This classic Banana Bread recipe makes a super moist, soft, and sweet loaf. Tender and loaded with flavor, there’s a reason that it’s such a popular breakfast idea!
Banana Bread is one of the most comforting baked goods. It’s soft and sweet, with just a hint of banana flavor. It’s great as a grab-and-go breakfast, snack, or an addition to any weekend brunch spread. This homemade quick bread is one recipe that I just can’t stop eating. Probably ate an entire loaf to myself when I was testing this recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Banana Bread Recipe
Here’s all the reasons I love it, and I think you will too:
- Quick & easy. With just 10 minutes of prep time, this recipe is easy to make. (And perfect for making ahead!)
- Perfect texture. The moist and tender consistency has me slicing pieces off all day long. Trust me when I say that this loaf will be gone before you know it.
- Just the right amount of sweetness. It’s sweet enough to eat on its own, but not so sweet that you couldn’t add some honey or maple butter on top if you wanted.
- Flexible. You can add mix-ins like chocolate chips, nuts, and more. I shared some ideas below!
What You’ll Need
Most of the ingredients for this bread are probably already in your pantry. Here’s everything you’ll need to make this recipe. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list.
- Mashed Bananas: Be sure to choose bananas that are quite ripe with some brown spots. They’ll be softer and sweeter!
- Oil: I used vegetable oil but you could also use olive oil.
- Butter: Unsalted
- Eggs
- Milk: You could also use soy milk or almond milk.
- Vanilla
- Sugar: I used regular sugar, but you could also use light brown sugar if you wanted to add a touch of caramel flavor.
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Cinnamon
How to Make Banana Bread
Banana Bread is both simple and easy to make. Here’s everything you’ll need to do:
- Prepare your equipment. Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously grease a 9-inch loaf pan, setting aside once that’s done. Feel free to line it with parchment paper (this will help prevent the bread from sticking once it’s done baking).
- Mash the bananas. Using either a potato masher or a fork (the potato masher is usually easier), peel and mash the bananas.
- Combine the wet ingredients. Once mashed, combine the mashed bananas with the oil, butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Then, beat everything together until it’s all thoroughly combined.
- Add sugar. When every has been combined, add the sugar and continue beating until it’s well incorporated.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the bowl with your wet ingredients. Beat just until it starts to combine (beating too much will cause the bread to be tough and chewy). To finish incorporating the flour, just continue to stir the mixture with a spatula.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake at 350°F for 55-65 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean). Allow the bread to cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Tips for Success
Although this banana bread is easy to make, getting the right consistency with any baked good can be challenging. Here are a few of my tips for making the best homemade banana bread:
- Use extra ripe bananas: The riper the bananas are, the better flavor your bread will have. When it comes to banana bread, I like to use overripe bananas. I will often pop overripe bananas in the freezer so that I can make banana bread later (just make sure to thaw them before trying to mash them!)
- Be careful when mixing the batter: This is definitely not a recipe that you want to overmix the batter (doing so will result in a tough and chewy bread). When combining the wet and dry ingredients, try to stop once everything is just combined.
- Set the timer at 55 minutes: Baking time can vary based on a lot of factors, so make sure that you test your loaf after 55 minutes. The easiest way to do this is by inserting a toothpick into the center. Once it comes out clean (you may have to do this two to three times between the 55 and 65 minutes), take it out of the oven to cool.
Choose Your Own Mix-ins
One of the reasons I love this recipe is because it’s so simple, but also easily customizable. There are so many ingredients that add flavor and texture to this classic bread. Here are a few of my favorite ingredients to add:
- Chopped Nuts: I love the way crunchy nuts add texture to this otherwise soft bread.
- Chocolate Chips: Rich chocolate pairs great with the lightly sweet flavor of bananas.
- Dried fruit: Raisins and craisins are great for adding both texture and sweetness.
How to Store Banana Bread
This recipe will stay moist for days when stored properly. First allow the bread to cool completely. I recommend placing the bread in an airtight storage bag or container so that it stays as moist as possible. You can then either store it at room temperature for 3 days or in the fridge for 6 days.
Can I Freeze It?
Yes, you can freeze banana bread! Whether you made it in advance or just couldn’t finish the loaf, this recipe will last for up to 2 months when frozen. Allow the bread to cool completely, then wrap it in one layer of plastic wrap and one layer of aluminum foil.
When you’re ready to serve it, just remove it from the freezer and place it on the counter. It should take about 24 hours to come to room temperature this way, so make sure you plan when you want to take it out ahead of time.
More Quick Bread Recipes
If you like this recipe, here are a few other easy bread recipes that I think you’d like:
Print
Moist Banana Bread Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 10 slices
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
This classic Banana Bread is super moist, soft, and sweet. Tender and loaded with flavor, there’s a reason that it’s such a popular breakfast favorite!
