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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Just out of the oven!
Because of the dark psn I baked for 30 minutes.
Thank goodness I did.
It looks and smells awesome!
I added chocolate chips.
Can’t wait to eat some.
Keeper!
Thank you for sharing your recipe. 💞
Hiya Jenn. This banana bread recipes phenomenal. I’m in my seventies and I’ve been making banana bread for over 50 years, and I really love the way this one turned out. I had three large very ripe bananas that I mashed and I ended up with one and a half cups of mashed banana. Which is one and a half times the amount the recipe calls for. So I added one and a half times every ingredient. Then to bake the banana bread I used my Pampered Chef stoneware mini loaf pan, which makes four small loaves all at once. I baked them at 350° for 33-35 minutes. Thank you so much. I will definitely make this again and the next time I think I’ll add some crushed walnuts. I love banana and walnut together.
I will be using a mini loaf pan (from King Arthur). Did you fill the pans halfway up as the large pan seems to be? Thanks for the cooking times.
Except for using gluten free flour (Cup 4 Cup), I followed the recipe exactly as written. The bread rose beautifully and tastes so flavorful! This recipe is a keeper!
Hi Jenn,
I print so many of your recipes rather than check to see if they are published in one of your cookbooks (which I have both). Is there a way you could mention that the posted recipe is in one of your books? My husband and I LOVE your recipes – I can honestly say I make one to two of your recipes every week…….Thank you in advance for more recipes to follow! BTW, I have purchased your cookbooks as gifts for my “foodie friends” and they love the book!
Hi Cindy, Thanks for your nice words about the recipes and support of the cookbooks! I actually have a “stamp” in the bottom left corner of the main picture for any blog recipe that is also in one of the cookbooks. See the Peruvian Chicken as an example. Hope that helps and keeps you from printing anything unnecessarily! 😊
Well…I’ve been making the same banana bread recipe for 38 years, have tried others, however my husband always prefers the old recipe. Made yours today…he agreed your recipe …is now replacing the old recipe! I’ve been following you for roughly 8 years, and always my go to…you never disappoint! THANK YOU !
My loaf pan is 8×4. Would you suggest adjusting both the time and temperature? If yes, by how much? Thank you!
Hi Jeanne, an 8 x 4 is not large enough for the batter. You’d actually need to use two of them for this (believe it or not, a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan holds double the amount of batter compared to an 8 x 4.)
Jenn
This is a super easy fast delicious
Banana bread recipe the lemon
Is the icing to this recipe made
Three Loaves all the same times
We’re what recipe said
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Five stars
Your recipes are awesome
Easy delicious thank you so very much for sharing
This was an excellent banana bread. Having made a few that were less than good, I was quite happy with it! But I did have to cook it longer than 45 minutes – it sunk in the middle my first try. I did use 3 bananas. Also, I used every Pumpkin pie like spice in my drawer with abandon – nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, allspice – the lot. I liked it, I’m sure everyone has their own opinion on such things. My sons finished it off in one hour.
First time ive made a Banana Bread…..whole loaf was consumed within the same day by the family….now I have to bake another 😋
The recipe has become a staple in our house for using up old bananas. I actually make these as cupcakes and bake at 350 for 18 minutes. I few substitutions I’ve done to make these vegan and use unprocessed sugar: sub flax meal for eggs (1 Tbsp meal + 3 Tbsp water per egg) and vegan butter (1:1 sub with regular butter), and sub 1/2 cup of agave nectar for the sugar. Yum!
Hi Jenn, getting ready to make the banana bread and wanted to add pecan, how much can I add to the batter without messing up the recipe. Thanks in advance.
Hi Arlene, I think I’d go with about 1 cup.
Thanks for the reply Jenn. The banana bread was awesome as all your recipes.