Easy Banana Bread Recipe - Savory Nothings

This easy Banana Bread recipe is quick to make and comes out moist and flavorful. This classic quick bread uses 2 full cups of mashed bananas – a great way to use up overripe fruit!

frontal view of sliced banana bread on white parchment paper

Banana Bread recipe

This is a wonderful way to use up those overripe bananas hanging around in your fruit bowl, without letting them go to waste. My recipe uses 2 cups mashed banana (which is around 4 medium-large bananas or 6 medium-small bananas), so it has a lot of flavor and makes good use of a larger amount of overly ripe fruit.
The bread can easily be frozen for easy meal prep, or to make for busy seasons such as when a new baby is born. It’s also a great gift for family and friends in need!
You can vary the amount of sugar you add, depending on how sweet you like your banana bread. Plenty of bananas in the batter make it naturally sweet, so you can easily go with less added sugar if you want a lighter bread for breakfast.

Ingredients you’ll need

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!

ingredients for banana bread with text labels — Ingredients for Banana Bread: Flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, melted butter, eggs, ripe bananas, vanilla extract, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Ingredient notes

Butter: Feel free to use a neutral vegetable oil in place of the oil, if you want to make the banana bread more budget-friendly or dairy free.
Cornstarch: The cornstarch can help to make a fluffier bread, but if you don’t have any on hand just replace it with the same amount of flour.
Sugar: You can make the banana bread with all granulated sugar if you don’t have any light brown sugar on hand. You can also reduce the sugar for a less sweet banana bread – ½ cup is plenty for us when I make the bread for breakfast, but as a snack cake we do like the full cup.
Bananas: Make sure to use ripe bananas with brown spots. I used some bananas with brown spots and some with fully brown skin when I took the photos. It came out perfectly!

How to make Banana Bread

Before you begin, set the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a loaf pan. For the pan size, I recommend either 4×8 inches or 5×9 inches. I used a 4×8 inch pan for the bread in the photos. It takes longer to bake, but comes out taller and thus a little moister.

1. First, combine the dry ingredients really well. I highly recommend using a whisk to evenly distribute all of the ingredients.

Make sure to break up lumpy baking soda and baking powder before adding them to the bowl! Otherwise you could end up with unappetizing, bitter lumps in your bread, and the bread could rise unevenly.

dry ingredients for banana bread in glass bowl with whisk — combine dry ingredients well

2. Next, mash the bananas – I always use a potato masher! It’s so quick and easy. Then, add all of the wet ingredients to the bananas and whisk until fully combined.

mashed bananas in glass emanating jug with potato masher — mash bananas

glass measuring jug with wet ingredients for banana bread — mash bananas

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients – this is where it comes in handy to use a measuring jug for the wet ingredients: Super easy pouring!

Combine into a lumpy batter using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. Do not overmix! You’ll only want to just moisten the wet ingredients. Do make sure to scrape all the way down to the bottom of the bowl to catch all of the flour.

wet ingredients for banana bread pouring from glass measuring jug into glass mixing bowl — add wet to dry ingredients

banana bread batter in glass bowl — add wet to dry ingredients

4. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes (for a 5×9 inch pan) or 55-65 minutes (for a 4×8 inch pan).

The exact time will depend on your exact oven and your exact pan. If the bread gets a little dark on top after 45 minutes of baking and isn’t done yet, loosely cover it with aluminium foil until it is baked through.

banana bread batter in white ceramic loaf pan sitting on marble surface — spread batter in pan

baked banana bread in white ceramic loaf pan sitting on marble surface — spread batter in pan

I know it’s hard to wait when you have freshly baked banana bread in the house, but I thoroughly recommend patience. You’ll want to cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it and cool it on a cooling rack for another 10-30 minutes before slicing.

Recipe tips

Make sure your baking powder and baking soda are not expired, this could cause them to work poorly. This would yield a dense bread that doesn’t rise properly.
Do not overmix the batter. Only combine until the dry ingredients are just moistened, and always use a rubber spatula or a wooden spoon. Although I use a whisk to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, never use a whisk to combine them into a batter. Your goal is a lumpy batter, not a smooth one! Overmixing will result in a dense and “gummy” banana bread.
Do measure your flour correctly. You want to spoon the flour into the measuring cup so the top is slightly rounded/higher than the measuring cup. Level it off with the back of a knife. You could end up with up to ½ cup too much flour if you scoop the flour directly with the measuring cup, which would result in a brick-like texture for the bread.

Recipe FAQs

Why does the middle of my banana bread not cook?

If you follow the recipe and measure your flour correctly, yet your banana bread still doesn’t rise; you may have over-stirred the batter. Quick bread batter that gets overmixed develops the gluten structure too much, which can “glue” it together and inhibit the rising power of the eggs and baking powder/soda.

This then results in the middle not cooking well.

Is it better to bake banana bread in a glass or metal pan?

Banana bread generally bakes quicker in a metal pan compared to glass pans or ceramic pans.

I bake my bread in a 4×8 inch ceramic pan, and it takes excatly 65 minutes to bake it. I tent it with foil after the 50 minute mark to keep it from getting too brown on top. I used to have a 4×8 inch metal pan and the banana bread would cook in around 55 minutes, which is considerably quicker.

The metal pan also conducts heat faster, so it can potentially lead to a crustier, more browned crust. I don’t have a preference either way, so either pan is fine for this recipe. Just take note of the different baking times you may experience.

How do you keep the edges of a banana bread from burning?

If you have issues with the edges of your banana bread burning, try if using a light-colored metal fixed the problem. Dark metal pans can conduct heat faster, which could lead to burnt edges.

A ceramic or glass pan requires a longer baking time, which could also cause burnt edges if your oven needs a little longer to bake the bread. Tent the bread with foil after baking for 45-50 minutes, if it isn’t done yet at that point – this can also help reduce or eliminate the burns sides.

Can I fix undercooked banana bread?

If your banana bread is not cooked in the middle after taking it out of the oven, try returning it to a 350°F oven for 10-15 minutes to try and cook the inside.

frontal view of sliced banana bread on parchment paper sitting on wooden board

Storage tips

Store the banana bread wrapped in a clean tea towel on the counter for up to a day.

For longer storage, try placing it in an airtight container or zip-top bag and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

You can also freeze banana bread. Allow it to cool completely, then freeze it whole or in slices. I always do slices and separate them with wax paper, that way I can only remove as many slices as we need at any given time. Wrap the bread or the slices in plastic wrap, then place in a labelled freezer zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months.

To defrost, unwrap and place on a cooling rack on the counter for several hours, until fully thawed.

stack of sliced banana bread on wooden board

PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.