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 ripe bananas.
One reader, Michele, says: “Perfectly delish every time! Absolutely foolproof. Nuts, no nuts, smidge more or less of sour cream—no problem… bigger bananas, smaller—no worries, perfect, beyond delicious EVERY time. ★★★★★”
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.
It’s one of the most popular recipes I’ve published on this website, out of over 1,200.
One reader, Tricia, says: “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!!! ★★★★★”
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 back in 2013, I never looked back.
Why You’ll Love This Banana Bread Recipe Too
- Mega banana flavor (from 2 cups/460g mashed bananas)
- Not overly sweet, so banana flavor shines
- Dense, but still quite tender & soft
- Buttery & stays moist for days
- Straightforward, simple recipe
- Freezes wonderfully
- Excellent plain or with nuts or chocolate chips
This bread uses more mashed bananas than similar recipes. Add 2 whole cups (460g) of mashed banana, which is about 4 large bananas. More banana = more moisture and flavor in the finished loaf.
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 mixer—or 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 it—some 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.
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 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 2–3 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 3–4 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
- 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.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (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 yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 cups (460g) mashed bananas (about 4 large ripe bananas)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: 3/4 cup (100g) chopped pecans or walnuts
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much, too soon. Grease a metal 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. With the mixer running on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat in the yogurt, mashed bananas, and vanilla extract until combined.
- With the mixer running on low speed, slowly beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until no flour pockets remain. Do not over-mix. Fold in the nuts, if using.
- Pour and spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 60–65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the bread 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. This may be after 60–65 minutes depending on your oven, so begin checking every 5 minutes around the 60-minute mark.
- Remove bread from the oven and allow the bread to cool in the pan set on a wire rack for 1 hour. Remove bread from the pan and cool bread directly on the wire rack until ready to slice and serve.
- Cover and store banana bread at room temperature for 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Banana bread tastes best on day 2 after the flavors have settled together. See post above for freezing instructions.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- 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: 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 425°F (218°C); then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16–17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total bake time for the banana bread muffins is about 21–23 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 the 2 cups), 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 2 cups of 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.
I LOVE this recipe; it’s my new go-to for bb. I made mine in a glass pyrex and it did take quite a bit longer to bake than the recipe said(probably about 1hr45), so be patient and make sure to check the internal temperature before pulling it out. That said, it is PERFECTLY moist and not too sweet, which is exactly what I was looking for. Next time I’ll try it with cream cheese frosting, as I think that’s the only thing that could push this perfect loaf into truly mindblowing territory.
Moist, great flavor. Perfect with tea or coffee. The pecans added a bit of texture to the bread. Didn’t need any frosting…it was sweet enough…in fact, next time I might cut back on the sugar just a tiny bit. Thanks Sally! Great surefire recipe.
Excellent recipe — the result had a delicate but rich crumb and is thankfully less sweet than other bb recipes I’ve tried. I added a bit more cinnamon as well as 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg and a heaping tsp of ground ginger (that little extra zing is great in bb!). The kitchen I was working in didn’t have ground cloves or allspice; I would have added a pinch of each otherwise. I also added half a tsp of orange extract.
I made this recipe with baking soda like it says but without the yogurt or sour cream and it didnt rise. Im guessing without the acidity of the cream the soda couldnt make air. I used powder on the second batch and it rose beautiful.
This recipe is delicious!! It turned out perfect. It’s not too sweet & very moist. I added extra cinnamon, added ground nutmeg & ground cloves. I will definitely make this recipe again! Thank you
If U follow the recipe the results are terrific! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you for sharing such a great recipe! This came out wonderful!!!!!
Awesome recipe thank you! Added walnuts and chocolate chips and wow!!! Moist and yummy!
Second time making this recipe and I love it! The yogurt adds moistness and is amazing! Going to be adding chocolate chips next time!
I used peach yogurt as it was all I had. Also added coconut flakes with chocolate chips and pecans. Pretty good!
This will now be my go to recipe for Banana Bread. We loved it! I’m thinking of making it in mini loaf pans for gifting to neighbors.
My first time. It turned out good. I made muffins. I didn’t have any nuts so I put frozen blueberries in half and left the other half plain. Too hot to taste. Just out the oven. They look good.
I have yet to find an average Sally’s Baking Addition recipe. The best banana bread I have ever had!
I have made bread following your recipe and now I have saved it in my favorites. I am making this since June 2020 onward, its my husband’s favorite. I have modified recipe, instead of all purpose flour, I started using wheat flour and instead of sugar, now using 5-6 big dates as wanted to avoid sugar. Thanks for a great recipe and as a beginner to baling gave a good confidence.
best banana bread!! Surprised at how long it baked (so be patient) but delicious end result
My boyfriend and I loved this bread so much! As I live in the Netherlands I used metric portions, which worked worked perfectly. I also used ‘kwark’ (similar to cottage cheese) instead of yoghurt.
One thing though, it literally takes twice as long to bake as the recipe says it does.
Could this be down to the kwark? Or because of my oven? Or the bread tin I made it in?
It’s more a question of curiosity – either way it’s delicious, it just takes an hour longer 🙂
Best banana bread I’ve baked so far. The yoghurt really makes a difference to the bake. Thank you! Will also try the cinnamon swirl banana bread soon.
Super moist but could use at least a cup or more of brown sugar. Needs to be a but more sweet for my liking. Thanks!
Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum!! I’ve made this a few times now and it goes so fast, everyone loves it. Plus super easy to make. I add more brown sugar, a 5th banana, and vanilla Greek yogurt.
This was delicious when I made it as a loaf! Question about the muffin note – it says the recipe makes 24 muffins; is that normal size or mini muffins?
This was fantastic … best banana bread recipe YES!
Just made 4 double loaves.. Yummy, Great recipe !!! Thank you!
Hello Sally, tried this recipe today and your boys really enjoyed it. I reduced the granulated sugar by 50g but it was still moist and delicious. Thanks so much for your easy recipes and baking tips……love from all of us
You never fail me whenever I try most of your recipes in baking Sally. Tonight I tried your banana bread but made a bit of changes. I’ve used 6 small bananas, added one more teaspoon of cinnamon. One fourth teaspoon of baking powder, one tablespoon of vegetable oil, chocolate chip and walnuts. As a result, I got a crispy edge but very moist in the middle banana bread which I really like.
Sally’s moist banana bread is the most delicious to make it even better I added Blueberries. GREAT.. also have added raisens. Thanks Sally.
I used mayonnaise instead of the yogurt. Fantastic recipe
Hi sally! Really enjoy this recipe as do my sons. Wondering if you have nutrition values worked out for this??
Thanks!
Baker Girl
Wow! So moist and delicious. Super simple to make. I ended up making three and am making 2 more this week!
Can I make pumpkin bread using this same recipe except swapping pumpkin purée for bananas?
Hi Ram, While you could do that, I suggest using the recipe for The Best Pumpkin Bread.
This recipe is a true winner in my book! I was adventurous this year and made banana liqueur. The banana remaining after the infusion were still pretty much in tact, so I used them to make bread. I followed your instructions to the letter. The bread was dense and moist, with hardly any crumb, just the way I like it! I left out the nuts because I’m allergic, but the flavor was incredible! Will definitely be making this recipe again and adding cherries and pineapple to the mix. Thanks for sharing this very delectible and tasty treat! Bon appetit!!
Omg Sally! This is the best banana bread recipe ever! I made mine a couple of hours ago and the taste is just wow! So light and the perfect amount of sweetness, thank you!!