Indulge in this best ever, easy Banana Bread recipe. This super moist and simple homemade bread is the perfect breakfast or snack made in one bowl. Keep it simple and traditional or add in chocolate chips, or your favorite nuts.
I grew up on this bread and have made it at least 50 times. It makes for great fall and winter treat, Chrissy Tiegan herself approves.
Get ready to call yourself Betty Crocker with this world's best banana bread (no kidding)! We love how easy this is to make that perfect home baked taste. It will rival any Starbucks copycat recipe, the king Arthur of banana bread, the moistest loaf around.
If you love this recipe, you have to try our other tasty breads like our Chocolate Zucchini bread, Pumpkin Banana Muffins, or during the holidays our Gingerbread Loaf. Try this cranberry walnut bread for a delicious bread. Don't forget to try our Banana Cookies.
You'll love our other delicious breakfast foods like, Sheet Pan Pancakes.
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Ingredients
Below is a list of ingredients needed for this recipe. Follow our tips on each ingredient for best results.
- Butter-Salted butter works great with this recipe. It also is best to soften the butter before using so it is easily beaten.
- White Granulated Sugar-We like our banana bread on the less sweeter side but you can add 1 cup of sugar instead of ¾ cup for a sweeter tasting bread.
- Bananas- You'll want to make sure you use over ripe bananas. They will mash better and they will give your bread a stronger banana taste.
- Sour milk- This gives the bread that iconic taste you love. To make sour milk you simply add vinegar to the milk.
- Eggs- Use eggs right out of the refrigerator or at room temperature, the recipe isn't effected either way.
- Vanilla- Vanilla extract always adds the perfect flavoring to any sweet treat.
- All-purpose flour- This recipe isn't naturally gluten free and all purpose flour gives it that perfect texture.
- Baking soda- This ingredient is needed to help the bread rise.
- Salt- Even if you are using salted butter a dash of salt ties all of the flavors together.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Banana Bread
Use these process shots to help get the results you are wanting. The pictures can help with texture and be a visual guide for best results.
- In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together until it starts to clump together.
2. Add in the mashed bananas and other wet ingredients like sour milk, vanilla, and eggs. Mix together well.
3. Add in the flour, baking soda and salt. Make sure the baking soda doesn't clump together.
4. Place the prepared batter in a floured and parchment paper lined loaf pan. This will make removing the bread easier once it is cooked.
5. Once baked, remove from the loaf pan and cool before slicing and enjoying!
Hint: Mix the dry ingredients together so that the baking soda is broken up. I still remember the first time my sister made banana bread and there were little lumps of baking soda throughout, because the baking soda wasn't properly mixed in.
Substitutions
As we have tested this recipe we have discovered some substitutions that work nicely for this banana bread.
- Whole wheat- Instead of all purpose flour, use 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup whole wheat. This is less flour than the original recipe calls for because whole wheat flour makes it drier.
- Gluten Free -To make this a gluten free bread use almond flour.
- Buttermilk - Sour milk and buttermilk are very similar in taste and texture and can be substituted at a 1:1 ratio, but the sour milk is more sour and it is a little different.
- Brown Butter- Follow the brown butter craze and make the recipe as directed, but brown the butter first. To brown butter, place butter in a heavy bottom pan on medium heat. Cook until melted and swirl the butter. Once the butter turns a darker color and smells nutty, it is browned.
- No butter- You can make it without butter, the bananas act as an okay butter replacement, however it will not be as soft. It still isn't dairy free because of the sour milk.
Variations
This is a lightly sweetened banana bread that really lets the banana shine. For a sweeter more dessert like banana bread, increase the sugar up to 1 cup.
- Nuts- If you are a nut person, you will love adding in 1 cup of chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds.
- Chocolate Chips- For a kid friendly chocolate experience add in 1 cup chocolate chips or more for the chocolate lover.
- Crumb topping/ streusel- Mix together ⅓ cup brown sugar, ¼ flour, 1 teaspoon cinnamon together in a bowl. Cut in 2 Tablespoons cold butter until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of banana bread loaf then bake as directed.
- Chocolate-To make a chocolate banana bread, substitute ⅔ cup of the flour for cocoa powder.
- Cinnamon- 1 Teaspoon of cinnamon will give this sweet bread a cinnamon banana flavor.
- Double chocolate- For the ultimate chocolate experience, make the chocolate variation then stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips into the chocolate banana batter.
- French toast- Using a slice of this bread as french toast is a total game changer. Slice the bread and use it for french bread in place of typical bread.
Baking Methods
You don't need to bake your banana bread in a regular loaf pan. Try these other fun ways to bake it.
