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The BEST and Easiest homemade Banana bread recipe. Everyone loves this no-yeast bread – it’s simple, moist, and SO delicious Perfect to make with over-ripe bananas!
Banana bread is probably the most common quick bread (no yeast) recipe we make. If it’s not banana bread, though, then it’s probably zucchini bread, amish bread, or lemon bread!
SO “M” word + SO GOOD!
Banana bread is one of those bread recipes we’ve enjoyed our entire lives. We have tried so many different versions over the years, but today’s easy banana bread recipe is, by far, our favorite.
It’s SO moist (M word), SO simple and SO delicious.
We love that this quick bread is prepped in just about 5-10 minutes and then popped into the oven. It’s also topped with cinnamon and sugar which makes it even better!
When we first made it, it was gone in about .2 seconds and we knew that that we were in love. We now use this recipe any time we have over-ripe bananas sitting on the counter, which happens more than I care to admit.
We know you’ll love it too!
How to make Banana Bread
As I mentioned, making this recipe is SO EASY! We always have these ingredients on hand too, which means we make it ALL. THE. TIME! Here are the ingredients needed to make this recipe:
- all purpose flour
- baking powder
- baking soda
- salt
- bananas, mashed
- sugar
- brown sugar
- egg
- butter, melted
- cinnamon + sugar
DRY INGREDIENTS. In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
WET INGREDIENTS. In a separate bowl, mix together bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter.
MIX. Fold in flour mixture, and stir until smooth. Scoop batter into a lightly greased bread loaf pan.. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
BAKE. Bake at 325 for 55 to 60 minutes.
Banana Bread Baking Tips:
- Line your bread pan with parchment paper. Leave a couple inches to fold over the top of the pan. Once the bread has been cooked use the parchment paper to easily lift the bread out of the pan. Cool and serve.
- Use an electric mixer to smash your bananas. Break each ripened banana into a few large pieces. Begin mixing at low speed gradually increasing the speed as the bananas begin to mash.
FAQ
What if my bananas aren’t ripe enough?
There are a few ways to be sure you’re bananas are ripe enough when you are ready to make banana bread.
- Oven: Place the UNpeeled bananas on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F for 5 minutes or until the peels have browned. Once they have cooled slice open the peels and scoop out the ripened center.
- Brown Paper Bag: If you can wait a day or two, then use the brown bag method. (this also works to ripen other fruits such as peaches and pears) Place the bananas in a brown paper bag and fold over the top. Ethylene will build up and circulate within the bag which speeds up the ripening process.
Keep a stash in the freezer: Place the UNpeeled bananas in a freezer safe ziploc bag. Remove any excess air. Freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use thaw the bananas and remove the peel.
Do you have to use over-ripe bananas for this recipe? Overripe bananas work best because they’re easier to mash and are sweeter.
How long To Bake?
Keep these tips in mind for how to bake based on what the batter is being baked in.
- Regular size muffins: bake 325 degrees F for 16-18 minutes
- Mini Muffins bake at 350 degrees F for 10-15 minutes.
- Mini loaf pans (5.73 x 3 inches): Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes
- Bundt cake pan: bake at 350 degrees F for 55-65 minutes
- Note: insert a toothpick to test for doneness. If it comes out clean remove pan from the oven. If it does not, then cook longer, checking at 5 minute intervals, until done.
How to store banana bread?
Remove bread from the pan as soon as it is done baking and allow the bread to completely cool before storing.
- Countertop: Place in an airtight container and store for 3-4 days at room temperature.
- Fridge: Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge for 7 days
- Freezer: Wrap the bread with plastic wrap then place in a large resealable plastic freezer bag. Label the contents. Freeze for 3-4 months. Thaw at room temperature before warming to your liking.
Fresh out of the oven, a warm slice of banana bread really can’t get any better (unless you maybe added the chocolate chips or cinnamon/sugar mix on top OR you tried our Cream Cheese-Filled Banana Bread Recipe).
We hope you love this recipe as much as we did. If you have any questions or suggestions, let us know. We’d love to add to our tips list for making this easy banana bread recipe.
For more banana bread recipes:
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
- 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 inserted in the center comes out clean. (NOTE: If not adding cinnamon-sugar mixture, cover with aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.)
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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!
Best recipe for banana bread I have ever made. Thank you so much for sharing.
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!