Best Banana Bread Recipe - End of the Fork (2024)

Table of Contents

Helpful tips Recipe Variations Instruction notes Your questions answered How to store banana bread Freeze your bananas How to freeze bananas You may also like … 📋 Recipe Easy Banana Bread Ingredients Instructions Notes Recipe Variations Vegan option Storing ADD NOTES Nutrition FAQs References

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Use ripe brown bananas to make this super moist banana bread. Its easy to make, full of flavour and your home will smell delicious!

Best Banana Bread Recipe - End of the Fork (1)

This recipe makes a soft fluffy banana bread with a crispy exterior, rich flavour and a tender crumb.

It is difficult to know what teenagers will eat – sometimes bananas last barely a few hours in the fruit bowl and other times they are barely noticed and ignored till they turn brown and on their way to turning mushy.

That’s when I rescue them and bring back something that looks more appealing like this delicious banana bread, guaranteed to make your kitchen smell delicious!

Banana bread is great on its own, toasted with butter for breakfast, with coffee, in lunch-boxes… anytime!

If you are keen on the fresh flavour bananas bring to a dessert, try our other recipes using ripe bananas such as our popular banana bread with zucchini, and this tangy banana cake made with yogurt.

You may also like to try banana muffins for an easy portable breakfast, our healthy no sugar banana oatmeal cookies or our just-like-cookies banana blondie bars.

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Helpful tips
Recipe Variations
Instruction notes
Your questions answered
How to store banana bread
Freeze your bananas
How to freeze bananas
You may also like …
📋 Recipe

Best Banana Bread Recipe - End of the Fork (2)

Helpful tips

Use soft over-ripe bananas as they are sweeter, have a stronger flavour, and impartmore moisture. Yellow bananas will result in a less sweet and drier cake! To quickly ripen bananas, place in the freezer for a couple of hours. Note: bananas turn black when chilled or frozen. Leave them out on the kitchen counter to thaw before using.
Brown sugar adds richness,a lovely caramel colour and great flavour, but if you have run out use white sugar.
To check to see if the banana bread is done insert a clean skewer into the bread and if it comes out clean it is ready.

Recipe Variations

At some stage you may want to create different versions of this banana bread so here are a few tried and tested ideas:

chocolate – mix in a cup (170g) of milk, dark or white chocolate chips to the batter before baking.

nuts – add a handful of crushed roasted glazed nuts to the batter before baking.

glaze – drizzle with a generous amount of lemon icing and leave for a few minutes to dry before slicing.

frosting – covering with generous amounts of cream cheese frosting and your guests will love you for it!

Best Banana Bread Recipe - End of the Fork (3)

Instruction notes

Select 4 to 5 of your brownest bananas and mash them well. Very ripe bananas have more flavour and are sweeter.
In a mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. (Sifting loosens up the flour and helps mix up the ingredients).
In another mixing bowl cream the butter and sugars till creamy and smooth. Then stir in the beaten eggs, vanilla and mashed banana.
Fold the flour into the egg mixture till just incorporated (gentle folding). Over-mixing releases too much gluten and it will make the loaf tough and very dense.
Pour the mixture into a greased loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. You may need to cover the cake with parchment paper to prevent the top browning too much.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Slice and serve as is, or cover with a layer of this delicious cream cheese frosting or a lemon Icing.

Best Banana Bread Recipe - End of the Fork (4)

Your questions answered

What is the difference between banana bread and banana cake?

Banana bread is heavier with a denser crumb than banana cake.

How do you make it vegan or dairy free?

For vegan or dairy free banana bread, substitute the butter with extra virgin olive oil or any high quality vegetable oil. Replace the eggs with ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, (If using sweetened applesauce adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe accordingly).

How to store banana bread

Banana bread can be stored in an airtight box the fridge for up to 3 days. It also freezes well, wrap in parchment paper or plastic film to freeze.

Freeze your bananas

If you love banana desserts, a great way to make sure you always have some on hand is to freeze them!

Or if your bananas aren’t ripe enough for cooking, freeze them!

Note: banana skin darkens when frozen however this does not affect their flavour.

You can freeze them with their peels on but then you will need to let them thaw before peeling. A quicker way is to peel them first and freeze them whole or sliced.

Tip: Bananas will last longer in the freezer if they are peeled first.

How to freeze bananas

Chop bananas into large chunks and partially freeze them on a tray before transferring them to a freezer bag to keep in the freezer.
Defrost the bananas in the fridge overnight or leave them out on the counter for a few hours before you are ready to use them.

Are you looking for more banana recipes? Check out these mini banana cupcakes and banana crumb muffins.

I’d love to know how thisbanana breadturns out for you, let me know in the comments below and do leave a star rating.

Instagram – I love seeing your creations, so post a picture tagging @endofthefork and hashtag #endofthefork

📋 Recipe

Easy Banana Bread

Nicole Shroff

Use ripe brown bananas to make this super moist banana bread. Its easy to make, full of flavour and your home will smell delicious!

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 8 servings

Calories 342 kcal

Ingredients

Metric | US Customary

▢ flour - 1½ cups 180 g
▢ baking soda 1 teaspoon
▢ cinnamon powder 1 teaspoon
▢ salt ¼ teaspoon
▢ butter - ½ cup, softened 110 g
▢ white sugar - ½ cup 100 g
▢ brown sugar - ½ cup 110 g
▢ ripe brown bananas - 1½ cups, mashed till smooth 390 g
▢ vanilla ½ teaspoon
▢ eggs - beaten 2

Instructions

▢
Preheat the oven to 350℉/180℃, and grease a 9×5 inch/23×13 cm loaf pan.
▢
In a large mixing bowl sift together 180 g flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder and ¼ teaspoon salt.
▢
Separately in a medium bowl, cream together 110 g butter, 100 g white sugar and 110 g brown sugar. To this add 390 g ripe brown bananas (mashed), 2 eggs, ½ teaspoon vanilla and mix till fully combined.
▢
Fold the flour into the egg mixture till just incorporated, taking care not to over-mix (see notes).
▢
Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 55-65 minutes or till a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. You may need to cover with parchment paper in the last 10 minutes to prevent the top browning too much.
▢
Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack.

