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sliced banana bread on teal plate
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4.11 from 102 votes

Best Banana Bread Recipe

The best banana bread recipe: it's my mom's recipe and is great for using overripe bananas. It's easy and so delicious.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 10 servings
Calories: 328kcal
Author: Dorothy Kern
Cost: $8

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar plus more for the pan
  • ½ cup (113g) salted butter softened (plus more for the pan)
  • 2 medium tired bananas brown spotted
  • 2 large eggs
  • 7 tablespoons (103ml) sour milk see note
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 cups (248g) all-purpose flour spooned and leveled

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x5x3” loaf pan with butter and coat it with sugar. (You do this like you would grease and flour a pan. Grease it first, then add about 2 tablespoons sugar to the pan and move the pan side to side until the bottom and sides are coated with sugar. Do NOT substitute cooking spray for the butter. You can skip the sugaring and just use cooking spray, if you wish.)
  • Cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer. Set aside.
  • Add bananas, eggs, milk, and baking soda to a blender jar and blend until smooth.
  • Pour half the banana mixture into the butter mixture with 1 cup of flour. Mix with hand mixer until just incorporated, then add the remaining banana mixture and flour. Mix until just incorporated. Stir in nuts if using them. Pour into prepared pan.
  • Bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs. The edges will be a dark brown and there will be a nice crack down the center.
  • Cool completely before removing loaf from pan, but you can cut slices from the pan after it’s cooled for about 15-20 minutes.

Notes

In place of the sour milk you can use:
  • 1/2 teaspoon vinegar + 7 tablespoons milk or nonfat milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vinegar + 7 tablespoons nondairy milk
  • 7 tablespoons buttermilk
Substitutions:
  • Unsalted butter: add 1/4 teaspoon salt to the recipe
  • Gluten-Free 1:1 AP Flour - use equal parts
  • Whole Wheat Flour: use 1 cup each whole wheat and AP flour
  • Oil: substitute 1/2 cup vegetable oil for the butter
  • Pan: Use an 8x4-inch loaf pan and make just 1-2 muffins along side
Don't want to use a blender? Mash your bananas with a fork. Cream butter and sugar as directed, then add mashed bananas, eggs, milk, vinegar (if using), baking soda, and salt (if using) and mix with your mixer, then add flour.
Add-ins: add up to 1 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 58mg | Sodium: 209mg | Potassium: 163mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 363IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 30mg | Iron: 2mg