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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I have a question, what is the baking time if I want to make the same recipe but with mini loaf pans 5.75 x 3 in?
Hi Giselle, I’d start checking them at about 35 minutes. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn – thank you for all your wonderful recipes.
I have made this banana bread twice now and both times it did not rise in the middle like your picture. The top was flat. What am I doing wrong?
Annie
Hi Annie, I don’t think you did anything wrong – this particular banana bread doesn’t dome much in the middle, if at all. It has a tender, cake-like texture and bakes up more like a cake than a traditional bread. But if you want to get more rise in the center, you can increase the flour to 2 cups; the bread will just be a bit denser.
Not only is This Recipe and every recipe I’ve tried here wonderfully delicious, but cooking with you is such a joy, your presentations are just my happy place, thank you!!!
💗
Hi Jenn! Your cookbook and website are my go-tos whenever I’m looking for a recipe or menu inspiration. Thank you for years of delicious meals! I’ve made this bread dozens of times, but wondering if you have suggestions for making it healthier? For example, oatmeal or oat flour as sub for white flour? Thank you!
Hi Tess, Thanks for your kind words — so glad you like them! If you’d like to use a healthier flour, I’d suggest white whole wheat. White whole wheat flour is lighter and milder tasting than regular whole wheat flour (yet just as nutritious). Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Great recipe, I have now made these several times. I do them as muffins. Instead of making it as bread I cook them as muffins to eat and freeze for later. Recipe yields 18 muffins, 350° for 25 min, rest in pan for 10 just like bread then transition to a cooling rack.
Thank you for an easy recipe that tastes great. I also add cranberries and crushed walnuts in mine.
truly the best banana bread. the lemon, as an ingredient was surprising, added another layer. I also microwave my bananas, peel them and set them over a sieve, and press to remove the liquid, if the liquid is thick I fold the bananas back in, if the liquid to thin I will reduce the liquid to thicker constancy, cool and then fold back into the bananas, for me, helps deepen the flavor. I have tried several of your recipes, this is the first baking recipe. loved it!!
I usually love the taste of lemon but not too fond of it in this recipe. Otherwise very good and easy to make once all ingredients are set out.
It’s a keeper ☺️
Hi Jen,
Can I cover the top with foil to prevent the sides from getting too brown or can I put those strips that u wet around the pan?
Thank you
Lin
Hi Lin, I wouldn’t keep it covered the whole time but if you find that the top is browning more than you’d like, you can loosely lay a piece of foil on top of the loaf pan.
Love this recipe! I do lightly tent mine after the allotted baking time is up and I still feel it made need a few more minutes. Comes out great!!
Same here. I usually bake the banana bread for about an hour, but I tent it loosely with a foil by the 45-minute mark, sometimes earlier. Bread is done but still moist, and the top is nicely brown, not burnt
Hi Jen,
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times now, and love it each time! Sometimes I also change it up by adding in 1 tsp of cinnamon and a cup of crushed almonds/walnuts for extra flavour and texture.
A friend of mine can’t have butter. So I would like to ask if I am able to change up the butter in the recipe to a neutral oil like Canola oil? So for example, rather than creaming the butter and sugar, I will be whisking the eggs and sugar until it is light and fluffy, before adding in the other wet/dry ingredients in. And if so, should I replace the butter and oil in a 1:1 ratio? Thank you again!
Hi Patrick, so glad you like this! If you need a replacement for butter, I’d suggest (solidified) coconut oil. You really need to cream the sugar and the fat and solidified coconut oil will do the trick. And you should use the same amount, so ½ cup. Hope that helps!
Hi Jenn,
Can I use lemon juice in a bottle in place of fresh lemons.
Thank you
Lin
Sure, Lin, that will work. Enjoy!
When I use lemon juice in the bottle, do I use 2 tablespoons of the bottled lemon juice?
Thank you
Lin
Yes, you’d use the same amount.