This banana bread recipe has become legendary in our house. It is both simple to make and dreamy delicious. Make this easy recipe in just over an hour and you will agree it is time well spent!
Our Best Banana Bread Recipe
As with any good banana bread, this one starts with ripe bananas. You’ll want to use 2 to 3 ripe bananas, depending on their size.
What is a Ripe Banana?
As bananas age, they ripen. Their yellow peel darkens and brown spots begin to appear. Ripe bananas are also soft and sweet, a perfect combination for the best banana bread. Left on the countertop, fresh bananas can take up to a week to be fully ripe.
If you’re pressed for time, learn How to Ripen Bananas from Epicurious.
Banana Bread Ingredients
- Ripe bananas
- Butter
- Sugar
- Egg
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Vanilla
- Walnuts and Chocolate chips (Optional)
If you have a nut allergy or just don’t care for walnuts (like our kids), leave them out. Once in a while, we will also add a teaspoon or so of unsweetened cocoa powder, in addition to the chocolate chips. This gives you a rich loaf of chocolate banana bread
This banana bread is moist and heavy but it is not dense. It’s also a great excuse to always have some bananas on hand.
Teaching Kids to Bake
Another great thing about this banana breads is that it is a wonderful way to get your kids in the kitchen. It’s a very easy recipe for kids wanting to learn how to bake. Also, this is a great way to get one on one time with your kids or grandchildren. We do this a lot and never regret it!
Taking a cue from his dad, our 13-year-old Nate makes this recipe. In it, he uses a chopped-up chocolate bar and a teaspoon of cocoa powder for chocolate chips.
Banana Bread Muffins
For a little variation on this recipe, turn this banana bread into muffins!.
To Convert this Recipe into Banana Bread Muffins
- Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners
- Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter
- Bake the banana bread muffins at 425° for 20 minutes
Kitchen Tip:
This banana bread recipe is a great way to use “leftover bananas.”
- As your bananas ripen, you can store them in the freezer where they will keep for weeks.
- When you are ready to make this recipe, let the frozen bananas thaw on the counter for an hour or so.
- You can also thaw them in the microwave for 10 or 15 seconds.
If you’ve tried this recipe for banana bread, be sure and leave a comment below! You can also FOLLOW US on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what we have cooking.
Other Favorite Dessert Breads
- Blueberry-Ginger Bread
- A rustic buttermilk bread made with fresh blueberries and dusted with sanding sugar.
- Easy Pumpkin Bread
- All the flavor of pumpkin pie, in a sweet and moist loaf of bread.
- Lemon-Blueberry Bread
- Fresh lemon zest combined with fresh blueberries in a beautiful loaf of summer flavor.
- Chocoalte Banana Bread
- Part bread and part cake this decadent dessert is all delicious!
Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Place bananas and butter in a large mixing bowl and mix together, using a wooden spoon. Add sugar, egg, and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
- Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir. Add the optional walnuts and chocolate chips, if desired. Add the flour and continue to mix by hand.
- Pour the mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack and remove from pan. Slice and serve.
Notes
- When freezing ripe bananas, you can also peel them and place them in freezer bags for storage in the freezer.
Nutrition
Shashi Charles says
Coming home to this bread after a long day at work would be a treat indeed! Banana bread with chocolate chips – woa – pinch me I think I am sleep-reading! So nice to hear about how thoughtful yall are of each other! And love how this site is now featuring the two of yall!
Scott Brotherton says
Hi Shashi. I love banana bread. This recipe is so quick, easy and delicious. I hope that you will give it a try.
Dan from Platter Talk says
Shashi,
I’m one lucky dog…. Thanks for the comments! xo
Kitchen Riffs says
We always bake when the weather is cold! Particularly when it’s snowy. We’ve been making loads of beer bread lately, but should do some banana bread, and soon. To Anonymous, who has trouble getting his bread baked through, use an instant read thermometer to see whether your bread is done. It’s usually done around 190 degrees F to 200 F. Anyway, super recipe – thanks.
Scott Brotherton says
Thank you for the excellent suggestion of using an instant read thermometer. I will have to give it a try sometime.
Scott Brotherton says
I am not sure why you are having the issues that you are with your banana bread. This recipe is very easy and almost full proof. Notice that I said almost. There always is the risk of over baking or under baking. I make sure that I monitor the bread as it is baking in the oven. This should take no more than an hour to bake, and may even be more like 50-55 minutes depending on your oven. I always take a knife to check this bread. If you insert the knife an inch or two from the edge it should come out clean. If it does, it is cooked. Give this recipe a try and let me know if you still are having problems. Good luck!
Anonymous says
I meant “not” had it come out of the oven… missed one word, changed the meaning of the sentence … 🙂
Anonymous says
I have given up on making banana bread … much to my dismay. I have never, and I truly mean never, had any recipe come out of the oven where the inside core of the bread is raw and runny/gooey and the outside crust is hard as a rock. 🙁 I have verified the temperature in my oven to be correct. Can you help me?
[email protected] is How I Cook says
What is it about cold weather that makes folks run to their oven? So true, though! Banana bread is always so good and with chocolate chips, so much the better!
Dan from Platter Talk says
Abbe,
I love to bake under normal circumstances, but as the outdoor temp drops it seems like our oven temps go up that much more! Thanks for the comments and I hope you are staying warm!
Anna and Liz Recipes says
Hey Scott we love a good banana bread and this sounds so moist just the way we like it! A cup of coffee right now would go perfectly!!
Scott Brotherton says
This recipe is so easy and so delicious. You really need to give it a try.