This is the best banana nut bread recipe you'll ever find. It's so fluffy and moist and light, you won't believe your taste buds. Don't believe me? Make my recipe and see what you think. Then go ahead, search the internet and see if you can find one that tastes better. Just make sure to bookmark this page first...because you'll be back.
Join 500+ cozy folks for weekly recipes, crafts & good vibes - from my home to yours.
When you sign up, I'll send you the Cozy Weekend Starter Pack - a free PDF with recipes, crafts, & cozy weekend vibes.
Jump to:
I admit it. Every time I go to the supermarket, I buy a bunch of bananas with all the best intentions to eat a healthy banana each morning. But the next morning, I don't feel like it, and the morning after that I'm not hungry. And so on and so on. Until five days later, when the bananas have turned brown (bordering on black) and don't look very appetizing.
Sometimes those overripe bananas will go into one of my smoothies. Sometimes they'll go straight into the compost bin (hey, they'll provide lots of nutrients for the garden this summer!). And sometimes, just sometimes, I'll treat myself to my best banana nut bread recipe.
Another admission: The first time I made this recipe, neither Erich or I could believe how fluffy and moist this bread is! It actually rivaled my chocolate zucchini bread! How could a banana nut bread actually taste light? But it does. It's the best banana nut bread. So let's get started...
If you love sweet cake-y breads as much as I do, make sure to check out our lemon blackberry bread and chocolate zucchini bread. Or, if traditional breads are more your thing, we've got you covered there too, with no knead Dutch oven bread, Irish soda bread, and even naan bread!
🧾 Ingredients
- All purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Salted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Eggs
- Overripe bananas
- Chopped walnuts (optional)
- Vegetable shortening (for greasing pan)
- Confectioners sugar (optional)
⭐ Ingredient notes
- Bananas: Using overripe bananas will result in the sweetest banana nut bread. That's because sweeter, softer, and easier to mash, which makes them perfect for baking. Look for a few brown spots or a slightly brownish skin, soft texture, and a sweet smell. If your bananas aren't quite ripe enough yet, I've got a solution for you...just check out my FAQ section below.
- Brown sugar: While many recipes for banana nut bread use ¼ cup of brown sugar (or even more), this recipe has only a touch of brown sugar (2 tablespoons), so the natural sweetness of the bananas stands out.
- Baking time: My banana nut bread was done after 60 minutes. Every oven is slightly different however, so I would recommend to start checking at 55 minutes, and every 5 minutes thereafter, to make sure you get the lightest, fluffiest, moistest bread ever.
See the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and their measurements.
🥣 Making the bread batter
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mash bananas in a small bowl using a fork until they're pretty smooth.
In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Just stir it all together with a spoon until everything is well mixed.
Next, using a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer, mix butter, sugars, and vanilla.
With mixer still turning, add eggs one at a time, then add bananas. Again, with mixer turning, add dry ingredients to wet, and mix just until everything is moist. Do not overmix the batter. We want to keep it light and fluffy.
⏲️ Baking
Pour batter into a greased or parchment-lined 9 x 5 loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. As soon as a toothpick is mostly clean, take it out of the oven immediately. If overbaked, it can quickly become dense and heavy. Flip the bread out of the loaf pan onto a cooling rack and let cool slightly before serving.
📖 Variations
- 🍬 Sweet sugar: Once the bread has finished baking, sprinkle the top with a little confectioners sugar.
- 🥜 Nuts: Not a fan of walnuts? Leave them out, or use chopped almonds, cashews, pecans, hazelnuts, pistachios, or whatever you like! If you're feeling really fancy, lightly toast the nuts before folding them into the batter. You can also sprinkle any of the chopped nuts on top of the batter after pouring it into the pan, for a pretty look to the top of the bread.
- 🍫 Chocolate: Have a sweet tooth? Swap out the nuts for chocolate chips.
- 🍂 Warm spices: If you love those warm winter spices, add just a sprinkle of cinnamon or nutmeg to your batter.
- 🍒 Fruit: Dried fruits also work wonderfully in this recipe. Toss in some dried cranberries, cherries, apricots, dates, blueberries, or raisins to your banana bread.
- 🌴 Tropical: Feeling like a beach day? Sprinkle in a few tablespoons of coconut flakes.
- 🌱 Seeds: To add a healthy twist to your banana nut bread, stir in some chia seeds, flax seeds, or even sunflower seeds.
🧺 Storage and freezing
Once bread has cooled, place it in an airtight container and it will stay good on the counter for about 4 days.
If storing in the fridge, wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and it will stay good for about a week. It may lose some of the crunchy crust that it had fresh out of the oven and the cool dry environment of the fridge may dry it out a bit , but the flavor will still be delicious. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil for storage in the freezer and it can last up to 3 months!
Once you're ready to thaw the banana nut bread, just leave it on the counter to warm up at room temperature for several hours.
