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.
I followed recipe until I got to walnuts, they had gone rancid so could not use them, and did not have raisins. I did have mini chocolate chip morsels and added 1 cup of that instead. This recipe still came out awesome. I was petsitting somewhere and thought all ingredients was there. But happy it came out great. Thank you for sharing, I will be making this again but with all the ingredients you listed.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Sebra! I’m so glad that came out great!
Great recipe! I added some matcha and cocoa powder in mine
This is the most moist banana cake I have ever made! I love all the cakes recipe that you have shared. Thank you Natasha!
I’m so happy you’re enjoying them.
Why oh why have I never thought to put raisins in banana bread! Best banana bread I’ve ever made!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Cris!
I made the recipes with 3 Bananas but without the raisins and walnuts and it was delicious. So soft and so yummy.
Next time I make 2 in a row because my family ate it in 5min.
Amazing! Thank you! 😊 I added alittle sugar on top before baking and I didn’t have walnuts so I used pecans.
Loved this recipe when I first tried it. I wanted to make it without eggs because my daughter is allergic to eggs, any recommendations on what to use instead of eggs?
Thank you!
Hi Riz! I haven’t tested a substitute. Here is what one of my viewers said, “I didnt have eggs in the fridge, so I substituted using flax “eggs” (2 Tbsp flax meal + 5 Tbsp water. Mix and let rest for 5 mins. Equals 2 eggs). This banana bread recipe was able to accommodate this change wonderfully.”
I hope that helps.
I’ve used applesauce in lieu of eggs in past and it turned out delish!
Thank you very much for this recipe.
My wife and son love this as much as I do!
As I am the one that puts it together and bakes it, I have the privilege of having the end pieces for myself.😄
A perfect loaf every time.
Thank you.🥰🥰
I’m so happy it’s being enjoyed! You’re welcome!
Love this recipe! Toasting the walnuts and the addition of the raisins is genius! Very moist and flavorful ☺️. My new “go to” recipe!!
That’s an Easy récipe but it’s delicious, moist and delicate yo the taste
I’ve tried every recipe I could find and this is the best one by a million! Everyone can’t get enough of my banana bread!
This recipe turned out better than I could’ve imagined!
I had 6 overripe bananas in the freezer so I doubled the recipe and it still came out fantastic.
I divided the batter and put chocolate chips and walnuts into one pan and cranberries and pecans into the other pan and both are absolutely phenomenal! Will be using this recipe for ages to come! 🙂
This banana bread is the most moist delicious banana bread I’ve made by far! I accidentally grabbed lemon extract instead of vanilla lol and it was still AMAZING! Going to keep this recipe for sure!
So happy to hear that, Stacy!
Very easy to make , absolutely delicious.
I used only 1/2 cup sugar.
Thank you Natasha, all your recipes I have tried always were great!
You’re so welcome, Sorina. I’m so glad this was a hit.
This turned out amazing. I replaced the raisins with chopped dates and reduced the butter to 4 tbs and added some applesauce instead. Thank you Natasha.
Moist and delicious!!! I love the texture with added raisins.
Tasty recipe. Please update the instructions to match the ingredients when a change to the servings is made. I made a half batch but instructions call out the full recipe.
Hi Ken! Unfortunately the instruction notes do not change, it’s a feature that’s not available but hopefully something we can have in the future.
Great recipe! I added one chopped apple to it, and it was delicious. I was going to share some with my parents but we ate it all before I could get it to them. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome, Jenn! Glad to hear it was enjoyed.
Excellent banana bread but what I used instead was coconut butter unfiltered with pecans. It was out of the world. The best by far…
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Marguerite!
Best banana bread recipe I’ve ever used, and I’ve used a lot!!
So glad to hear that, Jori!
This was too bland for me. I prefer more banana flavor and though I usually think things are too sweet, this is not sweet enough for my preference.
Hi Ronnie. It can be bland because of several reasons. First, I recommend using overripe bananas, they will be sweeter as they have more brown spots. Make sure that you followed the sugar measurement as written in the recipe. Try to adjust the sugar next time too if you want it to be sweeter.
I agree that the bananas used it the video were not near ripe enough. That’s where true sweet banana flavor comes from. I was yelling at the video screen about the bananas and then saw the comment above. I used brown bananas and cut back a little on the sugar and it was so so good. This is a great recipe