I’ve tried many banana bread recipes, but this one with a batter made with butter and brown sugar is the best. It’s my family’s favorite, and many of our readers agree, calling this their forever banana bread! I love the incredibly moist texture and rich buttery banana flavor. Our recipe makes one loaf, but since I’m always sad when the last slice disappears, I usually double everything to make two. For muffins, take a look at our easy banana muffins!
Key Ingredients
Bananas: For the best banana bread, use very ripe bananas. I’m talking brown and speckled bananas. They are sweeter and make the baked bread soft and moist. If you have unripe bananas and can wait a day or two, place them in a brown paper bag and set them aside in a warmer part of your kitchen. Flour: I use all-purpose flour, but this recipe works with whole wheat or white whole wheat flour (whole wheat makes the bread a bit denser). A few readers have used 1:1 gluten-free flour in our recipe with success. Baking soda: Helps the bread rise and brown nicely. Salt, vanilla extract, & cinnamon: Add flavor to and make it taste amazing. Butter: Makes the best banana bread and adds a buttery, rich flavor. You’ll melt your butter for this easy banana bread recipe. We use olive oil when making lighter banana bread, which I love, but I still give the edge to butter on taste. Brown sugar: Makes our bread flavorful and moist. You can swap other sugars, but your banana bread will not be as moist. Eggs: Provides structure and stability to the bread. We use two eggs. To make this recipe egg-free, use 2 flax eggs or aquafaba.
How to Make Banana Bread
We call this easy banana bread for a reason. It’s so simple to put together. To start, whisk together your dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Toss your ripe bananas into a bowl and mash them with a fork. There’s no need for a stand or electric mixer when mashing bananas, especially if they are nice and ripe. When the bananas are mashed, whisk in melted butter (yum), brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract. I love the brown sugar and butter combination and they are why this bakes to be so moist. We use the same ingredients when making banana muffins and banana pancakes. Fold in the dry ingredients until you no longer see streaks of flour, and then add extras like chocolate chips or nuts. I’m adding walnuts to the batter in the photos. We also have this chocolate chip banana bread with a variety of chocolate in the batter to make it extra delicious. Bake banana bread in a preheated 350°F oven until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, usually taking 55 to 65 minutes. To tell when banana bread is done, bake it until the top is golden brown, and a thin knife (like a pairing knife) inserted into the center comes out clean. If you have an internal thermometer, you can check the temperature by inserting it into the center, and it should read close to 200°F. When measuring the flour for this recipe, either weigh it or use the “spoon and level” method: Fluff the flour, spoon it into the measuring cup, and level off the top with a flat edge. You can see me do this in our video! 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 medium bananas or 1 ½ cups mashed, very ripe bananas are best 8 tablespoons (115g) butter, melted and cooled 3/4 cup (150g) light brown sugar 2 large eggs at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 cup (60g) walnuts, toasted and chopped, optional 2Butter and flour an 8 ½-inch by 4 ½-inch loaf pan. Or grease the pan and then line it with a sheet of parchment paper (as shown in the video). See tips for pan sizes. 3Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together and set aside. 4Use a fork to mash the bananas into a chunky paste in the bottom of a large bowl. 5Whisk the melted butter, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla into the bananas until well blended. 6Switch to a large rubber spatula, scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, and then add the dry ingredients in two parts, stirring until the flour disappears and the batter is smooth. Fold in the nuts if using. 7Pour batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. If you have an internal thermometer, you can check the temperature by inserting it into the center, and it should read close to 200°F. 8Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the bread and cool completely before slicing. 2To freeze banana bread, double wrap it with one layer of plastic wrap and one layer of aluminum foil, then freeze it for up to 6 months.
