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Our classic banana bread recipe will always make a great afternoon snack or quick breakfast. Slather it in a little salted butter for the perfect treat. With this recipe, you can count on it to be moist and delicious!
I have made many many things over the years with bananas. The one banana recipe that always has and always will stand the test of time is my classic banana bread.
Everyone loves banana bread!
I give it out as a gift to new neighbors and co-workers. I eat it for breakfast, for a snack, or one of those midnight escapes to the kitchen. <— This isn’t just a thing they do in the movies right? We all actually wake up and sneak snacks in the dark?
Another favorite is our peanut butter banana bread! Who doesn’t love peanut butter?
Ingredient Notes:
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Bananas – You’ll need 3 medium sized bananas and they should be over-ripe. Extra brown and soft are the way to go!
Sugar – Brown sugar and white sugar are needed for this recipe.
Flavoring – This recipe includes plenty of vanilla extract and also some cinnamon for that delicious classic taste!
What Readers are Saying!
“Delicious!!!! Followed recipe and added walnuts and chocolate chips. Thank you for sharing!!” – Sandra Dee
How to Make Banana Bread:
Mix: Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl and set aside.
Cream together the butter, brown sugar, and sugar until smooth and creamy. beat in the eggs and vanilla, Stir in the mashed banana.
Beat the eggs in one at a time until fully combined. Then mix in the vanilla and mashed bananas. Remember, the best bananas for this recipe are over-ripe. This is the best way to use up those brown bananas!
Combine: To finish making the banana bread batter you’ll stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until just combined. If you overmix the batter it’ll start to get tough and no one wants that!
Now would be a good time to add in any extra mix-in options you might like such as chopped walnuts. See below for some more suggestions!
Bake: When the batter is ready go ahead and pour it into a prepared 9×5 loaf pan. It’ll only take about an hour to finish baking, or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.
Let it cool before slicing and serving! I enjoy mine slathered with a bunch of salted butter. Even better if the bread is still a little warm!
BAKING Tip!
Banana bread will rise a little as it is baking. If it sinks after cooling, it’s no big deal, but it means that your bread likely wasn’t cooked all the way through OR you whipped in too much air when mixing. It’ll still be tasty.
FAQs:
This recipe does not need to be refrigerated if it will be consumed in a couple days. You can freeze banana bread if you first wrap it in plastic wrap, then place it in a freezer bag. It can last 2-4 months this way!
A few brown spots are fine, but a fully brown banana is perfect for banana bread! The bananas get sweeter and softer the riper they are.
Mix-In Options:
When I feel like getting creative I toss in a handful of these extra goodies into the bread batter to change it up just a bit.
- Chocolate Chips
- Blueberries
- Chopped Walnuts
- Raisins
- Dried Apricots
- Shredded Coconut
Classic Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 medium over-ripe bananas mashed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined. Mix in the bananas.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until just combined.
- Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in July 2012. It was updated with new photos in May 2020.
Nealy Nunamaker says
Did you use unsalted or salted butter in this recipe?
Karly Campbell says
We always use salted butter unless otherwise specified. 🙂
Marlene T says
I loved your recipe for Blueberry Banana Bread so I thought I would also try your Classic Banana Bread! Both are absolutely delicious. Although I always liked my old favourite banana bread recipe, I have traded it in for this one. The cinnamon is a really nice touch and I like the combination of brown and white sugar.
Karly says
Thanks so much, Marlene! I’m so glad to hear you like the recipes so much! 🙂
Barbara Rogers Rogers says
I love Banana bread. I will try this recipe when I have more ripe bananas. I just wanted to share that I make my banana bread in a bundt cake pan. We have the most fun. My 10 y o grandson helps me. He thought I was saying it was a “Butt Cake Pan”. Now everytime I make banana bread (he helps) and wants to get the “butt cake pan”
Karly says
Haha, what 10 year old boy wouldn’t love a butt cake pan! 🙂
Hope you both enjoy this recipe!
Marina Savchuk says
Best banana bread by far for me! Iv tried more than one recipe for banana bread and this one is 5 Gold stars!!! Its moist and ooh so perfect and delicious and came out perfectly baked and not raw inside???
Karly says
So happy that you enjoyed the recipe, Marina! Thanks for the review!
Mary ann says
I loved this recipe so much, however it does not give yield or how to use the pan. You can use 2 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 ,x 2 1/2 or 1 9 x 5 x3 load pan. Butter the bottom (only) ofeach pan. I also add a cup of choped walnuts or pecans. And l like to sprinkle brown on top. It makes it crunchie.
Karee says
I made this banana nut bread last week and when I asked my husband why he wasn’t eating the bananas we bought at the grocery store this week, he told me he wanted more banana nut bread! It was moist and stayed fresh for days. Another loaf is in the oven now because he begged me to make more. Thank you for sharing!
Karly says
Ah, love to hear that! Thanks, Karee! Glad the recipe was a hit!
Sandra Dee says
Delicious!!!! Followed recipe and added walnuts and chocolate chips . Thank you for sharing ??
Sandra Dee says
Ok autocorrect at the end ? I meant thank you for sharing ?
Karly says
Thanks, Sandra!
Dee Jordan says
this is my go to recipe for banana and zucchini bread!!
Karly says
Thanks, Dee!
Denny Felizzi says
Okey. My girlfriend thought i was nuts. But i made my favorite. Banana bread french toast for breakfast. She LOVED IT!!!!
Also with, i know it is nuts but sour cream with some 10x sugar mixed up and dolliped on top.
So good she said.
Karly says
Oh, that sounds delicious!
Kathy says
Hi Karly,
When I make banana bread, this is just something I tried and it came out very tasty. I put one or two handfuls of Angel Flake Coconut, about 1/2 cup of finely diced mango, about 1/2 cup or more Reddi-Whip. When I am mixing in the dry ingredients, I put in a squirt or two of Reddi-Whip, until it was creamy. I used 3 eggs, 1 3/4 cups of flour, 1 tsp vanilla, and 1 1/2 cubes of butter softened, all the other same ingredients that you list. It was kind of a tropical tasting banana bread. You can try this and see if you agree to a tropical taste. If you wish to, you can share this with others. I am not a professional chef or cook, I just like to try something different and if it is tasty, then I share it.
Karly says
Hi Kathy! That sounds delicious! I bet it was super moist thanks to the Reddi-Whip. Thanks for sharing!
Kathy says
One step I forgot to put in, I bake the Banana Bread for 1 hour 15 minutes at 350F. Yes, it was very moist.
Shara Nagel says
Hello Karly, Thank you for these great recipes! I noticed in the classic banana bread recipe it has baking soda twice??
Is one of them suppose to be baking powder? If so, which one? Thanks so much.
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Karly says
Hi Shara! Sorry about that! It should be 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. 🙂
Carron Lee says
Hi may I know what size is the pan?
Karly says
A standard 9×5 loaf pan. 🙂
Michelle says
I really want to do this recipe, it is so intriguing! I can’t wait to try this. I’ll follow and try to do it at the weekend.
Amy says
Hey Karly! I made it tonight and it was totally perfect. I added chocolate chips (duh) and skipped the frosting since I had no cream cheese. Thank you, i agree it is the BEST banana bread ever!!
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction says
Nothing beats a good classic banana bread! I love all of the other banana recipes as well! I usually have bananas laying around that need to be used!
Live a Sweet Life says
I just made a banana cake and seriously want to make everything with bananas now. Great post with a few great ideas!