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I have been using this banana bread recipe for thirty years. It has amazing texture and flavor. And I know that you will agree that this recipe makes the very BEST banana bread.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
This truly is the BEST recipe ever! I can call it that because my maiden name is Best – so I guess every recipe I have could be called the BEST recipe.
But seriously, this recipe is the BEST! I have been making this recipe for years years. The recipe came from one of those little softcover recipe books you can buy in the grocery store line.
Everyone I have ever made this bread for LOVES it and asks for the recipe.
Last summer when my friend’s teenage daughter had ACL repair surgery the one thing she asked for after her surgery was my banana bread. Of course there was a warm loaf waiting for her when she got home from the hospital.
Ingredients Needed
- Ripe Bananas
- Sugar
- Oil. I use canola oil but you can use any mild oil such as vegetable, avocado or sunflower oil. You can use butter if you prefer but I think the oil really gives this bread great texture.
- Eggs
- Sour cream. You can also use plain yogurt.
- Vanilla Extract
- Flour. My preference is unbleached all purpose flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
How to Make Best Banana Bread Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour bottom of 9 x 5″ loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together sugar and oil. Add in eggs, banana, sour cream and vanilla. Blend well.
- Whisk in flour, baking soda and salt and stir until dry ingredients are moistened.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes of until a toothpick comes out clean
- Cool 5 minutes and remove from pan. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack on the counter.
Tips from Leigh Anne
- I like to mix my banana bread by hand instead of in a stand mixer. This prevents you from over mixing the batter which can cause the banana read to become tough in texture.
- My favorite way to enjoy banana bread is to slice it warm and add a bit of butter on top!
We love to add chocolate chips to this recipe. Nuts are great too. Just add 1 cup of either or 1/2 cup of each if you would like to use both.
If you love cinnamon, add 1 teaspoon of cinnamon in with dry ingredients. Cinnamon and chocolate chips together is also a great combination.
You can also make a dozen muffins with this recipe. Just pour batter into a prepared (greased or lined) muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make mini loaves of banana bread?
This recipe will make about 3 mini loaves of banana bread. Baking time will be about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
How do you store leftover bread?
Store the bread wrapped in plastic wrap or in a zippered plastic bag at room temperature. It will last 3-4 days.
To freeze bread: Allow to cool completely and then wrap it airtight in plastic wrap and aluminum foil and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What is the best way to mash bananas?
If your bananas are really ripe you won’t have to mash them, just squeeze them out of the skin directly into the batter. For firmer bananas, mash them by placing them in a bowl and use your hand mixer to beat them until the desired consistency. If you want chunks of banana in your bread don’t beat it as much and leave it somewhat chunky. Beat it smooth if you don’t want chunks of banana in your bread.
Can I use frozen banana?
You can but allow it to thaw at room temperature first before adding it into batter.
Check out more of my other favorite quick bread recipes:
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Best Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup mashed ripe banana
- 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour bottom of 9 x 5″ loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, mix together sugar and oil. Add in eggs, banana, sour cream and vanilla. Blend well.
- Add in flour, baking soda and salt and stir until dry ingredients are moistened.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes of until a toothpick comes out clean
- Cool 5 minutes and remove from pan. Cool completely. Makes 1 loaf.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Facts:
Traci says
What kind of oil do you use?
Leigh Anne says
vegetable or canola will work fine
Doris Shaffer says
I made your banana bread recipe this afternoon and it was delicious. However, mine was dark….why is mine dark and yours looks so light colored??????
Leigh Anne says
Glad you enjoyed it. Wondering if maybe the kind of pan you bake it in may effect it – I used metal. Did you maybe use glass??
Doris Shaffer says
No, I used metal…could I have baked it too long?
Leigh Anne says
Possibly – was it dried out at all. It is a very moist bread.
Doris Shaffer says
It was moist…just have to try it again. It was delicious. Will watch my baking time and also not stir the dry ingredients as much.
Jessica says
I am making this recipe again and I had to write to say how much my family enjoys it. The only thing I did differently was replace 1/2 cup of the flour with whole wheat flour. My 6 y.o. is so picky, but LOVES this banana bread! It certainly is the BEST!
marge l says
I have been looking for the perfect banana bread recipe and I found it!!! I baked it lst night and couldnot stop eating it.
Leigh Anne says
So glad you liked it! It is a winner!!
Michelle says
This banana bread is addictive! I only made a few changes: replaced the oil with butter and added 1 tsp of cinnamon. I also coated the pan with a cinnamon and sugar mixture and poured the excess on top of the bread before putting it in the oven. AMAZING!!!!!! So moist, so tasty, it’s heaven in my mouth, lol. Thank you for sharing your delightful recipe. This is now my favorite banana bread recipe….I’m baking more this week! Happy Eating:)
Leigh Anne says
I love the idea of coating the pan with cinnamon/sugar and adding cinnamon to the batter! I can’t wait to try that! Thanks for sharing. I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Meghan Weber says
What or I should say how did you make the cinammon/sugar mixture? How did you make it stick to the sides? Thanks!
Leigh Anne says
Not sure what you mean – there is no cinnamon sugar mixture in this recipe.
Karen Valentini says
For the gal that asked how to apply cinnamon sugar to the pan as a person suggested …After you grease the loaf pan then you sprinkle the cinnamon sugar in the pan and shake it around bottom and up the sides as you tilt the pan . Shake out excess as you would with flour dusting .