- Muffins - My kids love when I turn anything into muffins, this recipe is no exception. Place batter in a regular sized muffin tin, bake at 350 for 17-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. It's a great way to share at the office, or a school social.
- Mini Loaf- Don't forget about making mini loafs. Use a mini loaf pan at 350F, bake 25-35 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. This is perfect if you are making them as gifts, especially during the Christmas season, or as a teacher appreciation gift.
- High altitude- Cooking at high altitude can be tricky, for this recipe make sure to add an additional ⅓ cup all purpose flour.
Learn From Us
On a quest to eat less sugar, I have recipe tested banana bread over and over and over again to make the best possible loaf with the least amount of butter and sugar. This recipe is absolutely amazing and is just as good as any other recipe. For even less sugar and butter, use 1 ⅔ cups mashed bananas, then decrease the sugar to ½ cup and the butter down to 4 Tablespoons. The texture and flavor aren't quite the same, but it's very good.
Storing Banana Bread
Be sure to store baked bread in an airtight container. A leftover bread bag from your sandwich bread is great way to store it. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days. It doesn't have to go in the microwave.
When your ready to eat a slice, eat at room temperature or soften in the microwave for 8-12 seconds if necessary.
This is a great recipe to freeze once cooked. You can freeze the loaf for up to 2 months.
Freeze in single servings by slicing the bread and then freezing it. Make sure to thaw at room temperature and enjoy!
Top tip
It's important to cream the butter and sugar together for this recipe. If you don't, there will be little lumps of butter and it won't properly mix in.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Banana Bread:
Recipe
Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons butter I used salted
- ¾ cup sugar see note 1
- 1 ¼ cups bananas mashed
- 2 Tablespoons sour milk 1 ½ Tablespoons milk + ½ Tablespoon vinegar, let sit 3+ minutes
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F and line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper or spray with cooking spray.
- In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on high for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, bananas and sour milk and beat another minute.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients with a fork or whisk. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients on low speed just until combined. Don't over mix. See process photos above for a great visual.
- Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 55-65 minutes, until it is a beautiful golden brown color and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool a few minutes then remove from the baking dish and allow to finish cooling on a cooling rack. Enjoy!
Notes
- We tested this bread repeatedly to get the best flavor that highlights banana and for us isn't overly sweet. Most banana breads are sweeter. For a sweeter banana bread, use up to 1 cup sugar (you may need to add a Tablespoon or more flour to compensate).
- It's important to make sure the dry ingredients get well mixed before adding to the wet ingredients to prevent the baking soda from clumping into bits.
- Store in an airtight container (I like to use a leftover bread bag) at room temperature for up to 3 days. Soften in the microwave for 8-12 seconds if necessary.
- Freeze for up to 2 months. For single servings, first slice the bread and then freeze it. To thaw: allow to come to room temperature and enjoy!
- For a "lighter" version, increase mashed bananas to 1 ⅔ cup then reduce sugar to ½ cup and butter to 4 Tablespoons.
- Make sure you cream the butter and sugar together before adding the bananas or you'll end up with little lumps of butter throughout.
Nutrition
FAQ
To store this tasty bread you will want to keep it in an air tight container on the counter top. You can also store it in the refrigerator but it's not necessary.
For the particular recipe there are 200 calories for 1 thick slice. This is less sweet version so if you add in extra sugar to your liking it will have more calories.
This recipe stays fresh for 3-4 days. If you keep it in an air tight container it will have that fresh taste during that time period.
Absolutely! This is a great bread to freeze. Make sure to wrap it in plastic wrap or use a gallon freezer bag. It will freeze for up to 2 months. When ready to eat, take it out thaw until room temperature and enjoy. You can even freeze individual slices.
Use plenty of bananas! Bananas naturally make the bread moist. Use butter to keep it nice and soft. Do not add too much flour, or it will be dry and crumbly. And finally, do not over bake. The banana bread is done as soon as an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
They should be overripe. Ideally covered in brown spots or just completely brown.
For this recipe you will want to bake the bread for 55-65 minutes depending on your oven. You'll want to make sure it's cooked all the way through so the middle isn't doughy and undercooked. Using a toothpick is a great method to check for doneness.
We prefer walnuts, pecans, or almonds if you are going to add nuts to this recipe. They are softer nuts that don't make the bread too crunchy but add a great texture.
You can make a crumble or streusel as a topping. You can also top it with a glaze, or chocolate chips.
Andrea says
This is such a good Homemade Banana Bread recipe. I really love how easy it is and simple to follow. I tried it with the chocolate swirl and with then once with the chocolate chips and it's been great every time.
Nicole says
This is my all time favorite banana bread recipe. It's light, it's fluffy and so soft and moist. It's always a family favorite!