With more than 8 million page views and hundreds of FIVE STAR reviews, this super moist, EASY, and delicious, really is the Best Banana Bread recipe ever! It's one of the most popular recipes on my website for a reason and our favorite way to use up overripe bananas and it freezes really well too!
Table of Contents
- You'll love this Easy Banana Bread Recipe
- Banana Bread Recipe Ingredients
- How to Make Banana Bread
- How old can bananas be for banana bread?
- Best Banana Bread Recipe Tips
- How to store Homemade Banana Bread
- Can you freeze banana bread?
- How do you keep banana bread moist?
- How to Make Banana Bread FAQs
- More Quick Bread Recipes You'll Love
- Best Banana Bread Recipe
My family goes in spurts of eating so many bananas that I'm always having to go to the store for more, or completely ignoring them so I end up with a bunch of overripe, spotted bananas sitting on the counter. When that happens, the first thing I think to make is homemade banana bread!
This happens more often that I would like to admit, so sometimes we switch things up with coconut lime glazed banana bread or by adding walnuts and making banana nut muffins. But this easy banana bread recipe is definitely my go-to when I'm up to my eyeballs in bananas that I don't want to go to waste.
Banana bread is as delicious as it smells and this easy banana bread recipe will have your tastebuds salivating while it’s still baking in the oven. A slice of moist, warm banana bread fresh from the oven with a little butter on makes a great snack, breakfast food, or treat.
If you have lots of overripe bananas, this bread is a winner! Or try our delicious Banana Bars with Penuche Frosting. Some of our other favorite banana recipes are Old-Fashioned Banana Cream Pie and Homemade Banana Pudding!
You'll love this Easy Banana Bread Recipe
This is a classic, moist banana bread recipe that is perfect for using up those spotty brown bananas that are lingering on the counter. It can be made by hand in one bowl with one spoon in under 10 minutes. Kids love to help with this one by peeling and mashing the soft bananas, measuring, and stirring. And it's easily customizable by throwing in chocolate chips, walnuts, or cinnamon chips.
If you need any more convincing, just read the dozens of 5-star reviews after the recipe. Once you have tried this easy banana bread recipe you will never go back to any other.
Banana Bread Recipe Ingredients
- Overripe bananas - The spottier the better! A banana develops natural sugars as it ripens that helps sweeten the banana bread and provides even more banana-y flavor.
- Salted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Large egg
- Vanilla extract
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Ground cinnamon - Just enough to add warmth & depth but not overpower the banana bread.
- Salt
- All-purpose flour - You could even do half white/half whole wheat flour if you wanted.
- Mix-ins (optional) - Chopped walnuts are my personal favorite but my family loves chocolate chips.
How to Make Banana Bread
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare a loaf pan by spraying it with nonstick cooking spray and lightly dusting it with flour. This will help your loaf to not stick to the pan when baking. You can also use Baker’s Joy (affiliate link) cooking spray, it has flour built-in, saving you one step and a little mess.
- Peel and mash bananas with a fork in a large bowl.
- In a large bowl, combine your melted butter and mashed bananas using a large wooden spoon.
- Stir in your sugar, eggs, vanilla.
- Over the top of your batter, sprinkle the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and flour, then stir to combine.
- Add in nuts or chocolate chips last, stirring just until there are no more dry spots of flour and everything is well combined.
- Pour your batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top with more walnuts or a little sugar if you want a sweeter crust.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick, comes out clean and then remove from oven.
- Allow the loaf to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from loaf pan and transferring to a cooling rack.
- Best served warm or enjoy at room temperature.
How old can bananas be for banana bread?
The best banana bread is made with overly ripe bananas. You can tell bananas are overripe when they turn deep yellow and get brown giraffe spots all over them. Even almost completely black bananas are still good for banana bread. My family can handle eating fresh bananas with just a few spots, but once they start looking like this, I know nobody is going to touch them.
Bananas ripen and darken as the sugars inside of the flesh begin to break down, making the banana sweeter in the process. So the riper the banana you use, the sweeter the banana bread becomes.
You can speed up the banana ripening process by placing several bananas and an apple inside of a brown paper bag, closing the top and letting them sit on the counter for a day or two. The gases released will speed up the banana ripening process using this method.
