The Best Banana Bread
My go-to banana bread recipe since 2013, and it’s the BEST!! This recipe makes two moistest and most flavorful banana breads with simple ingredients and just a wooden spoon! The only banana bread recipe you’ll ever need!!
Read on for my secret to the best banana bread.
First, a quick disclaimer. I’m guilty of claiming some of my recipes the best of the best. I do realize that it’s quite subjective. But I promise you, I don’t take this term lightly.
This banana bread recipe has been my go-to since 2013! And yes, I tried other recipes too, but I always come back to this one. I wouldn’t be lying if I said I make this quick bread recipe almost weekly and it never lasts more than 3 days!
And more than 3 dozens of readers confirm my claim! (Just scroll through the comments…)
WHAT MAKES THIS BANANA BREAD THE BEST?
Extra-moist, not too dense, but not fluffy either, this banana bread is truly the best!
Here’re 3 reasons you’ll love this banana bread recipe:
- basic ingredients – sugar, butter, flour, eggs, baking soda and bananas, obvi.
- no mixer required – just grab a large bowl and wooden spoon!
- totally customizable – add whatever add-ins you’d like, chocolate chips, nuts, anything!
THE SECRET TO THE MOISTEST BANANA BREAD:
You may have heard that super ripe bananas are key for a good banana bread, and that’s definitely true.
However, over the years, I found that frozen over-ripe bananas turn a good banana bread into i-can’t-stop-eating-it kind!
Why?
Because when thawed, bananas get super mushy and liquid-y. And all that juices are gold! Don’t throw out the liquid, it makes the bread moist and flavorful.
HOW TO PREPARE BANANAS:
When you get nice and ripe bananas with lots of dark spots all over, put them in the freezer. (And yes, black bananas are totally ok to use!)
Ideally, you’d want to peel the bananas before freezing. Call it lazy, but I never do that!
Instead, I just stick a cluster of ripe bananas, peels and all, straight into the freezer.
And when I’m ready to make some banana bread, here’s how I prepare them:
- Run hot tap water over the frozen bananas in a sink for 1-2 minutes.
- Peel the skin when it softens and place the peeled bananas in a microwave-safe bowl.
- Microwave until bananas are completely thawed, about 3 minutes.
Sounds like a lot of work? Nah, it’s not really that bad, and for that amazing banana bread, you won’t even mind it!
If you already mashed your bananas before freezing (kuddos to you!), you’ll need about 4 cups of mashed bananas.
HOW TO MAKE BANANA BREAD:
Ok, now that the bananas are ready, let’s get baking!
- Step 1. Make the batter: mash the bananas, add sugar, butter and vanilla extract, and then stir in eggs. Lastly, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Optional, add chopped nuts or chocolate chips.
TIP: Use a very large bowl to make the batter. I use a 4qt bowl (the largest bowl of this set).
- Step 2. Bake: divide the batter into 2 greased bread pans. I use glass bread pans, but any bread pan would work. Bake for 50-60 minutes.
TIP: To check the doneness, insert a long wooden skewer or a toothpick. If it comes out clean, the bread is done!
You can easily make this recipe into muffins!
And if you’d rather make half a batch (just 1 bread), you can follow my easy banana muffins recipe instead. It’s the same recipe, but for a half batch.
HOW TO STORE BANANA BREAD:
Technically, you don’t have to refrigerate banana breads.
- Cover the bread and keep it on the counter for 1-2 days.
However, I always put them in the fridge. Mostly to keep them out of sight, or they’ll be gone in matter of hours.
TIP: To keep the banana bread moist, make sure to cover it with plastic wrap or put it in an airtight container.
To serve, I microwave a slice for 30 seconds or so, and it’ll taste like fresh out of oven!
How to freeze banana bread:
This bread also freezes well.
- Wrap the cooled bread well in plastic and put it in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To thaw, transfer the bread into the fridge overnight.
Hope you’ll try this recipe soon. And please snap a photo and share it on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag me @shineshka, so I can see it too!
Thank you!!
The Best Banana Bread
My go-to banana bread recipe since 2013! This recipe makes two moistest and most flavorful banana breads with simple ingredients and just a wooden spoon!
Yield: 2 loaves / 24 slices
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:60 minutes
Total Time:70 minutes
Ingredients:
- 8 frozen medium-to-large bananas (or 3.5-4 cups of mashed bananas), thawed (Note 1)
- 1 ½ cups (300gr) sugar
- ½ cup (115gr) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups (375gr) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1- 1 ½ cups (120-180gr) chopped pecans, optional
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C).
- Prepare two 9×5-inch bread pan and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, mash the thawed bananas with a fork or potato masher until mostly smooth.
- Add sugar, melted butter and vanilla extract. Using a wooden spoon, mix everything until combined.
- Stir in eggs.
- Then add flour, baking soda and salt. Mix to combine.
- Optional, add chopped pecans and/or other add-ins, like chocolate chips, dried fruits.
- Divide the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
- Bake for 60 minutes, or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool completely before serving.
- Keep the banana bread in the bread pan, covered tightly, in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Note 1: Frozen bananas are key in this recipe for moistest and most flavorful banana bread. Read the post above on how I thaw my frozen bananas. It’s really quick and easy!
Note 2: You can also make this recipe into muffins. This recipe will make 24 muffins, or follow my banana muffins recipe for half a batch.
For step-by-step photos and additional notes, read the post above.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 2 loaves / 24 slices, Serving Size: 1 slice
- Amount Per Serving:
- Calories: 181 Calories
- Total Fat: 4.5g
- Cholesterol: 25.7mg
- Sodium: 182.9mg
- Carbohydrates: 33.5g
- Sugar: 17.4g
- Protein: 2.6g
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All photographs and content on Sweet & Savory by Shinee is copyright protected, unless otherwise noted. Please do not use any of my photos without my authorization. If you would like to share my recipe, you may re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the full directions. Thank you for your cooperation!
