The Best Banana Bread Recipe Ever

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This is the best banana bread recipe ever! It has a super moist texture and is absolutely delicious. The flavor is buttery and made with super ripe bananas and spices giving it the ultimate flavor.

This recipe is great for brunch any time of the year. It will become one of your favorite banana recipes, as it’s one of our most popular recipes!

Have you ever made homemade banana bread yourself? If you have poor, brown bananas, don’t fret.

You can make something even more delicious out of them, and you’ll be very happy you did! Serve it with one of our brunch cocktails for the ultimate treat!

Also, check out our super moist pumpkin bread recipe, our very popular coconut loaf, and the best lemon loaf.

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This homemade bread is made with melted butter, oil, eggs, and sour cream. It makes a super moist banana bread that’s fluffy in texture too.

We love this recipe because the flavors are so good, the spices add the best flavor, and it’s the most tender, delicious banana bread ever. Slather the warm banana bread with butter when it’s out of the oven for the best-tasting loaf you’ve ever had.

If you’re looking for more brunch recipes, try our monkey bread recipe, monkey bread muffins, and the best blueberry muffins ever!

And if you love banana desserts try our banana pudding pie!

Supplies You’ll Need To Make Banana Bread

Measuring Cups and Spoons

Fork and Spatula

Mixing Bowl

Stand Alone Mixer or Hand Mixer

9×5 Loaf Pan

Parchment Paper

Banana Bread Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour – Stabilizes the bread and holds it together. We used King Arthur flour for this recipe. You can also use whole-wheat flour too.

Granulated Sugar – Sweetens the bread. This recipe is not too sweet, but if you want to use less sugar, you can. It will change the flavor of the bread, though.

Very Ripe Bananas – Adds flavor and creates a very moist banana bread. The banana peel should be very brown and ripe. The riper the banana, the sweeter it is.

Melted Butter – Use unsalted butter for this bread. Butter adds a lot of flavor and moistness to the bread.

Sour Cream – Adds moisture without thinning your batter the same way that a liquid would.

Canola Oil – Adds moisture to the recipe. You can also use vegetable oil, sunflower oil, or try coconut oil. Remember, these small changes do affect the original recipe.

Eggs – Creates structure and stability. Use organic large eggs when making this bread.
Baking Soda – Helps the bread rise.

Cinnamon, Nutmeg, and Salt – These spices add so much flavor to the banana bread. Use ground spices for the recipe.

Vanilla Extract – Enhances flavors and adds subtle vanilla flavor. Use pure vanilla extract.

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How to Make Our Favorite Banana Bread Recipe in 8 Steps

Mash – Using a fork, mash the ripe bananas in a medium bowl.

Combine Dry Ingredients – In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Set aside.

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Whip Sugar and Eggs – Using the whip attachment, combine the sugar and eggs in a stand mixer and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

Add Oil and Butter – Turn the electric mixer to low and very slowly add in the oil and melted butter. It should take about 1 minute to add these in, slowly whipping to incorporate.

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Add Banana Mixture, Sour Cream, and Vanilla – Mix on low for another minute.

Fold in the Dry Ingredients – Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet. For best results, do this just until the ingredients are incorporated, and do not overbeat or over-mix.

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Prepare – Cut a piece of parchment paper long enough to hang over the sides of a 9×5 loaf pan. Then, butter the pan and place the parchment paper over the top.

Also, butter the parchment paper and all sides of the pan. Then, pour the batter into the loaf pan.

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Bake – For 1 hour and 30 minutes until the bread has risen in the center and is not jiggly. For instance, if you take it out too early, the middle of the bread will sink. Bake time will also vary depending on the true oven temperature.

Tips for Making the Best Banana Bread

For best results, use whole, organic ingredients whenever possible.

Add the oil, butter, and vanilla very slowly, with the mixer running to incorporate air into the mixture.

Bananas must be very brown and rip to use in banana bread. Do not try to use yellow bananas.

The oven must be preheated before the loaf pan is placed in the oven.

Do not undercook this recipe, as the middle will sink right in. In other words, the loaf needs to be cooked in the center before you take it out.
Cooking times will vary depending on your oven temp, location, and inside temperature.

Loaf Pan

We use a 10″ x 5″ x 3″ ceramic loaf pan for all of our bread and loaves. We highly recommend The Emile Henry French Ceramic Ruffled. The ceramic heats evenly, so bread and loaves cook even and brown to perfection. You will have it forever, and it’s so worth the investment!

If you have a smaller 8 x 4-inch loaf pan, you can also use that, but only fill it 3/4 of the way full. You might be able to get two loaf cakes out of it using a smaller loaf pan.

Make sure you use a greased loaf pan when baking the bread.

Banana Bread Variations

Banana Bread with Walnuts

Fold in 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts at the end if you prefer nuts in your banana bread.

Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips

To make chocolate chip banana bread, simply add 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips into the batter at the end. Give it a light stir.

One Bowl Banana Bread

This recipe can be made in one bowl. We prefer to do this in a mixing bowl with a fitted attachment as it gives it a fluffy texture. However, if you need to make a quick banana bread follow these steps below:

In a large mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas. Then whisk in the sugar. Slowly pour the oil in a while mixing.

Next, add in the eggs, vanilla, and sour cream while whisking. Pour in the melted butter.

It’s very important to whisk these ingredients and allow air to incorporate the batter.

Next, gently fold in the flour, spices, salt, and baking soda.

