Easy Banana Bread Recipe

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Don’t let those bruised and battered bananas go to waste – use them to make delicious banana bread with this easy recipe!

All you need are some overripe bananas and a few basic ingredients you probably already have on hand. And the great news is… you do not need a bread maker! Just make up the batter, pour it into a loaf pan and into the oven it goes.

The thing that makes banana bread so good is that by the time the bananas have become a few days old, or “overripe”, the starch level lowers from about 40% to around 10%, while the sugar level rises to almost 90%. This is among the highest levels found in any fruit.

Banana bread is a “quick bread” which doesn’t require any yeast for rising (leavening). The baking soda will do the job, along with the bananas and the salt, of making the bread rise. Note that if you use very ripe bananas, it will increase the moisture in the mix and baking times will be longer.

This recipe uses walnuts which are excellent in banana bread. But feel free to leave them out if you prefer.

I love to serve banana bread warm with some whipped butter and a nice cup of coffee. It’s perfect for a quick breakfast or a wonderful after dinner dessert.

If you really want to get crazy, try a nice slice of cheddar cheese on slice of buttered banana bread. This isn’t a taste for everyone, but my family loves it!

For a really rich an indulgent chocolate treat, try our Hershey bar banana bread recipe or this pumpkin banana bread!

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Easy Banana Bread Recipe

Print Recipe
This banana bread recipe is so easy that anyone can make it!
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:1 hour
Total Time:1 hour 10 minutes

SERVINGS

8

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 4 Bananas over ripe
  • 5 tbsp Butter softened
  • 1/5 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 3/4 cup Sugar
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1/4 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 cup Walnuts chopped, optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • In a large bowl, use a large wooden spoon and mix softened butter and sugar until it’s a nice creamy texture.
  • Beat in the egg, then add vanilla, salt and baking soda. Mix well with the wooden spoon.
  • Add bananas to the mixture and mush and mix them in using the wooden spoon. If you have a potato masher, that works well too. If using chopped walnuts, stir them in as well.
  • Fold in the flour.
  • Grease and flour the pan.
  • Spoon mixture into a loaf pan (standard size is 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″). Fill loaf pan about 2/3 full to the top. This is important as bread will rise during baking and needs some room. If you have extra batter, make an additional loaf or muffins.
  • Bake in preheated oven for about 1 hour. Use a toothpick placed into the center of the loaf to check for doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean, the banana bread is ready. If it comes out with batter still on it, bake another 10-15 minutes.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 281mg | Potassium: 258mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 288IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: banana bread
Servings: 8 people
Calories: 256kcal

Carrie Ypma is the owner and chief executive officer of Easy Recipe Depot. She’s an optimist by nature and enjoys cooking and preparing easy meals for her family. When she's not working on Easy Recipe Depot you'll find her over at her blog, Ideas for the Home by Kenarry sharing more recipes, trying new craft ideas, planning for parties and events as well as decorating our home. You'll also find her at her home organization blog Clutter Keeper®, and her craft blog Messy Momma Crafts where she shares arts and craft ideas for parents.

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6 Comments

    1. Hi Ingrid,
      The flour should be folded in after the baking soda. We’ll fix up the recipe so it’s more clearly stated.
      Thanks for the comment!
      Carrie

      Reply

  2. I guess put flour in with the bananas….? I also greased the pan (doesn’t say to do or not)…..it’s in the oven so fingers crossed. Its rising…looking forward to it. 🙂

    Reply

    1. Hi Daryl,
      I hope it turned out well for you. The flour should be folded in after the baking soda. I’ll revise the recipe to state this more clearly.
      Thanks for using Easy Recipe Depot!
      Carrie

      Reply

  3. My wife tried to make the easy banana bread recipe and was a complete failure because she followed the directions to the letter! And low and behold the directions say not a thing about when to put in the flour! SO she ended up with yucky looking banana soup! Doubt we will ever try a recipe from easyrecipedepot.com again! Maybe they should go to writecompleteinstructions101.com and figure out where it went wrong

    Reply

    1. Hi Paul,
      We just took over Easy Recipe Depot and we appreciate your feedback on this recipe. We’re in the process of more clearly defining the instructions, but for your two concerns:
      1. The flour should be folded in after the baking soda.
      2. Often times a soupy banana bread indicates an undercook situation. I’m not sure if that was part of your issue, but I’ve had trouble with that myself in the past 😉
      Thanks for using Easy Recipe Depot!
      Carrie

      Reply