With its super-moist and buttery texture, banana and brown sugar flavors, soft crumb, and 1,300+ reviews, this is a delicious AND undeniably popular banana bread recipe. You need 4 medium or 3 large ripe bananas.
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos and a few more success tips. It’s one of the most popular recipes I’ve published on this website, out of over 1,200. This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
One reader, Michele, says: “Perfectly delish every time! Absolutely foolproof. Nuts, no nuts, smidge more or less of sour creamโno problem… bigger bananas, smallerโno worries, perfect, beyond delicious EVERY time. โ โ โ โ โ ”
This is my favorite banana bread recipe, one that I’ve cherished for years. It’s one of those classic recipes that you start to know by heart, just like a good pie crust or chocolate chip cookies recipe. This bread comes to mind first when I have leftover spotty bananas on the counter, and it’s the bread that’s on constant rotation in my freezer stash.
One reader, Tricia, commented: “I have this recipe on speed dial. LOL. It is so tasty and is always a crowd pleaser. My kids and entire family love it!!! โ โ โ โ โ ”
Yes, I have this recipe on speed dial too!
I’ve tried dozens of banana bread recipes over the years, and when I baked and originally published this recipe many years ago, I never looked back.
Why You’ll Love This Banana Bread Recipe Too
- Mega banana flavor
- Not overly sweet, so banana flavor shines
- Dense, but still quite tender & soft
- Buttery & stays moist for days (tastes best on day 2, just like peanut butter chocolate chip zucchini bread)
- Straightforward, simple recipe
- Freezes wonderfully
- Excellent plain or with nuts or chocolate chipsโor a swipe of cinnamon butter
How to Mash Bananas
Did you know you can use your electric mixer to mash bananas? Break or slice the spotty bananas into large pieces and place in the bowl of your stand mixerโor use a regular mixing bowl and your hand mixer. Begin beating on low, then gradually increase to medium-high speed as the bananas break down into mashed banana. Transfer the bananas to another bowl and use the mixing bowl for the butter and sugar. (No need to clean itโsome mashed banana remnants is fine.)
I do this when I mash bananas for banana muffins and banana chocolate chip breakfast cookies too.
Other Banana Bread Ingredients
- Butter: Use softened butter for a soft texture and irresistible butter flavor.
- Brown Sugar: Use all brown sugar in this recipe. In the headnotes for this chocolate chip cookies recipe, I explain that brown sugar yields soft and moist cookies. Well, brown sugar works that same magic in banana bread, too. It also adds wonderful flavor.
- Eggs: Eggs supply cakes, cupcakes, breads, doughs, and cookies their stability and structure, as well as a tender texture. You’ll need 2 large eggs for this.
- Sour Cream or Yogurt: Sour cream or yogurt adds even more moisture to this banana bread. (You can use the 2 interchangeably in most baking recipes.)
For banana nut bread, add 3/4 cup of chopped nuts to the banana bread batter; I like using either pecans or walnuts. If you’re nuts for nuts (LOL), you’ll enjoy the toasty slight crunch nestled inside the soft crumbs. If you’re not a nut person, feel free to leave them out or replace with chocolate chips. For a whole wheat version, try my whole wheat banana bread. Or for a chocolate version, try my double chocolate banana bread.
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes and I do this often. Thaw the frozen bananas at room temperature. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe below. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking. Try not to mash too much or else you’ll be left with 1 and 1/2 cups of banana-y liquid; some chunks are great.
Can I Turn This Into a Banana Bundt Cake?
I recommend using my extremely similar, scaled-up recipe for chocolate marble banana Bundt cake instead. You can leave out the chocolate swirl in that recipe.
How to Freeze Banana Bread
Freeze banana bread using these instructions to preserve its fresh flavor and texture for months:
- Cool baked banana bread completely.
- Tightly wrap the loaf or slices (individually or grouped) in 2โ3 layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- Place wrapped banana bread in a large freezer-friendly storage bag or reusable container.
- Date the bag and freeze for up to 3โ4 months. Thaw wrapped or unwrapped in the refrigerator or at room temperature. All methods work like a charm!
I like to freeze the quick bread in slices because slices thaw much quicker than a whole loaf.
Overall, this is an easy recipe for classic banana bread. The batter takes about 10 minutes to throw together, the bread stays moist for days, and nothing beats the smell of fresh banana bread in the oven. (Except for, maybe, zucchini bread or pumpkin bread… try those next!)
