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.
my hundredth time making this, and it never disappoints me! i love sallys recipes, thank you so much 🙂
Hi Sally! Would you be willing to help me with something? I’ve got some overripe bananas and I was wondering whether I could use this recipe to make some jumbo muffins. How many do you think this recipe would yield, and what manner of baking time do you suggest?
Thank you for your consistently delicious recipes!
Hannah
Hi Hannah, you sure can! Or, use our Quick and Easy Banana Muffins recipe. For either, use the bake time and temperature (including the initial burst of high temperature) as in our Jumbo Blueberry Muffins. This should yield about 5-6 jumbo muffins. Enjoy!
This is a great recipe. My family really enjoyed it. Wondering if it doubles well? I’d like to make two loaves and freeze one.
Hi Aly, for best results, we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling. This ensures the ingredients are properly incorporated. We’re so glad to hear your family enjoyed this one!
Absolutely scrumptious thank you Sally!!!!
I tried this recipe and it did not sponge up, it looked raw. I followed the directions, except the bread pan. It did taste good, but didn’t sponged up. A little sad.
The best recipe out there!
I substituted all purpose with whole wheat flour and made muffins! I am not a baker but this was the best ever I have done. Delicious & easy!
Did you substitute 1:1 with the wheat? I only have whole wheat flour on hand and wanna make this!
Hi Kelsey, You can try substituting the same amount of whole wheat flour but the texture will be a bit heartier and not quite as moist. If you’re interested, here’s our whole wheat banana bread recipe!
Easy and delicious
Absolutely 5 stars!!! Even tho my ingredients were not exact, and some substitutions were necessary:
*1 c. AP + 1 c. Whole kernel flour
*subbed creme fraiche with some milk for the yogurt
*added a bit of nutmeg, 1/4 applesauce
*increased vanilla to 2 t.
*added dark chocolate chips, I like Ghiradelli or Guittard.
I turned out the still warm loaf on a cooling rack and half the warm bread was devoured within 10 minutes. THANK YOU SALLY! ♥️
I just tried this recipe. I messed up during the mixing of the dry and wet ingredients, so I did it over so I could get the best results. I got a moist banana nut bread! It was so good! Definitely keeping this recipe around! It didn’t last very long because everyone ate it so quickly. I cooked it for 60 mins exactly and the toothpick came out clean. I did cover it with foil at the 30 min mark and the top browned well. Great recipe! Thank you!
Hi Sally, this is my second time making this banana bread and it was MUCH MUCH better than my first attempt. In my first attempt, I followed the recipe exactly as written but after 90 minutes in the oven it was still coming out gooey on the toothpick. After I sliced it, there was a dense layer of banana on the bottom and the texture of the bread throughout was mushy. I knew that it must be cooked because the top was dark brown and crisp and it’d been in for 1 and a half hours so I thought that the bananas were the problem. My first guess was that my bananas were too ripe and way past the eating stage so I thought that could have had an effect. My second guess was that I put too much banana. I didn’t have any cups to measure the mashed banana in so I googled how much that was in grams and it said 450g but that must have been wrong. My final guess was the fact that I sliced 1 banana in half lengthways and placed it on top which may have had an effect on the cooking time. I managed to have a slice of it but the texture was very unpleasant and did not look appetizing so I simply had to throw it away 🙁 Howeverrrrrrr, I tried again this morning and IT WAS A HIT in my family! I added a few extra teaspoons of cinnamon to the batter, also 1 cup white chocolate chips and a cinnamon streusel topping to give it a nice crunch. I was initially planning to use milk chocolate chips but I ran out so I made do with white chocolate, next time I’ll definitely use milk or dark choco chips because I could barely see the white chocolate in the batter and couldn’t even taste a single hint of white chocolate lol. My bananas were yellow with only a few brown spots and I measured the mashed banana in a cup which turned out to be 4 1/2 bananas and WOW, what a difference this was to my first attempt. This is now my go to recipe and I am planning on making it again next weekend with some toasted walnuts! THANK YOU SO MUCH SALLY! – and if you read this, sorry it was so long haha 🙂
We’re so glad this banana bread was a hit for you, Eno! Thank you so much for making it and sharing your kind words.
