Classic Banana Bread
This Classic Banana Bread is perfectly sweet, moist, and full of flavor! You can enjoy this bread plain, with chopped walnuts, or even chocolate chips. Perfect for breakfast or dessert!
Do you ever end up with a bunch of overripe bananas sitting on your counter at the end of the week? Just me? Truth be told, I love bananas but we usually buy too many at the store and then end up with a bunch left over. One of my favorite ways to use up all of those overripe bananas is with this homemade banana bread recipe!
Originally published in 2018, I’ve updated this post with a lot more information and step photos to help you along the way. Not only is this the best banana bread recipe you’ll ever try, but it’s also:
- Incredibly easy to make
- Super moist, no dry banana bread anywhere in sight!
- Made with simple pantry staples that you likely have on hand
I’ve also included notes on how to freeze your banana bread, ripen your bananas quickly, and so much more!
Ingredients For This Recipe
To make this easy banana bread you’ll start out by gathering your ingredients. For this recipe we’ll be using:
- Unsalted Butter: Some banana bread recipes use oil, but I find that butter works best in this recipe. It also provides more flavor than using just oil.
- Sugar: I use a mix of brown sugar and granulated sugar in this recipe. The brown sugar adds extra moisture to the banana bread as well.
- Eggs & Vanilla Extract: You’ll be using a couple of eggs to bind everything together and some pure vanilla extract.
- Mashed Bananas: There’s two cups of mashed bananas in this recipe for maximum banana flavor. The mashed bananas also help to keep this banana bread incredibly moist.
- All-Purpose Flour: This provides the structure for the banana bread. Just be sure to spoon and level your flour when you’re measuring it so you don’t end up with too much.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder: There’s a combination of baking soda and baking powder in this banana bread to give it the perfect amount of lift.
- Cinnamon & Salt: The cinnamon is optional here, but it adds a beautiful flavor to the the banana bread. The salt helps to balance out the sweetness too.
- Walnuts: As always, the chopped walnuts are completely optional. I love adding some to this recipe, but feel free to leave them out!
How To Make Banana Bread
To make this banana bread, you’ll start by mixing together the wet ingredients, then the dry ingredients, then you’ll combine the two. Here’s a quick breakdown on exactly how to prepare the batter:
- Cream the butter and sugars together: It’s best to beat the butter and sugars together for 4-5 minutes or until the mixture is light in color and fluffy. This will help incorporate more air into your batter which creates a lighter banana bread.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract: It’s best to mix in your eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla. I also like to scrape down the bowl at this point and give it another good mix.
- Mix in the mashed banana: I prefer to add the mashed banana along with the rest of the other ingredients instead of at the end to ensure that I don’t over mix the batter.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients: Whisking the dry ingredients separately helps to ensure that everything, especially the baking soda and baking powder, are evenly distributed into the batter.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients: You only want to mix the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Over mixing the batter can lead to a super dense loaf of bread.
- Fold in the chopped walnuts: If you’re omitting the walnuts, simply skip this step!
Once the batter is ready, spray a 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. The parchment paper is completely optional, but it will make it much easier to remove the bread from the pan.
Then, scoop the batter into the prepared pan and place it in the oven for about one hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. I like to let my bread cool in the pan once it’s done for about 20 minutes, then remove it from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
FAQ’s
How ripe should your bananas be?
The best kind of bananas for this recipe are ones that are overripe with a lot of speckles. If your bananas are still green or just yellow, then I suggest waiting a little longer.
If you need to speed up the process and ripen your bananas quicker, simply place them in a brown paper bag for 1-3 days. The ethylene gas will build up in the bag and circulate around the bananas, speeding up the ripening process.
How do you store this bread?
You can store this banana bread in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days. While it’s not necessary to store banana bread in the refrigerator, it will help it stay fresh a little longer. If you need to store it a couple days longer then I suggest storing it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Can you freeze it?
Yes, absolutely! To freeze the the loaf: Wrap the loaf tightly with plastic wrap and store it in a freezer bag or container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy it, place it on the counter for several hours or overnight so that it can come to room temperature.
To freeze individual slices: Slice the bread and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then place the baking sheet in the freezer for a couple of hours or until the slices are frozen. Place the frozen slices in a freezer bag or container and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can thaw individual slices to room temperature or reheat frozen slices in the microwave for 20-30 seconds at a time or until warmed through.
Baking Tips
- When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it out of the container with the measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour around, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife.
