An easy and moist Banana Bread Recipe that is loaded with bananas, tangy-sweet raisins, and toasted walnuts. This is one of our favorite overripe banana recipes with hundreds of 5-star reviews.
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Banana Nut Bread Recipe:
This is my husband’s recipe which he has perfected over the years and he is known for his Banana Bread. He makes it frequently and it always disappears fast! It is simple to make and our favorite way to use up overripe bananas so they never go to waste. It’s super moist and makes a great breakfast on-the-go. We even created Banana Muffins from this recipe.
This loaf stays moist for days and also makes for a thoughtful and delicious gift idea for the holidays (I’ll take banana bread over fruit cake any day).
Banana Bread Video Tutorial:
Watch Natasha make this moist banana bread. You will be surprised at how easy it is. We will never stop loving this recipe. Now go forth and bake!
Ingredients for Banana Bread:
This is everything you need to make the best banana bread: flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, softened butter, eggs and of course very ripe bananas. Adding walnuts and raisins is optional but adds great taste and texture, turning it into a banana nut bread.
Can I Omit Walnuts and Raisins?
YES! The recipe will still work if raisins and walnuts are omitted. We make it nut-free all the time due to a walnut allergy in the family. You will still have the softest, super moist and scrumptious loaf. You can also replace them with some chocolate to make Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.
How to Ripen Bananas:
- Quick Oven Method: If your bananas are a little green and you want them to ripen quicker, place them on a baking sheet and bake at 250˚F for 15 to 20 minutes depending on the initial ripeness of the bananas.
- 24 Hour Counter Method: If you are willing to wait 1 day, you can place the bunch of bananas (without separating them) in a paper bag, cover and leave at room temperature. Bananas emit ethylene which causes ripening. Adding an apple to the bag will speed up the process.
Can I Freeze Overripe Bananas?
If you have overripe bananas and aren’t ready to bake with them, DO NOT throw them away!
How to Freeze Bananas: place them un-peeled in a freezer-safe bag, remove any excess air and freeze up to 3 months. You can use thawed bananas for banana bread. You can also freeze them peeled and cut into pieces for easier use in smoothies. P.S. You can also freeze a whole banana bread with the same method!
How to Make Banana Bread:
This is the easiest banana bread recipe. We mix it in a stand mixer because it’s easy, but you can use an electric hand mixer and can even make it work with a hand whisk. There is no fancy equipment required. Watch the video tutorial below and you will be a pro in no time!
- In the mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar.
- Mix in mashed bananas and eggs.
- Whisk together dry ingredients: flour, salt, and baking soda and add to batter.
- Stir in vanilla, walnuts, and raisins, transfer to prepared loaf pan and bake.
Substitutions for a Healthy Banana Bread:
- My sister Anna made this into a honey banana bread; replacing sugar with honey.
- Use organic whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour.
- Replace 1 Tbsp of flour with 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed.
- Reduce sugar to 1/2 cup when using very ripe bananas; they add plenty of sweetness
Love Sweet Breads? Try these Popular Bread Recipes:
We love sweetbreads because they are easy to make and are such a treat, especially when you top them with Honey Butter! Don’t miss these reader favorites:
- Apple Bread – a pull-apart moist apple bread
- Pumpkin Bread – so easy and we love it year-round
- Banana Chocolate Chip Bread always disappears fast
- Persimmon Bread – great way to use ripe persimmon
Moist Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananas, (medium/large)
- ½ cup unsalted butter, (8 Tbsp) at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup walnuts
- ½ cup raisins
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a bread loaf pan (9.25 long x 5.25 wide x 2.75 deep). Lightly roast walnuts on a skillet, continuously stirring so they won’t burn. Coarsely chop and cool to room temperature.
- In a mixing bowl, cream together 8 Tbsp softened butter and 3/4 cup sugar (or honey if using honey).
- Mash bananas with a fork until the consistency of chunky applesauce and add them to the batter along with 2 eggs, mixing until blended.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together: 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tsp of baking soda and 1/2 tsp of salt then add to batter.
- Add 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and mix in chopped walnuts and raisins. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake at 350˚F for 55-60 min or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let banana bread rest for 10 min before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
This banana bread recipe was first published in 2009; one of the very first recipes on our blog! It has been a reader and family favorite ever since.
