Banana Bread
This classic banana bread recipe is tried and true! I make it about every other week because from time to time my family just stops eating bananas and they become over-ripe. Within 5 minutes, I can pop a banana bread in the oven!
Nothing beats this soft, moist, sweet bread fresh from the oven! It’s a perfect addition to the cup of coffee in the morning, a perfect after-school snack, and a wonderful dessert if you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Banana breads are my favorite sweet bread, and every one is a little different, whether it’s a coconut banana bread or chocolate banana muffins, or any other.
You know what is my favorite thing about banana bread? It’s so EASY to make! All you need is a whisk, a fork, and a bowl. No need to take out the mixer. Just about 5 minutes of mixing the ingredients and off to the oven it goes. After an hour or so of baking, you will be enjoying fresh, delicious, homemade banana bread.
Variations and Fun Mix-Ins
There are a lot of fun or healthy things you can mix into the banana bread batter, it all depends on your mood!
- Chocolate chips
- White chocolate chips
- Butterscotch chips
- Peanut butter chips
- Dried berries
- Different nuts like pecans, almonds, or hazelnuts
- Coconut (I actually have a Coconut Banana Bread that’ll knock your socks off)!
- Also, keep in mind that you don’t have to choose just one of these ingredients to mix in. You can combine whatever sounds good to you!
How To Tell When Quick Bread is Done Baking?
It can be tricky to tell, but don’t worry – we’re here to eliminate the guessing game. Remember that location, altitude, and ovens all affect bake times differently.
Use a toothpick to see if the bread is fully cooked. Simply insert the toothpick into the center of the bread. If the toothpick comes out clean, your bread is fully cooked and ready to come out of the oven.
The most certain way is to use an instant read digital meat thermometer to measure at the center of the bread to see if it reached 200F° internal temperature.
Can I put under-baked bread back in the oven?
Yes, in most cases you can put quick breads right back into the oven to cook more. Make sure the oven is still at the right temperature and bread is hot. Don’t try to bake cooled bread. Place the bread back into the oven for another 7-15 minutes as needed. Judge additional time based on how close the bread is to the target internal temperature.
How to Make This Banana Bread Into Muffins
You can easily turn this banana bread into muffins. It’s as simple as portioning the batter into a muffin pan instead of baking it in a bread pan.
- This recipe will get about 10-12 muffins. I did say “about” because this is one of those bread recipes where amount is never exact. It highly depends on the size of bananas and whether nuts are added or not. You may even want to add extra nuts, which will increase amount of batter.
- To make the muffins, prepare the batter the same way as the bread. Line muffin pan with liners if you wish or grease the muffin pan. Then divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling them 3/4 of the way.
- Bake muffins for about 25-30 minutes. Start checking for doneness after 25 minutes either by touch or with a toothpick.
- You can even prepare a quick streusel crumb topping for these muffins!
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Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 4 medium bananas
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tsp cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and grease a bread baking dish.
- Mash bananas with a fork in a large mixing bowl. Leave a few little lumps.
- Whisk in eggs, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla extract until all mixed.
- Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt and gently whisk until the batter is smooth and everything is evenly combined.
- Fold chopped walnuts to the batter.
- Transfer batter into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 55-60 minutes. PRO TIP: If the top of bread is browning too fast, loosely cover with aluminum foil to keep direct heat away.
- Do a toothpick check and if need to bake longer, bake a few more minutes if needed.PRO TIP: Using an instant read digital meat thermometer is the most certain way to see if the bread is fully cooked. Measure at the center of the bread to see if it reached 200F° internal temperature.
- Take bread out and let it cool before cutting. Use serrated bread knife to slice the bread.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Freeze Banana Bread
- Make sure that banana bread is cooled completely before freezing.
- Bread can be sliced or frozen whole. Quick sweet breads are more moist, so I like to place a slice of parchment paper in between each slice to keep them from sticking together.
- Place bread in a large zip-lock freezer bags and let the air out. Place the bag in a freezer.
- You can also wrap bread in saran wrap first, before placing it into a freezer bag, to ensure that no air gets to the bread.
- Defrost the bread on the counter top. Slices of bread will take minutes to defrost.
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Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in March 2017.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
This is such a great recipe! I love how yummy it came out! Thanks!
I am so glad you liked it so much, Donna!
I’m a baker but my husband has a coworker who makes the best banana bread ever. He’s obsessed with it and it’s the one thing I haven’t tried to make. He wants me to try to re-create it. Hers has a strudel type on top. Would I be able to use this and then add a strudel on top? Thanks!!!
Hi Carrie,
I think that would work just fine.
Hi my name is Ashton I am 7! I made this banana bread almost all by myself and it turned out so yummy!!! Next time I’m going to make your cookies! Thank you for your recipe!
Hi, Ashton!
I am very impressed you are already making banana bread at 7 and so happy you liked it! I hope you like the cookies just as much!!!
Very tasty and and smells wonderful as it bakes, yum!
Hi Cynthia, I am glad you liked it! It’s a family favorite 🙂
Thanks, Cynthia! Happy you liked it 🙂
This smells awesome as it is baking! I have never made banana bread without additional liquid before so I’m interested in seeing how this one tastes. My Moms’ recipe had buttermilk in it.
Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I hope it came out the way you like it!! I’ve been making this bread for the longest time so I hope it doesn’t disappoint!
Found a link to your bread at a pumpkin and a princess (via tater tots and jello). Have some overly ripe bananas on my counter, can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for making me crave banana bread now :)I’m going to make this tomorrow and I’ll send you a pic, hope it comes out looking at good as yours!