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.
Can I use Egglands Best eggs instead of regular large eggs for this recipe
Hi Cindy! Yes- any brand of eggs will work.
Can I make this without the raisins or will that alter the recipe too much?
Hi Lea, you sure can! We do recommend making it as written the first time around to get an idea before altering, but it will work without raisins. You may also want to look through the comments section to see what my readers have tried. I hope this helps.
Hi! I am not a fan of butter I want to know is there any substitute for butter? And by the way this is the first video I have seen from Yt from your channel and really liked the way of cooking style and easy recipe.
Kindly let me know the substitute for butter it really helps me:)
Hi Manasa! I have not tested an alternative for butter but several of my viewers have reported making this with oil in place of butter and had good results. You can use the same amount of oil. Any neutral tasting oil like canola, vegetable, avocado oil, etc will work.
I only have two large bananas would that mess up the bread??
Hi Alexis. Some of my readers reported using two bananas with good result. The bananas add flavor and moisture so it could affect this if you use less.
To use 2 bananas in this recipe, you can also cut the recipe down. You can change the number of servings in the recipe card to 7 instead of 10 and it will convert the ingredient list for you. The bread won’t be as thick since you’ll have less batter and it will bake faster in the oven so keep an eye on it.
My bread came out very dry. I put it in the oven for the minimum amount of time, 55 minutes.
HI Caren, did you make sure you are using regular bake mode and not convection? Also, not all ovens are created equal – I recommend using an in oven thermometer to ensure your oven is heating properly. Lastly, make sure to use the full amount of banana and butter to ensure you don’t end up with a dry banana bread. I hope that helps for next time. I’ve probably made this a hundred times and haven’t had a dry loaf but those could be the culprits.
Made this today awesome, made 3 loafs one plane , one blueberry added, one with walnuts all came out awesome 👌 thanks for sharing this recipe
Made this today awesome, made 3 loads one plane , one blueberry added, one with walnuts all came out awesome 👌 thanks for sharing this recipe
This is amazing. I’ve just finished making this and it turned out perfect! Thank you!
My go to recipe. it’s superb & doubles well. I had great results when I added an 8oz block of cream cheese to a doubled recipe, it was so good that it’s usually how I make it now.
Just finished baking this, smells good – with chocolate chips – my son’s favorite!
This is an absolute favorite in our house, and with all our friends. The neighborhood kids come over begging for some!! I found splitting the batter in half in a smaller pan for 30 minutes, it comes out SUPER moist. Oh… yeah… and some chocolate chips!
My kids love this. I am no baker so thank you for helping me earn some brownie (or should I say banana) points
Awe, that’s the best to hear that the kids love this, too! Thank you for sharing that with me, Harp!
Tried this recipe today. Cooking in the oven as I post this. Smells great, hoping it tastes as good as it smells.
Thank you! For the excellent recipe! My house smells delicious! Can wait till tomorrow morning with my cup of coffee!
You’re so welcome and enjoy!
SO delicious! We used to make Betty Crocker banana bread growing up, but I went gluten free in 2015. This worked perfectly with my gluten free flour, and made my whole day. Or, multiple days since I’ve made it 4 or 5 times this month 😅. Thank you!!
Thank you for sharing, Angel! I’m so glad you loved this recipe!
Hi, Making the banana bread right now, if I used 1/4 cups of honey, do I need to add sugar?
Hi Sona! Yes- for the right balance of sweetness you should still add the sugar. But using less sugar would be fine too if your bananas were very recipe because they will be more sweet.
Thank You so much for the 1st Banana Bread recipe that worked out for me. After years of failures, I didn’t hold much hope but this recipe turned out perfect. My 94 year old mother in-law can’t cook anymore so it’s on me to make mums, hubby’s and his brother their fave banana bread. Mum’s will be pleased.
Thank you again!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me! I’m so glad you gave my recipe a try!
Hi Natasha,
Can the banana bread be stored at room temperature and for how many days or does it need to be refrigerated?
I made it yesterday and my husband and I wanted to eat the whole loaf! My husband said iit was delicious and I should have made two loafs.
Hi Jan! I’m so glad you both loved it. Freshly baked banana bread will keep well for about one week in the fridge when properly stored. Out on the counter, it’s good for a day or two. I hope this helps!
Thank you so much for this recipe! It’s great! We it the nuts and raisins at our house.
I’ve never heard of putting raisins in banana bread before, what culture does that come from?
I’m not sure but it’s delicious! You can use nuts or raisins depends on your preference.
I only had 2 frozen bananas so I mixed them with an 8oz can of pumpkin. I used maple extract and 1 tsp. Cinnamon and 1/4 top nutmeg. 1 C of walnuts. It’s baking now so we will see!
That’s very similar to what I just did! Cinnamon, nutmeg, maple. Also waiting for it to bake now! 🤞