Simply the Best Banana Bread Recipe

This Banana Bread Recipe uses brown sugar and lots of bananas for the BEST flavor. Plus, it takes only 15 minutes to make by hand–no mixer required! Recipe includes a how-to video!

This is it: the BEST banana bread recipe. After over half a dozen recipe tests, I finally landed on a winner. This recipe makes a moist, super flavorful (thanks to our key players: bananas, buttermilk, brown sugar, and vanilla), and easily customizable banana bread, a near cousin to my popular carrot cake recipe.

Want to add nuts? Go for it! Like chocolate chip banana bread? Throw them in too. Or, go a little crazy and add both–this recipe can handle it!

My banana bread recipe is closely based off of my popular banana muffins. That recipe has received nothing but rave reviews, and it took just a few modifications to make it perfect for baking in a bread pan. Serve yours warm with a little bit of honey butter (people do eat banana bread with butter, right?), and you’ve got yourself a slice of pure perfection.

Try it, and you can thank me later!

What You Need

My banana bread recipe is simple and uses basic ingredients:

• Bananas. The browner, spottier, and riper the better and more flavorful your finished bread will be.
• Oil & butter. As with my vanilla cake recipe, I’ve found a blend of oil and butter gives this cake the best texture and flavor. Make sure to melt your butter before using.
• Sugar. I use a blend of brown sugar and granulated for the most flavor. Dark or light brown sugar will work here; dark will give you a richer flavor, slightly more moist texture, and will make the cake darker.
• Eggs. Large, extra large, or jumbo will work here.
• Vanilla extract and salt. For flavor!
• Buttermilk. This adds moisture and flavor to the cake. Real, full-fat buttermilk is best, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can always make my buttermilk substitute instead. To do this, combine ¾ teaspoon of lemon juice (or white vinegar) with ¼ scant cup milk, stir, and let sit for 5 minutes before using.
• Baking powder & baking soda. To give the bread a bit of lift.

SAM’S TIP: Sprinkle a little bit of extra granulated sugar over the batter just before baking for added flavor and texture.

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make The Best Banana Bread Recipe

1. Mash your bananas. The riper the better!
2. Stir together bananas, oil, and butter, then mix in sugar, brown sugar, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract.
3. Whisk together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) separately.
4. Combine wet and dry ingredients gently.
5. Pour into a greased bread pan and sprinkle generously with sugar (optional, but not really).
6. When your banana bread is a beautiful golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, it’s finished baking!

SAM’S TIP: Don’t over-mix your batter! Gently fold the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined; it’s okay if you see some faint flour streaks when you’re done.

Frequently Asked Questions

SAM’S TIP: If using nuts, try toasting them first for added flavor! To do this, simply spread the nuts on a baking sheet in an even layer and bake on 350F for 5-10 minutes, turning halfway through.

Enjoy!

Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook.

The BEST Banana Bread

A moist, flavorful banana bread recipe that can be prepped and in the oven in under 20 minutes, no mixer needed. 

Be sure to check out the how-to video at the bottom of the recipe! 

5 from 182 votes

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Course: Dessert, quick bread

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 slices

Calories: 396kcal

Author: Sam Merritt

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 ½ cups (385 g) well-mashed overripe bananas this is usually 3 large ripe bananas for me (355ml)
• ▢ ¼ cup (60 ml) avocado, canola or vegetable oil
• ▢ ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter melted
• ▢ ⅔ cup (135 g) light or dark brown sugar firmly packed
• ▢ ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 large eggs lightly beaten, room temperature preferred
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ¼ cup (60 ml) buttermilk¹
• ▢ 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose plain flour
• ▢ ¾ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups chocolate chips or chopped nuts² optional
• ▢ ¼ cup (50 g) coarse or granulated sugar for sprinkling optional

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and grease the bottom and ½" up the sides of a 9×5" bread pan. Set aside.
• Combine mashed bananas, canola oil, and melted butter in a large bowl and stir until well-combined.
  1 ½ cups (385 g) well-mashed overripe bananas, ¼ cup (60 ml) avocado, canola or vegetable oil, ¼ cup (60 g) unsalted butter
• Add sugars and stir well.
  ⅔ cup (135 g) light or dark brown sugar, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• Stir in eggs and vanilla extract.
  2 large eggs, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• Add buttermilk and stir until thoroughly combined.
  ¼ cup (60 ml) buttermilk¹
• In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
  2 cups (250 g) all-purpose, ¾ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
• Add dry ingredients to wet and carefully, gently using a spatula (not an electric mixer) fold ingredients together until just combined. Don’t overmix the batter or your banana cake could end up dense/dry. If adding nuts/chocolate chips, stir them in here.
  1 ¼ cups chocolate chips or chopped nuts²
• Pour batter into prepared pan and, if desired, sprinkle generously with coarse sugar.
  ¼ cup (50 g) coarse or granulated sugar for sprinkling
• Transfer to 350F (175C) oven and bake 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted all the way into the center of the cake comes out clean or preferably with a few moist crumbs. Do not over-bake your banana bread or it will be dry.

Notes

¹Buttermilk

If you don’t have buttermilk in your fridge, you can use my easy buttermilk substitute instead.

²Adding nuts

If you have nuts that aren’t already chopped, I recommend toasting them first for an even better flavor. To toast, layer 1 ½ cup of walnut or pecan halves over a baking sheet and bake on 350F for about 8 minutes. Allow the nuts to cool then use a large knife to coarsely chop.

I don’t recommend toasting pre-chopped nuts just because they don’t always cook evenly and could end up burned.

Storing

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. This recipe also freezes well, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and it will keep for several months!

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 396kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 46g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 205mg | Potassium: 152mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 1050IU | Vitamin C: 4.1mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.

Tried this recipe? Show me on Instagram!Mention @SugarSpun_Sam or tag #sugarspunrun!

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This recipe was originally published March 18th 2019.