Other Favorite Banana Recipes:
- Banana Cake & Banana Cupcakes
- Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
- Banana Cream Pie & Banoffee Pie
- Banana Muffins or Healthier Chocolate Banana Muffins & Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Banana Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins
- Baked Banana Oatmeal
- Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
My Favorite Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
With its super-moist and buttery texture, banana and brown sugar flavors, soft crumb, and 1,000+ reviews, this is a delicious AND undeniably popular banana bread recipe. You need 4 large ripe bananas. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 3โ4 ripe bananas)
- 1/3 cup (80g) plain Greek yogurt or full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: 3/4 cup (90g) chopped pecans or walnuts, or 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much, too soon. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Hereโs a helpful tutorial if you need guidance onย how to cream butter and sugar.) With the mixer running on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the mashed bananas, yogurt/sour cream, and vanilla until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat on low speed just until combined. Do not over-mix. Fold in the nuts/chocolate chips, if using. The batter should be thick.
- Pour and spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 60โ65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil halfway through, to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. Cool the bread in the pan set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Remove the bread from the pan and place it directly on the rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.
- Store wrapped tightly at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.ย
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links):ย 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Update in 2025: With enough reader feedback stating the bread can often be too moist and dense, and therefore not bake properly, my team and I retested the bread multiple times over the past 2 years; we slightly reduced the amount of mashed bananas from 2 cups to 1 and 1/2 cups.
- Butter: If needed, you can use salted butter in this recipe with no other changes needed. I’ve also successfully reduced the butter down to 6 Tablespoons (85g) with no issue (just as tasty).
- Brown Sugar: This is not an overly sweet quick bread. If you want a sweeter banana bread, increase to 1 cup (200g) brown sugar. Feel free to replace some or all of the brown sugar with regular white granulated sugar.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: This banana bread also tastes fantastic with cream cheese frosting on top! To make it, beat 4 ounces (113g) of softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup (56g) of softened unsalted butter together on medium speed until smooth. Beat in 1 cup (120g) of confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until combined. Spread on cooled loaf.
- Banana Bread Muffins:ย Use this banana bread recipe to make 15 banana bread muffins. Spoon the batter into a lined or greased muffin pan (fill each to the top with batter) and bake for 5 minutes at 425ยฐF (218ยฐC); then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Bake for an additional 16โ17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total bake time for the banana bread muffins is about 21โ23 minutes. The initial burst of hot air helps those muffins rise nice and tall! Or try my quick & easy banana muffins.
- Brown Sugar: Feel free to substitute the same amount of regular white granulated sugar or coconut sugar. I do not recommend any liquid sweeteners.
- No Sour Cream or Yogurt? Feel free to use 1/3 cup (75โ80g) mashed banana (in addition to what is called for in the recipe), unsweetened applesauce, or even canned pumpkin puree.
- Frozen Bananas: You can use frozen bananas here. Thaw the frozen bananas. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking. Try not to mash too much or else you’ll be left with banana-y liquid; some chunks are great.
- Can I Turn This Into Banana Bundt Cake? There isn’t enough batter. I recommend using my extremely similar, scaled-up recipe for chocolate marble banana Bundt cake instead. You can leave out the chocolate swirl in that recipe.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally! I am really looking forward to making this but I unfortunatelly don have an oven in my current home… Can I cook it the the airfrier instead?
Thank you so much!
We haven’t tested it, Carlota! Let us know if you do.
Can i possibly use oil instead of butter?
Hi Chesne, in place of the butter, you could try solid coconut oil. You need a fat that is solid at room temperature so that it can be creamed together with the sugar, so vegetable oil will not work here. Hope you enjoy it!
Outstanding Recipe! Moist & Delicious!
Best banana bread ever!
Followed the recipe and added the walnuts.
Thank You!
If I want to eat this bread warm is it better to reheat it after it’s cooled all the way or just slice some off while it’s still cooling?
I LOVE your recipes… and videos! Even if I already know how to make that particular recipe I watch the video…so mesmerizing! Anyway. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Becky, we often enjoy a warm slice right out of the oven!
Hi,
I was wondering whether this can be frozen (after cooling completely and wrapped in a seal to preserve moisture)?
Thanks,
haj
Absolutely! See Notes after the recipe for freezing instructions.
I baked this yesterday with very spotty bananas and mashing them in the mixer made the whole thing so much easier. I used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream and added a handful of walnuts, and the loaf stayed beautifully moist โ it really did taste even better on day two. This is now my go-to whenever I have bananas going soft on the counter, thank you!
