The Best Banana Bread Recipe

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5 from 55 votes
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Best Banana Bread Recipe – Moist, tender and so delicious, this recipe is so easy to make and truly makes the best banana bread every time. 

Looking for more quick and easy bread recipes? I think you’ll love my Two Ingredient Cream Biscuits, Cornbread Muffins, banana muffins, and Chocolate Zucchini Bread.

Banana bread on a white platter // addapinch.com

There’s something so intoxicating about the aroma of this delicious Banana Bread baking in the oven. A warm, comforting, nutty fragrance fills the air and starts the anticipation to slice this warm bread as soon as it’s ready! This recipe makes a version of one I remember my Grandmother making often. It’s one of my favorite recipes for bananas and makes a delicious snack, dessert, or breakfast – and it’s such an easy banana bread recipe to make, too!

The Best Banana Bread Recipe

The Best Banana Bread Recipe - An updated classic banana bread recipe that makes a moist, tender banana bread every time. Made with simple ingredients this easy banana bread recipe is always favorite! // addapinch.com

My Grandmother wasted nothing. Even something as simple as a few over-ripe bananas, with a few other ingredients, turns into this delicious banana bread recipe. While I always loved hers, I’ve updated it just a bit to deepen the flavor while using less butter and sugar than called for in her original recipe.

What is Banana Bread?

Banana bread is a “quick” bread made of very ripe bananas, sugar, butter, eggs, flour, vanilla, and a leavener. Since it is a quick bread, it uses baking soda rather than yeast to help the bread rise as it cooks. Once the batter is mixed together, it is ready to bake immediately.

There are a few tricks to making the best banana bread recipe possible with this easy recipe. Here are a few tips:

Loaf pan cooling on a white marble countertop. // addapinch.com

Tips to Make the Best Banana Bread

Bananas – You’ll want to make sure that you are using over-ripe bananas as the first step. The large bananas should have darker specks covering the banana peeling, letting you know that the banana is overripe and perfect to use in this recipe.

Sugar – We love to use brown sugar in ours. The molasses in the brown sugar deepens the flavor and makes it even more delicious! If you don’t have brown sugar, you can also use granulated sugar (white sugar).

Mixing – Grandmother mixed her batter by hand with a fork or a whisk. I tend to grab the handheld mixer to make mine more than she did. You can mix it either way. Just make sure you do not over-mix the batter, as it can dry your bread.

Banana Bread Ingredients

To make this favorite recipe, you’ll need the following:

  • Overripe bananas – Follow the tips above for selecting the best bananas for your bread to have the most incredible banana flavor. 
  • Dark brown sugar – I love to use dark brown sugar for this recipe, but if you have light brown sugar, you can also use it. The rich molasses flavor will not be as pronounced. 
  • Butter (salted) – I prefer to use room-temperature salted butter rather than unsalted butter in this recipe. If you only have unsalted, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the recipe to adjust. 
  • Eggs – I use fresh, large eggs that are at room temperature. 
  • Flour – I use a light all-purpose flour for this recipe. You can also use half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour. 
  • Baking soda – Baking soda helps this bread rise as it bakes.
  • Salt
  • Vanilla extract – I use pure vanilla extract for my baking. I do not recommend using imitation vanilla flavoring, as I believe you can tell the difference in the final result. 
  • Roasted pecans (optional)

Favorite Add-Ins

Pecans – my recipe calls for chopped roasted pecans. I highly recommend them, but you can absolutely omit them if you do not prefer nut bread.

Chocolate chips – Chocolate chips – stir chocolate chips into your batter for a delicious addition to chocolate chip banana bread.

Raisins – raisins also make a delicious addition.

How to Make the Best Classic Banana Bread

Prep. Preheat your oven and prepare your baking pan. To prepare your 9-inch loaf pan, you can either spray the inside of the pan well with baking spray or you can coat it with butter and then lightly dust it with all-purpose flour. Make sure to shake out any excess flour.