This post was originally published on February 13th, 2013 and it was last updated on May 4th, 2020.
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The only thing I substituted was 1 xl large duck egg for 2 chicken eggs. Turned out VERY delicious! Thank you!!!!
I made this bread a couple weeks ago and it was absolutely delicious!! It was my first time ever making banana bread and I’m in love. My birthday is coming up and I’m planning on using your carrot cake recipe then as well 🙂 Thank you for the awesome recipes!
I made two of these one for myself and one for my daughter
Was the best recipe and I liked your comments on the frozen methods thanks mmmmmgood
OMG! So delicious I got rid of my other recipes, easy Peezy added mini chocolate chips and it came out the way delishis!! Thanks!
Aww, this’s quite the compliment. Thank you so much, Jan!!
LOve love loveI have made this 2 times already practice makes perfectI only left in for 45 minutes not the hour. The hour I did for my first batch and it came out dry
BIG yes to banana bread 🙂 absolutely love this recipe.
I made this and it was so good! Everyone enjoyed it. Next time I will most likely add more sugar than this calls for but other than that I loved it. The frozen bananas are so convenient. I can make it when I have time and I really think it helped with the flavor and consistency.
Hi, Kelly. Yes, you can definitely add more sugar in this recipe, as mine calls for the lowest amount of sugar. And yeah, frozen bananas are way to go. Thank you for your comment!
How many eggs ?
Thank you.:)
I want to make the bread but only have self rising flour would it be the same if I took out the banking soars and salt????
Hi, Rhonda. So since I haven’t tested this recipe with self-rising flour, I’m only giving you my opinion. I think you can definitely use self-rising flour, but omit the salt and do add the baking soda as per recipe. And if you try, please let us know how it turns out. Thank you!
Frozen bananas are definitely the secret. Such an easy recipe. Made two beautiful loaves. My husband said that it’s the best banana nut bread ever. I will have to try the pineapple, coconut recipe next time.Thanks for sharing.
So happy you tried my recipe, Wylene. Frozen bananas are definitely a game-changer! Thank you for your feedback.
I’ve only recently found your site and yes I’ve also liked your FB page. Can’t wait to try all these amazing recipes. Can you tell me what non-stick spray you prefer? I bought some for a recipe and we felt it left a taste in the bread I made. Would love to hear your opinion on what to try.
Thank you and I so look forward to making many of your recipes
Hi, Kari. Welcome, and thank you for following!!! I use Pam Original cooking spray. We don’t taste any aftertaste with it.
Ty, Ty, Ty! This is absolutely the best banana bread recipe I have ever tried. Now it’s my only banana bread recipe that I use. I get 3 medium loaves of bread out of one batch. I can’t keep my sons from devouring every last morsel! Dress it up with anything you like.
So happy you tried and loved it, Laurie. Thank you so much for your feedback!
this recipe was great, but 60 Minutes would turn these into charcoal. I had them in the oven for 35 minutes when I thought to check them and they were already burning.
Hi, Juliana. Thank you for your feedback. What kind of pan did you use for baking your banana bread? If you used the similar bread pan like mine, then I highly recommend checking your oven temperature with an oven thermometer (<- affiliate link). Your oven may run hotter than it says. It's very common for ovens heat up to 50°F up or down.
I am currently making this for dinner and the weekend. It smells amazing in our home. Thank you for the recipe.
Yay, so happy you tried my recipe, Victoria. I hope you all enjoyed the bread. Thank you!
Absolutely the Best Ever ❤️❤️
Yay, so glad yo got to try it, DeAnn. Thank you for your feedback.
This is my new go to recipe. Thank you!
Awesome! So glad you tried this recipe, Gloria. Thank you for your feedback!
Hi, I was just wondering…when the bananas thaw…there seems to be a lot of “juice”
. Do you use it all?
Thanks
Hi, Bev. YES, all that liquid is what makes this banana bread amazing! Sorry for the delayed response.
Can I wrap banana bread loaves after cooling and put them immediately in the freezer? I have 6 loaves in the oven right now.
Yes, absolutely. Sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner on this, Julie. Hope you froze them.
So freaking good!
Hi not too sure about all purpose flour, do you mean bread flour or self raising or plain flour. I look forward to making this it sound delicious from all the reviews
Hi, Val. It’s regular plain flour.
Thank you I’ll definitely be trying this
I subbed out half of the banana for crushed pineapple (a take on Hummingbird Cake). It came out delicious. I think it would have been better with adding shredded coconut and frosting the top with a cream cheese frosting.
Hi, Caron. Thank you for your feedback and sharing your adaptation. So glad it turned out great!
That sounds really good, so I used your suggestion, added the crushed pineapple, and added the coconut! Can’t wait to see how it comes out with a cream cheese frosting!
Sounds really good. Bet you enjoyed it.
Fantastic, I added no sugar, so only sweet from the bananas, plenty sweet for me and my Todd. This will be my go to recipe.
Toddler
I forgot to rate your recipe…..if it gave 10 it would be right up there.Thanks again
Thank you soooo much, Dunia!!!
Shine, all I have to say is “this is the best banana bread” that I’ve made and your recipe is definitely a keeper.
I love that it makes 2 loaves instead of 1. I made 4 loaves and shared with neighbors.
Thank you for such an easy and amazing recipe!
Dunia
Awesome. So happy you loved the recipe!!!
My mother-in-law told me that she has about 20 super ripe bananas in her freezer and thought I have to make this banana bread. I halved the ingredients just to try out in one pan, turned out amazing! Banana bread every week now 🤣 thank you so much!
Yay, so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for your feedback, Patricia!!