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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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 BEST Banana Bread Recipe !!! Thanks again for your great recipes and your awesome website 🙂
You are so welcome Ksusha, I feel the same way 🙂
this is my first time baking..thanks to you, i made a perfect banana bread..i only added chocolate chips..it came out delicious as well.. my husband told me not bad for my first time..again,thanks! ^_^
You’re welcome. 🙂
Hi Natasha! I love your blog so much. I discovered it when I was trying to find a borscht recipe, and have since made several of your recipes which have all been a hit.
I have to tell you that I make my banana bread the EXACT SAME WAY. I seriously have this same recipe and I have been making it for many years. An old family friend of ours gave us this recipe which she found on an arm and hammer baking soda box back in the 1960s. I put chocolate chips in mine when I make it too, makes it taste like cookies!
Also, about bananas in the USSR. I had a babysitter growing up (who is like family to us) is from Estonia. When I would complain about bananas with spots or weren’t “perfect” she would tell me she had to wait in line for three hours to get three bananas! That always shut my mouth.
Anyway, I love your blog!
Past few times that I’ve baked the bread, my outside is ready, but the center is still very moist. I use the same glass loaf pan as you. By the time the middle is ready, the outside is pretty dark .. what am I doing wrong? 🙁
The outside does look quite a bit darker than the inside (its normal) and it forms a nice nice crisp crust (I love the ends most!) so just do the toothpick test and make sure your loaf is in the center of the oven.
Hiya,
Ive tried banana bread before due to different ovens sometimes results are a wee bit different from the original. When my bread seems to be going dangerously dark lol i cover it with foil and keep baking so its baked on the inside too.(cover with foil before its dark brown though)
Dying to try your recipe from all the ravishing reviews.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Enjoy and let me know how it turns out. Sometimes it looks darker in the oven than it really is. 🙂
First of all, I love your blog!!! Great recipe for banana bread (tested). But I can’t agree that bananas are rare in Russia; in USSR they were probably. All my life (27) I remember always buying them @ fruit stands pretty cheap. I don’t recall having a banana bread there though. But now with all Internet technology and open borders you can find all sorts of food in former soviet union countries.
Kat, I’m glad you liked banana bread :). I bet many things have changed, my parents just came back from the trip to Ukraine and from what I hear, stores are filled with everything just like in USA, just more expensive.
I am baking a second loaf of this banana bread as we speak. I have made many different banana bread recipes over the years and this one is hands down the BEST recipe out there. The bread turns out rich and moist and wonderful!!! I have tweaked it a bit (as all bakers do) by using virgin coconut oil instead of butter, and using 1/2 cup of white sugar & 1/2 cup brown sugar in place of just white… Finally I use milk chocolate chips instead of raisins or nuts. It is to die for!!!! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!!!! 🙂
Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂 thank you for sharing your alterations.
Delicious!!!!!!!!! I made this with ingredients I had in my pantry.
I used: Unbleached whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar, No baking soda only used baking powder (tripled the amount), No salt. and substituted the butter for margarine.
It is AMAZING!!!! Thanks for the recipe!!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!
Am not normally a banana bread fan but I had some ripe bananas and since my hubby does like banana bread I decided to try this recipe with a few alterations since he is a diabetic. I used the Splenda in place of sugar but used 3/4 cup of the white and 1/4 cup of the brown. I didn’t have walnuts but I toasted some granola and put that in and also didn’t have raisins, but did have cranraisins so I put that in place of the raisins. Have to say this was a hit with both of us. Thanks for the recipe.
I’ve used craisins before also and I loved the tartness they add. The variations you used sound nice!
🙂
I’ve made banana bread before several times, but this is BY FAR THE BEST of them all. The other recipes seemed to have ridiculously little actual banana in them too. Very refreshing to actually see a banana recipe with so much banana in it!
For some reason my banana bread turn out much browner than the one in the pictures above….I have no idea why, sine I use white flour and everything else as the recipe says….!?
Hmmm… I’m not sure why it would be browner?? Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I will let my hubby know! 🙂
I don’t have loaf pan 🙁 But this recipe is so tempting 🙁
Oh no!! We make this pretty regularly (we let our bananas brown on purpose!!) It’s totally worth it to get a loaf pan for this!
try the muffin pan if you don’t hv loaf pan 🙂
I made this today and it’s delicious! Moist and easy to make! I added some Semi sweet kisses for a little chocolate kick to it :)) Love your site, when I’m out of ideas, I can always find something to make from here 🙂
I’m making it again 🙂 everyone loved it so much (including me :)) that it was gone even before it could fully cool down 🙂 I’m not a fan of raisins but cranberries are an awesome substitute for me. Thank you!
I admit I love the cranberries more too!
My sister came over tonight and she had some of this banana bread. This is what she said:” This banana bread is way better than the one that my coworker offered me. When he offered it to me, he proudly said that it was made from scratch.” :-):-):-)
Maybe it was the first thing he’s ever baked and that’s commendable 😉 I’m glad you liked the recipe.
Natasha – I have tried two or three banana bread recipes before and they were OK. But I tried your recipe last night, and banana bread came out GREAT! Love it! The best one yet! Thanks.
Thank you Olga, my hubby will be happy to hear that. It’s his perfected recipe. 🙂
Lovely website, by the way!
Natasha, your recipe seems delicious! Could you tell me if you keep the same temperature for the whole hour? Thank you!
Yes keep the same temp
Hi can I use all purpose flour?
We use the bread flower, but my mom made it with all purpose and it worked out fine.
I just made this bread, was waiting for a week for bananas to become ripe and soft, and it was so worth it!! It’s absolutely amazing, with a glass of cold milk… yum!
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe – I love your site!
You’re very welcome. Thanks for letting me know 🙂 We made it a few days ago and used cranberries instead of raisins and that was also very good!
I made this banana bread, it was yummy!
Thank you
Your welcome and thanks for letting me know. Glad you liked it!