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.
Dear Sallyy’s Baking Addiction Team,
Thanks so much for the recipe for the banana bread. I hv tried making it and it indeed has super-moist texture and buttery banana taste. However, the texture of the bread is “rather solid” and not so spongy.
Also when I baked it in the oven at 175 deg C, it took longer than 65 minutes to get it cooked completely (around 95 minutes). I had used four (4) “relatively” large ripe bananas and other procedures following the given suggestions. What could I have done wrong?
Thanks also for the pizza recipe that has worked well and I continue enjoying making pizza.
Best Regards,
Hadi Sutoko
Hi Hadi, Be very careful to just mix the batter until combined (over-mixing can lead to dense bread). We also recommend checking to make sure your baking soda is fresh, we find it can lose strength after just a few months. Thank you so much for giving this banana bread recipe a try!
Hi Im excited to try this recipe, any chance I can substitute the butter with coconut oil?
Hi Claudia, The bread will taste rubbery without the fat from the butter. We haven’t tried it ourselves, but you could try using melted coconut oil instead (taste and texture would be different). Or, for a healthier option, you might like our whole wheat banana muffins instead.
Just made this banana bread for my wife and family. My attempts at baking have , in the past, been the family joke. Not this time! This turned out so out of this world moist and flavourful that I can’t convince everyone that I actually made it 🙁
Omg! This is so delicious! The best banana bread I’ve made! This will be a staple in our house. Everyone loves it!
Just made this and it is delicious! My husband can’t stay away from it. I just hope there’s a slice or two left to have with my coffee in the morning☺️
Excellent recipe! Everyone loved it. Thank you so much Sally. Your carrot cake recipe is also amazing. I’ll be looking up more recipes of yours for sure!!
What would the recommended bake time be for mini loaf pans?
Hi Kayla, the bake time will depend on the size of your pans (mini loaf pans vary widely in size). Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
I love this recipe ! Was wondering if I could make this eggless? If yes what would be a good substitute? TIA
Hi Val, We haven’t tested this recipe with egg substitutes, so can’t give any advice. Let us know if you try any! Here are all of our egg free baking recipes if you are interested in browsing there.
I made the recipe eggless by using the same ingredients just took out the egg. I added a little more butter and 1/3 cup of oil and it came out moist. I used walnuts and chocolate chip as well. My friends loved it.
Hi,
I did a vegan version and substituted the eggs with 2 tbs soy flour diluted in 4 tbs water. Came out perfect 🙂 thx
This recipe is the best! Moist, rich and our absolute family favorite! Thank you!
Let me preface this by saying I don’t even like banana bread. I don’t like anything with bananas in it.
But I had leftover walnuts that I needed to use, and also bought too many bananas, so I decided to make this thinking that if my husband couldn’t eat the whole thing in a few days I’d freeze it or give some away to our families. Then I made it… and the smell alone had me drooling. I made it in the afternoon, and it was gone by breakfast the next day. In a household of two.
Since then I’ve made this recipe for every family gathering, and it’s always a big hit. I think I’ve been making it at least once a month for almost a year, and it comes out perfect every time. This is the one recipe that I recommend to absolutely everyone, you can’t go wrong with it!
Hiii! I’m so excited to try this recipe. We only have an air fryer at home. Is it possible to bake this in an air fryer? If yes, what would be the setting? Thank you
Hi Ciara, we haven’t tested baking this banana bread in an air fryer but let us know if you do!
I tried it today and it was awesome! This is my first attempt at baking, not too bad I guess! It came out a little bit dry probably cause of my air fryer settings. I have the Cosori. I set it to 205°C for around 40-50 minutes I think, checking every 15 mins. The flavor is so good though! Will try this again – what can I do better to achieve a more moist banana bread?
I make this frequently, and we love how moist it stays for several days after coming out of the oven!
We’e moved and I now have a convection oven – any tips for baking it with convection? It seems I’m more likely to burn the outside waiting for the inside to be done, is that right?
Hi Sarah, We test and write all of our recipes with a conventional oven. If you use convection settings for baking, the general rule is to lower your temperature by 25°F. Additionally, keep in mind that due to increased airflow in convection ovens, recipes usually take less time to bake.
This will be the second time making muffins with this recipe. I tried another recipe with less ingredients but it wasn’t nearly as moist or cakey. Hands down this is my favourite recipe!
I followed the recipe but mine turned out much lighter in colour than the pictures and tasted bland. Any idea what might have gone wrong?
Hi Jess, were your bananas pretty ripe and spotty or more yellow/green? The sweeter the bananas, the more flavorful (and even browner) the bread can be.
Great recipe! It was my first banana bread and it came our perfect. I modified it some: only used 100 grams of light brown sugar (instead of 150 grams), I also separated yolks from egg white, and beat the egg whites until stiff. Slowly incorporated them into butter before adding dry ingredients. I always use this technique with butter where eggs are present, It helps the dough to rise better and makes it fluffier.
I added 100 grams shredded pecan nuts and baked it exactly 60 minutes. The bread is so delicious, I can eat the whole loaf myself.
I’ve learned more than a couple of things in my baking life. One of them is, if you use salted butter, leave out the salt. Also, because I love them, instead of chocolate chips, I’d add raisins. (Another thing I’ve learned is that the trick to getting sticky raisins to evenly distribute throughout batter or dough is to lightly coat them with flour.)
Loved this recipe so much! My grandson had a craving. I had 7 frozen bananas and one that was over ripe on the counter. I doubled the recipe and added both chocolate chips and nuts. I made 6 mini loaves and nearly a dozen muffins. The loaves were done in about 30 minutes, followed the directions for the muffins. Delicious! Thank you so much!
All brown sugar is the trick! The moistest banana bread ever ❤️❤️
I threw all the ingredients minus nuts (out) into bowl and stirred until arm got super sore. Beautifully baked banana bread, yummy too. Did not last a day in this household. A keeper, thanks for sharing!
I substituted the yogurt with 1tbsp butter and 1/3 cup water and it came out great! I hate banana bread but my family loves it!
Love the recipe. I was wondering if you could use, instant chocolate pudding in it.
Hi Libby, we haven’t tested that addition, but always recommend sticking with the recipe as written for best results. You may love our chocolate marble banana bundt cake 🙂
Yummy!!! Tried this out and added handful of chocolate chips and a dash of ginger so so Moist! thanks
Hey Sally! This was my first time baking banana bread. (I really appreciated your page on how to measure ingredients properly!) The batter was delicious and the banana bread came out with a great taste and decently moist. The only thing was that it was very dense and did not seem to rise much at all. What can I do differently to ensure a better rise? (And my guess, therefore a little lighter.)
Hi Deanna! Be very careful to just mix the batter until combined (over-mixing can lead to dense bread). We also recommend checking to make sure your baking soda is fresh, we find it can lose strength after just a few months. Thank you so much for giving this banana bread recipe a try!
I’ve been searching for the best banana bread recipe – and this is it. Perfect density and texture, moist, great balance of sweetness. I like to add a bit more cinnamon and some walnuts. I also use greek yoghurt.
Wonderful… Better than any I’ve made before. First, the banana flavor was bright and intense. Second, I love the brown sugar instead of white. It was plenty sweet, just a deeper and richer flavor. Third, It was super moist as promised. The soft crumb contrasts beautifully with the nuts. Fantastic recipe, thanks!
Yum!! This is the best banana bread recipe I have had so far. I made it with dark brown sugar and I love the flavor it gives it. I doubled the cinnamon and added nutmeg because I’m a spice girl. So moist and delicious.
Love this idea! Going to try this next time. I’m also a spice girl lol
I didn’t even had the patience to wait until day 2 and I can already say this is great. Nice bonus: our kitchen smells amazing!
Great recipe! I add a little orange marmalade in my batter and glaze the top with a little more after baking. It’s delicious.
I loved your banana bread but because I’m type 2 diabetic I modified the ingredients by using one cup of almond flour and monk fruit sugar with a touch of molasses and my chocolate chips were sugar free all the rest of the ingredients were the same. It tuned out wonderful and I limit my servings to one piece per day. Does elevate my blood sugar. I also make a Keto Chocolate Cake with similar ingredients but use unsweetened applesauce in place of the bananas. If you’re interested in my recipe for the Keto Chocolate Cake, let me know. Thanks
Second time making . So moist and flavorful. Sally’s recipes never disappoint
Great banana bread! Easy to make and several options! I will have to make his for my son Alex!