Just made this bread and love it! It’s truly light and fluffy, not dense like most banana bread. Here comes the list of changes I made : I didn’t have any butter, so I subbed same weight of canola oil. I’m not a fan of cinnamon in loaves like this, so I left it out and used a heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder. Not enough to taste like chocolate, just enough to give it a rich taste. Next time, will probably put some instant espresso powder in as well, love the way it cuts sweetness. I used 3 bananas and one overripe pear that needed using, mashed everything in the mixer bowl. Truly delicious, can’t believe how moist but fluffy it is. Thank you for another fab recipe
Hi, Sally,
Love all your creations!
As we are moving, I realized I have packed all my loaf pans☹️ after I mixed together your delicious banana bread. I do have an approximate 81/2 inch heavy non stick cake pan.
What temp and time would you recommend?
Thanks!
Karen
Hi Karen! It’s hard to say exactly so keep an eye on it in the oven and use the toothpick test to check for doneness. Enjoy!
Interesting recipe! My favourite recipe is very similar, except I add chocolate and cinnamon!
What temperature and how long would you cook this if you did mini loaves? And would you still add foil halfway?
Hi Rebecca, we’re unsure exactly how long a mini loaf will take but use a toothpick to test for doneness. A toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf will come out clean when the bread is done. Use the same baking temperature. You can tent with foil if the bread starts getting dark in the oven. Enjoy!
I just made this recipe for the first time I followed it to a T. It came out absolutely perfect as a matter of fact it was done in 60 minutes exactly. It’s the best banana bread I’ve made so far and I’ve made quite a few Your recipes are always the best.
Perfection! I followed the recipe exactly as it is, baked for 65 min and it turned out so moist and fluffy and absolutely delicious. Will definitely be making it again, just like any other recipe I’ve tried from this blog 🙂
This is the only banana bread recipe I’ve used since I found it! This was the first time I made it with sour cream and it resulted in the most tender, even crumb yet. It rose extremely well too! Just follow these directions and you’ll get the best banana bread you’ve ever had!
I added more vanilla (I almost always do to every recipe) and more cinnamon. I also added maple syrup (I couldn’t tell you how much) and used spelt flour to make it more GI system friendly. It turned out great!
Okay, you must be magic or something because this banana bread even made my grandma happy. (She is hard to please.)
Deliciously moist!! I made 3 mini loaves for gifts and baked about 35 minutes. They turned out beautiful and delicious!
Love this recipe! Not too sweet but just right. I baked mine 60 minutes and it was perfectly done.
Made muffins with this recipe. Used yogurt but would have used unsweetened applesauce if I had some. Baked at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. They came out great!
Really lovely recipe : I only put in 75 g of coconut sugar and more cinnamon but also add mixed spice – also a very large table spoon of course cut marmalade at the end with the walnuts – delish!
This is a great recipe, I tried it today and it came out great, so moist and tender yet full of flavor.
I didn’t have yogurt or sour cream, so I add a little buttermilk. I added a bit of powdered ginger and a dash of nutmeg. It smelled like heaven.
Thank you for the great recipe.
Get an oven thermometer. My oven runs very hot but my thermometer help me keep a precise temperature.
Look no further for a banana bread recipe! This is the one!
I have made this banana bead 15+ times now. It is always great! I once forgot the stick of butter and it still turned out yummy! Only changes – I use a little extra cinnamon and a few dashes of nutmeg. The overall measurements and baking times noted work perfectly for me.
Thank you for this recipe – our family loves it.
This was my first time trying a banana bread recipe and it turned out wonderful. My family loves it.
Thank you Sally.
Much love from South Africa
It’s good but needed an extra 20 minutes. I have an oven thermometer, so I know the temp was right.
Amazing recipe! This was my first time ever baking banana bread and it turned out fantastic! I added 1/2 teaspoons of cardamom to get that wintery flavor I was hoping to achieve.
Brilliant! Thank you
I followed the directions 100% and, although it smells heavenly, it’s still in the oven 1 hr and 15 min later because the toothpick is still coming out gooey. Fingers crossed it will still be fine but maybe the oven directions are a little off?
Great recipe – kudos to the secret ingredient, plain yogurt! I made this today. I think my oven runs a little hot, but it came out perfect after 67 min at 350 degrees. After first 30 min, I covered with tin foil for the remaining 37 min. I did not add optional nuts, choc or other fruits…which may have required extra minutes.
Wonderful recipe n so dependable! I add blueberries dusted w flour. A family favorite.