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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Baking isnt my thing but I had a go at this one. It was easy to follow and I must say it wasnt too bad actually quite a big hit in the house! Will definitely be making another one….might have to invest in a mixer…a handheld one at least 🙂
A very lovely banana bread, gorgeous spread with a bit of butter with morning cuppa. I also freeze slices for my boyfriend to take to work in his packed lunches 👍🏼
One of the best banana bread recipes I’ve ever made! Thank you!
I made this delicious banana bread yesterday afternoon. More than half is already gone and there are only 2 of us. So light and airy! Before I juiced the lemon, I added some of the lemon zest, couldn’t resist. Loving this with our coffee this morning. Perfect Directions! Thank you!!
Just made this recipe and it turned out amazing!!!! I would definitely recommend. Thanks for sharing this. My son & husband loved it!
My family loved this recipe for banana bread! My husband is diabetic so I made the recipe for banana bread on the Splenda artificial sweetener bag. Of course this didn’t even come close to your recipe. Is there an artificial sweetener that would work for diabetics in this recipe? Otherwise, the family will need to eat the entire loaf before he gets home from work, lol!
Glad it was a hit! While I’ve never made this with a sugar substitute, I have read plenty of comments from readers who have said they’ve replaced some or all of the sugar in baked goods with a substitute like Stevia or Splenda and have had good results.) Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Jenn, I wanted to let you know that the substitution of Splenda for the sugar in the original recipe turned out well. However, next time I will substitute only half of the sugar with Splenda because we like more of a crust on the bread. I think the use of Splenda made the crust softer. Thank you for providing the information so quickly!
Good to know, Jan — thanks for taking the time to follow up!
Monk fruit sugar, it’s diabetic friendly and helps to regulate blood sugar. It’s a little expensive but worth it as it doesn’t compromise on taste.
I made this into muffins using a 12 tin. 350 for 22 minutes since I filled them up quite a bit. I also made them gluten free using Bobs Red Mill baking flour. They were amazing! Still moist today. They remind me of the ones I used to eat as a kid and I’ve been trying to find that same taste with other recipes with no luck. Thanks Jenn! Will definitely be making again.
Hello, Banana Bread looks good. I will add the lemon juice to Banana Bread. Will taste to see the difference or better taste.
Thanks for suggestion..
Hi Alice, it doesn’t give the bread a lemony flavor. The acidity in the lemon juice reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise and give it a nice golden color. Hope you enjoy if you make it!
What will happen if I make muffins with this recipe? Do I need to alter it in any way? Love your recipes!
Glad you like the recipes! 🙂
This should work nicely for muffins. I’d keep the oven temp the same and start checking them for doneness at about 18 minutes.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve made this recipe, it’s always a winner!
Today I didn’t have any lemons so I subbed 2 tsp of distilled white vinegar. (Recipe calls for 2 tbsps of lemon juice and usually I’d sub half of vinegar but I was worried about it tasting vinegary so I cut back a bit…. I probably could have done 1 tbsp of vinegar and it would have been fine!) Anyway, it worked a treat, I couldn’t taste the vinegar but the banana bread still came out light and moist. Leaving this note here in case it’s useful to anyone else!
Your instinct is correct. I make this banana bread a lot, and multiple times, I’ve used 1 Tbsp white vinegar in place of 2 Tbsp lemon juice. I’ve never tasted any vinegar; the banana bread is as delicious as if I used lemon juice. (Might also have something to do with the chocolate chips that I add, but I’m sure plain is just as good)