Notes

Soft, ripe, brown bananas are sweeter, have a stronger flavour, and impart more moisture compared with yellow bananas.

Quickly ripen bananas – keep in the freezer for a couple of hours then leave them out on the counter to thaw before using. Note: banana skin will darken when frozen.

Stir the flour in to the mixture gently using a wooden spoon till just combined – do not over mix or too much gluten will be released making the bread tough and too dense.

Insert a clean skewer into the middle of the banana loaf and if it comes out clean its done.

Recipe Variations

add a cup (70g) of chocolate chips to the mixture
mix in a handful of crushed nuts to the mixture
drizzle with lemon icing glaze
add cream cheese frosting

Vegan option

Substitute eggs with ½ cup applesauce (adjust the amount of sugar in the recipe accordingly).
Replace butter with ⅓ cup vegetable oil.

Storing

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To freeze, wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap.

ADD NOTES

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Nutrition

Calories: 342kcalCarbohydrates: 55gProtein: 4gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 328mgPotassium: 237mgFiber: 2gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 435IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 29mgIron: 1mg

Nutritional information is calculated automatically and accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The information above is an estimate per serving.

Did you make this recipe? How did it turn out? Did you make any changes? Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to see a photo of your dish so tag me @Endofthefork on Instagram.

@ EndoftheFork.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is encouraged and appreciated, however copying and pasting full recipes to social media or other platforms is strictly prohibited.

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Update notes: This post was originally published on Sept 15th, 2017, but was republished with tips, and FAQ’s and new images in May, 2021.

Best Banana Bread Recipe - End of the Fork (2024)

FAQs

Why is the bottom of my banana bread soggy? ›

You should remove the bread from the pan fairly soon after it comes out of the oven. The longer it sits in the pan, the soggier the bottom will become.

Can you put too much banana in banana bread? ›

Banana bread recipes typically ask you to use overripe bananas so that they're easier to mush. This means it's tempting to toss all your bananas into the mix when you're ready to bake, to avoid food waste. But if you add too much of the fruit into your batter, your bread could turn out mushy, heavy, and wet.

Know More ›

Why is my banana bread not cooking on the bottom? ›

You may be baking at too high a temperature. Home ovens are often not accurate. Try lowering the temperature by 25°F, and bake for a slightly longer time. If you are using a dark colored pan like many non-stick pans it will cause the outside to brown more quickly while the inside stays raw.

Why is my banana bread gummy at the bottom? ›

Using a lot of bananas adds excess moisture, and there are two ways to get rid of it. You could either add more flour or increase the baking time. Add a tablespoon of extra flour at a time into the batter and give it a good whisk until its consistency starts to look right: thick but runny enough to fall off a spoon.

Show Me More ›

How do you fix soggy bottom bread? ›

It is pretty simple to salvage an undercooked bread and create a decent loaf. Heat the oven to 350 F, return the bread to the oven, and bake for another 10 to 20 minutes. This will work even if the loaf has cooled, which is similar to par-baking bread.

Find Out More ›

Why is my banana bread heavy and dense? ›

Using too much butter makes for a heavier cake with less banana flavor. Using double the amount of butter that the recipe called for left me with a loaf that was dry on the outside and moist on the inside.

Why is my banana bread so mushy in the middle? ›

Excess moisture (when compared to the recipe's dry ingredients) means a greater potential for banana bread to sink in the middle. Recipes that provide you with the exact amount of mashed bananas by measuring cup (e.g. 1 ½ cups of mashed bananas) or by weight (e.g. grams) tend to have fewer problems.

How long should you let banana bread cool? ›

Let it cool for 10 minutes — this helps the loaf solidify and makes it easier to remove from the pan. Remove from pan and cool another 10 minutes. Grasping the parchment paper sling, lift the loaf out of the pan and place on the cooling rack. Cool for another 10 minutes before slicing.

What temperature should banana bread be cooked at? ›

No part of your loaf should be below 200°F — except perhaps the very top, which may produce an unreliable reading due to the thermometer's tip being partially exposed to room-temperature air. Note: For those of you baking gluten-free quick breads, your finished temperature should be 205°F to 210°F.

Is baking soda important in banana bread? ›

Baking soda: Baking soda acts as a leavener, which means it helps the banana bread rise. Salt: A pinch of salt enhances the overall flavor, but it won't make the loaf taste salty.

Learn More ›

Should you use parchment paper when baking banana bread? ›

Not only does the parchment prevent the outer edges from getting too dark and overcooked, but it also makes it easier to remove the cooked banana bread from the pan! PIN THIS RECIPE NOW! What is this? Another tip – and this is true with any quick bread – is to make sure you don't over mix the batter.

Learn More Now ›

Can bananas be too mushy for banana bread? ›

Here's the secret: overripe bananas don't necessarily mean too-ripe bananas for banana bread. It really comes down to personal preference. Those brown-speckled, mostly yellow bananas are still ripe and will bake into a great loaf.

Read On ›

Why does my banana bread have a thick crust? ›

If your banana bread batter is too thick, it is likely the result of too much flour.

Find Out More ›

Is it safe to eat soggy banana? ›

That said, Rogers states that if your bananas are jet black and mushy, your safest bet is to cook with them rather than eating them out of hand or using them raw in things like smoothies or nice cream. "The riper the bananas get, the more levels of bacteria could be on them," he says.

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