The Best Homemade Banana Bread Recipe

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This is the best banana bread recipe with its tender texture, rich banana flavor, soft crumb, and that perfect crisp crust.

I’ve been making this quick bread for almost 30 years and it’s still my favorite way to use overripe bananas for a quick bread.

This is the OG banana bread for me. I look forward to bananas ripening just so I have a reason to bake this bread. If you want to have the benefit of long fermenting the grains, try this sourdough banana bread. Whichever one you choose, they’ll both be great.

Reasons Why You’ll Love This Homemade Banana Bread Recipe

• Great banana flavor
• Straightforward, easy recipe
• This recipe comes together in minutes
• Easy pantry ingredients
• Dense, but soft and tender
• Freezes beautifully
• A banana bread loaf makes for a great hostess gift

Homemade Banana Bread Ingredients

• Bananas
• Softened Butter
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Water
• Vanilla Extract
• All-Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Baking Powder
• Salt

Homemade Banana Bread Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and move the oven rack to the middle of the oven.

Let’s talk about what bananas work best for banana bread. Spotted, speckly bananas work best since they’ll have the biggest banana flavor. So, if your bananas are still green, let them wait a few more days on the counter.

To begin, mash bananas. I like to use a fork, but a hand mixer on low speed works well.

Then, to combine wet ingredients, in a large bowl cream butter and sugar well. Softened butter will work better than melted butter for this recipe. Use a stand mixer to make this process smoother, but you can easily use a handheld electric mixer or spoon as well. Next, add the room temperature eggs one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add the mashed bananas, vanilla and water into the wet ingredients and combine well.

Then, combine all of the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, blending well. Next, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

Banana Bread Baking Instructions

To prepare the pan, grease a 9X5 loaf pan with butter, and lightly dust with flour or line with parchment paper. Pour batter into greased loaf pan.

One thing to note here is that you want to make sure that you don’t overfill the loaf pan past 2/3 of the way full. As the bread bakes, it bakes from the outside in, climbing up the sides of the pan. If there’s not enough room because the pan is too full before the crust has formed, it will spill over the edge of the pan, making a huge mess in your oven.

See how far up the edge of the pan the bread is rising?

After 55-60 minutes, remove the bread once the toothpick comes out clean. The bread will spring back when touched in the center of the loaf. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then run a knife along the edges of the pan between the loaf and the pan to help loosen. Invert the loaf pan to let gravity help you dislodge the bread, using a towel or oven mitt in each hand.

Place on wire rack to cool before slicing, if you can resist!

Top a thick slice with butter or cream cheese and enjoy!

How Old Can Bananas for Banana Bread Be?

It’s best to use overripe bananas for a moist banana bread recipe. The ripening process is evident by the darkening of the skin. Which means, the darker the banana skin, the sweeter the fruit is! Bananas that have turned completely brown, bordering on black are still ok to use!

If you have overripe bananas but you don’t have time to bake, simply add peeled bananas to a plastic freezer bag and freeze until you’re ready to bake with. Thaw bananas and add to your recipe as usual.

Banana Bread Variations

To make banana nut bread, add 3/4 cup of chopped nuts to the batter, I like to use walnuts or pecans. I love the added crunch of the nuts with the soft bread texture and that added depth of flavor. But if you prefer without nuts, you can easily leave them out or swap them for chocolate chips.

To make a heartier loaf, swap up to 25% of the all-purpose flour out for whole wheat flour. And if you find yourself short on time, simply make banana muffins instead. Scoop batter into a muffin tin 2/3 of the way and bake for 20-25 minutes, making banana nut muffins or keeping the original recipe as muffins.

How to Store Banana Bread

This banana bread is best the day its baked when it still has that crisp crust. To store past the first day, slice and keep in airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator. Best eaten within 3-4 days.

This bread freezes well too! Just bake according to directions and allow to cool completely. Wrap whole loaf tightly in plastic wrap or in a freezer storage bag along with the date and place in freezer. If freezing individual slices, freeze slices on tray for an hour or until firm and transfer to plastic bag. When ready to eat, simply remove frozen bread from freezer a few hours before serving to thaw and enjoy. Best to use within 3 months for best flavor.

I’d love to hear from you! Please leave a comment and rate the recipe. Tag photos #Lockremhomestead over on Instagram to show off your banana bread!