Banana Bread
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Say hello to your new favorite banana bread recipe! With its tender crumb, rich flavor, and irresistibly crisp crust, it’s simply the best!
Are you on the hunt for the perfect banana bread recipe? Look no further—this is the one! With a tender crumb and a crisp crust, it’s absolutely phenomenal fresh out of the oven and just as delicious toasted up for breakfast the next day. You might be surprised by an unexpected ingredient: lemon juice. While it doesn’t make the bread taste lemony, it actually enhances the banana flavor. The acidity also works with the baking soda to help the bread rise, giving it a beautiful golden color, toasty flavor, and light, fluffy texture.
My family loves this banana bread plain, but you can easily add nuts or chocolate chips if you like. And if you’re craving variety, I’ve got plenty of options, including marbled banana bread, chocolate banana bread, whole wheat banana bread, and chai-spiced banana bread. After all, you can never have too many banana bread recipes!
Table of Contents
“Best banana bread ever! And I have tried a lot of different recipes. I think the secret is the lemon juice!”
What You’ll Need To Make Banana Bread
- All-purpose flour: Provides the structure for the bread.
- Baking soda and baking powder: Act as leavening agents to help the banana bread rise and become fluffy.
- Butter: Adds richness, moisture, and flavor to the bread, and helps create a tender crumb.
- Sugar: Sweetens the bread and contributes to the golden-brown crust when baked.
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients together, add structure, and contribute to the bread’s rise and fluffiness.
- Mashed very ripe bananas: The star ingredient that provides moisture, sweetness, and distinct banana flavor to the bread. For a really moist, banana-forward bread, use very ripe bananas. The bananas should at least be dark yellow with plenty of brown spots, and it’s okay if the skin has turned completely brown. (See the FAQs below for tips on how to speed up ripening.)
- Lemon juice: Enhances the banana flavor and reacts with the baking soda to aid in leavening and browning.
- Vanilla extract: Enhances the overall flavor of the banana bread, adding depth and warmth.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Whisk to combine.
In the bowl of an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Beat well after each addition.
Add the mashed bananas, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
Mix well. It will look a little curdled at this point; that’s okay.
Add the dry ingredients.
Beat on low speed until just incorporated. Do not over mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
Then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Storage & Freezing Instructions
Banana bread should be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil to prevent it from drying out. If properly stored, it will stay fresh for 2 to 3 days. If you’re not planning to eat it within that time frame, freeze for longer storage. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil or freezer wrap, or place it in a freezer bag, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving. Crisp up individual slices in the toaster for a fresh-baked effect.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re in a hurry to ripen bananas for baking, there are a couple of methods you can try:
24-Hour Method: Place the bananas (still attached at the stem) in a loosely sealed brown paper bag and let them sit on the counter. Check them after 24 hours to see if they’ve ripened to your liking.
Quick Oven Ripening: If you need ripe bananas even faster, you can use your oven. Place the bananas, still in their peels, on a foil-lined baking sheet to catch any leakage. Bake them at a low temperature of 250°F for 15 to 20 minutes or until they develop a deep brown color. This method helps break down the starches in the bananas quickly, resulting in a softer texture and sweeter flavor.
Absolutely! If you have overripe bananas and you’re not ready to bake, don’t let them go to waste. I typically freeze them in bags of 2 or 3, as mashed, they typically yield about 1 cup, which is what most banana recipes call for. Simply peel the bananas, place them in an airtight container or freezer bag, and freeze. When you’re ready to bake, thaw them in the bag and then mash.
Banana Bread Video Tutorial
You May Also Like
Banana Bread
Say hello to your new favorite banana bread recipe! With its tender crumb, rich flavor, and irresistibly crisp crust, it’s simply the best!
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas, from 2-3 large bananas
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9x5-inch metal loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the mashed bananas, lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix well. It will look a little curdled at this point; that's okay.
- Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (12 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 208
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Sugar: 14 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 394 mg
- Cholesterol: 51 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Will almond flour and GF AP flour work in this recipe?
Hi Serena, Out of the two, I think you’d have the best luck with a gluten-free flour. A lot of readers comment that they really like this King Arthur version. Please LMK how it turns out if you make it!
Hi Jenn,
We were mixing this recipe together and the lemon curdled our egg and butter mixture pretty much immediately. Any suggestions on what might have gone wrong?
Hi James, That is normal and won’t affect the finished bread. Once you add the flour, it should work itself out. 🙂
Hi Jenn,
Thanks for sharing all of the amazing recipes.
I tried this banana bread recipe but the center was still raw even after baking for 60 minutes. What size loaf pan do you use? What am I doing wrong to cause the middle to not cook?
I appreciate your help.
Hi Sandy, I use a 9 x 5-inch loaf. I’m sorry you had a problem with this. Did you make any adjustments to the recipe?
Hi Jenn, thanks for your recipe. I’ve made it a bunch of times and it’s turned out well at 45-50min. I’m wondering if there is a substitute for vanilla. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
Hi Anne, glad you like this! If you have another extract on hand, like almond or maple, you could use one of those. Here are some other potential options to choose from. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn,
This is my first bread and first Banana bread. Yum! Yum!! YUMMY!!!
Thank you for the recipe.
The best banana bread recipe I’ve ever tried – thank you!
Hi Jenn, I added half a sliced banana on top, but the loaf came out super wet under the banana. Was it just not enough time in the oven or the added banana added too much moisture? I had to carved out everything in the middle cus of the wetness and almost raw batter.
Hi Serena, I do think the banana may have added too much moisture.
If I wanna try this again, should I reduce the banana in the bread mixture or what would you suggest I do?
Hi Serena, I probably wouldn’t add the banana to the top. Sorry!
THE best banana bread recipe ever! My loaf turned out exactly as noted; tender bread with crispy crust. Thank you Jenn!
Hi Jenn I love your recipes and this banana bread is great too, however the recipe would be more consistent if the measurements especially for flour was by weight not cups.
Hi Gillian, So glad you enjoy the recipes! This recipe actually has weight/metric measures as well. To view them, scroll down to the recipe and immediately under the recipe title on the right side, you’ll see a little toggle. If you move it from “cup measures” to metric, you’ll see measurements that will work for you.
Can I replace lemon juice with apple juice
Hi Dee, the lemon juice reacts with the baking soda in this recipe to help the bread rise. You can make it without it, but the bread may be a little flatter/heavier. Some other readers that commented that they didn’t have lemon juice and used orange juice or apple cider vinegar successfully. Hope that helps!
I love this recipe! It turned out great even though I used 2 glass loaf pans (all that I had) as I doubled the recipe. I used a gluten free flour mix substitute (Namaste from Costco) which I always use for any king of recipe calling for flour. I did need to bake for a full 50 minutes at 350F. Outside got a bit dark but I like the crispiness and it was really delicious. Will become my “go to” banana bread recipe. Thanks Jenn!
I made this for a bake sale at work and just got handed a certificate from a manager for the Best Banana Bread EVER. I only looked at this site for the perfect recipe. Jenn never lets me down!
I never got a chance to try it, but I still have plenty of bananas left and will likely make a full-sized loaf for myself now. One recipe filled a mini loaf pan that holds 8. I baked them for 20-22 minutes ( a bit of experimentation there).