Or if you don't already happen to have ripe bananas on hand and can’t wait for your underripe (or perfectly ripe, depending on your point of view) bananas to ripen fully, you can help the process along by sticking the bananas in the oven for a little bit. Just place them whole (with peel intact) on a baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees F for about 20 minutes, then cool, peel, and use in this banana bread recipe as normal.
Best Banana Bread Recipe Tips
- Don't overmix. No need to break out your hand mixer for this recipe. You can just use a large spoon to mix everything together by hand, which keeps the banana bread from turning out dense or dry from overmixing.
- Bake until a skewer comes out clean. A toothpick really isn't long enough to accurately test a loaf of banana bread. A wooden skewer or sharp knife is a better testing tool to tell whether the banana bread is done all the way through.
- Make it your own! Feel free to add your favorite mix-ins or sprinkle the top of your banana bread with chocolate chips or a streusel before baking to change things up.
How to store Homemade Banana Bread
Store your banana bread in a ziploc bag or in another airtight container on the counter for a few days. Refrigerating it will help it last a day or two longer. But after about 5 days banana bread starts tasting stale, even if it has been wrapped tightly or kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
Can you freeze banana bread?
Yes! You can freeze banana bread! You can either slice it first and freeze the slices individually so you can easily enjoy banana bread whenever you want, or you can freeze entire loaves for later consumption.
Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes I am left with bunches of overripe bananas, so I will double or triple this recipe and make multiple loaves at a time. Sometimes I give them to friends, but often I will just set some aside in the freezer for later.
To freeze a loaf of banana bread, let it cool completely, then wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container or freezer-safe ziploc bag, then stick it in your freezer. That's it!
To freeze individual slices of banana bread (something I like to do because it makes it easy to stick into school lunches or give the kids for breakfast on busy days), lay individual slices flat on a baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Freeze for 1-2 hours, then transfer to a freezer-safe ziploc bag and stick them back in the freezer.
For best quality, enjoy it within 2 to 3 months, although honestly I've dug a loaf out of the freezer 6 months down the road and it's still pretty darn good.
How do you keep banana bread moist?
With this moist banana bread recipe, you shouldn’t have to worry about your loaf coming out dry unless you overbake it. If that happens, you can cut off a few slices and warm them in the microwave with a damp paper towel to help steam them back to freshness.
You can also prevent your easy banana bread from going dry during storage by keeping it sealed in an airtight container.
But generally speaking, the amount of bananas in the recipe will help keep the banana bread nice and moist for days!
How to Make Banana Bread FAQs
There are usually 2 medium bananas in a cup of mashed bananas. Ultimately you want about 2 cups of mashed banana for this recipe, which is usually 3 big or 4 medium bananas, but it's a pretty forgiving recipe and I never bothering measuring an exact amount of bananas any more.
Sure, if you have bread flour that you want to use for banana bread you are welcome to use it and the recipe will turn out just fine without any modifications.
My banana bread recipe cooks in 50-60 minutes for a loaf made in an 8x4-inch pan. Slightly different pan dimensions might require a slight time adjustment, but generally speaking it will take about an hour to bake a loaf of banana bread.
More Quick Bread Recipes You'll Love
Did you make this recipe?
Let me know what you thought with a comment and rating below. You can also take a picture and tag me on Instagram @houseofnasheats or share it on the Pinterest pin so I can see.
Best Banana Bread
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3-4 ripe bananas mashed
- ⅓ cup butter melted
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips, plus extra for topping if desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour an 8.5x4.5-inch loaf pan or spray with baking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the mashed bananas with the melted butter, then add the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Stir well with a large wooden spoon.
- Sprinkle the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt over the banana mixture. Stir to combine.
- Add flour and walnuts or chocolate chips (if desired), and stir just until no streaks of flour remain. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Slice into 10 thick slices and serve.
Video
Notes
- Baking time: If your bread pans are larger or smaller than mine, your bake time might be on the shorter or longer side, respectively.
- Muffins: This banana bread recipe can also be made as muffins. Just divide between the cups of a muffin tin and bake for 20-24 minutes until muffins are done and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Made this recipe tonight based on all the rave reviews, and I completely concur: best recipe ever!
I have a 12 count mini loaf pan how long would you suggest in the oven?
