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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Hi Jenn, if I wanted to lower the fat content could I substitute applesauce for the butter?
Hi Christine, If you’d like, you can replace half the amount of butter in the recipe with applesauce. Just keep in mind that the bread will be more moist and dense. I’d love to hear how it comes out if you try it!
The texture is beautiful, but it has no flavor.
I followed the recipe but, because I first zested the lemon before squeezing it for the juice called for, tossed in the zest (figured why not) and also added some finely chopped pecans. Delicious, very light, moist and is now the only banana bread recipe I’ll ever use.
Your recipes, and this website, brings me so much pleasure Jenn; I love to cook and bake and you help make me a super-star with family and friends!
LOVED THIS! Was feeling like making some to start the week and I don’t know if it’s supposed to be light instead of dense but I love it no matter what! I will use this recipe forever now (like most of your recipes!!).
temp?
Hi Anna, the bread gets baked at 350°F/175°C.
Second time I made this and both times the ends cooked middle was raw. Any idea why?
Hi Rebecca, So sorry you had trouble! What type of pan are you using?
This happens to me as well every time I make this recipe! I use a pan with the measurements suggested in the recipe. I never have problems with any other recipes on this site and bake often, so I guess I’m just cursed when it comes to this particular recipe. I think from now on I’ll just stick with the chocolate banana bread recipe and give up on this one.
This also happened to me. The bread was way undercooked. I’ve made several other recipes from this site that have turned out well but this and the choc chip muffins were complete disasters.
I really must thank you for this wonderful recipe with detailed instructions! I made it with (sifted) white spelt flour, and following the rest of the recipe to the letter (metric quantities), after 42 minutes in the new mini oven it came out perfectly! The texture is really light and soft, and the flavour is beautiful. I may try adding some chopped walnuts or pecans next time as well.
Made a vegan version by using a 50/50 mixture of flavourless coconut oil and light olive oil instead of butter, and 2 tablespoons of ground golden linseeds/flaxseeds soaked in 5 tablespoons of water instead of the eggs.
I added 75g of chopped pecans as well (about 3/4 cup, measured before chopping), and again used white spelt flour.
I sprinkled a tiny bit of sugar over the top before baking, to add a little crunch.
Because of the added nuts, I decided to bake it for 45 minutes this time, and though it ended up with a very slight dip in the centre, the cake was fully done and again beautifully moist.
Each version of this recipe has been utterly delicious, and I will definitely be making it again!!!
Best banana bread ever! And I have tried a lot of different recipes. I think the secret is the lemon juice!
This truly is the best recipe, I have made it several times and it never disappoints. I do recommend to use the grams measurements if you have a scale so it comes out perfect!
Silly question but can you do this without an electric mixer? I added this to my daughters first apartment cook book recipes and she does not have one
Hi Nicole, that’s nice that you’re making that for her! It will take a little elbow grease, but it’s doable without a mixer. Here’s some guidance that may be helpful.
I didn’t use an electric mixer – I used a manual egg beater and it came out great!
This is my new favorite banana bread recipe. It replaces my old one, which was almost identical but used vegetable oil instead of butter and did not include lemon juice. I swapped out brown sugar for white sugar and added butterscotch chips, and it was delicious.
This recipe is the best I’ve tried. I like this banana bread because it’s so light in texture. This will be my go-to recipe forever.