This is the base recipe I use every time I make banana bread. I like to experiment with adding other ingredients such as yogurt or cream cheese (and plenty of other good stuff), either way this recipe comes out so good.
Made this today and it’s pretty good. I like mine a bit more sweet so might to honey next time or add more sugar maybe ? Thanks for the recipe! Will be making again.
Hi , loved ur bread!!! Have a query. How to substitute the eggs in the batter? Thanku
Hi Reshma! I have not tested an egg alternative, but some of my readers have commented stating they’ve used chia or flax eggs, and even applesauce.
Mine looks Yummy yummy I wish I could show the picture. Thanks for the recipe. I added a little sweet potato. We’ll see how it goes once it cools I only wish I could go back and add cinnamon and brown sugar too.
No worries, you can always try adding them next time. Enjoy!
This was the best banana bread I ever made. I substituted sugar for honey and no one would ever know the difference.
Thank you for your awesome feedback! I’m happy that you loved it!
I love this recipe!!!! I’ve used this several times and my bread always turns out sooooo delicious! Thank you!
I’m happy that you love these sliders!
Tried this recipe because I wanted to try a different one for the 1st time my banana bread is completely raw in the middle lowered the temp and covered the bread hoping to salvage it but it’s at a lower temperature for already 10 plus minutes and not looking to well
Hi Jasmine, I’m sorry to hear that you’re having trouble with the recipe. Are you using a conventional oven? If you’re using a convection/fan oven you will need to keep the temperature lower since it will bake faster on the outside and be raw in the middle. Are you using the correct size pan? If you’re using a smaller pan, the batter layer will be thicker and it will not bake through the same. What type of pan are you using? A glass pan or darker metal also would require temperature adjusting- lowering by like 25°. I also highly encouraged to use of an internal oven thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) to verify your oven’s temperature since every oven bakes differently. Be sure to fully preheat your oven beforehand.
May change nuts to flax seeds. May use sesame seeds
May i used oil instead of butter
Our readers shared in the comments that they used oil instead of butter and it was a success.
Made this with choc chips and pecan on the top, came out moist n perfect.
Thank you
I made this without the raisins and added raw pecans broken by hand on top only instead of roasted walnuts throughout, as my grandson is too young for nuts. The family loved it! My grandson ate an entire piece still warm from the oven (pecans removed). It is simple to make, moist but not too buttery, and delicious. Also I didn’t mash the bananas entirely, so the are small chunks of delicious banana that burst with flavor with every bite. Yum!
Thank you for sharing that with us! I’m happy that your family enjoyed the Banana Bread!
Putting this one in my recipe book so I can keep it as my new go-to banana bread recipe!! SO good, thanks for sharing!
I’m so happy to know you loved it and found a new favorite!
Only 1 1/2 C of flour cannot be right. This overflowed my pan and wrecked my oven. The recipe can’t be correct.
Hi Silvia! That’s correct, I have personally made this recipe so many times. It’s one of our most popular recipes, and it has been proven to work! Did you make any modifications or changes? How are you measuring your flour? I have a tutorial on How to Measure Ingredients (Wet and Dry) VIDEO here. My first thought is that your pan may have been too small. What size pan are you using? My pan is 9.25 long x 5.25 wide x 2.75 deep).
would you ever add oatmeal to this? And if so how much? Thank u so much!
It’s hard to guess without testing the modifications myself, but several of my readers have commented they have added oatmeal successfully.
I’ve made this scrumptious banana bread twice, adding both raisins and chocolate chips. The second time, however, I made a mistake and did not allow my frozen bananas to fully thaw to room temperature. They were thawed, but still very cold and they turned my fluffy, whipped butter and sugar into a hard coating all over the inside of my metal mixing bowl. I had to warm the outside of the bowl with a blow dryer before I could continue adding other ingredients. It was my fault, but easily fixed. This is now my favorite banana bread recipe. Thank you!
I’m so glad you found a way to warm the bowl, Ramelle! Thank you for sharing your experience and review with me.
Really good Banana bread I added chocolate chips and I always sugar the pan yum!