- You can use your electric mixer to mash your bananas before getting started with this recipe. Just make sure to wipe the mixer and bowl clean before you cream your butter and sugar together.
- You’ll need two cups of mashed bananas for this recipe, which usually comes out to about 4 large bananas or 5 medium bananas.
More Easy Banana Recipes To Try!
- Banana Muffins
- Banana Cake
- Banana Crumb Cake
- Blueberry Banana Baked Oatmeal
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Video Tutorial
Classic Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour, spooned & leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter softened
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (440 grams) mashed banana
- 1/2 cup (80 grams) chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, line the pan with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, mix together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar for 4-5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla, making sure to mix well after each addition. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the mashed banana and mix until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, making sure not to overmix the batter. Gently stir in the chopped walnuts.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it around into one even layer.
- Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Tent with aluminum foil to prevent excess browning if needed.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the loaf pan for 20 minutes. Carefully remove the bread from the loaf pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
I used this recipe because it was by weight and I had pre frozen banana purée. I followed everything except I only had less than 1/4 cup of sugar total in my pantry (some white some brown) and it still turned out great. Not too sweet and texture great, my guests loved it! I would make again with less vanilla as I found it didn’t taste as banana-y as I would have liked, but maybe more sweetener or sugar would have helped to bring that out. I would probably use less butter too, I baked in a silicon baking mould the butter was literally bubbling up on sides and in like a pool on edges.. until it cooled it was fine and great texture but wowza that’s a lot of calories!
This is my go to recipe. It comes out perfect every time and is a real crowd pleaser.
I want to make banana bread today but I’ve been through most of the recipes here and I don’t see any exact measurements for the ingredients give me feedback please thank you
Hi, Kae! You can find the full list of ingredients and instructions in the recipe card towards the bottom of the blog post. If you can’t find it, there’s a jump to recipe button at the top of the post.
It would be nice if you tell us what temperature to set the oven.
I do, in step 1 of the recipe – “Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).” If you’re having trouble finding the recipe, there’s a jump to recipe button at the top of each post.
I don’t see the measurements . How much n soda and b powder?
You need 1 teaspoon of baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. You can find the full recipe and instructions in the recipe card towards the bottom of the post. There’s also a jump to recipe button at the top of each post ?
This is a great recipe!! Perfect texture and flavour. I used pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon and added some dark chocolate chunks and white chocolate chips. I also used Becel vegan margarine instead of unsalted butter, so I omitted the salt. Other than those changes I followed everything exactly, and I really appreciate you adding the measurements in grams! So much easier to measure accurately. This will be my go to banana bread recipe from now on! It also makes great muffins – I didn’t want to overfill my loaf pan so I poured a bit of batter into a greased mini muffin tin. Same oven temperature, I just took them out earlier than the loaf. So delicious (:
Made this recipe for the first time and it turned out so good! It cooked all the way through, even in the middle of the bread, with maintaining a great texture and not drying out. I added both walnuts and dark chocolate chips and it’s delicious! I’ll be adding this one to my recipe book!
It’s the best banana bread recipe I have tried so far….thanks
This was SO good!! We’re in the middle of trying to move so my mixers were packed away and I had to mash and mix everything by hand including the butter (which ended up in chunks since I mixed it with the wet ingredients and forgot to cream it with the sugar). I had to cook it for around 70 minutes but it still turned out so tasty!! I added a half cup of cinnamon chips which really put it over the top. This is my new go to recipe for banana bread.
Hi there! This is one of the most accessible banana bread recipes to try as a newbie baker.
I’d just like to know, how long do you mix the batter when it’s time to add in the mashed bananas?
I ask because my banana bread tends to turn out dense, or at other times, have a layer of wetness at the bottom even after 70 minutes of baking at 180C. I have an oven thermometer and temperature seems accurate. I also don’t overmix when combining dry and wet ingredients. Any other mistakes I could be making? And for the ‘bottom is wet’ symptom, do I simply bake longer? Thanks!
I just mix in the mashed bananas until they’re fully incorporated with the other wet ingredients. It could be the type of pan that you’re using, have you tried another one? It could also be where you’re baking it in the oven. I always bake mine on the center rack. If you are too, you could try lowering your oven rack so the bottom is able to bake a little better.