After that, proceed to the steps in the recipe below.

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How to you keep banana bread moist?

This is a moist banana bread recipe since it uses butter, oil, and sour cream. But there are other actions you can take

The riper the bananas, the moister the bread.

Fold the ingredients together in a delicate process, and do not overmix the batter.

Finally, it’s best to start checking your loaf at the earliest time and rechecking it often for doneness.

Baking with oil and butter makes a very moist loaf. And, of course, adding butter to a warm slice later if desired helps too.

How to Measure Flour

I still remember learning how to properly measure flour in my Home Economics class in college. If you’re not using a kitchen scale, this is how you measure flour when baking:

Gently and lightly spoon the flour into a measuring cup.
Let the flour pile up, and then level off with a knife.

Do not scoop the flour with the measuring cup or pat the flour down. You want it to be light and airy in texture.

Banana Bread Flour Options

You can change the flour in this recipe for dietary restrictions or to make healthy banana bread. Here are some good options:

Bob’s Red Mills Gluten Free Baking Flour

King Arthur, Measure for Measure Flour, Certified Gluten-Free

King Arthur, Whole Wheat Traditional Flour

Low Carb High Fiber Flour from Flourish

How to Store Banana Bread

Banana bread can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Here are more tips for how to store banana bread.

Freeze

When a loaf is completely cooled (which minimizes condensation in the freezer), wrap it in plastic wrap and store it in an airtight sealed container. That can mean several layers of cling wrap and even bagging it in a freezer bag afterward.

Loaves can be frozen in slices, half loaves, and even whole loaves and be stored for months.

Fluffy banana bread loaf - brown sugar, unsalted butter, greek yogurt

Frequently Asked Questions

How Ripe Should Bananas Be for Banana Bread?

Bananas should be very ripe and with a dark brown peel. You don’t want to buy fresh bananas from the grocery store for this recipe, but rather, let them sit on the counter and develop brown, even black, spots. You’ll want no green on the banana or its stem—and there’s a reason for this.

As a banana ripens, the starches break down into sugar. This breakdown makes them perfect for baking and increases their antioxidant levels. The mushy texture also makes them malleable (ideal for mixing) and provides the loaf that desirable soft mouthfeel.

How Do You Ripen Bananas in an Hour?

Let’s say you’re in a banana bread jam. You promised a loaf but forgot to buy the bananas in advance. Are you out of luck? Not so fast—you can use an old trick for ripening bananas in an hour or less. Of course, it’s not the same as letting them ripen of their own accord, but it’ll certainly do in a pinch (and still taste great).

Preheat the oven to 300° and place bananas in a lined pan. When the oven’s ready, put the bananas in and regularly check until their skin turns brown. This process mimics the natural one, turning starches to sugar, and is the quickest option other than resting.

How Do You Mash Bananas?

Take bananas out of their shell and mash them with a fork on a cutting board. You can leave the strings or take them out—personal preference.

You can also mash them in a bowl with a potato masher.

How Do You Keep Banana Bread Moist?

The riper the bananas, the moister the bread. But there are other actions you can take.
Consider folding the ingredients together in a delicate process that produces a silky, smooth texture. You may also consider baking with oil instead of butter (adding butter to a warm slice later if desired).

Finally, it’s best to start checking your loaf at the earliest time and rechecking it often for doneness.

Why did my loaf cake crack?

It’s very common for a loaf cake to crack on top. When the batter bakes, the heat causes it to rise. When it starts rising over the top of the pan, then it spreads outward. This often causes the top to crack.

Does banana bread go bad?

Banana bread goes bad in the refrigerator after a week. However, it does great in the freezer. We recommend freezing it for up to two months.

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What can you add to banana bread?

When it comes to banana bread additions and add-ins, the options are endless. If you feel like getting creative in the kitchen, give these fun options a try:

Caramel– Drizzle homemade caramel sauce over the top.

Chocolate Chips – Add chocolate chips to the batter for a chocolate chip banana bread recipe.

Nutella – Swirl Nutella in the banana bread.

Shredded Coconut – Add coconut flakes to the batter or over the top of the bread.

Nuts – If you like nuts in bread, try pecans or walnuts for banana nut bread.

Cream Cheese Glaze – Drizzle this over the top.

Chocolate Ganache – Pour a chocolate ganache over the top.

Sesame Seeds – These add a slight texture to the bread. Similar to poppyseeds bread if you’ve ever had that.

Cream Cheese Frosting – This recipe really doesn’t need frosting as it’s so good on its own. However, if you love adding something a little sweeter to the bread or you’re serving it for a party, cream cheese frosting goes really well with banana bread.

What to Serve with Banana Bread

Serve this loaf with a fruit platter or our favorite frittata recipe.

It also pairs nicely with our classic mimosa, orange juice cocktails, or a fun homemade coffee recipe.

More Recipes You’ll Love

If you love this recipe, try any of these:

Apple Cider Donuts

Classic Banana Cake

The Best Pumpkin Pancakes

Easy Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

When to Serve Banana Bread

This recipe is perfect for so many occasions, including brunch. Here are some ideas for when to serve banana bread:

Let us know what you think!

Whether you’re a baking novice or a baked goods connoisseur, you’ll love this moist, deliciously-balanced banana bread recipe. Banana bread is a staple, and this recipe will be a constant in your home, too.

Have fun baking, and let us know what you think by leaving a comment and review below!

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