This Banana Bread Recipe is Super Moist and comes together with a stir of a fork! It’s so moist and incredibly soft, you can use it as a base to muffins! Add your favorite add-ins to Make the Best Banana Bread without a mixer and use spotted bananas for the best results! It’s a super basic recipe but extremely delicious and compatible with the super moist grocery-store pound cakes!
Banana Bread is the kind of dessert you can eat for breakfast, craving a Chocolate Banana Bread recipe with chocolate chips? Try our recipe for Moist Banana Bread with a touch of cinnamon. We also have chocolate chunk banana muffins for muffin lovers!
Banana Bread Recipe
This is my Favorite Banana Bread Recipe! It’s the one I’ll make, over all the other lengthy recipes for banana bread that I’ve made. Easy recipes win over, especially if it’s this moist without all the effort! Perhaps it’s even the Best Banana Bread Ever, but I’ll let you decide after your sink your teeth into this moist cake! You only need a few mashed bananas and some staple pantry ingredients to make this basic banana bread recipe.
Banana Bread is the kind of dessert you can make in a loaf pan or muffin tin and it comes together with a stir of a fork, so no mixer is required! Spotted bananas are the best for making banana bread and are easier to mush. I like to stock up on discounted banana totes when I get a chance at my local grocery store and freeze bananas just for banana bread! That way I can make Banana Bread within a span of time. This loaf cake is ultra moist and seriously compatible with the pound cakes you’d buy at a bakery, except without all the additives or pudding mixes! It’s as basic as it gets and is by far one of the easiest sweetbreads to pull together!
Make it Banana Nut Bread or Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
This recipe can easily swerve to the banana bread your craving! Add chopped walnuts or pecans to make a Banana Nut Bread and Chocolate chips to make a Chocolate chip Banana bread version. You can add any mix-ins you crave like raisins or craisins since this is the base of a Classic Banana Bread Recipe! It’s one you can easily get creative with and takes minutes to stir up then bake.
How to Make Easy Banana Bread Recipe:
Banana Bread Recipe
Equipment
- 9x5-inch loaf pan
Ingredients
Banana Bread:
- 3 ripe bananas (mashed)
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Instructions
How to make Moist Banana Bread:
- Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Line a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil. Mix in eggs and add the mashed bananas. Stir in the dry ingredients and fold in the chocolate chips reserving 1/4 cup for the top.
- Pour into the prepared loaf pan, sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips and bake for 55-60 minutes or until done. Cool before slicing.
Notes
- Servings: nutrition facts are based on 1/2 slice of banana bread. Half a slice would be a thick slice cut in half.
- To Make Banana Muffins: use this recipe to make approx 1 1/2 dozen muffins. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes in lined muffin tins.
- Butter: can use 1/2 cup of unsalted butter for the oil. To use salted butter omit the salt.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: top with a creamed mixture of 4 oz cream cheese and 1 cup powdered sugar.
- Sugar- use granulated sugar or brown sugar. Make it healthier by using 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup.
- Frozen Bananas: mash 3 frozen bananas with their juices or strain. (frozen bananas release juice once, frozen.)
- Chocolate Chips: omit or add chopped nuts. It will still be good without both.
Nutrition per serving
Q&A
How to Mash Bananas?
Mash with a fork: the easiest way to mash bananas and less equipment to wash. Let your children mash them while you prep the dry ingredients, you’d be surprised how bad they want to do it!
Mash Bananas with an electric mixer: mashing bananas in a stand mixer or with an electric mixer is a hands-off way to mash bananas.
Learn how to Freeze Bananas with this tutorial.
Ingredients to make Banana Bread?
Here is a recap of the ingredients needed to make this simple yet best banana bread recipe:
- Ripe Bananas- spotty or freckly bananas are best. When bananas start to blacken this is a sign that they over-ripening and these kinds of bananas are sweeter and easier to mash.
- oil- no butter is required! Easier to manage and tons of moist flavor! No melting, or softening just pour oil into a measuring cup and mix with the banana bread mixture!
- granulated sugar- more likely to be in the pantry of most homes and is efficient! Use brown sugar if you wish.
- eggs- help with structure and tender texture. stir in 2 eggs into the banana bread recipe.
- flour- use all-purpose or pastry flour. Any flour with a low protein content is best for baked pastries and desserts like banana bread.
- baking soda- the leavening that gives lift.
- salt- adds flavor to everything!
- add-ins (optional)- mix in nuts, chocolate chips, or dried fruit like raisins. For Banana nut bread mix in 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts or pecans. You can also add 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips to make chocolate chip banana bread!
No vanilla extract is required! This bread has tons of flavor and is sweet enough from the sweet bananas and sugar! Which, is why there is no need for additional flavor enhancers like vanilla.
How to Freeze Banana Bread?
Freezing Baked Banana Bread is easy!
- Cool- cool first otherwise you will have frost develop on your banana bread.
- Slice or leave whole- slice into thick pound cake slices for quick defrost sessions or a quick grab and go snack. Or leave whole.
- Wrap- in plastic wrap to prevent frost.
- Place into Freezer Bags- stash individually wrapped banana bread slices into a freezer bag or one that was left whole and wrapped. Place whole banana bread into a grocery store bag instead of a freezer bag.
What size loaf pan is best?
I used a, 9″ x 5″ x 3″ loaf pan from this Kitchen Aid 5-piece baking set. Anything larger will give you shorter banana bread. You can also use a standard-sized muffin tin to make banana muffins.
Can I use a muffin tin, what size?
Yes, You can also use a standard-sized muffin tin to make banana muffins. Or use a 9×5 loaf pan for traditional banana bread.
Can I use Butter?
Yes, substitute the oil for banana bread with softened or melted butter instead.
Banana Bread Add-Ins:
- chopped nuts
- walnuts
- pecans
- raisins
- craisins
- chocolate chips
- cinnamon
- peanut butter
- spices
- cocoa
- dried fruit
- pumpkin
- maple syrup
- Zucchini
- coconut
- pineapple
For recipes that include all these mix-ins check out the 12 ways to upgrade your banana bread recipes.
When is Banana Bread done?
Banana Bread is done when it reaches a dark golden brown hue and when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. This usually takes place anywhere from 50 minutes to an hour.
Always bake bread on the lower rack of the oven for even browning.
How to make Healthy Banana Bread?
To make healthy banana bread simply use applesauce in place of the butter or oil called for in most recipes and use better-for-you sweeteners, like honey or maple syrup. Use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour and add milk if needed. Check out our favorite applesauce brand called Our Family Garden Applesauce, made from a family-owned business.
Tips for the Best Banana Bread Recipe:
- Use super ripe bananas!
- Stir everything with a fork, fewer things to wash!
- Make it healthy by using whole wheat flour instead and applesauce in place of the oil.
- Honey or maple syrup are better-for-you options for a sweetener.