Mix. As I mentioned earlier, you can mix by hand or use an electric or stand mixer based on your preference. Mix together the room-temperature butter and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Then, remove the bananas from their peelings, mash them with a fork, add them to the large bowl, and mix until well combined. Add eggs one at a time to the mashed bananas, mixing well after each large egg to make sure well blended into the batter. Add the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, and salt, and mix until well combined. Stir in the vanilla extract and any nuts or additions that you are adding to the recipe. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake. Place on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown and a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean for about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then, turn out onto a board for slicing or a wire rack to cool completely before covering.

How to Make Banana Bread Muffins

To make muffins from this recipe, you’ll need to make a few changes. I’ve tested it numerous ways and finally settled on a banana muffin recipe that is failproof when my son was a toddler – more than 20 years ago now! It is a family favorite recipe that I think you’ll enjoy.

Storage Tips

To store. Banana Bread or Banana Muffins will keep on the counter under a cover for three days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

To freeze. You can freeze a loaf of banana bread, individual slices, or banana muffins. Allow the baked bread to cool completely, wrap well, and place into a freezer-safe zip-top bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To serve. Remove from the freezer and allow to thaw. You can also remove it from the freezer and reheat in the toaster for a few minutes for toasted slices.

Recipe Variations

Egg-Free Banana Bread – You can use an egg replacer, such as Bob’s Red Mill egg replacer, or even applesauce to replace the eggs. To use applesauce, you’ll use 1/2 applesauce in place of the two large eggs. You’ll also want to add one teaspoon of baking powder to help lighten the bread from the fruit puree added since it can make the quick bread more dense. 

Gluten-Free Banana Bread – To make this recipe gluten-free, I’ve successfully used an equal amount of gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour listed in the recipe.

Dairy-Free Banana Bread – For a dairy-free option, replace the butter with a plant-based butter.

Here’s my Banana Bread Recipe. I hope you enjoy it!

Banana Bread

5 from 55 votes
Best Banana Bread Recipe – Moist, tender and so delicious, this recipe is so easy to make and truly makes the best banana bread every time. 
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 16 slices

Ingredients

  • 4 (454 g) overripe bananas, mashed, or 2 cups mashed
  • 1 cup (213 g) dark brown sugar
  • 8 tablespoons (113 g) salted butter, room temperature
  • 2 large (100 g) eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups (180 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon (6 g) baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon (1 g) kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (114) roasted pecans, optional

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350º F. Spray a 9-inch loaf pan with baking spray or coat with butter and dust with all-purpose flour, being sure to shake out any excess flour. Set aside.
  • Mix butter and sugar until smooth. Add mashed bananas and beat until well blended. Add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each egg.
  • Add flour and mix until smooth. Add baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract and stir until well combined. Stir in nuts, if using. Pour batter into prepared pan.
  • Bake until golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle, about 1 hour.

Notes

Makes 1 9-inch loaf.

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 224kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 199mg | Potassium: 172mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 231IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

You may also enjoy my chocolate banana bread if you are craving chocolate.

Enjoy!
Robyn xo

The Best Banana Bread Recipe - An updated classic banana bread recipe that makes a moist, tender banana bread every time. Made with simple ingredients this easy banana bread recipe is always favorite! // addapinch.com

Welcome to Add A Pinch

About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

5 from 55 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Review




181 Comments

  1. Erma Caissie Richard says:

    5 stars
    I didn’t add nuts and I didn’t make any alterations. By far the best banana bread I’ve ever eaten. The brown sugar almost gave it a caramelly taste. So, so good!!!

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Thank you, Erma. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. xo

  2. Samantha Banville says:

    Made this tonight, itโ€™s in the oven! I can tell itโ€™s going to be a good one! Love brown sugar in my banana bread and not skimping on the bananas will make it moist! I added cinnamon, nutmeg and a dash of maple extract with the vanilla extract and I always double the vanilla in all my recipes. Then I added a sprinkling of nuts and brown sugar on top! My apartment is starting to smell so good!

