Easy Moist Banana Bread Recipe
This crazy-moist banana bread is tender, fluffy, and made in one bowl with ripe or brown bananas. Cozy, simple, and perfect for breakfast or snacking.
Servings: 12 slices
Calories: 263kcal
Equipment
- potato masher or fork to mash bananas
- dough whisk or silicone spatula for stirring
- 9 x 5 baking loaf pan I used a 10x4 Kaiser pan = slightly taller loaf in the photos
- cooking spray
Ingredients
- ½ cup Unsalted Butter softened
- ½ cup Sugar
- 3 Overripe Bananas about 1 cup mashed
- 2 Eggs room temperature, beaten
- ¼ cup Milk (any variety) *see recipe note
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- ½ teaspoon Sea Salt reduce to ¼ teaspoon if using salted butter
- 2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¾ cup Walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and center the oven rack. Coat a 9 x 5 baking loaf pan with cooking spray or oil.
- In a mixing bowl, cream the BUTTER and SUGAR until they look pale and fluffy.
- Add the BANANAS and mash them with a potato masher or fork. You can leave small lumps if you like texture.
- Add the EGGS, MILK, VANILLA, and SALT. Stir until everything looks well combined.
- Add the FLOUR and BAKING SODA. Stir gently until the flour is about halfway mixed in.
- Add the WALNUTS to the batter and gently stir just until the flour disappears. Don’t over-mix it. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake 55–65 minutes. The bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean or the center reads 200°F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Cool the loaf in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully transfer the bread out of the pan and cool completely on the rack.
- Once fully cool, store the bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Refrigerate if the weather is humid.
Video
Notes
How ripe should the bananas be? You can use bananas with spotty peels or entirely brown ones. I find that the browner they are, the sweeter and softer the banana bread will be.
Add a little tang. Add ½ teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice to the batter. You can also swap the milk for ¼ cup buttermilk or ¼ cup plain yogurt.
Don’t over-mix (for real). Stop stirring as soon as the FLOUR disappears. Over-mixing can make banana bread dense.
Why I use a quick-read thermometer to test doneness. I like to make sure the center reaches 200°F to guarantee doneness. A toothpick works too. Be sure to test in a couple of spots since banana pockets can give a false wet reading.
Why does banana bread sink in the middle? This occurs when it isn’t baked long enough, the batter is over-mixed or unevenly mixed, or the oven temperature is inaccurate.
Cool completely (for real). Cutting too soon prevents the starches from setting up properly and can make the bread gummy.
Storage tip. Make sure the bread has cooled completely before covering it. Store at room temperature up to 5 days, or refrigerate if your home is humid.
Try my banana bread muffins. If you want this recipe in muffin form, my banana bread muffins bake faster and make great grab-and-go breakfast.
Nutrition
Serving: 3oz | Calories: 263kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 203mg | Potassium: 177mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 300IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg