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
I love this recipe as is, but I’m baking for a bake sale where the small loaves sell better. I believe this will at least 3 of the mini loaves. About how long should they bake?
Hi Kathy, you can certainly bake in mini loaf pans! We’re unsure of the exact bake time (it will vary by recipe and by loaf size), so keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness. Same baking temperature, though.
Looking forward to trying recipe love all the questions and enjoy the informative responses
Would you make any changes if using whole wheat flour? Thank you! Kelly
Hi Kelly, here is our whole wheat banana bread recipe instead!
Would it be okay to use salted butter and omit the salt?
Hi Deanice, You can make the banana bread as written with salted butter with no other changes to the added salt. The bread won’t taste salty.
Can I use Greek yogurt in place of regular
Hi Lisa, full fat plain or Greek yogurt is typically best!
I’ve tried maybe 20 recipes at this point, just trying to find one I love. Made this for Thanksgiving. One plain, one chocolate chip, and one with walnuts (it was a lot of batter). It was a huge gamble but I’m SO GLAD I did it. I’m writing this down so I don’t lose it. It’s moist, flavorful, and soft while not being super dense. 10/10. ❤️
Can I use buttermilk instead of sour cream/yogurt?
Hi Scarlett, You can use buttermilk (not regular milk) 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. We recommend sticking to the recipe for best results.
I will be trying this for the first time but sounds yummy!
Great recipe! I will be making this on a regular basis. My family loved it. Very moist and full of flavor. The hunt for the perfect banana bread recipe is over!
Is baking soda baking powder or bicarbonate soda? Also can I use dairy free Yoghurt?
Hi Kay, Baking soda and bicarbonate soda are the same thing. Baking powder is different. You can try a dairy free yogurt. Enjoy!
If I don’t have a metal baking pan, only a glass one, does that differ the recipe at all?
Hi Megan, the bake time may be a few minutes longer for a glass pan, but otherwise all baking directions can remain the same. Enjoy!
Can I replace the butter with margarine? I have high cholesterol just wondering if it would still turn out as good
Hi Lucia, margarine has a higher water content than butter and won’t cream with the sugar like butter does. We don’t think it would be a good swap.
Recipe sounds amazing, but before I start can a double this recipe
Hi Diana! For best results, we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling.
I Lowkey doubled it from the start, and I found it to work out perfectly but make sure you WHIP the butter and sugar together. It’s an extremely important part which is why doubling it is ify as it’s not on for as long as it needs to be. It should be super light and fluffy. Then it’s perfect
OMG YES. New favorite recipe. So moist and tasty.
I have been baking different recipes for banana bread for years and am so glad to have found this one. It is now my family’s go-to recipe. We add chocolate chips and always double the recipe because it goes so quickly.
Baked this with chocolate chips the first time…yum! Trying it with walnuts this time. It’s a keeper
This recipe has become my go-to banana bread recipe! The only thing I change is instead of just a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, I add 1/4 tsp nutmeg and an 1/8 tsp each of clove and mace. People rave over this bread at every function I bring it to! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Question: if I wanted to mix up the batter to bake the next day, would that work?
Hi Christine! We don’t recommend making the batter ahead of time. The bread won’t rise properly when baked.
My go to banana bread recipe!! It’s easily made it’s way onto my weekly rotation of recipes. I’m convinced the yogurt in this recipe makes all the difference.
Love how adaptable the recipe is as well. It’s phenomenal made exactly as written, but also love adding chocolate chunks to it. If I feel like making it a tiny bit healthier, I sub out half the butter for applesauce and half the sugar for coconut sugar and it’s still amazing!
Best banana bread I’ve ever made! I’ve made it 5 times now with no variation because it’s simply perfect! It’s not too sweet, has great banana flavor and it’s very moist (but not heavy).
We’re so glad you love this banana bread recipe, Jess!
This recipe is excellent. It doesn’t have too much sugar, the texture is beautiful, it works great with chocolate chips/nuts or without, and it’s easy to make. Thank you for the instructions to remove the liquid form thawed frozen bananas.
I wanted to double the recipe…. I could find no notes on that. Needed to know any modifications if doubling the recipe? BY THE WAY, THIS IS THE BEST BANANA NUT BREAD I HAVE EVER MADE OR EATEN, EVER!!! Perfect!
Hi Yvonne, we’re so glad you loved this bread. For best results, we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling.
I did this last week and it came out perfect. I want to do it again but I only have one egg on hand. Can I only use one egg or will that be a big issue?
Hi GC, we don’t recommend leaving it out. You could try substituting for the second egg with an egg replacer like a “flax egg”. Let us know if you try it!
Best banana bread
Hi! Can I use a glass or a ceramic loaf pan without issue? I don’t have a metal pan : (
Hi Kim, The bake time may be a few minutes longer for a glass pan, but otherwise all baking directions can remain the same. Enjoy!
My cake texture was a bit odd – it was very dense and compacted and looked like mud cake even though it wasn’t raw. I followed the recipe 100%. This has happened before when I have added yoghurt to my cakes. No idea why. Any ideas?
Hi Lisa, is your baking soda fresh? We find it starts to lose its effectiveness after about 3 months, even if it’s not technically expired. Be careful not to over-mix the batter, too, as that can cause the bread to bake up squat and dense. Thanks for giving this recipe a try!
Best Banana bread recipe ever! And i made it in the airfryer.
Yours is a site I have come to trust, there are a LOT of of frankly bad recipe sites out there and wasting ingredients on a recipe that may or may not come out burns my biscuit. So I had some overripe bananas and came to you. Like many others, I’ve tried many recipes that were just meh – this is not that! I did make a few adjustments, I had only 3 small bananas so I added a grated apple and an additional 10g of plain Greek yogurt. I also boosted the cinnamon and added cardamom and ginger for more of a spice bread situation because I’m not a lover of banana, and finally I sprinkled Demerara sugar before baking in place of frosting. The texture was wonderful and super moist, my family loved it!
Super moist and delicious banana bread I’ve ever made!! Thank you Sally for the recipe
So amazing works every time!