🍽️ Serving
While you can certainly enjoy this banana nut bread at room temperature, for an extra special treat, warm it up! Just cut a slice of the banana bread and pop it in the microwave or toaster oven for a deliciously warm treat. While you're at it, slather a little butter on top......sooo yummy!
❓ FAQ
Absolutely! Still bake at 350°F, but decrease the baking time to about 20 minutes or so, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
There sure is! If your bananas aren't quite ripe or overripe yet, try these ideas to get them ready for your banana nut bread: Put the bananas in a paper bag and leave on the counter overnight. To make this process happen even faster, add an apple or avocado to the bag. The fruits will naturally give off ethylene gas, which is then trapped by the paper bag, which speeds up the ripening process. If you don't have a day to wait, try placing your bananas on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 200°F for 15 - 30 minutes, or until they reach your desired level of ripeness.
Most likely overmixing. Once you add the dry ingredients, mix just until everything comes together. Overworking the batter develops the gluten and makes the bread heavy. Also make sure you're not overbaking - pull it as soon as the toothpick comes out mostly clean.
Yes! Thaw them completely first and drain off any excess liquid before mashing. Frozen bananas actually get extra sweet and soft, which makes them great for baking.
Absolutely. Just leave them out. The recipe works perfectly either way. You can also swap them for chocolate chips if you want something a little more indulgent.
The riper the better. You want them spotted brown to almost black - that's when they're sweetest and easiest to mash. Yellow bananas won't give you the same flavor or moisture.
Love delicious treats like this? Check out a few more of our recipes now!
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
- Apple Cider Muffins with Cinnamon Streusel
- How to Make Croissants (and Pain au Chocolat!)
- Bacon-Apple-Pecan Stuffed French Toast
- Crispy, Buttery Hash Browns
- Single Serve Baked Oatmeal
- Tiramisu Overnight Oats
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Gougeres Gruyere
- Easy Zesty Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- Strawberry Shortcake Waffles with Nutella
Did you make this Banana Nut Bread recipe? Let us know in the comments below!
📝 Recipe
The Best Banana Nut Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt*
- ½ cup salted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 2 cups overripe bananas, smashed (about 4 bananas)
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- Vegetable shortening (for greasing pan)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mash bananas in a small bowl using a fork until they're pretty smooth.2 cups overripe bananas, smashed (about 4 bananas)
- In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Just stir it all together with a spoon until everything is well mixed.2 cups all purpose flour, sifted1 teaspoon baking soda¼ teaspoon salt*
- Next, using a stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer, mix butter, sugars, and vanilla.½ cup salted butter, softened⅔ cup granulated sugar2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- With mixer still turning, add eggs one at a time, then add bananas.2 large eggs2 cups overripe bananas, smashed (about 4 bananas)
- Again, with mixer turning, add dry ingredients to wet, and mix just until everything is moist. Do not overmix the batter. We want to keep it light and fluffy.
- If using, gently fold in the nuts.½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- Pour batter into a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean. As soon as a toothpick is mostly clean, take it out of the oven immediately. If overbaked, it can quickly become dense and heavy.
- Flip the bread out of the loaf pan onto a cooling rack and let cool slightly before serving.
Notes
- Salted vs unsalted butter: * If using unsalted butter, increase salt to ½ teaspoon.
- Brown sugar: While many recipes for banana nut bread use ¼ cup of brown sugar (or even more), this recipe has only a touch of brown sugar (2 tablespoons), so the natural sweetness of the bananas stands out.
- Do not overmix the batter: We want to keep it light and fluffy.
- Baking time: Regarding baking time, my banana nut bread was done after 60 minutes. Every oven is slightly different however, so I would recommend to start checking at 55 minutes, and every 5 minutes thereafter, to make sure you get the lightest, fluffiest, moistest bread ever.
- Muffins: To make muffins instead, still bake at 350°F, but decrease the baking time to about 20 minutes or so, or until a toothpick comes out mostly clean.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container and it will stay good on the counter for about 4 days. If storing in the fridge, wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and it will stay good for about a week. To freeze, wrap tightly in aluminum foil for storage in the freezer and it can last up to 3 months!
- Thawing: Once you're ready to thaw the banana nut bread, just leave it on the counter to warm up at room temperature for several hours.
- Additional options: Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar; use your favorite type of nuts; add chocolate chips; sprinkle a little cinnamon or nutmeg into the batter; stir in some dried fruits or coconut flakes; add some healthy seeds in the mix.
- Suggestion: If you enjoyed this, you're gonna love my chocolate zucchini bread!
Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Zim says
I love banana bread! I imagine that the walnuts add an extra zing to the bread.
maplewoodroad says
Thanks! Enjoy! 🙂
Lexi says
Looks delicious! Will have to try it next time I'm around an oven
maplewoodroad says
Enjoy! 🙂
Linda J says
I make banana bread for my family, but I have not been a fan of it until now. This recipe is exactly what it says; it is a light bread with a mild flavor. It's a great dessert or for breakfast.
maplewoodroad says
Thanks so much Linda! 🙂