Use up those ripe bananas with this wonderful easy banana bread which is moist and full of flavour. Your home will smell delicious!
This recipe makes a wonderful moist bread with rich banana flavour and a slightly dense crumb.
It is difficult to know what teenagers will eat – sometimes bananas last barely a few hours in the fruit bowl, and at times they are barely noticed and ignored till they are black and on their way to turning mushy. That’s when I rescue them and bring back something that looks more appealing like this banana bread.
Why we love this recipe
Banana bread is great toasted with butter for breakfast, with coffee, in lunch-boxes…anytime!
Helpful tips
- Use soft, over-ripe bananas as they are sweeter, have a stronger flavour, and impart more moisture. Yellow bananas will result in a less sweet and drier cake! To quickly ripen bananas, place them in the freezer for a couple of hours then leave them out on the counter to thaw before using.
- Brown sugar gives the bread richness, a lovely caramel colour and great flavour, however you have run out, you could just use white sugar.
- To check the banana bread is cooked, insert a clean skewer into the bread and if it comes out clean, it is ready.
Recipe Variations
Add a cup of chocolate chips to the mix before baking for a chocolate fix!
Notch it up a level by covering it with this amazing Cream Cheese Frosting.
Instruction notes
- Select 4 or 5 of your brownest bananas and mash them well. Very ripe bananas have more flavour and are sweeter.
- In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. (Sifting loosens up the flour and helps mix up the ingredients).
- In another mixing bowl cream the butter and sugars till creamy and smooth. Then stir in the beaten eggs, vanilla and mashed banana.
- Fold the flour into the egg mixture till just incorporated (gentle folding). Over-mixing releases too much gluten and it will make the loaf tough and very dense.
- Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake for 60-70 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. You may need to cover the cake with parchment paper to prevent the top browning too much.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Slice and serve as is, or cover with a layer of this delicious Cream Cheese Frosting or a Lemon Icing.
Your questions answered
Banana bread is heavier with a denser crumb than banana cake.
For vegan or dairy free banana bread, substitute the butter with extra virgin olive oil or any high quality vegetable oil. Replace the eggs with ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, (If you are using sweetened applesauce, adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe accordingly).
Storing
This bread can be stored in an airtight box the fridge for up to 3 days. It also freezes well, wrap in bees-wax paper or plastic film to freeze.
Freeze your bananas
If you love banana desserts, a great way to make sure you always have some on hand is to freeze them!
Or if your bananas aren’t ripe enough for cooking, freeze them!
You can freeze them with their peels on but then you will need to let them thaw before peeling. A quicker way is to or peel them first and freeze them whole or sliced.
Bananas will last longer in the freezer if they are peeled first.
How to freeze bananas
- Chop the bananas into large chunks and partially freeze them on a tray before transferring them to a ziploc bag to keep in the freezer.
- Defrost the bananas in the fridge overnight or leave them out on the counter for a few hours before you are ready to use them.
Are you looking for more banana recipes? Check out my banana cake with lemon cream cheese frosting, some mini banana cupcakes or banana crumb muffins.
⭐️ I’d love to know how this banana bread turns out for you, let me know in the comments below and do leave a star rating.
Instagram – I love seeing your creations, so post a picture, tag @endofthefork and hashtag #endofthefork
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Best Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 180 grams flour 1½ cups
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 110 grams butter ½ cup, softened
- 100 grams white sugar ½ cup
- 110 grams brown sugar ½ cup
- 390 grams very ripe bananas 1½ cups, mashed till smooth
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/180℃, and grease a 9×5 inch/23×13 cm loaf pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Separately, in a medium bowl, cream together butter and both sugars. To this add the mashed bananas, eggs, vanilla and mix till fully combined.
- Fold the flour into the egg mixture till just incorporated, taking care not to over-mix (see notes).
- Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 60-70 minutes, or till a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. You may need yo cover with parchment paper towards the end to prevent the top browning too much.
- Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack.
Notes
- Soft, over-ripe bananas are sweeter, have a stronger flavour, and impart more moisture than yellow bananas. To quickly ripen bananas, place them in the freezer for a couple of hours then leave them out on the counter to thaw before using.
- Stir the flour in to the mixture gently using a wooden spoon and do not over mix or too much gluten will be released making the bread tough and too dense.
- Insert a clean skewer into the center of the banana bread and if it comes out clean, it is done.
- Add a cup of chocolate chips to the mixture.
- Try this frosting with the banana bread
- Substitute eggs with ½ cup applesauce (adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe accordingly).
- Replace butter with ⅓ cup vegetable oil.
- Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- To freeze, wrap in bees-wax paper or clingfilm.
MEASUREMENT NOTES
The ingredients here on EOTF are set out in grams & milliliters and in US cups & spoons.
Nutrition
Update notes: This post was originally published on Sept 15th, 2017, but was republished with tips, and FAQ’s and new images in May, 2021.
firsttimercook
Very useful way to finish ripe bananas
Dhwani Mehta
What a beautiful looking banana bread!! Super moist and perfect. <3
Soniya
Me and my family are big banana bread lovers and I bake them often!! This banana bread looks so scumpticous!! Saving it for later!
Lathiya
This looks awesome..I too store over ripen banana in freezer..
Ruchisvegkitchen
Very delicious , moist cake .. very nice way to use over ripen banana
Shibani
Nothing can beat the classic banana bread. The taste and the aroma is simply unbeatable
Vanitha
Awesome banana bread! One of the most delicious ways to eat bananas 🙂
Srivalli Jetti
I guess one can never have enough banana breads!..I have so many yet this makes me want to try it soon..
aanchalgupta3
Great way to use up over ripe bananas. The bread looks moist and delicious!
Gloria
What a delicious looking banana bread..so moist and so yumm
▵ ↟ Francesca_Sevenroses ↟ ▵
Banana bread is an absolute must in our household, my husband goes crazy for it! With a few substitutions to make it Vegan, I’ll try yours next 🙂 thank you for sharing this!