Oh those little loaves of banana bread will be so cute. I would try 350 F at 25-30 minutes. Cook until a toothpick comes clean when inserted into the middle.
My husband and I agreed that this is the best and easiest banana bread recipe. It’s so moist and delicious!
Reviews are accurate!! Delicious and moist. Added chocolate chips, saving this recipe, thanks for sharing!
This is the most moist banana bread I have ever eaten in my life. I have shared this recipe over and over. Thanks for sharing.
Made it this morning, absolutely delicious & moist. I added raisins & pecans. Yum! Went so well with my cappuccino. I wanted to attach a picture of the banana bread but was unable to 🥹
3 or 4 bananas is a bit ambiguous. How many cups pleease
3-4 bananas mashed is about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of bananas.
Where is the actual recipe?
It's at the bottom of the post. If you have a hard time finding it, you can always click the "jump to recipe" button at the very top and it will take you straight to it.
I have 0 baking skills! This was the easiest and best thing I have ever made and my son absolutely love it..Thank you and i appreciate you ma'am.
Oh that's great you enjoyed it! It's a great recipe that's easy but oh so good!
I love this recipe! I have made it at least a dozen times, and it always comes out great! I also love adding different toppings, and it works great with sugar substitutes like Stevia or monk fruit. I don't even bother trying other banana bread recipes anymore.
Awesome,thank you.
Delicious banana bread recipe! I used a block of chocolate and grated a handful into the batter. Definitely saving this recipe!
The recipe was easy to assemble. I divided among three baking loaf pans and gave them as Holiday gifts. I'll be making it again.
Could I omit the egg?
I mean, yes, but it won't have quite the same texture. But yes, it will work.
Easy to make. Real food
This is my “go to” dessert!! I love it! The moistness… oh my goodness… BIG THUMBS UP 👍🏽 and my dad loves it too! Thanks for a great recipe.
Great recipe! I have a little b&b in the south of Brazil and i make this for my guest and they love🥰
I want to come visit your B&B! So glad you love this recipe!
Super easy and delicious !!
My new go to for banana bread!!❤️
I LOVE this recipe! I've got a friend who is vegan and gf- any ideas on how to adapt this recipe for both of those requirements?
I'm so glad you love it! I'm not much of a vegan or gf baker, but I think you could vegan-ify this recipe by replacing the butter with oil and just omitting the egg (it should still turn out fine). Then just use a 1-to-1 gluten-free flour replacement. I would love to hear how it works out for you!
Simple, eat, yummy! I substituted oat flour and Maple syrup for the flour and sugar. Also added in some coconut! Perfect and quick!
Did you leave the quantities same with the oat flour and maple syrup … or did you adjust? Thanks!
This bread turned out soooo good!!! Easy, and great recipe for high altitudes by adding a little extra flour and cooking at 475 degrees for 50 min! I've had such a and time with banana bread turning out at high altitude!! This one is a keeper!!!
Oh good! Baking at higher altitudes can be tricky sometimes but I'm glad it worked out for you!
Was this to be 475° or 375°?? I cooked at 475, and it was completely burnt in 20 minutes 🙁
This recipe was easy to put together and it was delicious! I added chocolate chips and it turned out great!
Thank you! Adding chocolate chips makes it so good! Good choice!
I have been making this banana bread recipe for years, it’s certainly my favorite. My husband and are full time RVers and I was baking the muffins in our convection oven but it was so time consuming since I could only bake 6 muffins at a time. I decided to try my instant pot in a 7” round pan. Wow!! I can’t believe how good it came out and it’s so much easier!! I followed this recipe then found an Instant Pot recipe for the cooking instructions.
Wow! That's amazing. Making banana bread in the instant pot! Genius! Way to make things work for your RV! Glad it worked out.
Delicious recipe but mine was getting a little burned before it was done. I only baked for 45 minutes. Maybe it's the tin loaf pan 🤷🏽♀️
Yes sometimes ovens or pans can affect baking times. I've had times where the outside was browning too fast but the middle wasn't done yet. You can put some tinfoil over top to prevent burning near the end. Sometimes it takes trial and error with oven times, temperature or rack positioning in the oven. I'm glad it still tasted good though!
easy to throw together and verrrrry yummy!!
Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!
Added 11/4 cup flour and Added 1 cup of oatmeal. Used 3/4 cup of monkfruit. Used unsalted butter. I look for recipes that can be a little more changeable for diabetics. Smells awesome and tastes wonderful.
Thank you so much for sharing your adjustments! This will be so helpful for many readers, I'm sure!
Added additional egg, 1/2 cup oats, and 2 tbs ground flax. I subtracted 1/2 cup of flour to make up for oats. Came out great!!!
Could I use brown sugar?
Sure!
I didn’t have 3 bananas so I used 2 bananas and 2store bought applesauce cups for the moisture and no butter. I didn’t skip the butter intentionally. I put it in a pot for soup instead. I added a cup of chocolate chips. It was perfectly done at 55minutes. Delicious!
This will be my first time making this banana bread so I'll let you know how it comes out!
I love easy peasy and this recipe was just that. It is so tasty and moist. I made it with the marked down bananas in the store that were VERY ripe, perfect for this recipe. This is a 5 star keeper. I followed the recipe exactly as written with the chocolate chips.
The banana bread is delicious however, I notice that even though the bread is always baked through when it comes out of the oven the bottom 1/4 of it always looks dense. Any idea why?
That's banana settling to the bottom of the pan while it is baked. Maybe try scaling back on the amount of banana you are using slightly, especially if they are particularly large bananas.
Easy and delish.
Added a handfull of craisins for a zing and this added a whole new edge to my banana bread. Tried a few different recipes and this was the quickest and easiest so far and very moist and tasty!
Delicious recipe thank you!
it is a amazing recipe
Thank you!
I’ve made this 3 times and it’s always a big hit in my family.
No bananas ever go to waste when this recipe is around.
I have made this recipe a few times for my kids and the LOVE it! I am gluten intolerant, so I don't get any. That was until today! I made 2 batches. One for them and one for me. I used King Arthur GF cup for cup and these are INCREDIBLE!!
Oh wow! Yay! I have heard that King Arthur GF flour can be subbed cup for cup but good to hear it works for this recipe! I bet your kitchen smelled incredible today! Thanks for letting me know!
This might be the best banana bread I’ve ever made (don’t tell my grandma I didn’t use her recipe) - seriously. It’s so good and fluffy. Also, I subbed baking soda for more baking powder but just because I didn’t have baking soda, so cheers it works either way.
Oh my goodness thank you! (I won't tell your grandma!).
The best recipe I have ever made
Absolutely delicious!!! I made 3 loaves and shared with my co-worker’s 😋😋 an family!!! Thank you for sharing your food talent.
Turned out amazing!!!!
turned out amazing!!
My kids LOVED this banana bread! I promised them I'd make them a treat after all their help with our home renovations. Last month we had our kitchen redone and this week we had our furniture cleaned and everything. Each one of my kids has picked a treat that I'll make and my oldest asked for banana bread, and since I didn't have a recipe, I figured I should just find the best one online. It turned out SO GOOD! Thanks for sharing!
Hi I'm not a big baker but I think I did ok. It's still in the oven tho
Let you know how it turned out
Fingers crossed for you! Let us know what you think when it comes out!
Can you make this banana bread in a 9x13 glass cake dish?
It would be awfully thin in that size of a dish. I would probably just use a square baking dish or double the recipe if you want a 9x13 dish.
We've been trying out different banana bread recipes and omg...we were NOT disappointed with this one. Seriously the best banana bread we've made. Just don't tell my granny I said that 😉
Lol, your secret is safe with me.
Was able to make a small loaf and 6 muffins. Sure smells divine!
Oh my goodness - this is so easy and so delicious!! I baked in 4 mini loaf pans for 35 minutes. I sprayed the pans but forgot to flour them and the loaves came out just fine!
Oh thank you! I'm glad you liked them! Mini loaf pans are the best!
Highly recommend this banana bread recipe very moist and love the chocolate chips added to it.
My boyfriend brought me a bunch of bananas. Will this freeze good
Absolutely! Freezes great.
I'm out of Baking powder and baking soda. Can I still make this using self rising flour?
I practically never use self-rising flour, but I'm pretty sure that the answer is yes. If you do, let us know how it goes!