I’ve tried a few of the popular banana bread recipes that come up when you search google, but this one is my favorite. The only things I change are: decrease baking soda to 1/2 tsp, increase cinnamon to 1 tsp, and increase brown sugar to 1/2 cup (oh and I like using a dark brown sugar). This really helps to bring out the flavor! I also never measure out the bananas and it still comes out great every time. I just use 4 large or 5 medium sized ones and wait until they’re really brown and mushy then use my electric hand mixer to easily mash them up until most of the clumps are gone. I use my electric hand mixer to mix up all the wet ingredients except when it’s time to mix dry into wet. I’ll mix by hand about 1/3 of the dry ingredients in at a time into the wet until it’s just barely mostly mixed in then I’ll add another 1/3. After all the dry is in, I’ll stop mixing right when I see all the flour no longer visible. It’s important not to over mix to avoid a dense bread. As for the 55-65 min at 350F baking time, I find it always needs more time and I’m not sure why, but I’ll usually lower the temp to 325F and bake it another 20-25 min or so.
Made this with half whole wheat flour and cut the white sugar in half to 1/4 cup. Turned out great. Think I could scale back even more on the sugar since we rarely eat sweets.
Hi Danielle,
Just wanted to drop in and say Thank You for this delicious and moist Banana Cake recipe! My family loves it! Eating it the following day tasted even better and I can’t wait to make them again soon!
Regards
Judy
Thank you, Judy! So glad you and your family enjoyed the banana bread!
Okay to double all the proportions of ingredients if want to make two loaves at once?
Yes, that’s fine!
I love your recipes- They are simplified and easy to follow. Live well bake often is my “go to” for all things baking. This banana bread recipe is delicious. I sometimes add about a 1/4 cup of hemp seeds or flax seeds for a nutritional boost.
Thank you, Sheila! So glad you’re enjoying the recipes!
Hi Danielle I Love to bake & enjoy many of your wonderful recipes! All have turned out perfectly delicious But when I tried this banana bread recipe it did not turn out perfect or delicious I always follow a recipe meticulously This bread turned out with a “wet” texture & bland flavor Please help me understand what I may have done to ruin this recipe? Thank You so very much!
Hi, Janet! It’s really hard to say why if you followed the recipe exactly. The bread shouldn’t have turned out wet, was it under baked? Have you checked your oven temperature with an oven thermometer to make sure it’s correct? And did you test it with a toothpick to make sure it was fully cooked through? You could try baking it longer and covering it loosely with foil next time to see if that helps. Also, if you found that it’s bland you can feel free to add more cinnamon and even some nutmeg.
I made this a couple weeks ago, and it was fantastic! I just reviewed your carrot cake, so I jumped over here to review this.
Even though I always try to make things as low fat as I can by using applesauce instead of oil, or Greek Yogurt for sour cream, I want to follow the recipe the first time. Except I only had 3 bananas, So based on an internet search, apple sauce was a good substitute, as long as it didn’t go over a 1/2 cup. My bananas were 318 grams, and with the 1/2 cup applesauc, that brought it up to 414 grams. Not quite the 440 grams it called for. But it was the best I could do. Also, when I took the butter/sugar/egg mixture off the mixer to add the dry ingriedients, it looked like it had broke, even though it was smooth before the last egg went in. It didn’t affect the end result, however. I had thought about using the smaller loaf pan, since the 9 x 5 was the size I was having problems with on my own banana bread recipe but wanted to stay as true as possible to the original recipe. The 9 x 5 pan worked out perfect.
It cooked in 50 mins, and was beautiful. Cooked all the way through, even in the middle. Maybe could have had a more banana flavor, which would be corrected with more bananas. But the texture was great, no sinking in the middle, being under done in the middle and overdone on the ends. This is now my new banana bread recipe. Since the main reason my husband buys bananas and doesn’t eat them is so I make banana bread, and he loved this so much, I see a lot of baking in my future. This and your carrot cake recipe. ? Thanks for the great recipes, and thanks for including the weights of the ingredients. Saves me time looking them up!
I am excited to try this recipe, as my usual one has been causing me some issues lately. I use applesauce instead of oil, and Greek yogurt for buttermilk, but that’s never been a problem. My problem is that when I make it in a standard loaf pan it doesn’t cook right, sunken and under cooked in the middle, and over cooked on the ends. I’ve tried a smaller loaf size, and split it in two, and that worked well. The last time I tried to follow the recipe as written, with the oil instead of applesauce, except I weighed the ingredients instead of measuring them. (That’s what I’ve been doing lately when making bread in my bread machine) . It was a sunken, gooey mess. I like that your recipe is giving the weight measure as well as using cups. I think that might have been part of the problem last time, but changing to weighing my ingredients, I altered the recipe I had been successfully baking for years. Do you suggest using a smaller loaf pan to make the loaf not as tall, therefore not as likely to be undone in the middle? Have you experienced that problem.The smaller one is 8 x 3 1/2 x 3. 1/2 x 2 1/2.