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup mashed banana (about 3 medium bananas)
- ½ cup (118ml) vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons (30g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons (30ml) milk
- 1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (190g) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cup (210g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F: Generously grease a 9-inch loaf pan and set aside. Line the pan with parchment paper if desired.
- Mash the bananas: peel and mash the bananas with a potato masher or fork.
- Combine the wet ingredients: Combine the bananas with the oil, butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Beat all the ingredients together until well combined. Add the sugar and beat until incorporated.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the bowl and beat just until it starts to combine. Stir the mixture with a spatula to finish incorporating the flour.
- Bake at 350°F for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 302
- Sugar: 23.7g
- Sodium: 259mg
- Fat: 14.4g
- Carbohydrates: 41.3g
- Fiber: 1.3g
- Protein: 3.6g
- Cholesterol: 43mg
Thanks for sharing….Can I substitute the white sugar for brown sugar?
yes if needed
Just love this cake. Smells amazing, so easy to make and can add a whole variety of fruits, spices or nuts to make it more interesting. I use half brown sugar and half raw sugar and add nutmeg & ginger. Tried it this time with bit of fresh pineapple and it was wonderful. Comes out perfect at 55 mins.
Thank you so much! The brown sugar sounds amazing!
SO moist! Thanks for the recipe, it smells amazing while baking. For me it took 50 mins.
I added 50g chocolate chips. And used just 80g of sugar, half regular and half brown sugar. It was the perfect amount of sweet.
Perfect texture, really moist, you can taste the banana. 5 stars!
That’s wonderful Brianna, thank you so much for your wonderful review
I made this banana bread yesterday and it is so moist and yummy! I doubled the recipe and made chocolate chip banana muffins with the rest.
That is just wonderful Bethany! Thank you!
This banana bread was so delicious and smelled amazing baking in the oven! Easy to make and even easier to eat 😋
Thank you so much Sara! I agree, this disappears fast at our house too!
This is the best banana bread I have ever made. Thanks for sharing. My go to recipe. I deleted rest of recipes for banana bread.
I am so flattered!! Thank you so much!
I made this after dinner to have the next morning for breakfast. There was only 1 slice left the next morning (because I hid a slice 😊) My family and I loved it! I added walnuts but didn’t change anything else about the recipe. The recipe is perfect as is. That was the best banana bread I’ve had in a long time!
Love love love! Our loaf hardly lasts 24 hours, thank you for sharing!
Kids had some over ripe bananas-picked your recipe and glad I did! Delicious bread!! Sliced and served with cream cheese —yum
Yeah!! Love that Jana, thank you so much!
I love this recipe! The second time I made it I completely forgot the sugar and it was still good (I added blueberries so that helped!)
Ha, I’ve done that too! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I loved this recipe, it was so easy to make. This as my first banana cake and one I will make again. I also swapped half the sugar for a substitute worked out just as good. 👍
Thank you Linda for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your recipe! I made a few modifications (without the cinnamon but added dried blueberries in lieu of nuts and chocolate chips) as I couldn’t wait to complete my ingredients as specified here. We all loved it… with ice cream 🙂 Will try it again with cinnamon.
Love that! Thank you for sharind!
This banana bread receipe worked out perfectly 😊 Thank you for the receipe, I have tried many other receipes though did not work out and would always sink flat, never rise, and so delicious 😋
So happy to hear that!! Thank you Irene!
Loved it! Baked it for 60 minutes, with chocolate chips and pecans. And made a batch for cupcakes too (20-22 mins). LOVED IT!
Yeeees! Thank you Kymberli!
Just put it in the oven! I added walnuts, which we love…. Later…
Wonderful Patty! I love adding walnuts too but my husband doesn’t care for them. Sometimes I make a loaf for myself LOL
Forgot to mention that I also used my homemade vanilla extract❤️❤️
I put light brown sugar in the bottom of the pan, double the cinnamon and best of all I used a cup of my vanilla bean sugar.
Will make again❤️❤️
OMG that sounds amazing!!
Hi Donna, Would you mind sharing how you make vanilla bean sugar please? Would appreciate it! Julie L.
Made this today to use up 3 ripened bananas. I had all the ingredients in my pantry so I gave it a try. I believe it’s the best recipe I’ve tried, very moist, not crumbly. Definitely making it again. Thank you!
That’s wonderful Ronda, I am so happy to hear that!! Thank you!
Best banana bread ever! I doubled the cinnamon bc I love it! Thank you so much for sharing 🤍
That sounds like a great idea to me! Thank you so much for sharing!
I just made this today, wonderful recipe!! Easy, moist and delicious! I greased my loaf pan with butter put a layer of brown sugar on the bottom before adding the batter, nice yummy touch to the bottom. Thank you for this recipe!
Oooh I love that!! It must have amazing texture! Thank you for sharing!
Made this banana bread and it’s amazing! It’s so moist and tastes delicious will definitely be making this again!
Yes Liv! That’s awesome. Thank you so much!!