Hello, I am currently making your recipe (banana bread), if I use a glass 9X5 dish to cook my banana bread should I lower the oven temperature? Thanking you in advance. ๐ค
Hi Jeannie, the bake time may be a few minutes longer for a glass pan, but otherwise all baking directions can remain the same. Make sure itโs a true 9ร5 pan, not a little smaller (my glass Pyrex pan is a little smaller). Enjoy!
Hi
Cam I bake this in a 9 by 4 Pullman
Loaf pan ? Or is it too much batter for that and should I just bake in a 8 by 8? Thank you. ๐ฉท
Hi Anita, a 9×4-inch pan will be a bit too small, but you could fill your pan about half way and then use the leftover batter for a few muffins on the side.
Hi I just made your banana bread it is good I love the taste I think I should have added more bananas only had 3 small bananas .
What would be your recommended changes if using a convection oven?
Hi Michael, We always recommend conventional settings for baking (not convection/fan). The flow of air from convection heat can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you do use convection/fan settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees F and keep in mind that things may still take less time to bake.
My lap top is full of your recipes. As for the banana bread, I have tried many recipes but yours is the best and easiest. As for the bananas, I always use my frozen ones as they are my over ripe so I freeze them until I have enough to make at least 2 loaves. Sometimes I do put chocolates chips in. YUM.
Banana muffins are terrific
๐คค
Fantastic easy recipe! Breads ( I doubled the recipe) turned out perfect and so beautiful! Like a bake shop! ๐
I am planning on making this as mini banana bread loaves. Should I follow the muffin directions?
Hi Deanna! You can absolutely use this recipe to make smaller loaves. Yield and bake time will vary depending on the exact size of your mini loaf pans. Fill your pans about halfway and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Same oven temp. Enjoy!
Such a good recipe!!
This is the best banana bread Iโve ever made by far! Adding the yogurt and cinnamon made such a difference. I always use very ripe bananas then freeze them tell the skin turns dark brown. Really brings the banana flavor out.
The written recipe calls for 8tbspns of butter, should it now be 6?
Thanks !
I love this recipe!
Hi MaryJo, We still use 8 tbs as written, but if needed you can reduce the butter down to 6 tbs and it will still turn out.
I have made this before, and it was delicious. This time I decided to brown the butter first and use dark brown sugar. Game changer! It was amazing! I highly recommend the brown butter. Yum!
I baked this loaf yesterday using very spotty bananas and the tip to mash them with the mixer saved me a lot of time, because I usually end up with uneven chunks. I used sour cream instead of yogurt, and the crumb stayed moist and buttery for two days, just as you describe in the post. I also appreciated the note about lowering the oven rack to the lower third, since my previous loaves browned too quickly on top before the center set. The 60 to 65 minute bake time was spot on for my 9 by 5 inch pan, and a toothpick came out clean right at the end. I will keep this recipe as my go-to banana bread.
Hiูซ
Can I use bread flour instead of all purpose flourูซ would it make any difference in the texture?
Hi April, we donโt recommend bread flour, it would yield a dense and chewy banana bread. Itโs best to stick with all-purpose for banana bread!
It’s great to have found a basic banana bread recipe that uses up bananas and yogurt – it’s my favorite recipe now too.
Whole wheat flour and wheat germ combined to equal one half cup was substituted in place of white flour. 1/8 cup coconut sugar was enough since the vanilla was doubled and a Tbsp molasses added. Chopped walnuts made a perfect addition. Next time I want to throw in some hemp hearts I’ve never used before, and maybe some dates…still a bit of a rebel baker I am at 70.
I love “rebel baker”, sounds like fun! Please come back and let us know how it turned out.
My go to for banana bread, hubby is diabetic I substitute the 3/4 cup of brown sugar with
Less than 1/4 cup of Splenda Brown sugar substitute.
How many calories by portion?
We donโt usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! It is a hit every time. 4 bananas seems to be the perfect amount of banana flavor and sweetness. The only thing I changed was decreasing the amount of brown sugar from 3/4 cup to 1/2 cup. Thanks again!
I love all your recipes but am currently dieting and counting calories. It would be helpful if you noted calorie counts. I tend to cut some of your recipes with stevia to save some calories. So far it hasn’t changed the end result
Hi Kathy! We donโt usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I read your notes after I made this banana bread. Why didn’t you adjust the recipe to show the change in quantity to the bananas?
I used the quantity in the recipe. My bread is baking right now. I hope it comes out good and not mushy
Hi Esmeralda, the quantity in the ingredients (1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 3โ4 ripe bananas)) reflects the adjustments made to the recipe in 2025 per the recipe notes. We hope this helps and that you enjoy the bread!