With its super-moist and buttery texture, banana and brown sugar flavors, soft crumb, and 1,300+ reviews, this is a delicious AND undeniably popular banana bread recipe. You need 4 medium or 3 large ripe bananas.
I originally published this recipe in 2013 and have since added new photos and a few more success tips. It’s one of the most popular recipes I’ve published on this website, out of over 1,200. This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
One reader, Michele, says: “Perfectly delish every time! Absolutely foolproof. Nuts, no nuts, smidge more or less of sour cream—no problem… bigger bananas, smaller—no worries, perfect, beyond delicious EVERY time. ★★★★★”
This is my favorite banana bread recipe, one that I’ve cherished for years. It’s one of those classic recipes that you start to know by heart, just like a good pie crust or chocolate chip cookies recipe. This bread comes to mind first when I have leftover spotty bananas on the counter, and it’s the bread that’s on constant rotation in my freezer stash.
One reader, Tricia, commented: “I have this recipe on speed dial. LOL. It is so tasty and is always a crowd pleaser. My kids and entire family love it!!! ★★★★★”
Yes, I have this recipe on speed dial too!
I’ve tried dozens of banana bread recipes over the years, and when I baked and originally published this recipe many years ago, I never looked back.
Why You’ll Love This Banana Bread Recipe Too
- Mega banana flavor
- Not overly sweet, so banana flavor shines
- Dense, but still quite tender & soft
- Buttery & stays moist for days (tastes best on day 2, just like peanut butter chocolate chip zucchini bread)
- Straightforward, simple recipe
- Freezes wonderfully
- Excellent plain or with nuts or chocolate chips—or a swipe of cinnamon butter
How to Mash Bananas
Did you know you can use your electric mixer to mash bananas? Break or slice the spotty bananas into large pieces and place in the bowl of your stand mixer—or use a regular mixing bowl and your hand mixer. Begin beating on low, then gradually increase to medium-high speed as the bananas break down into mashed banana. Transfer the bananas to another bowl and use the mixing bowl for the butter and sugar. (No need to clean it—some mashed banana remnants is fine.)
I do this when I mash bananas for banana muffins and banana chocolate chip breakfast cookies too.
Other Banana Bread Ingredients
- Butter: Use softened butter for a soft texture and irresistible butter flavor.
- Brown Sugar: Use all brown sugar in this recipe. In the headnotes for this chocolate chip cookies recipe, I explain that brown sugar yields soft and moist cookies. Well, brown sugar works that same magic in banana bread, too. It also adds wonderful flavor.
- Eggs: Eggs supply cakes, cupcakes, breads, doughs, and cookies their stability and structure, as well as a tender texture. You’ll need 2 large eggs for this.
- Sour Cream or Yogurt: Sour cream or yogurt adds even more moisture to this banana bread. (You can use the 2 interchangeably in most baking recipes.)
For banana nut bread, add 3/4 cup of chopped nuts to the banana bread batter; I like using either pecans or walnuts. If you’re nuts for nuts (LOL), you’ll enjoy the toasty slight crunch nestled inside the soft crumbs. If you’re not a nut person, feel free to leave them out or replace with chocolate chips. For a whole wheat version, try my whole wheat banana bread. Or for a chocolate version, try my double chocolate banana bread.
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Yes and I do this often. Thaw the frozen bananas at room temperature. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe below. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking. Try not to mash too much or else you’ll be left with 1 and 1/2 cups of banana-y liquid; some chunks are great.
Can I Turn This Into a Banana Bundt Cake?
I recommend using my extremely similar, scaled-up recipe for chocolate marble banana Bundt cake instead. You can leave out the chocolate swirl in that recipe.
How to Freeze Banana Bread
Freeze banana bread using these instructions to preserve its fresh flavor and texture for months:
- Cool baked banana bread completely.
- Tightly wrap the loaf or slices (individually or grouped) in 2–3 layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
- Place wrapped banana bread in a large freezer-friendly storage bag or reusable container.
- Date the bag and freeze for up to 3–4 months. Thaw wrapped or unwrapped in the refrigerator or at room temperature. All methods work like a charm!
I like to freeze the quick bread in slices because slices thaw much quicker than a whole loaf.
