Today’s Best Banana Bread recipe is one of the recipes we make most whenever bananas start turning brown on the counter. With a house full of kids, teens, and their friends over the years, we’ve made a LOT of banana bread, and this simple version always disappears fast. It’s soft, delicious and so simple!
It’s also a sweet loaf made with bananas, brown sugar, melted butter, and simple pantry ingredients. We love that it’s easy to mix together and bakes into a tender banana bread that’s perfect for breakfast, snacks, lunchboxes, or sharing with neighbors.
We love this quick bread because the overripe bananas give it the best flavor, and the optional cinnamon sugar topping adds a sweet little finish without much extra work. It’s one of those classic bakes that makes the whole kitchen smell amazing and never lasts long.
For more banana bread favorites, be sure to try our Cream Cheese Banana Bread, Banana Crumb Muffins, and Brown Butter Banana Bread.
Why you’ll love it + Why it works:
- Next Level Flavor: Brown sugar and melted butter help make the loaf soft and sweet.
- Simple Pantry Ingredients: Keep it easy and budget-friendly.
- Overripe Bananas Add Moisture and Sweetness: Soft, spotty bananas make the loaf flavorful and tender.
- The Cinnamon Sugar Topping Adds Texture: A little sugar and cinnamon on top gives the bread a sweet finish before baking.
Best Banana Bread Recipe Ingredients
- All-purpose flour (1½ cups): Gives the banana bread structure and helps it bake into a sliceable loaf.
- Baking powder (1 teaspoon): Helps the bread rise and bake up tender.
- Baking soda (1 teaspoon): Helps the loaf rise and works with the bananas for a soft texture.
- Salt (½ teaspoon): Balances the sweetness and brings out the banana flavor.
- Overripe bananas, mashed (3 large; about 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas): Adds moisture, sweetness, and classic banana bread flavor.
- Sugar (½ cup): Sweetens the loaf and helps create a tender crumb.
- Packed light brown sugar (½ cup): Adds moisture, sweetness, and a little caramel flavor.
- Egg (1): Helps bind the batter and gives the bread structure.
- Unsalted butter, melted (4 tablespoons): Adds richness and buttery flavor.
- Sugar (1 tablespoon): Sweetens the optional topping.
- Ground cinnamon (½ teaspoon): Adds warm spice to the cinnamon sugar topping and is our favorite way to enjoy banana bread.
How to Make the Best Banana Bread Recipe
PREP. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 5-x-9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
BATTER. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a medium bowl. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix together bananas, both sugars, egg, and melted butter.
Fold in flour mixture and stir until smooth. Scoop batter into the prepared pan.
CINNAMON SUGAR MIXTURE. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the batter.
BAKE. Bake for 55–60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. (NOTE: If not adding cinnamon-sugar mixture, cover with aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.)
Banana Bread Recipe Troubleshooting
- How ripe should bananas be?
The riper, the better! Look for bananas with lots of brown spots or skins that are almost completely brown. They will be softer, sweeter, and give the bread much more banana flavor than yellow or slightly green bananas. - Can I use frozen bananas for this recipe?
Yes! Thaw frozen bananas completely before using. If they release a lot of extra liquid as they thaw, drain off the excess before measuring and mashing them for the batter. - Can I make this recipe into muffins?
Of course! For muffins, we recommend using our Banana Crumb Muffins recipe, which is already tested specifically for muffin tins. - Why is my banana bread dense?
Overmixing is usually the biggest culprit. Fold in the flour just until everything is combined. Too much banana can also make a loaf overly wet and heavy, which is another reason an exact mashed-banana measurement helps. - Why is my banana bread dry?
Start checking it near the end of the baking time and remove it as soon as it is baked through. Baking too long can dry out even a very moist batter.
Kristyn’s Recipe Tips
- Use very spotty, overripe bananas for the sweetest flavor and softest texture.
- Sift the dry ingredients so the baking powder, baking soda, and salt are evenly mixed.
- Use the right pan: We use a 9×5-inch loaf pan. A smaller pan will create a taller loaf and may require additional baking time
- Favorite Additions:
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips for the best all-around option
- Chopped walnuts for the most classic choice
- Chopped pecans for a slightly sweeter, buttery crunch
- Chocolate chips + walnuts for the best combination
Best Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
Dough
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cup mashed bananas)
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Cinnamon Sugar Mixture (Optional)
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 5-x-9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- To make the dough, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together bananas, both sugars, egg, and melted butter.
- Fold in flour mixture and stir until smooth. Scoop batter into the prepared pan.
- To make the cinnamon-sugar mixture, mix sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the batter.
