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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:
Toni Tapia says
Yes I do agree!! Throw out all other recipes! This is by far the best ever! It seems from all the comments people have been tweeking it in one way or another. I, too did a little adjustment. Instead of oil or butter I substituted same amount of applesauce. Wow! It was incredible without the extra fat!! Super moist and delicious. But BEWARE!! You might eat the whole loaf! Thanks for this recipe.
Leigh Anne says
Love hearing this!!
Kona says
Wow. The last banana bread recipe i tried was lackluster. Not very moist, and didn’t have a lot of flavor. Today I decided to try out this recipe, and I’m super happy that I did. I used a glass pan, and had to leave it in the oven for about 1 hour because a little bit of it was uncooked. I also decided last minute to put walnuts in it, so once I had it in the pan, I dumped walnuts in and stirred it with a fork. I tried a piece and thought it was pretty amazing, as did my boyfriend. My dad is a little picky when it comes to desserts, but he gave this one a thumbs up as well. I currently have a second batch (plain) in the oven, and I’m looking forward to taking it to work with me tonight. I had 6 ripe bananas, and the recipe takes 2, so I’m making walnut, plain, and chocolate chip bread. Thank you for the great recipe! I will be saving this one for future use, it’s definitely a keeper.
Leigh Anne says
Kona, Glad you loved it too. It really is the BEST Banana Bread!
char says
I just made your banana bread because I can’t find the one I have used for over 3o years !!!! I have to say it was delicious !! I did use butter instead of the oil…I melted the same amount of butter you have for the oil…let it cool and then finished the recipe. It was awesome….I had it a little warm with a cup of tea..right now it is snowing here in upstate new York and have 5 inches of snow so far ! They didn’t expect this much!!!!
How nice for me to have this lovely bread today !!!!
Leigh Anne says
So glad you enjoyed it. Enjoy that snow!!
Tamar says
I have made this at least 10 times now! I make it weekly and it freezes beautifully too. I had to say thank you for the best banana bread recipe ever!!! Super moist and delicious! I add an extra banana, if I don’t have sour cream use yogurt, I’ve used spelt & wholewheat flour, maple syrup for sweetner when I’ve run out of sugar. Used mini bread tins, muffin tins & regular loaf. Very adaptable. Thanks again, I’ll be using this recipe forever!
Leigh Anne says
Tamara – thanks so much for taking the time to let me know. Love that you love it too!
Thanks for the tip on using the extra banana if I’m out of sour cream.
Rebecca says
It’s in the oven now, this is second time I have made it , it is the BEST ever.wouldnt change a thing
Leigh Anne says
Love that you think it is the best too!!! Yum!