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):Â 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.
Tried the recipe today. It’s in the oven. Can’t wait to try. The only issue was that the batter looked strange after I added the sour cream. Kind of like a separated look. Possibly when I put the eggs in warm water to bring to room temp, they made the batter warm? I was going to throw it out but it looked better after I added the dry ingredients. Hope it’s ok to eat! Have you experienced this?
Hi Cathy! That curdled/separated appearance is normal for the batter– even if they’re at room temperature, the butter and other liquid ingredients won’t combine smoothly until the dry ingredients are added. Hope you enjoy the bread!
Thank you for responding! Happy to know I didn’t do anything wrong. It was amazing! Love your recipes!!
Hi Sally,
I made this bread with gluten free flour and it is amazingly delicious!!
Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Rose
Just tried this recipe today. I only had fat free Greek yogurt so used that. It turned out so delicious and moist. The whole family loves it, including our 4 and 7 yr old boys…and the 4 yr old is super picky. This will be my forever go-to recipe for banana bread! Thank you for sharing it!
Hi Sally! I bought some foil loaf pans at the store but they’re slightly smaller than the 9×5 you have listed. If I make the recipe as is, about how full should I fill the pan? I just don’t want it to rise to much on me. Thanks!
Hi Lauren! Great question. About 2/3 full is plenty.
I’m making this later today. My issue with banana bread and others like it, is that the ends get overcooked while the middle is undercooked. How do I fix that? Thanks Sally!
Hi Dana! Bake the banana bread on the center rack and if you find it’s getting too dark, cover it loosely with aluminum foil halfway through bake time. This always helps!
Easy and tasty. I added a dash of cinnamon and crushed pecans. I also struggled with well baked on the edges but slightly undercooked in the center. Still came out well.
My family LOVES this recipe! The loaf won’t even last an hour.
Can I use bundt pan for this? If so, how many minutes do I have to bake it?
Hi Marijon! You could, but the Bundt cake would be pretty squat + small. How about using my banana cake batter for a bundt instead?
Best- ever? Pretty much. I bought a giant 24-muffin pan just to make these without cutting the recipe!
Very nice! I also added some raisins and bourbon.
This banana bread is sooooooo good. I made it & it’s better after sitting in the refrigerator for two days. It seems to get moisture.
Amazing Banana bread! I made mine without any sugar and I added 125 grams of chopped and softened dates. It was perfectly moist. I was using a fan forced oven and baked on 177 degrees Celsius for about 35-40 minutes. I will definitely be saving this recipe!
Just DELICIOUS! I had only 3 bananas and it still turned out tasty and moist. Finally, I have found my banana recipe
Best banana bread Ive ever made. Using all brown sugar and the 4 bananas stated ( I usually use 3) made all the difference.
Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! Best banana recipe indeed:). Even my husband loved it (normally not a huge fan of banana bread)!
Thank you for this great recipe! I’ve tried many banana breads too and this one is the best. Moist with lots of flavor; I put less sugar and it still turned out great. We don’t have many sweet breads in France, I’ll definitely share this one with my collegues and friends.
I made first time this recipe – and really super!
Thanks for sharing! I just baked this banana bread this morning and it is definitely the best recipe for banana bread ever (or at least from the recipes I’ve tried). Not too moist, not too compact, just perfect. Too bad I don have cream cheese otherwise I would have added the frosting as well. Next time though 🙂
Tastes amazing but i had a bit of an issue with baking time (maybe because im using a glass loaf pan?) at 1.5 hours and toothpick was still not coming out clean. Took 2 hours but by then the outside was starting to get very brown and dry. I think next time ill try baking it into 2 pans instead of 1 and see how it goes.
I made this recipe yesterday for the first time with vanilla Greek yogurt and it came out great. This is now my go to banana bread recipe.
Fantastic banana bread! Followed the recipe to the letter and wouldn’t change a thing!
I am a griller and a smoker not a baker, but when I ran across this recipe when I had some bananas ready to go to ripe I looked up recipes and found yours. It came out awesome,
I made this recipe recently and brought it to my family’s house for Memorial Day. Everyone LOVED it! My husband thought it could be a little bit sweeter, but I think that’s because he was probably expecting it to taste more like cake than a bread. Could I add a little bit more sugar next time?
You could add more sugar if desired. I also have a banana cake if you’re interested in that!
Hi Sally, I make this banana bread every weekend for my husband and he loves it! However, I find the edges are always darker and chewier than I would like them to be. Would this be to do with the temperature of my oven?
Hi Jacinta! Playing around with the oven temperature will help. I recommend lowering the oven temperature as well as lowering the oven rack. Feel free to tent the baking loaf with aluminum foil to prevent the edges and tops from browning too quickly.
I used applesauce instead of yougurt it was super good and easy! Will be keeping this to use for my go to recipe!
Loved this recipe! Used a vegan coconut yogurt & it was amazing
I have tried many recipes for banana bread, trying to find the perfect balance of texture, moistness and flavor. I had almost given up. But, this recipe far exceeds all those concerns. It is truly the best banana bread! The flavor is over-the-top delicious! Thank you!
Hi!! What % of green yogurt do you use?
I’ve used everything from nonfat to full fat Greek yogurt. It all works!
best banana bread i’ve made so far
Had to give it a 5 star because there wasn’t 10 stars best ever
Wow! Just made these and came out great! Might cut back a little 9n the sugar next time. But wow. The brown sugar almost caramelizes the tops. Used vanilla flax milk yogurt (all I had) seemed to be no issue. Made mine into muffins. Came out moist and delicious. I love your recipes!