This banana bread is moist and absolutely delicious! It’s good anytime, enjoy it for breakfast, snack time, with coffee or for dessert. It is a great way to use up dark, overripe bananas, and takes just 10 minutes to prepare.
This is an old family favorite recipe of ours, I hope it becomes a favorite for your family as well.
Tips for making banana bread
Begin with ripe bananas: Use overripe bananas that are past maturity. They should be dark and mostly covered with black spots, as these will have a deeper flavor. If you don’t have any overripe banana on the counter or stored in the freezer (you will need 3-4), you can speed up the process of ripening bananas by placing them in the oven. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Place the bananas directly on the center rack and bake for about 30 to 60 minutes. The heat will deepen the flavor and ripen the bananas quickly.
Measure properly: When baking you will need to measure accurately. Baking is not as forgiving as cooking is. So for measuring the dry ingredients, use the dip and sweep method, as shown here on “American Test Kitchen’s” video link.
Don’t Over mix: Mix the batter just enough to blend the ingredient together. Quick bread that has been over mixed will begin to form glutens. These glutens will result in a dry, dense rubbery loaf of bread. Still edible but not what we are looking for.
Make it a day ahead: Wait a day to cut into the loaf, the bread will be moister.
Variations:
- Gluten-free version: Use a 1:1 gluten-free flour, available at the grocery store or online.
- Sweetness: If the bananas you are using aren’t super sweet or you like the bread sweeter, you can use a little more sugar (1/4-1/2 cup)
- Additions: If you like, you can add in 3/4 cup to 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks or chopped nuts like walnuts or pecans .
Store: Wrap in plastic wrap or tin foil. Keeps 4-5 days.
Freeze: Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap then but in a zip-lock bag and freeze 3-4 months.
Try our other recipes:
Banana Bread
Equipment
- bread pan
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon optional
- grated fresh nutmeg optional
- 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (3-4 medium bananas)
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine (1 stick)
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 cup chopped walnuts (split into 2)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium size bowl combine the butter and sugar. Cream together with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add in the mashed banana and egg, stir just until blended in.
- In another medium sized bowl, stir the rest of the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt).
- Mix 1/2 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Stirring just until the flour is blended in. Add 1/2 cup of the chopped walnuts and the remainder of the flour mixture, stir together until blended. Do not over mix.
- Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8×4 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan. Let cool completely before eating.
