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.
Made this according to recipe, I don’t think it has enough sugar, it’s blah.
I usually add in an extra banana because I almost always have one lying around. I also like to soak my bananas in a half shot of espresso for an extra kick.
I don’t use the foil because it takes too long with it. I tend to use a brownie pan because my batter makes a loaf pan over flow with the extra banana and coffee. I always wind up with moist and delicious bread.Somehow my husband always makes awful banana bread. He tried this recipe and over-mixed it resulting in dense tough bread. I think it’s more a reflection on him than the recipe.
Love it. After a long time, I was a success as a baker.
This is my go to banana bread recipe now…mine doesn’t turn out looking as lovely, but tastes amazing.
Hi! I am a big fan of your recipes and am ensured of success every time. But, this banana bread sank in the middle once I pulled it out of the oven. What could be the reason?
Hi Sandy, Make sure the butter is at room temperature (not too soft) and the bread is completely baked. Yours seems a little under-baked.
I love all of Sally’s recipes! I discovered something by accident and wanted to share. I didn’t have yogurt or sour cream and was short one banana so I used half a brick of cream cheese, diluted it with some whole milk until it’s a thick liquid to about 3/4 of a cup. The result was a super moist banana bread that’s not mushy in the center.
Hi! Just made your Tiramisu , hazelnut tart and banana bread for a family get together this weekend. I put the creme cheese frosting on the bread, do I have to keep it in the frig or is room temp ok for a couple of days? Thanks!!
With the cream cheese in the frosting, we’d recommend storing in the refrigerator. Hope it the recipes were a hit!
I made this recipe exactly as written adding 1 cup mini chocolate chips and baking in a Large sized muffin pan. It made 9 big muffins with the baking time closer to 28 minutes total. I baked to an internal Temp of 200. The flavor is great. Sweet and moist. I keep my freezer full of muffins for my husband to help himself to for breakfast. This is a great recipe to add to the muffin collection.
I made this bread this morning, followed the recipe exactly, I is the most delicious bread ever, Thank You
Laura Retyi
This banana bread recipe is great. I don’t know what happened, but the top is a little crunchy in an amazing way!!! It did take much longer than 60 minutes and I never covered it with foil. I used walnuts and added about 1/3 cup chocolate chips. I will make this my go to banana bread recipe.
Heavenly! Great flavor and VERY moist!
I regularly make a banana bread recipe that tends to be very dry. So I decided to try this recipe today. I will toss my old recipe in the bin! The banana flavor is amazing and it is so moist. I tend to buy smaller bananas, so I like that this recipe gives you an exact measured amount: 2 cups of mashed bananas. I added 3/4 cup of pecans and 3/4 cup of mini-chocolate chips. It took exactly 65 minutes to bake, and came out perfectly. I’ve already had three slices, it was that good.
I tend to be a really great savory cook and a mediocre baker so my results on first time recipes is a mixed bag. That said, this one came out perfectly. It’s totally straightforward and difficult to find ways to screw it up. I will say that o also had to bake nine a little longer the first time but I think that’s more a product of the fact I’m using a convection oven and it automatically reduces the temperature setting by 25 degrees to compensate for the increased speed to the convection. But nonetheless it came out perfectly.
One note: tonight was my second use of this recipe and I was feeling a little adventurous so I added a teaspoon of rum extract to the recipe and OMG it is amazing. It’s like a solid version of a banana daiquiri. Yum! Give it a try, I think you’ll like it.
I did some mods: Added a pinch of nutmeg, vanilla greek yogurt, semi-sweet chocolate chips and half wheat flour. Baked for 65 minutes in 9×5 loaf pan. Turned out great, thanks for the recipe!
I also baked in a Bundt pan
Worked perfectly
I added blueberries, chopped dates and chocolate chips
YUMMY
You don’t need to mash bananas at all.
Whenever you have old bananas, toss them in a ziplock in the freezer. When you get 3 or 4, microwave them for two minutes, snip off one end and squeeze like a tube of toothpaste. Voila..