- Bake for 55–60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. (NOTE: If not adding cinnamon-sugar mixture, cover with aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.)
Notes
- Use very spotty, overripe bananas for the sweetest flavor and softest texture.
- Sift the dry ingredients so the baking powder, baking soda, and salt are evenly mixed.
- Fold the flour mixture in gently and stop once the batter is smooth so the loaf stays tender.
- Use the cinnamon sugar topping for a pretty, sweet finish, or cover with foil during the last 20 minutes if skipping it.
- Make-ahead tip: bake the loaf a day ahead, wrap it tightly once cooled, and slice when ready to serve.
Nutrition
Recipe FAQ
Need to ripen bananas faster? Place them in a paper bag on the counter to speed things up. If your bananas are already very ripe but you aren’t ready to bake, freeze them for later.
Keep banana bread covered at room temperature for up to 4 days. Refrigerate for up to 1 week if you want it to last longer.
Freeze the whole loaf or individual slices for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and warm slices slightly if desired.
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And turn it into a cute gift by wrapping in cellophane and adding a tag (GO HERE FOR FREE TAGS)
**This recipe was updated on 4/2/22 – made it even easier and yummier!
Looooveee this recipe! The ingredients are simple, the steps are easy, and the result is incredibly delicious. Highly recommend!
All the ads made me not even wanna bother with the recipe
My husband & grandkids love it. I do too.
Best banana bread recipe
Best banana bread I ever made. Thank you so much!
I have given the recipe to many of my friends already.
Awesome! I’m delighted you love it enough to share with others.
Best recipe for banana bread I have ever made. Thank you so much for sharing.
Right? It uses simple ingredients and always turns out so wonderfully. I’m so glad you love it!
This recipe looks amazing but I don’t have 2 loaf pans, can I use one loaf pan and put the remaining batter into a muffin pan, and if so, if I want to bake them together at 325° how long should I bake them for?
Oh I just saw that this makes 1 loaf so nevermind lol
I just made this the other day and made it into muffins! It was delicious! The whole family loved it!
6 LG bananas is equal to how many cups?
I’d say 1 banana is equal to about 1/2 cup mashed banana. It depends on the size for an exact amount, but that’s a good approximation.
I suck at baking so I wasn’t looking forward to making banana bread, but my wife made a joke about how much I suck at baking so I had to prove her wrong. Fortunately I found this easy recipe and helpful VIDEO so my banana bread turned out MOIST AND DELICIOUS!! Now my wife is eating both her words and my amazing banana bread. Thanks, Lil’ Luna!! 🍌🍞
I love this so much!! I’m glad you found the recipe and that it was a success. Thanks for giving it a try!!
My Dad owned his own Bakery and he ALWAYS got his Bananas from A Grocery warehouse up in Minneapolis/St. Paul MN. buy Box loads of OVER Ripe Bananas. Pennys on the $1 . The riper the better Flavor for bread. So I liked that you wrote in recipe to use Over Ripe Bananas. Thanx for memory
Of my Dad
So good! The bread was moist and, oh my gosh, the crispy topping was delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
We have made it two times and love it. But it falls in the middle. Any suggestions?
I am so glad you love it!! Not sure your exact cause of sinking, but we now know how ingredients affect the structure and texture of banana bread. The common causes why banana bread sinks are due to a few or a combination of several factors. Using under-ripe bananas. Too many bananas are placed. Overmixing the batter mix. Proper measurement of ingredients isn’t observed. Over baking.
OOPS, My daughter doubled the sugar both times she made it. I supervised and it came out wonderful. Thanks for your advice.
Made it tonight. This is now my favorite banana bread recipe. Absolutely delicious 😋
Oh yay!! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed the banana bread!
This has replaced my grandma’s banana bread recipe. So simple and the bread was so incredibly good. In the past the end of my loaves have been dry. This was perfection.
Oh I’m so happy to hear that the recipe was a hit! Thanks for sharing.
Did you change this recipe ? Didn’t it used to have sour cream and dream whip in it ?
We did! We updated it this past April to make it even easier and yummier! And yes, it used to have both. Our Cream Cheese Banana Bread recipe still includes sour cream. https://lilluna.com/cream-cheese-filled-banana-bread/
Thank you for this recipe, I had ripe bananas that I had to use up. This was delicious!
SO moist and delicious! I can’t wait to try it!
Oh, so good! It’s M-word + delicious! Love it topped with butter. Pinned so I can make it again.
Haha it’s m-word! Love it! 😉 So glad you enjoyed the bread recipe!
super yummy
It’s perfect
Thank you!! So glad you enjoyed it.