Hi, Patti! I haven’t had any issues with this recipe ever sinking in the middle using a 9×5 loaf pan. Banana bread will usually brown quicker and typically needs to be tented (or loosely covered) with foil for the last 10 to 15 minutes of baking time. Are you doing that? I typically do that with this recipe, since it allows the center to fully cook through without over cooking the outside/edges of the bread.
I loved making this.. then found out my son must eat gluten and egg free. I made it with gluten free flour and used applesauce for the eggs. Texture was different, a bit crumbly but the flavour was still there – any tips would be appreciated.
You may be able to replace the eggs with flax eggs, but I haven’t personally tried it in this recipe.
Hi, can I use an 8×5 loaf pan for this? Should I split it into 2 loaves?
I think it would be fine to just bake in an 8×5 and increase the baking time. Or you could use a little of the batter to make muffins.
Thank you for the recipe, Danielle!
I made muffins with this recipe. Half with just bananas. The other half adding 1/2 cup chunky chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. I used liners, filled almost to top. 400 degrees for 5 min, turn down to 350 degrees, not opening oven, for about 20 min. (I once was told by a baker to start muffins at higher temp for 5 min to create dome top. It may have shaped that nicely at just 350 degrees for 25 min total) Checked for doneness with toothpick test. Makes 15 muffins. Rose above paper liner beautifully & very delicious ?
I would love to ignore the sugar, as there is already a lot in the 4-5 bananas. Would this be ok?
You could probably reduce the sugar by about 1/4 cup. I wouldn’t recommend more than that though because it would change the texture of the bread.
If I wanted to do muffins instead of a loaf how long should I bake for? I’ve made this recipe a few times and my family loves it!
So glad to hear that, Olivia! I would guess about 20 to 25 minutes if you fill the liners all the way to the top.
Hi! If I use frozen and thawed bananas, should I drain the liquid? Have about 10 frozen bananas that are very ripe in my freezer!
Yes, I would thaw them and drain any excess liquid.
Loved the idea of making this but was wondering if i can substitute the sugar or some of it for Xylitol or Monk Fruit something healthier? i have been trying to cut sugar down. Thanks
I haven’t tried it, but I imagine that you could. It will change the taste and texture of the bread though.
My whole reason for trying this recipe was it used weight measurements rather than number of bananas. I can’t honestly review the recipe as is because I made a couple of adjustments, but I can say, even with being short on the banana, it was moist and flavorful. My husband really liked it. The only change, other than the banana, was increasing the cinnamon. Our family is big on cinnamon.
By far the best banana bread I have ever made. I make this recipe again and again, I’m not sure why I am just reviewing it now! I’ve made it with whole wheat flour and 1:1 gluten free flour and it’s still delicious. I also completely omit the white sugar and add a little extra banana! I’ve made it with or without nuts, though always chocolate chips. You can’t go wrong -this is the best banana bread!
Every time I add the bananas the batter splits. Is there something I can do to avoid this?
Hi, Julianna! Are you make sure to use room temperature ingredients? And are you using frozen bananas that have been thawed? I’m wondering if they’re too cold or something and that’s what’s causing the batter to split?
It is supposed to curdled from what I have read on other recipes.
I lost my fav banana bread recipe so I was looking around to see if I could find one similar. This one is way better. And I was even a banana short! Incredibly moist & even the edges were good! Thx so much!
Hello! I was about to make this recipe when my husband requested some chocolate chips in it. How much should I put? Thanks!
You can mix in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips.
Ive been making this recipe for the few years. Kind of know it by heart. Its really yummy. Im going to try to use reds milled wholewheat white pastry flour. Ive been wanting to bake more with pasty flour and whole wheat. Have you thought of adding more whole wheat recipes. Im baking this recipe tomorrow 2/15/2021
Hi there, ! How did using whole wheat flour work out ? I finished up my all purpose flour and really am craving some banana bread 😉 I’m worried about the whole wheat making it slightly dense though…
This recipe was a nice recipe, but to me it wasn’t “Banana Bread.” It was more like Morning Glory muffins without raisins, coconut or carrot. All the cinnamon and vanilla in this recipe overpowered the banana and I was quite disappointed. The result was a nice moist tasty “Friendship Cake” type loaf… but definitely not Banana Bread.