Freezing also enhances the sugars of the bananas and gives a better flavor to the bread. It’s also a way to use up old fruit and not waste them.
Hi Sally. I tried this recipe by reducing down brown sugar to 60 grams for healthier option and it turned out amazing! Perfect for my morning coffee. I love it so much! Thank you.
I always love your recipes and your banana was a total success for my grandsons. As I was looking for my loaf pan, I saw my mini bunny pan. I decided to bake the bread in it—9-10 minutes. I was able to make 40 little baby bunny banana breads! The boys loved it and it was their favorite.
I have made your recipe several times and it always comes out perfectly! I have a large loaf pan and it makes a single loaf. Which is never enough!
I love your banana bread recipe. My home smells so good when it is baking in the oven.. ….
The only problem I have is my teenage daughter and all her friends ate the whole loaf. They did not save a piece for my ‘Big Hunk’.
I have learned my lesson, so the next time I bake it I am doubling the recipe!
One of my favorite recipes and I’m not even a huge banana bread lover. Made with chocolate chips! Pretty simple recipe for how delicious it is too!
Just made it this morning, came out super moist! I did use a whole tsp of cinnamon because we really love cinnamon and sour cream instead of yogurt. I can’t wait for more over ripe bananas to make it again. I’ll be surprised if there’s any left by the end of the day! Thank you
This is the lightest and fluffiest banana bread I’ve ever made, and I’ll definitely make this again the next time I have too many ripe bananas! Absolutely delicious.
The only modification I made was that the loaf baked for 70 minutes at 180c and was still raw in the centre; it needed a further 30 minutes at 200 to completely cook through. This was possibly my oven temperature being off, but I haven’t had this issue with other recipes from this site, so thought I’d leave a note – give yourself more time than the recipe states!
Hey Sally! I have a mini loaf pan I would like to use this recipe for. It would make 8 mini loafs in one pan. They’re 3” long X 2.5” wide X almost 1.5” Deep. Would you change the baking temp/time for this?
Hi Angie! Same temperature, but the bake time should be less. We’re unsure of the exact time, but you can use a toothpick to test for doneness.
This is by far the best banana bread I’ve made and my 4 grandchildren agree wholeheartedly. They love it! It has become my go to recipe. My only adjustment is to add 1/2 tsp of Cardamom along with the Cinnamon, primarily because I love Cardamom in baked good. I also use 5% fat plain greek yogurt as suggested rather than sour cream. This last time I made 2 smaller loaves in 6 1/2″ pans. Adjust the baking time to 35-37 minutes. When using my 9″ loaf pan it takes 50-60 minutes. As a side note, I have made a gluten free version for a friend substituting gluten free flour and it was delicious.
Great recipe. Using up what I had on hand; I used ricotta instead of yoghurt and Brazil nuts instead of walnuts. I cooked it a little under 175deg C as I thought 180 was too hot for 60 mins. I used my beaters because I don’t have a stand mixer. Turned out so delicious!
I have made plenty of banana breads over the years, but by far this one is my favorite!!
Easy to make, perfectly moist without being too “cakey”, and full of flavor! Definitely a keeper!
Amazing banana bread recipe ! Should have the option of baking the batter in muffin trays, and the time for them!
Hi Jamie, We are so happy you enjoyed this recipe! See the recipe notes for detailed instructions on making muffins 🙂
Love this recipe and use it often but it doesn’t come close to making two dozen standard muffins for Me. Using your suggestions to fill the cups to the tippy top, i get a dozen at best. Today i got 11.
I made this in my 9 x 5 inch USA brand baking pan and it was the perfect amount of batter. I weighed the ingredients and followed Sally’s instructions. My loaf was done in 60 minutes. It is now my favourite banana bread, too. Thank you Sally! (PS: Your suggestion of mashing the bananas using a stand mixer worked beautifully for me.)
I had 20 bananas until today when I decided I needed to do something with them or they’ll go off so I found your recipe and was able to bake 3 banana breads for my friends and family with your amazing banana bread recipe. Thank you!