I made this recipe, and it was great! Saving it for sure to make again.
Glad to hear that! Thank you for letting me know!
If you don’t have sour cream?
What else can you use in its place?
You could use plain greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
I don’t see sour cream in the ingredients?? Is it supposed to be used?
Nope, not in this recipe. Our Cream Cheese Banana Bread and our Chocolate Chip Banana Bread do call for sour cream, so I’m thinking that’s maybe where the sour cream question came from. Perhaps they were looking at those other recipes too and commented here instead.
The best banana bread. Moist, easy and gets devoured instantly.
The title says it all! This is the best banana bread recipe ever! So moist and delicious!
Glad you agree! Thank you!
This my go to banana bread recipe. Such a great flavor and texture. And chocolate chis are extra yummy!
This is by far the best banana bread!!! It is such a great treat to make with overripe bananas. I may have eaten a whole loaf by myself!
It’s the best Banana nut bread yet !!
Like it a lot good to the taste. !
Thank you so much for saying that! Happy you like it!
If I have the sour cream but not the envelope of whipped topping is it going to drastically affect the taste?
I have not personally left it out, so I couldn’t say for sure how it would turn out. I’m sorry!
I am always looking for a delicious Banana Bread Recipe! This one did not disappoint! So moist! Making it again!
So delicious!! Quick and easy too.
I LOVE a good banana Bread! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Best banana bread ever! So moist and easy to make. Its requested all year long and its my favorite recipe to make with ripe bananas.
Best banana bread ever! So moist and easy to make. Its always
The WHIPPED topping ingredient intrigued me and had to try this bread. My kids loved it. even my daughter who normally won’t eat my banana bread. Looks like I found a new recipe!
This truly is the best banana bread recipe!
What a light and fluffy recipe for banana bread! Looking forward to making this over the weekend!
The only Banana Bread Recipe I will ever need! It turned out Perfect!
Wow! This was so yummy! Thank you!
This is my go-to banana bread recipe! It is super easy to make & so soft!! We love adding chocolate chips to ours & I love giving it as a gift!
The best is right! It’s so moist and tender and the flavor is amazing!
This is my go to recipe for banana bread! My boys absolutely love it and ask me to make it often.
I love a good banana bread recipe! I will have to give your recipe a try! Looks delish! Pinning for later!
You’ll love it (hopefully :)) Let me know what you think!
I feel the same way about seeing the ripened bananas on the counter….yay for banana bread!! It’s a win/win!
LOL!! I agree..thanks!
YUM!!! Must make soon! And love the tag 🙂
Thanks girl!!
I love the gift tag you created for your banana bread! So cute.
Thank you!!
I love this recipe. Thanks for share this.
I will be doing a video on my channel whith this bread! It’s ok?
Eusa Maciel
I prefer that you do not use my recipes in videos. Thank you!
OMG!!!! Your bread recipes are fabulous!!!!! I am definitely going to make them especially the lemon zucchini
Bread. Can’t wait!
I also use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream!!! Delicioso!!
Ooooh – good idea!! Will have to try that next time. 😉
I love banana bread and this recipie sounds delicious!! Thanks
I just wonder if the whipped topping mix can be excluded as it seems to me it probably contains all kinds of ingredients you cannot pronounce and we shouldn’t eat! Maybe change the canola oil for olive oil, much better for you and will taste better, I also add cinnamon to my own recipie!! Will try tonight when the weather cools off. (I’m in California)
Let me know how it goes!!
Try using coconut oil. It’s the best oil for baking/cooking and the healthiest!
I want to make this now! Love this blog. I have made the cinnamon bread already and my family loved it!
I will bake this banana bread today. Do you think greek yogurt can be used in place of sour cream? I know that the sour cream is the secret ingredient but I only have yogurt.
Hi Rosanna! I think greek yogurt would work as well! Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Your bread loafs look beautiful, tasty, appetizing, irresistible, and the list go’s on and on. I will be trying many of your recipes. Just hope they look like your. Awesome!!!!
Let me know how they go if you give them a try. We LOVE homemade bread at our home!
Nice bread recipes. Thank you.
Hi, one year ago in January of 2013, I asked what size loaf pans you used in your banana bread recipe. Please, what size loaf pan(s) did you use and thank u!
Hi everyone, I’ve tried this recipe last week, all my friends and I thought it was amazing. In france we don’t have the whipped topping so i checked the ingredients on the Internet and i found out that there was mostly crisco and milk powder in it. so i replaced these ingredients with a little bit more sour cream and 2 tbsp crisco… it did the job.
however i don’t know what cake mould size you used, but for the one i used, i could make 2 cakes with the quantity you gave us. I’ve also tried it in a cup cake size, and i think it was even better. thank you for sharing your recipe.
