Easy Banana Bread Recipe

Easy Banana Bread

Originally posted September 27, 2011. Updated 2/1/2021

Easy Banana Bread - This is a great base recipe, with a ton of customization possibilities. Add or subtract ingredients to make it your own!

Banana bread has a weird place in our kitchen.

We love it but rarely have bananas to make it with. Because it’s something you want overripe bananas for, going out and buying bananas specifically for banana bread isn’t really something we consider.

We’re very spur-of-the-moment regarding food - when one or both of us is craving something, we want to make it RIGHT THEN.

Also, we disagree on what to put in it. Although we both agree that this recipe - based on the one my mother always made when I was a kid - is the best one out there, we disagree on raisins vs. nuts.

I am firmly in the raisins camp - tons of them, please! I’m not a fan of nuts in my banana bread because I like enjoying the smooth, moist texture WITHOUT crunch.

My husband, on the other hand, is vehemently against putting raisins in baked goods, period. He loves them on their own or in trail mix... just not in anything where they can soak up the liquid. Says he:

Ah well. If he weren’t a bit weird, I wouldn’t have married him.

Easy Banana Bread Tips

The Bananas

- Use VERY ripe bananas.

- If you have bananas that are perfectly (over!) ripe for banana bread but need to hold off on actually making it… just toss them in the freezer for a few hours.

The peel will go black, but the bananas will be perfect!

The Mixing

- The smoother you get the banana mixture, the better. I usually use a potato masher, but you could use a blender or food processor, I desired.

- Once you’ve added the flour, mix it only well enough to combine the wet and dry.

You don’t want to overwork the batter - it’s a quick bread, not a yeast bread!

Overworking it develops the gluten and will give it a tougher texture.

This is why I recommend mixing it by hand, not with a mixer.

Customizing Banana Bread

This easy banana bread recipe is a great base recipe. Use raisins, or don’t.

Use dried cranberries, chocolate chips, or walnuts, or whatever else you’d like in it ...

... or just leave the extras out entirely, and enjoy it as a plain - but SO tasty! - banana bread.

I like a ton of raisins and will usually use about 1 cup of dark raisins.

As far as nuts go, I prefer walnut, but feel free to substitute. Use ½ – 1 cup of nuts, or ½ cup each of nuts and raisins, or nuts and chocolate chips. Have fun with it!

A couple other ideas:

Peanut Butter

Omit the butter.

Mash ½ cup smooth peanut butter in with the bananas - until smooth - before adding the dry ingredients.

Continue with the rest of the recipe as stated. (Note: This one is great with peanuts and/or chocolate chips added!)

Marble

Once the batter is mixed, separate it into two. I’ll usually go ⅔ and ⅓ (the chocolate), but you can go half and half if you’d like.

Add ¼ - ⅓ cup of cocoa to one bowl, along with 1 Tbsp water. Mix well.

After preparing your pan, use spoons to add batters to the pan, alternating between the two.

Run a knife through the batter - side to side and back and forth - to marble the batters.

Bake as indicated in the recipe.

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5 from 1 vote

Easy Banana Bread

This recipe is a great base recipe. Use raisins, or don’t. Use dried cranberries, or walnuts, or whatever else you’d like in banana bread… or just leave the extras out entirely, and enjoy it as a plain – but SO tasty! – banana bread.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine: Canadian

Servings: 6 - 1 Loaf

Calories: 374kcal

Author: Marie Porter

Equipment

1 Loaf Pan

Ingredients

• 3 Large Bananas Mashed*
• ¼ cup Butter Melted
• 1 Large Egg
• 1 cup Granulated Sugar
• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• Nuts and/or Raisins optional **

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375 F. Grease 1 regular/large loaf pan, or about 3 mini loaf pans.
• Mix together bananas, butter, egg and sugar until smooth. Add flour, baking soda, and nuts and/or raisins if you’ll be using them. Mix until everything is well combined.
• Pour batter into greased pan. Bake for about 1 hour, or until crust is a rich golden brown, and knife inserted into middle of loaf comes out clean.

Notes

* Use VERY ripe bananas. If you have bananas that are perfectly (over!) ripe for banana bread, but need to hold off on actually making it… just toss them in the freezer for a few hours. The peel will go black, the the bananas will be perfect!

** I like a ton of raisins, and will usually use about 1 cup of dark raisins. As far as nuts go, I prefer wlanut, but feel free to substitute. Use ½ – 1 cup of nuts, or ½ cup each of nuts and raisins. Have fun with it!

Nutrition

Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 289mg | Potassium: 255mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 314IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 14mg | Iron: 2mg

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