Simple and classic banana bread recipe that is customizable with mix-ins or delicious plain. This bread has such a moist texture and delightful flavor!
There are a few requirements that every food blog absolutely must have: chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and banana bread.
It’s taken me a while to get a good banana bread recipe up on the blog because for most of my life, I didn’t make banana bread that much.
However, when Matt and I moved in together, he began making banana bread with his grandmother’s recipe every time our bananas went bad! And man oh man, was it delicious.
Suddenly I went from being able to take or leave banana bread to loving it, and looking forward to those nights when fresh banana bread was baking in the oven.
Sometimes we have it with chocolate, sometimes with walnuts, and sometimes plain. But no matter what, we always love it!
This banana bread recipe has been around for generations, and it will be around for generations more. I can’t wait to share it with you!
Why Make this Recipe
- Classic: There are incredible variations of banana bread across the internet with fancy ingredients and crazy additions. And while those are so fun to experiment with, sometimes you just need a classic recipe. Look no further!
- 10 Minutes of Work: Your banana bread does need to cook for 50 minutes, but in terms of active minutes of work, this recipe is so fast!
- Customizable: The base of this recipe is simple to throw together and so easy to customize! There are suggestions in the recipe below for adding walnuts or chocolate chips, but you can choose anything you’d like.
What Do I Need to Make this Recipe?
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.
- Bananas: Make sure your bananas are so ripe, they’re almost black. The more ripe the bananas, the more flavor they hold.
- Eggs: I use large eggs.
- Oil: I use vegetable oil. You can sub olive oil if you want a crispier crust.
Other Add-Ins
If you want to incorporate some add-ins into your banana bread, you most certainly can! The recipe includes instructions on how to add walnuts or chocolate chips, but you can add almost anything you’d like! Here are some other good options:
- Coconut
- Dried Fruit
- White Chocolate Chips
- Darks Chocolate Chips
- Butterscotch Chips
- Toffee Chips
- Cinnamon
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Peanut Butter Chips
- Old Fashioned Oats
- Pistachios
- Pecans
The list could go on and on.
How to Ripen Bananas
If you want to make banana bread but don’t have bananas that are ripe enough for the job, follow the below instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil
- Place the bananas on the baking sheet and allow them to bake for 15-20 minutes until they turn totally black.
- Peel and follow the below instructions for making banana bread.
How to Make this Recipe
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Step 1: Prep
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease a (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5) glass loaf pan and set aside.
Step 2: Make the Batter
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with an electric hand mixer until well-blended.
Cut the bananas into 1” pieces and put them into the bowl with the eggs. Mash them until well blended with eggs.
Add the sugar and oil to the banana mixture and beat until well blended.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Gradually add this to the banana mixture, and beat again until well blended.
If desired, add the walnuts and/or chocolate chips and mix by hand until evenly dispersed.
Step 3: Bake
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool before cutting. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use a serrated knife to cut the banana bread into slices.
- If you don’t have an electric hand mixer, you can mix this recipe by hand or use a stand mixer.
- Feel free to add chopped up bananas into the batter if you’d like.
- If the top of your banana bread begins to brown or burn before the center is cooked, tent some aluminum foil over the top of the pan as you bake.
- You know your banana bread is done when a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.
- Add a delicious crumble to the top of your banana bread using this Crumble Topping Recipe.
Recipe FAQs
If your banana bread is too dry for your liking, try adjusting the way you are scooping your flour.
Use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, instead of using the measuring cup to scoop. This will make sure that the flour isn’t packed down too tightly when you’re baking.
You can store your banana bread at room temperature. I usually put aluminum foil over the loaf pan that I cooked it in and leave it on the counter. Alternatively, you can wrap the loaf in plastic wrap and store it in a resealable plastic bag.
If your banana bread starts to go stale, you can add a piece of folded paper towel to the bag/pan, which should help keep it fresh for a few more days.
Yes! If you want to freeze your banana bread recipe after baking it, you certainly can.
Allow the loaf to cool completely. Then, wrap it up in aluminum foil. Finally, put the aluminum foil-wrapped banana bread loaf in a resealable plastic bag.
Your banana bread should keep good for 3-4 months (though you can also continue to eat it after).
If you are going to want to eat small slices of your banana bread at the time, consider cutting the loaf into slices before freezing so it is easy to thaw however many slices you want to eat at the time.
Did you enjoy this Moist Banana Bread Recipe? If so, make sure to check out these other recipes I picked out just for you:
- Blueberry Bread with Blueberry Glaze
- Strawberry Bread Recipe
- Easy Bread Pudding Recipe
- Fairy Bread Recipe from Australia
The Best Moist Banana Bread Recipe
Equipment
- Mixing Bowl(s)
- Electric Hand Mixer
- Wooden Spoon
- 9×5″ Loaf Pan
- Oven Mitt
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 3 ripe bananas
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup walnuts (optional), chopped
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a (8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5) glass loaf pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs with an electric hand mixer until well-blended.
- Cut 3 bananas into 1” pieces and put them into the bowl with the eggs. Mash them until well blended with eggs.
- Add ⅔ cup granulated sugar and ⅓ cup vegetable oil to the banana mixture and beat until well blended.
- Mix together 1 ¾ cup flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp salt together in a medium bowl. Gradually add this to the banana mixture, and beat again until well blended.
- If desired, add ½ cup chopped walnuts and/or ½ cup chocolate chips and mix by hand until evenly dispersed.
- Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes. Cool before cutting. Enjoy!
Notes
- Bananas: Make sure your bananas are so ripe, they’re almost black. The more ripe the bananas, the more flavor they hold.
- Eggs: I use large eggs.
- Oil: I use vegetable oil. You can sub olive oil if you want a crispier crust.
- Use a serrated knife to cut the banana bread into slices.
- If you don’t have an electric hand mixer, you can mix this recipe by hand or use a stand mixer.
- Feel free to add chopped up bananas into the batter if you’d like.
- If the top of your banana bread begins to brown or burn before the center is cooked, tent some aluminum foil over the top of the pan as you bake.
- You know your banana bread is done when a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.
- Use a serrated knife to cut the banana bread into slices.
- If you don’t have an electric hand mixer, you can mix this recipe by hand or use a stand mixer.
- Feel free to add chopped up bananas into the batter if you’d like.
- If the top of your banana bread begins to brown or burn before the center is cooked, tent some aluminum foil over the top of the pan as you bake.
- You know your banana bread is done when a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean.
Kellie says
We’ve started using this banana bread recipe every time our bananas go bad (so like…. at least once a month) and it always turns out perfect! I’ve jumped around to different banana bread recipes for years and finally found one that we can stick with.
The Foreign Fork says
Hi Kellie, I’m so glad that you love the recipe!! Thank you so much for leaving a comment and a rating 🙂 Enjoy the banana bread!