Overall, this is an easy recipe for classic banana bread. The batter takes about 10 minutes to throw together, the bread stays moist for days, and nothing beats the smell of fresh banana bread in the oven. (Except for, maybe, zucchini bread or pumpkin bread… try those next!)
Other Favorite Banana Recipes:
- Banana Cake & Banana Cupcakes
- Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread
- Banana Cream Pie & Banoffee Pie
- Banana Muffins or Healthier Chocolate Banana Muffins & Blueberry Banana Muffins
- Banana Chocolate Chip Streusel Muffins
- Baked Banana Oatmeal
- Peanut Butter Banana Muffins
My Favorite Banana Bread
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
With its super-moist and buttery texture, banana and brown sugar flavors, soft crumb, and 1,000+ reviews, this is a delicious AND undeniably popular banana bread recipe. You need 4 large ripe bananas. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80g) plain Greek yogurt or full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 3–4 ripe bananas)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- optional: 3/4 cup (90g) chopped pecans or walnuts, or 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much, too soon. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) With the mixer running on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the yogurt, vanilla, and mashed bananas until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat on low speed just until combined. Do not over-mix. Fold in the nuts/chocolate chips, if using. The batter should be thick.
- Pour and spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 60–65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil halfway through, to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. Cool the bread in the pan set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Remove the bread from the pan and cool it directly on the rack until ready to slice and serve.
- Store wrapped tightly at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Update in 2025: With enough reader feedback stating the bread can often be too moist and dense, and therefore not bake properly, my team and I retested the bread multiple times over the past 2 years; we slightly reduced the amount of mashed bananas from 2 cups to 1 and 1/2 cups.
- Butter: If needed, you can use salted butter in this recipe with no other changes needed. I’ve also successfully reduced the butter down to 6 Tablespoons (85g) with no issue (just as tasty).
- Brown Sugar: This is not an overly sweet quick bread. If you want a sweeter banana bread, increase to 1 cup (200g) brown sugar. Feel free to replace some or all of the brown sugar with regular white granulated sugar.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: This banana bread also tastes fantastic with cream cheese frosting on top! To make it, beat 4 ounces (112g) of softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup (60g) of softened unsalted butter together on medium speed until smooth. Beat in 1 cup (120g) of confectioners sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt until combined. Spread on cooled loaf.
- Banana Bread Muffins: Use this banana bread recipe to make 15 banana bread muffins. Spoon the batter into a lined or greased muffin pan (fill each to the top with batter) and bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (218°C); then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16–17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total bake time for the banana bread muffins is about 21–23 minutes. The initial burst of hot air helps those muffins rise nice and tall! Or try my quick & easy banana muffins.
- Brown Sugar: Feel free to substitute the same amount of regular white granulated sugar or coconut sugar. I do not recommend any liquid sweeteners.
- No Sour Cream or Yogurt? Feel free to use 1/3 cup mashed banana (in addition to what is called for in the recipe), unsweetened applesauce, or even canned pumpkin puree.
- Frozen Bananas: You can use frozen bananas here. Thaw the frozen bananas. Drain off any excess liquid, mash, then use as instructed in the recipe. See How to Freeze & Thaw Bananas for Baking. Try not to mash too much or else you’ll be left with banana-y liquid; some chunks are great.
- Chocolate Chips: I love this bread with chocolate chips, too. Feel free to add 1 cup of your favorite chocolate chips. No need to leave out the nuts if you add the chocolate chips. Chocolate chips and nuts are both optional.
- Can I Turn This Into Banana Bundt Cake? There isn’t enough batter. I recommend using my extremely similar, scaled-up recipe for chocolate marble banana Bundt cake instead. You can leave out the chocolate swirl in that recipe.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Made this recipe adding another 1/2 measured ingredients to make 1 loaf and 12 muffins. Came out great. Moist, dense with good flavor. I used sour cream instead of yogurt. I did not use foil as suggested. I have a gas oven with no top heat element. Looking for good snacks to send with my husband when he is away working in the hills for several days without refrigeration. He goes hungry sometimes out there. This may not dry out as fast as other muffins/bread. Banana bread is one of his favorites. Thank you for sharing.
