Banana Bread
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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
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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
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- 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.
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my first time making banana bread from scratch and every time i make something from scratch it usually fails, but i love how clear you made all the instructions it turned out amazing. my family loves it so much. thank you, it’s one of the best banana bread recipes i’ve ever tried, loved it.
Hi Jenn,
I tried the banana bread recipe today. I added walnuts at the end. I had to bake it for an extra 20 minutes before I got the toothpick clean. But it turned out heavenly! This is the second recipe I have tried. Yesterday, I had made the blueberry muffins – again to die for! I am definitely going to try more recipes. Thank you so much for sharing these. God bless!
Love,
Rena
Hi Jenn,
I attempted this recipe and it looked like one corner of the banana bread was sort of “sunken in” and after flipping (once cooled in pan for 10 min) that entire corner broke off. The piece that was stuck in the pan was very greasy..the butter I used was partially softened but not fully. Is that what could have caused this? I also used raw turbinado sugar in place of regular white sugar as that was all I could find in stores. Otherwise I was very careful in my measurements and used the spoon and level technique for measuring the flour. Any feedback would be appreciated to avoid this from happening again 🙁
Hi Sam, Sorry you had a problem with this. I think the different sugar as well as the butter both contributed to the problem but the butter probably was the primary issue. If it wasn’t fully softened, there may have been some chunks of butter left in the butter-sugar mixture which is likely what you encountered in that corner of the bread. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn, thanks for your feedback 🙂 Will definitely be using this recipe again and fingers crossed it will come out in one piece!! lol
This was the best tasting banana bread! Alas I have bananas but no flour 🙄. I do have a small bag of self rising, what do you think?
Hi Sharon, This is best with all-purpose flour, but I know that it’s hard to come by right now! Self-rising flour will works in recipes using about 1/2 teaspoon (and up to 1 teaspoon) baking powder per cup of flour, so if you feel comfortable doing the math, feel free to give it a try. 🙂
This was a simple recipe to make and the result was very good. Good balance on dry vs wet so the bread was light and yummy.
Thank you
Jenn – Thank you for all of your amazing recipes! So far, I have made the following: Asparagus soup, Crusty Artisan bread, banana bread, Curry Thai chicken soup, to name a few. All have been amazing!! My husband (who is still working) is loving coming home to all the cooking smells! My neighbors are loving the bread I’ve been making and sharing.
Next week, I plan on trying my hand at the Challah bread and the Cinnamon Bread. Thank you so much, Jenn! We are all going to get through this and come out the other side with a lot of new recipes!
Delicious, but wait for it to cool it tastes much better. I tried a slice right after I took it out of the pan and it tasted too buttery. I then tried it after it cooled and it seemed like all the flavors just melded together perfectly. It was delicious with my tea. Great way to use brown bananas.
Delicious! I made this bread this morning and my husband asked where I got the recipe. I said “it’s one of hers.” He knows what that means! Once Upon a Chef. He dove right in and helped himself twice.
🙂
It will still taste good!
Delicious and recipe easy to follow and, more importantly, I didn’t have to out to get ingredients.
Hi Jenn, I am not a baker. I just made your classic banana bread while at home. It was delicious! So easy and very moist.Thanks for sharing so many wonderful recipes with us. Siobhan