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 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 3–4 ripe bananas)
- 1/3 cup (80g) plain Greek yogurt or full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 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 mashed bananas, yogurt/sour cream, and vanilla 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 place it directly on the rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.
- 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
Wow this is good! It was very easy to make, and it smelled wonderful baking, used the foil half way though. Made the icing to go on top & this went well with… Thank you <3
I have made banana bread for years…trying all different recipes…this one takes the cake…pun intended…the brown sugar and added sour cream…may be the culprit…I also add cranberries and nuts…or anything that goes good with banana bread…so far…so good…once in a while the center is not as cooked…usually happens when I use too many bananas…thank you for the Best Banana Bread Recipe Ever
Another tried and true SBA recipe. I used 5 smaller bananas (came out to the 2 cups asked for), 1/4 light brown and 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, added 1/2 a cup of chocolate chips and a dash of nutmeg. I added a few butterscotch chips on top 1/2 way through baking but they looked too fake and orangey on top so removed them. It took about an hour. I only put the foil on for 15 minutes as the bread looked too pale. Absolutely delicious!
Hi ya! Great recipe. Just need either smaller measurements or a bigger pan size. I used 9×5 pans and it was filled to the brim before putting in the oven. Was able to make 5 loaves instead of just 4. By the way I originally planned to make 4 & I made each batch separately. Never used sour cream before in banana bread. Thanks very delicious.
I just made this banana bread and it smells divine but the center doesn’t seem to want to get done. I keep putting the toothpick in and it comes out all wet in the center, but the sides are done. What do I do? Put it back in and wait for the center while the sides get drier and drier?
I followed the directions to the letter.
Hi Gail, Loosely tent the top of the pan with aluminum foil so that the top doesn’t get too brown while the center continues to bake.
The best and most banana bread I’ve ever made. Easy to make and delicious!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us. My first loaf was amazing, making another tomorrow.
This is the best recipe I have found for banana bread. Thanks bunches
I get lots of old bananas FREE at my local super market because I cook for the homeless and the managers are very gracious in helping me towards feeding them . I make this recipe MANY times over and EVERYBODY loves it !
I accidentally used only 1/2 stick of butter the 1st time I made it. (Recipe says 1/2 cup). It was very good without the extra butter if you want to limit your saturated fat. In fact, it was good enough to make again!
My center would not cook. I have a high end oven and used convection on 350 for 75 minutes and it still wasn’t cooked in the top center. I finally took it out of the oven and just scooped out the raw part. It is delicious though! Any suggestions?
Hi Susan, Convection ovens are fantastic for cooking, roasting, and when using low sided pans like baking sheets. But I don’t recommend convection settings when baking cakes, breads, etc. The flow of air can cause baked goods to rise and bake unevenly (i.e. crispy outside and raw inside!) and it also pulls moisture out of the oven. If you must use convection settings for baking, lower your temperature by 25 degrees and keep in mind that small things will still take less time to bake while larger things may take longer.
Easy and quick to make. Delicious. I used 5 bananas (frozen and defrosted) instead of 4 because I wanted to use them up. I did not make any frosting; it was delicious as is.
THIS IS ONE SPECTACULAR RECIPE…. TOTALLY ADDICTIVE , and the kids keep asking me to make it again and again. However , adding one cup of Guittard Butterscotch Chips puts this recipe over the top ! Can’t touch this !
OH-YEAH!!! WONDERFUL! QUICK,EASY AND EXTREMELY TASTY! TWO THUMBS UP!
Best Banana Bread EVER!
Besttttttttt Banana Bread recipe I ever made
I made it today and it’s delicious..thanks for your recipe Sally.
I had never made banana bread before today, but I had some bananas that were practically inedible on their own so I decided to go with this recipe, and I’m glad I did! I needed to buy some bicarb soda and vanilla but everything else I had. Very easy method and I actually did it all by hand, rather than using an electric whisk. I was worried it wouldn’t cook well in the oven but it was fine after a good hour, very well risen and crispy top! I’ve made some icing to go with it too, fingers crossed they taste good together.
This banana bread was perfectly moist and browned nicely. I would definitely follow the tips to lower the rack level and tent with aluminum foil. I also froze this in slices and they thawed well.
I want to make this banana bread again (fantastic recipe by the way) and I want to bake it in a Bundt pan. Since I need to buy another Bundt pan, could you please tell me how many cups of batter this recipe makes? I feel the one I have, which is 6 cups, might be too large. Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe! A 9×5 inch loaf pan holds about 8 cups of batter. You can always use your smaller Bundt pan and then make a few extra muffins to enjoy! Bundt pan volume varies because of various designs but on average a 10×3 inch pan hold 10-12 cups of batter. You can read more about how to convert cake pan sizes here.
Thanks Sally. I always appreciate that you will take time from an obvious very busy schedule to address our questions, and, with very thoughtful and helpful information.
Made this Banana bread today! Absolutely amazing, super moist and loads of flavor!
I can not wait to try your other recipes!
I wanted to make a healthier version of this banana bread. I used 1 cup unbleached white flour and one cup of whole wheat flour instead of all white flour. I replaced the butter with 7 tablespoons of coconut oil. Used 3/4 cup Swerve brown sugar instead of regular brown sugar. I substituted 1/3 cup of almond milk for the yogurt plus 1 additional tablespoons to compensate for the lack of water in coconut oil vs butter and 2 additional tablespoons to compensate for the whole wheat flour substitution. I then added 3/4 cup of low-sugar, dark chocolate chips. The result was fantastic. My husband couldn’t tell the difference between the sugar/butter/dairy recipe and my “almost” vegan one. Next time I will replace each egg with 1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tablespoons of water and a pinch of baking powder!
Very moist and the dark brown sugar adds so much depth to the flavor. Delicious! My new go-to banana bread recipe!
I have a banana bread recipe that has been my favorite for 30+ years, but I didn’t have my recipe folder with me so I found this one. Wow! I did not anticipate liking it so much, or liking it more than my own old standby. I had to actually make my other recipe for comparison and this one won hands down. Keeper!
I was at my son’s house in Denver CO, while baby was sleeping. I looked around and found all the ingredients for this bread + fresh blueberries in the fridge. I followed this recipe exactly, and used a loaf pan. While it was cooking, it actually overflowed from the loaf pan (I had put a sheet pan on a rack below.) I had to bake it another 7-10 minutes to pass toothpick test. My son said I should use half the baking soda because of the high altitude. Nevertheless, it was so good.
So easy to put together and bake-I added walnuts and mini chocolate chips, baked for 15 minutes longer since my stove is not that powerful…moist and tasty!
How would I go about baking this if I used mini-pans? How many mini-pans, and temp and time in the oven, please?
Hi Eileen, you can use this banana bread batter to make smaller loaves in a mini loaf pan. Bake at 350F. The bake time depends on the dimensions of the loaves. Keep a close eye on them.
This is by far the best banana bread recipe I’ve tried. Just the right amount of moisture. Thanks so much for sharing it!!
I just made this bread but I decided to roast the bananas peel on in the oven on 350• for 15mins & I browned the butter and once both were cooled I used. I must say made this already wonderful recipe THEE BEST EVER
This Banana Bread is perfect! I used Sour Cream & also used 1 c. Whole Wheat & 1 c. All-Purpose Flour. I baked it in a Pampered Chef stoneware loaf pan. Mmmm! It was delicious warm, with a glass of cold milk!