This recipe made a ton of batter for me. I immediately realized the batter was too much for a loaf pan or even an 8×8 type pan. I ended up putting it in a rectangular dish (9×11, I think). I mentally had to adjust the cook time downwards to 45 minutes so it wouldn’t get overbaked. If you don’t hear back from me, it means everything turned out great. SBA: I would suggest you specify what size of baking pan you feel is appropriate for readers to use. 🙂
As always, Sally’s recipes are top notch! I don’t eat banana nut, but I’ve made this for my family to have for breakfast and it’s a hit! Didn’t change a thing and it came out perfectly at 68 minutes. First recipe made in the new oven 🙂 thanks again for such great recipes!
I did not like this recipe. It’s baking right now we see how it turns out
Way to many steps im always time restricted this was to much work and to many dishes used to clean
Lol, i used 1 bowl 1 tsp spoon…began with the liquid and folded in the flour…i used an extra 1/2 cup flour because it did seem very liquidy…then after I added the nuts, very last it was perfect and i added about half cup or 3/4 cup of Applesause…i found this makes my bread really moist, sooo yummy…Now I ALWAYS let my original banana bread sit on the warm stove for 20 minutes, so I’m doing that now..
The interesting thing..I just got a GAS OVEN/STOVE….LOVE IT, BUT certainly cooks different…faster..
Try it again…never give up….I am trying this because all my cook books are packed..lol….
Wow!It was Fantabulous.
A friend requested me this recipe.
And as you were one of my favourite food bloggers,I didnt hesitate to try it out.It turned out to be eazy and still delicious.
Thanks~
Good recipes but if I may ask ,why is yeast not been used in this bread recipe
Hi Sulaimon, this recipe is a quick bread recipe, which does not use least and relies on other leaveners instead. You can view all of our yeasted bread recipes here.
After one hour in the oven my banana bread was still mush and raw. So I turned it up to 120 and left it in, uncovered, for another 30 mins. Turned out perfectly after this. Lovely recipe
great recipe that I’ve bookmarked! I split sugar between white and brown, omitted the cinnamon and added extra vanilla. This time I stirred in strawberry yogurt. I also replaced eggs with Red Mill egg-substitute. I like to find alternatives in case I’m missing ingredients. The recipe is large enough to be split into two small pans. Cheers! Tom.
I came across this recipe when I was looking for one that uses brown sugar instead of white. I have been using the same banana bread recipe for over 40 years and this one is nearly identical. As I’ve been doing forever, I used half white and half white whole wheat flour. My recipe has 2TB of yogurt, but I did 1/4 cup with your 4, not my 3, bananas. Added in the cinnamon and vanilla. I’ve always baked in two pans 3.5×7.5” – eat one freeze one. This came out great! Such wonderful tweaks to my years old recipe. Thank you so much.
About how long do you bake the two smaller pans?
Relieved to see the other comments about baking trouble here, as this is the only SBA recipie that has disappointed! Two tries with different baking soda, one in a regular loaf pan and one in mini pans, both deflated and raw even after an hour – an hour and a half in a thermometer tracked oven. Wondering if environmental humidity comes into play? Disappointed but glad it’s not just me!
It’s not just you who has baking problems with this recipe. Bake times are way off, in my opinion. My bread took about 90 minutes to bake. After 60 minutes, I even increased the oven temperature to 375 degrees. I was beyond frustrated.
Oh interesting. I actually love this recipe – it is the best I’ve ever tried. I used yogurt (not sour cream) and baked mine for more like 45-50 mins @ 350 degrees and it came out perfectly. Super moist. I also added small chunks of apples to the batter in addition to the nuts Weird that the baking times vary so much!
I added 1 tsp of baking powder, folded dry ingredients in with a spatula till it just came together, don’t use a mixer, came out perfect.
Hey! I just tried a modified version of this recipe and it turned out amazing! I used 3 bananas, 1 and 3/4 cups of flour and no yogurt. I added a full cup of brown sugar as well and cooked it for an hour at 350°. Sorry it didn’t work out for you but I found the original recipe to be a bit too liquidy for me and that could be your issue too.
I had the same problem with my old oven. A friend suggested an oven thermometer. It turns out my oven ran very hot. If I set it for 350 degrees, it would heat up to almost 425. Hope that helps you.
My go to recipe when I make this for my husband. Use it weekly!