Yay!! So fun to think that someone in France made it and liked it. Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by and comment. XO PS – Thx for the tip about the Whipped Topping. 🙂
The whipped topping is called Dream Whip.
have you tried to use apple sauce instead of the oil? I usually do this in my banana bread recipes to make it a little healthier and it works great. I wonder how it would work for this recipe.
Here is my favorite banana bread.
http://allrecipes.com/personalrecipe/63443372/double-chocolate-cream-cheese-banana-bread/detail.aspx
Thanks, Jealith!! Can’t wait to try it out. 🙂
We LOVE banana bread in our house! It rarely lasts more than a couple of days. I have a favorite, but the recipe is lost in our storage unit at the moment. I’ve been making the one I linked below with less banana and sometimes adding some unsweetened applesauce when I’m short a couple of bananas.
http://m.allrecipes.com/recipe/20144/banana-banana-bread
Hello, I’m gona make this banana bread recipe. Can you tell me please, did you use 2 regular size loaf pans? I’m guessing it makes two full size loaves. Thx U!
Can I leave out the whipped topping out or what can I replace it with? We are overseas therefore not available at the stores here, thanks.
I just made this and it was awesome! Super moist and delicious and would be good with walnuts!
So glad to hear you like it!! And walnuts would definitely be good in it – will have to try that next time! 😀
One other note: Mom usually adds chopped pecans, too, to give it that little “something special!” Of course, being from Georgia, USA we add pecans to almost everything and anything we can! 😉
I agree, this IS the BEST Banana Bread recipe….ever! It is identical (except for the fact that she does not use the envelope of whipped topping) to the one my Mom has been making for 30+ years. Each and every time she makes it the bread disappears within a day! She has received countless compliments on her banana bread and it’s always the first to sell out at our church bake sales. The sour cream is the secret, hands down! 🙂
Is there anything that can be used as a substitute for the dream whip? I can’t find it at my grocery store.
The recipe calls for 1 carton of sour cream. I can only find 8 or 12 oz (or bigger) cartons and am wondering if there was maybe a typo in the recipe. Let me know! Don’t want to weigh it down too much!
it says 1 – 12oz carton
what is an envelope of whipped topping?
You can find it over in the jello aisle. It comes with 4 packets usually in a box.
The envelopes of dry whipped topping are Dream Whip.
Wow! What an awesome recipe, will definitely try this one and I pinned it as well. Thanks so much.
Perhaps, this banana bread tastes good. Well. I can find it after making this recipe.
I have eaten this one. This is really best banana bread.
is it good??? http://www.ccchinachic.com
Yum! We love Banana Bread in our house! Stopping by to let you know that I featured you and your amazing Pinterest Boards on my blog today…http://hoosierhomemade.com/inspiration-sunday-pinterest-love/
Thanks for the inspiration!
~Liz
what is an “envelope of whipped topping”? I cannot find a store around me that carries it.
ditto
At the stores by me it comes in a small box with 4 envelopes called whipped topping and it’s near the pudding section. 🙂
I found it in the baking aisle with the pudding and tapioca mixes.
Lived in up-state NY,Know in Florida an i have never heard of it.
My mom’s is better…
As an addition, try 3 TBSP’s of cinnamon.
Wow! The title of the recipe couldn’t be more fitting!
he recipe is great.
Your bread sounds amazing! I converted a family favorite of ours to make it gluten free, here is the link for mine:
http://twelveoeight.blogspot.com/2012/05/banana-muffins-with-cinnamon-crumble.html
xoxo, Tanya 🙂
Your blog is super cute!
You’re newest follower from http://www.theblondekitchen.com. Come visits sometime!
Stephanie
Yum! It’s been so long since I made banana bread, my boys always eat all our bananas while they’re still a little green. I’ll have to hide some bananas to make this.
And that is kinda strange you don’t like fruit in desserts and other dishes. 😉 I love fruit in EVERYTHING!! 🙂
I would love to try your recipe!!!!
I use a banana bread recipe that includes a stick of butter & a brick of cream cheese (for two loaves)… super tasty, not super good for you! I bring it up another notch by adding a streusel topping – two parts flour to one part butter & one part brown sugar mixed together until it’s crumbly. For two loaves I use 4T flour, 2T butter & brown sugar. YUM!
Can you share the recipe?
Ok so what is the recipe? It looks soooooo yummy!