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 followed the recipe and it only took 30 minutes to bake
I have always struggled to make banana Bread. It would always not rise in the classic banana bread way and be too heavy and dense. Everything else I can make from scratch but always had to use boxes for banana Bread but just from the first time using this recipe I got almost the perfect banana bread. Thank you. I have loved your recipes for years
This is my go to recipe as it turns out perfect every time! Today I put the butter in bowl and put it in my air fryer on slow toast to slightly brown the butter and add a nutty flavor. Have to allow butter to cool down. Also today I have fresh black cherries, cut in half, pit and floured on plate, to add as last mix in batter. Hope it turns out awesome!
BEST BANANA BREAD EVER. Sally I love you and your brain
Great recipe and super easy to make! I added a little bit extra cinnamon because I love cinnamon. Next time I’ll also add a little bit more brown sugar since I like my breads more sweet. Love how moist this bread is!
This recipe calls for one teaspoon of baking soda, and no baking powder.
Just wondering if this is correct. I have made this recipe before and I am pretty sure that is rose much more. This time (with baking soda) the loaf was very dense.
Hi Jan, that is correct. For this banana bread we use baking soda, not baking powder. You might enjoy reading about the difference in this post. Also, be sure that your baking soda is 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. Hope this helps for your next batch!
excellent bread! any nutrition info?
Hi Ashley, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I only have self rising flour. Can I use that, and omit the salt and baking powder?
Hi A, we don’t recommend using self rising flour in this recipe. It would take additional recipe testing to ensure accurate results.
Made this banana bread today. I have tried many different recipes for banana bread. I really like this one. I used 6 TB butter and sour cream. I would like it a tiny bit sweeter. I used light brown sugar. How do I increase the banana flavor. I used 4 very ripe bananas.
Your banana muffin recipe is amazing and I’ve made it many times. In particular I love the addition of nutmeg and the flavor it brings. I’m going to make the banana bread recipe for the first time and wonder if I could add nutmeg to it? If so, what measurement would you recommend? Thank you!
Hi Kitty, We like to add nutmeg to the muffins for some added flavor, and you can certainly add it here.
Anybody know the nutritional values please?
I make this a lot as we love it but my oh is currently on calorie deficit so would be handy to know. Thank you
Hi Helen, we don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Is it possible to double this recipe and make two loaves? Or should I make two separate batches?
Hi Jessica, For best results, we recommend making two separate batches rather than doubling.
Omg I just made this ,it’s the best ever ,thank you so much .
Sally & Team – love this recipe! Have made it several times.
Question — I have to buy a new gas oven/stovetop. Do you have any recommendations, from a bakers perspective?
Thanks for any input.
April
I love your banana bread recipe. It’s rich and nourishing without being too sweet.
Followed the recent update. Came out well. Thank you
I have made this banana bread a million times over the years and I’m just now leaving a review. It is the BEST! This recipe is pure perfection and comes out amazing every time. Thank you Sally for sharing your wonderful recipes!
It’s nice texture but it’s so bland no flavour despite following this recipe to a T
what happens if i over mix?
Hi Star, Over mixing can cause the bread to bake up squat and dense.
I did not care for the taste of this recipe. I think it was the sour cream. Overall bland.
This is by far best recipe for banana bread… I adjust the cooking time and have to be VERY patient so it cooks through.
I wanted to try them as muffins this time. Will adding baking powder to this ACTUAL recipe be okay vs. following the muffin recipe you have. I love the taste of this bread and do not want to adjust too much.
Hi Joanne, you can follow this recipe exactly and make it into muffins, or here’s our reader favorite banana muffins recipe.
Can I add frozen berries to this recipe?
Hi Karen, if using frozen berries, do not thaw. The bake time may be a few minutes longer to account for the added moisture.
Our favourite recipe for banana bread. A great rise, moist & such a useful recipe for using up over ripe bananas especially during a hot spell. Freezes well.
I have been using the old recipe with 2 cups of mashed bananas and the taste has been fantastic. The bread would rise perfectly in the oven, but once it began cooling, it would start to sink and the next day, there would be a wet spot in the middle. Does the new recipe with less banana address this issue?
Hi Paul, yes, that will definitely help with your issue. We hope you enjoy it!
Can you use Greek yogurt
Hi Simon, absolutely, you can use plain Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream.
I only have 3 medium Bananas will it still work?
can you substitute flour with cake flour?
Hi Kath, we don’t recommend cake flour here. Banana bread contains additional wet ingredients, so cake flour isn’t really ideal. You need a stronger flour like all-purpose flour. Hope the bread is a hit if you give it a try!
Oh. My. Goodness. This banana bread is INCREDIBLE!!!!! I would give it a hundred stars if I could! the texture is wonderful – moist and buttery. And the flavor is incredible, too. It is not too sweet, so you can really taste the banana. I used frozen bananas and wasn’t sure how it would turn out, but it was great! Will totally recommend!
This banana bread is fantastic! It’s moist, flavorful, and super easy to make. I love how the brown sugar adds that extra sweetness. Definitely my go-to recipe!
This did not work for me. Didn’t rise at all. I weighed all my ingredients when weight in grams was given. 150g of brown sugar looked a lot more than 3/4 cup. Butter, eggs yoghurt at room temperature. The batter was very wet. Will not make again.
I used ground cocoa dusted almonds for the nuts…..amazing