Simply the Best Banana Bread Recipe
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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
- Mash your bananas. The riper the better!
- Stir together bananas, oil, and butter, then mix in sugar, brown sugar, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract.
- Whisk together your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt) separately.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients gently.
- Pour into a greased bread pan and sprinkle generously with sugar (optional, but not really).
- 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
VERY ripe bananas are ideal. We’re talking dark brown, spotty, and mushy–pretty much the opposite of what you’d like to eat! Super ripe bananas have the most flavor and will subsequently make your bread super flavorful too.
Absolutely! Stir in 1¼ cup coarsely chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts are great choices), chocolate chips, or even raisins at the end. Just remember to not over-mix!
Store at room temperature in an airtight container (or wrapped with plastic wrap) for up to three days. It can also be tightly wrapped and frozen for several months!
First make sure you do not over-bake the bread, as this is the quickest way to make it dry. Once it’s cooked and cooled, store your banana bread tightly wrapped at room temperature and enjoy within 3 days for best results. Do NOT refrigerate–this will dry out the bread!
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
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 1/2 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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
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This recipe was originally published March 18th 2019.
I’ve tried many different banana bread recipes and this is my favorite one. I will definitely make it again, Thank you!!
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Alondra! Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Hi! What to do if using frozen bananas? How to best freeze and defrost bananas when needed?
Hi Bri! You would want your bananas to thaw out before use. I have never frozen them, but I imagine a freezer bag will work great. 🙂
Of course you butter your banana bread and warm it up, so delish. I also add cinammon to my banana bread, adds another depth of flavor. Now I will add cinammon sugar to the top before I bake it. Thanks for a great recipe.
Sounds like we are on the same page, YUM! So glad you enjoyed, Debbie, thank you for commenting! <3
Hello 🙂 I would like to make a marbled banana bread. Any suggestions?:)
Hi Marina! I haven’t tried it, but I think the easiest way to do it would be to divide the batter in half then add 4 ounces of melted chocolate to one of the batters. That would probably be your best bet. Let me know how it goes if you try it! 🙂
Thank you for sharing this. it’s been 3months since I 1st tried to bake banana bread, I’m so thankful to found this recipe!! I never tried any recipe since then. I just omitted the oil hehe and still everything is good, my best seller Moist Banana bread. 😊😊❤️ Thank you!!
I am so glad everyone has enjoyed it so much, Hope! 🙂
Hi There👋🏻I have a question…
could I use coconut oil instead of canola?
I’ve followed the recipe exactly in the past and it’s been the BEST banana bread ever! – scared to mess with a good thing …but am wondering.
Hi Beverly! I honestly have never tried it with coconut oil but I don’t think that would be a problem! If you try it out, would you please let me know how it works out for you?
Ok – tried the recipe switching out canola/vegetable oil for melted coconut oil, and it turned out perfectly. ❤️
Couldn’t even taste the coconut!
Very
Yummy 😋
Thank you for the update! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
How would you adjust for a glass pan?
I would just watch the bread. Your bake time will probably be slightly different. 🙂
Old rule of thumb was to decrease the oven temperature 25 degrees when using glass pans.
Hi. Tried this recipe out. Followed it to the letter and it turned out great! This is now officially my go-to recipe! Thanks!
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jules! 🙂
Hi Sam,
I was wondering if you could divide the batter into two 8″x4″ pans?
Hi Emily! They would turn out pretty small and need a lot less time in the oven. If that’s the only pan you have available I would probably just fill one pan 3/4 of the way full and discard any excess batter. You won’t have enough to make 3 full loafs of bread in the 8 x4.
We did the recipe in 4 small stoneware bread molds in order to accommodate everyone’s banana bread preferences (one with pecans, no extra sugar on top, one with chocolate chips extra sugar on top, one with both chips and pecans, one that is nothing-but-the-banana bread please). The cooking time was exactly the same as the single loaf.
I love that variety! Thank you so much for letting me know how it turned out, Tracy and Stella! 🙂
PS I think that chocolate chip/extra sugar one would be my choice! 😉
Incredible! We never need to look for another banana bread recipe again…this one is PERFECT! Thank you!
You are welcome! I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Blair! Thanks for trying my recipe! 🙂
Simply is the best banana bread I’ve ever baked, thanks for marvelous recipe 😘
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Mary! Thank you for trying my recipe. 🙂
Love all your baking recipes! N this turned out perfect too
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Amita! 🙂
Is it possible to lessen the sugar needed for the recipe? My grandma wants one but she’s diabetic 😅
Hi Mae! I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure how it would taste, but I believe it will still turn out if you reduce the sugars here. 🙂
You can use Splenda for the white sugar and Splenda half and half mix for the brown sugar and it works very well
This lives up to it’s name!! My husband said this is the best banana bread he has ever had! It was moist and full of flavor yet not dense and heavy. This will be my go to banana bread recipe from now on!
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Melody! 🙂