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Hope you enjoy the banana bread, Samantha. xo

  3. Wendy Holland says:

    I have 2 larger bananas that are perfect to make banana bread. Is that enough banana? I’m always unsure about how much banana to put in a recipe as bananas can be different sizes.

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Wendy, I’m not sure if 2 large bananas will be enough for this recipe. Look at the video that is shown inside the recipe. It shows the size of bananas I used and can see the amount after they are mashed.

    2. Mimi Rain-Mclewis says:

      5 stars
      โค๏ธ this recipe! Been baking for 50+yrs and recently downsized to live in a 35โ€™ camper. My changing version of this recipe (this time) slightly cut back the sugar, extra vanilla. I had some walnuts, cinnamon, nutmeg, & a bit of ground cloves, with a handful of mini choc chips sprinkled on top for sweetness. (Weโ€™re a traveling community of workers, I traded 1/2 with a worker from Louisiana, for some delicious, homemade gumbo. Another, had spotted bananas….Iโ€™ll be baking tomorrow) Thank You; this is a go to bread, for sure!

    3. Robyn Stone says:

      Thanks so much, Mimi. It’s wonderful you can all share. I’m happy you love this recipe.

  4. Madison says:

    Hi! I am very excited to try out this recipe today. However, I only have unsalted butter. How much salt would you recommend I add in order to compensate for the butter being unsalted rather than salted? Thank you!!

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      I haven’t made this with unsalted butter, Madison, but you would usually add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to every 1/2 cup of unsalted butter when substituting for salted butter in a recipe. Hope this helps!

    2. Gurpreet says:

      Can this be made without eggs? (Allergy!)

    3. Robyn Stone says:

      To make the banana bread an egg-free recipe, Iโ€™ve used 2/3 cup of unsweetened applesauce in place of 2 large eggs in the recipe. You will note that you may have to bake the bread just a few minutes more. Be sure to check with the skewer for doneness.

  5. Dana McNaught says:

    5 stars
    This is a great recipe! After making your chocolate cake and chocolate buttercream recipes for Thanksgiving, I am back for more, and you have become my go-to for ‘procrastibaking’:). I added chocolate chips, cinnamon, nutmeg and a dash of cardamom.

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Thanks, Dana. I hope you find many more recipes you love. xo

  6. Belle Cohen says:

    5 stars
    I keep trying different banana bread recipes trying to replicate my grand aunt’s fabulous banana bread from my childhood. This is the closest one yet. I will stick to this one. Thank you!

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Belle, this recipe is my Grandmother’s with just a few tweaks I made. Don’t you wish all those great recipes our grandmothers, aunts, and mothers made when we were young were all written down?

  7. Gail says:

    I made this yesterday and it is the best Banana Bread I have ever made. It was very moist, I think because of so many bananas. I also put the cup of pecans in it

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      Thanks, Gail. I love it with the pecans in it, too.

  8. Suzanne G says:

    Love this recipe. I add raisins, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and any other nuts I have. Delicious. Thank you.

  9. Sharon says:

    Can this recipe be made substituting Splenda for the brown sugar? I was asked to make a sugar-free Banana Bread for someone and am looking for a good recipe !! Thanks

    1. Robyn Stone says:

      You can substitute Splenda for the brown sugar. I would suggest using the Splenda brown sugar blend and use half the amount of Splenda for the amount of sugar in the recipe.

  10. Karol says:

    My question about banana bread is always the same: How much banana as in cups or ounces by weight? If they were all the same size it would be easy. But…bananas vary in size a lot.

    In this recipe, how much banana as measured in a measuring cup?

    Thanks much,

    Karol

    1. Terri says:

      I always just use 4 regardless of size, and I’ve never had issues. I would recommend just sticking to 4 unless one is really really small or something.