Easy Banana Bread
You can’t beat a classic! This is the BEST Banana Bread recipe around….tried and true for decades, this from scratch Banana Bread is moist and tender with a hint of sweetness. A great way to use up those overripe bananas!
Banana Bread
If you’re anything like me you probably have a banana or two sitting on your counter turning browner (is that a word?) by the second. It’s the story of my life actually. I’m pretty sure by the time I’m ready to turn in my blogger hat that this site will have 99,000 banana recipes for you to use up the super sweet sogginess that used to be pretty yellow bananas.
I don’t even know how the collection gets started because some weeks I’ll buy a bunch of bananas and they’ll be gone in three days. So, the next week I’ll buy the same amount of bananas and be left with all of them in various stages of freckling and brown-ness by the end of the week. It’s a mystery….but one I’m not willing to complain about too much because things like the very Best Banana Bread recipe are born from their nastiness.
What is Banana Bread?
I learned how to make Banana Bread back in my early twenties as a way to feed myself when the month was coming to an end. One of my first full-time jobs I got paid on the first of the month…..and that was it until the next 1st of the month (some months were sooooo long!)…..and as a single mom I had to get pretty creative trying to stretch the grocery bill.
Bananas were fairly inexpensive so I’d buy a ton and when they started to go weird on me…I’d peel them, mashed them up and freeze them in zip top bags. They are super fantastic to stir into your oatmeal or blend into a smoothie. But to get even MORE bang for my buck….I’d bake the bananas into something fabulous like this Banana Bread….or Banana Ricotta Muffins. Because then you can freeze them yet again but in a completely un-banana like form.
How to Make Banana Bread
This easy Banana Bread with yogurt recipe is made from scratch using ingredients I always have readily available in my kitchen….so you will, too. I like to keep this banana bread recipe simple so I can easily turn it into fancied up banana bread if I feel the urge.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and butter beating at medium speed until fluffy.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- Keeping the mixer on low-speed and slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat just until blended.
- Pour the batter into a 9×5 inch metal loaf pan coated with cooking spray and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool on rack.
- It couldn’t be simpler to make so you’ll definitely be keeping this one on repeat with all those forgotten bananas that manage to appear week after week.
The Very Best Banana Bread Recipe has morphed into so many other recipes. It’s adapted from a Cooking Light recipe where I drenched it in chocolate ganache but failed to every give you the base recipe for the actual bread itself. Because sometimes you just want a basic Banana Bread without all the fluff.
How To Make Moist Banana Bread
This simple Banana Bread recipe is unbelievably moist because of the ingredients I use. I, also, like to use REALLY ripe bananas because they’re less dry and starchy than yellow bananas. Underripe bananas can suck the moisture out of the other ingredients leaving you with dry, crumbly banana bread. That’s just no good.
So, the key is to use high quality, moisture rich ingredients like I do for this recipe:
- VERY RIPE Bananas (leaning toward brown but not black….heavily freckled bananas will work well, too.)
- sugar – granulated sugar or light brown sugar if you want to add some richness
- butter – I used salted butter for this recipe.
- greek yogurt – Plain, low fat yogurt provides a bit of tanginess.
- eggs – Room temperature, large eggs
- flour – All purpose flour is what is used for this recipe.
- baking soda
- salt
Some people use vanilla and other extracts in their homemade banana bread recipe but for a basic, simple banana bread I like to keep things minimalist. The banana adds enough flavor all on it’s own and why would you want to cover that up with vanilla or anything else for that matter.
If you don’t want to use greek yogurt or are not a fan, you can make this Banana Bread with sour cream instead. It works just as perfectly!
Variations on Homemade Banana Bread
To make this recipe you’re own, try some of our favorite mix ins!
- walnuts, pecans, chopped almonds
- chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, white chocolate
- blueberries
- raisins, dried cranberries
- pineapple
- coconut
- espresso powder
Get as creative as you want, banana bread is pretty resilient and goes well with sooo many mix-ins!
If you want to level up your banana bread, turn it into this easy Banana Bread Pudding!
More Easy Banana Bread Recipes
- Maple Glazed Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Triple Chocolate Banana Bread
- Blueberry Banana Bread with Cinnamon Streusel
- Chocolate Chip Ricotta Banana Bread Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Banana Bread
- Pina Colada Banana Bread with Coconut Glaze
- White Chocolate Macadamia Banana Bread
- Banana Bread with Chocolate Glaze
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Get the Recipe: The Best Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 2/3 cups mashed ripe banana, about 3 bananas
- 1/4 cup 2% milk
- 1/4 cup plain fat free Greek yogurt, I used Chobani
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour, I used King Arthur
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Equipment
- 1 loaf pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the sugar and butter beating at medium speed until fluffy. On low-speed, add the banana, milk, greek yogurt and eggs mixing until combined.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. Keeping the mixer on low-speed and slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Beat just until blended.
- Pour the batter into a 9×5 inch metal loaf pan coated with cooking spray and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pan and cool on rack.
6 Comments on “Easy Banana Bread”
An idea to up the banana flavor. Add an extra banana (preferably a really, ripe, dark one). Microwave all bananas on high for 3 minutes in a covered, MW-proof bowl. Place a strainer over a small saucepan, pour the softened bananas and their liquid into the strainer and gently fold them with a spatula now and then to reclaim as much banana juice as possible. Should be about 1/3- 1/2 cup of liquid. Simmer and reduce that amount to half, cool then add both the softened and cooled bananas and the cooled syrup into the recipe and proceed as instructed. I also added a 1/2 cup of toasted, chopped pecans.
I prefer to use an instant-read, digital thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf to read 205°F. This makes great cupcakes as well.
Thank you for the tips!
I made this according to directions, but my pan is dark. The middle of the loaf looked done,
but after I took it out, it sunk and was mushy in the middle.
With a dark pan, do I drop the temp to 325 and bake longer?
Hi Lorraine!
I have made this in a dark pan without having to adjust the temperature. If you do make it again, I would just bake it a bit longer until a tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the bread. I’m so sorry this didn’t work for you. You may want to calibrate your oven or use an oven thermometer to make sure it doesn’t need to be adjusted. I try to make a habit of testing my oven temperature every six months. Thank you for commenting and I hope you do give it a try again soon!
Yummy, this banana bread looks amazing, and I must make it
You really do need to try it!