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
- 1/3 cup (80g) plain Greek yogurt or full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 3โ4 ripe bananas)
- 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 yogurt, vanilla, and mashed bananas 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.ย Cool the bread in the pan set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Remove the bread from the pan and cool it directly on the rack until ready to slice and serve.
- 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 (112g) of softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup (60g) 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 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.
- Chocolate Chips: I love this bread with chocolate chips, too. Feel free to add 1 cup of your favorite chocolate chips. No need to leave out the nuts if you add the chocolate chips. Chocolate chips and nuts are both optional.
- 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 love this recipe and I normally make it with pecans. I would like to try it with both -pecans and chocolate chips. Should the amounts still be 3/4 cup chopped pecans and 1 cup chocolate chips?
Thank you,
Sindi
Hi Sindi! We would keep the total amount of add-ins to 1 cup. We would use 1/2 cup of each!
My favourite banana recipe by far
Do you think I could substitute the brown sugar maybe maple syrup? And how much should I use?
Hi Rosie, we don’t recommend it in this recipe, but how about our healthy banana bread recipe instead? It’s a little different, but it uses honey for some of the sugar. You’ll see that it has brown sugar as well, but that it can be replaced with coconut sugar. Let us know if you give it a try!
Hi Sally! I recently made this recipe for the first time. My husband and I both agreed that it’s the best banana bread I’ve ever made. At his request, I added 1 cup of mini chocolate chips but no nuts. So delicious! I used a metal 9×5-inch loaf pan. I was wondering, if I use a glass 9×5-inch loaf pan, would the bake time be the same?
Hi Kathy, 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!
I used frozen bananas that were thawed, room temperature, and drained of the juice. While my bananas were small, is it unusual that I needed six bananas and still didn’t get to the 345 grams noted in the recipe? The bread was good and I will make again, but am wondering if I did something wrong with the bananas? Thanks!
Hi Kristi, you’re not doing anything wrong – just add bananas until you get to the correct weight. Glad you enjoyed the bread!
Absolutely delicious. I make this all the time. Easy to make and I have added different nuts and dried fruits to switch it up. Always complimented.
Thank you.
I am allergic to eggs. How can I make an eggless version?
Hi Lyra, we havenโt tested this bread with any egg substitutes, so weโre unsure what might work best. Let us know if you do any experimenting!
I’ve never tried it before but you could try substituting applesauce for the eggs. use 1/4 cup per egg (so 1/2 cup for this recipe) ๐
Can I use this recipe for 3 mini glass loaf pans? Thank you.
Hi Kelly, yes, absolutely. Bake time will vary depending on the exact size of your mini loaf pans. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Hi there. Use 2 loaf pans for this recipe and you will find they cook up perfectly. Adjust the time as they won’t take quite as long to bake! Cheers!
Even though I followed the recipe, including an oven thermometer and tenting halfway through, the size and the bottom over rounded before the center was cooked. Any suggestions?
Hi Nancy, happy to help troubleshoot. What kind of pan are you using? And are you baking on conventional or convection/fan setting?
Conventional. 9 x 5 loaf pan.
Delicious delicious delicious delicious.
i tried this recipe and it is so moist and so good..
Hey Sally, love your recipes. I want to try this banana bread soon. But currently I only have two 6 inch round tins. Was thinking to divide the mixture into those 2 round tins. Hope it’s not a very weird idea (I know it won’t be a loaf though ๐ ) It would be great if you could please guide me on the baking time. Thanks.
Hi Rajashree, you can use your 6-inch round cake pans. Fill only half way. We’re unsure of the exact bake time, so keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Enjoy!
I donโt see the nutritional information
Hi Rosemary, 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
Can I use low-fat sour cream instead of full fat?
Hi Olivia, that will work in a pinch.
Can I substitute vegetable or rapeseed oil instead of butter?
Hi Anne, you’ll need a fat that is solid at room temperature so that it can be properly creamed with the sugar. Solid coconut oil could work.
I made this recipe with rave reviews from my son! When storing, what do you use to wrap tightly around the bread?
You can place it in a zip top bag, a container large enough, or wrap in foil/plastic wrap. Whatever you prefer!
Definitely the best banana bread Iโve made (baked a lot in my 76 years). I thoroughly liquify the bananas. I only use the mixer for the wet ingredients and I do add chocolate chips (1 cup is too much for me).
Can I place slices of banana in the batter before putting it in the oven to bake?
We haven’t tested it, Anthea. Let us know if you give it a try!
best banana bread recipe ever! so moist, perfectly sweet, and it baked out perfectly. i added toasted walnuts for that nutty flavor and it was delish. could recommend more thank you sally!
Can I make this with self raising flour instead of all purpose plus baking soda? Mine didn’t rise well.
Hi Lou, we donโt recommend using self rising flour in this recipe. It would take additional recipe testing to ensure accurate results.
This was delicious!! I used half brown sugar and half granulated!
Let me share how I prepare my bananas. My grocery usually has over ripe bananas and I buy a bag. When I get home, I mash the bananas and measure out the amount for one recipe, place in plastic bag or freezer safe container and place in freezer. Label each bag. I also measure out the amount of nuts and place in freezer. Buttermilk can also be measured and place in freezer. It sure makes it easier when this is done. I normally bake six loaves at a time and gift them and I normally always have a loaf or two in the freezer.
You are the ultimate best!! I love the way you present your recipes, and understand that we’re not all your level of expertise. LOL All of my family love your recipes, and I give you full credit. I’m an old Mama full of my own, but I’m not so proud I can’t give credit where credit’s due. Thank you!!
Followed this recipe for my first banana bread loaf, and it came out great! Although the bottom cooked a lil too much. It also puffed up more than the one in your photo. Any ideas?