Followed recipe to a T and after nearly 2 hours cooking and checking over and over again. I have a burned edge yet still raw in the middle waste of money. Way too much banana.
One more great recipe looks so delicious, my entire family loved banana bread, I will definitely try your recipe, looks seem easy to make. Five stars for you and thanks so much for this guide.
I have baked bread for the first time in my life. It came out excellent! So spongy! Tasted yummy. Just used the exact quantity of the ingredients specified here and it can never go wrong. I am going to try this often!
I have made this recipe twice now and both times I did an hour and 10 minutes and it came out undercooked both times
I have tried many banana bread recipes over the years but this one consistently comes out perfect. I have stopped searching for that perfect recipe as I now have found it!
Hi! Can wholemeal flour be used instead? Thanks!
We recommend our whole wheat banana bread recipe instead!
This was seriously the easiest and best banana bread. I was so surprised when the yield was one loaf with four bananas in the recipe! But no regrets! It was seriously perfect and so easy. Thank you!
I tried this recipe today , the bread raised nicely but the texture is a bit dense . However it taste nice, not overly sweet.
Is it suppose to be like that?
Hi Angela, Could it have been over-mixed? That can lead to a dense, spongey texture. Try mixing just until the ingredients are combined next time. And make sure to bake the bread in the lower third of your oven as well (see step 1). Hope these tips help for next time!
This bread is amazing. It may have already been asked, but can muffins also be made with this recipe? If so, same temp but for how long? BTW…this is my family’s GO TO recipe for banana bread.
Hi Connie, you sure can! Follow the baking time and temperature for our banana muffins.
Great recipe. So simple yet so good. I have made it atleast 4 times now and i use a balloon whisk and not electric mixer and always have amazing result. Have also made it with thickened cream, just milk and greek yogurt, yummy with either!
Greetings from Norway!
Thank you for this awesome recipe! It’s my go-to whenever I need to bring something edible somewhere. I’m your typical occasion-baker, and don’t feel very adventurous in the kitchen, but this I have pulled off successfully experimenting with different spices and chopped ingredients. Tastes great with homemade custard too. I have yet to meet a single person that didn’t like this!
A great forgiving recipe. Honestly, I didn’t use an electric beater and I feel like it was better – I didn’t over mix. I had 3 small very ripe bananas and it wasn’t enough so I used 2 more larger bananas that were more yellow and just added another tablespoon of brown sugar. I had slightly less bananas than recipe called for so I just added a little more sour cream. I also sprinkled some cinnamon and coconut sugar on the top before baking and it was great. I used 2 mini loafs and it took about 50 min and didn’t dry out. Saving this recipe for future
Been trying this twice but why my banana bread doesn’t rise? What did I missed? taste good though thanks.
Hello! We recommend that you check to make sure your baking powder and soda are fresh. We find they lose strength after just 3-4 months. And be careful to just mix the batter until combined – over-mixing can lead to dense, flat banana bread.
Hello! Greetings from Singapore!
May I know if it’s ok to substitute yogurt with buttermilk?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Shimah, You can use buttermilk instead of yogurt or sour cream (same amount), but the batter will be on the thinner side and, as a result, the baked bread will end up a little squat without as much rise. Best to stick to the recipe.
About the caloric count: cut into 12 pieces, this exact recipe -including nuts- comes in at about 300-330 Kcal/slice. Worth it!
Your recipe uses large eggs. I have small eggs right now. How many small eggs can I use as a substitute for large eggs?
Hi Minja, A large whole egg weighs about 57g (or 50g out of the shell), so you’ll need about 100g of eggs for this recipe.
Made it today and it’s amazing! Easy to follow recipe. Thank you
Made this recipe 2 days ago, and it is insanely delicious!! I am trying not to eat it all, but it is close to being gone… I added some mini chocolate chips to it, so it definitely hits my sweet cravings. Thanks for the great yummy recipe that we all enjoy!
Can I make this without eggs? What should I substitute it with?
We haven’t tested this recipe with egg substitutes, so can’t give any advice. Let us know if you try any! Here are all of our egg free baking recipes if you are interested in browsing there.
Hello from Finland!
I made this for my 4 year old daughter ( who is going through a picky phase) and she absolutely loves it. Currently making it again now as she asked for some before bedtime! Thank you for the recipe!