & large eggs: This trio brings richness, sweetness, and structure. The butter should be close to room temperature so that it’s soft enough to blend with the sugar. The eggs help bind everything together.
- 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 & vanilla extract: Lemon juice brightens things up and helps with lift, and vanilla adds a warm finishing note.
- 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 enjoying with a cup of coffee.
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Jenn,
Can I use a glass loaf pan to bake this? If so, what temp and for how long? I find when I use glass the baking times very dramatically and the outside tends to get overdone while the inside is still raw.
Hi Heather, Baked goods tend to brown more on the outside when baked in glass pans because glass pans retain heat longer better than metal, causing the exterior to cook faster. If you’re using a glass pan and you often have this problem, you can start out by reducing the oven temperature by 25°F, or lower the temperature partway through baking if you notice the outside browning too quickly.
Hi! Would it work out without the lemon juice? Or is there something else I could use in its place? I don’t have any lemons. Thanks!
Hi Jordan, the lemon juice reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise. You can make it without it, but the bread may be a little flatter. Other readers commented they didn’t have lemon juice and used orange juice or apple cider vinegar successfully.
Thank you Jenn for this amazing recipe. It’s the best one I have ever used. I had a quick look at your other recipes and they look amazing, too. Can’t wait to try making them.
My daughter’s evaluation of the recipe was “life changing”. We love the crust on top and the light, flaky inside is terrific. I’m a fan of raisins, so I gently folded in 1/2 cup of raisins before pouring into the loaf pans.
I’ve tried a lot of banana bread recipes over the years and this is my favourite, I like a lot of recipes from this page. I was worried there would be a lemon flavour to the bread considering the 2 tbsp of lemon juice but there is not
Can you make muffins with this recipe and if so at what temperature and what time pls.
Cheers
Maggie Walker
Hi Maggie, It should work nicely for muffins. I’d keep the oven temp the same and check them for doneness at about 18 minutes.
Seriously the best banana bread recipe. This is the only recipe I ever make now and iv been making it for over a year now. People ALWAYS ask me for the recipe.
Thanks for such a good banana bread recipe , it is truly appreciated
I made this yesterday and it was very good. I did add a half a cup of chopped walnuts. I will say, though that it was even better today. Yesterday it seemed a touch, dry but overnight and a big Ziploc bag increase the moisture and made it even better. my crust developed a nice dome, but never was crisp. That’s OK.
Aaaaaamazing! I had a whole bunch of bananas and I made this recipe and your marble banana bread this evening. Both are delish but your classic banana bread is insanely amazing! I’ve made oodles of banana breads in the past, but this one is hands down the best (hence the title). Thanks for another gem Jenn!
Hi Jenn, can I substitute canola oil for some or all of the butter?
Hi Jill, Unfortunately, canola oil won’t work here as you need something solid to cream with the butter. If you’d like to use oil, you could try (solidified) coconut oil. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
I made this delicious banana bread & I reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup & added more mashed banana , 3 mashed bananas (2 large bananas made one cup & I used a medium size banana for the additional). It is very delicious & not overly sweet.
Susie of Montreal