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 was a great recipe and the bread turned out exactly as it should have. How long will this bread last if I keep it wrapped up on the counter?
Hi Nickie, tha leftovers will be good for a few days.
Turned out fantastic!!! I stuck exactly to recipe with exception that I added a tsp of cinnamon, because my family loves cinnamon. I doubled recipe and added raisins to one of loaves and both have nuts. Again, just fantastic!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Melody!
Can this be made into muffins? And would it be a 12 muffin tin?
Hi Jamie! I have a Banana muffin recipe too.
Can’t wait to make this… but will this translate well if I make muffins instead?
Hi Jamie! I have a Banana muffins recipe too.
Good morning! I follow you and absolutely love your recipe for banana bread, I make it for my mom and she enjoyed every bite. Ty
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you.
Can I use banana extract instead of vanilla??
I haven’t tested that but I imagine that will work!
can I make this without the raisins? My husband does not like them , but I really want to try yours
Hi Jordan. Yes, you can leave them out without making any other adjustments. I hope you love the recipe.
The recipe was good however the adjustments from doubling the recipe didn’t fully update and I was left having to add the other halves of ingredients at the last minute. Although the butter measurement was correct, so weird.
Hi Laurel. The ingredients in the recipe card will update, however, the notes in parentheses next to them or the instructions section unfortunately does not change. Hopefully this is a feature that we can have in the future.
I love your recipes! Thanks for sharing them. They are excellent!
Glad to hear that you’re loving them. Thank you for the feedback.
Made this last night with walnuts and dark chocolate as the mix-ins. Mmmmmm. Delicious recipe. This one’s a keeper!
Yummy! Thank you for the wonderful review!
I tried out this recipe and followed the instructions to a T. The outside was solid but the inside was more like a pudding consistency. I don’t know where I went wrong. Tastes great though
Hi M! Are you using a convection/fan oven? If so, it bakes faster so you’ll have to adjust the time and temperature.
This recipe was tested in a conventional oven.
If it’s baking too fast on the outside and still raw in the middle then it’s likely the oven temperature.
I encourage the use of anIn oven thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) to ensure temperature accuracy. Also- if you are using a smaller but deeper loaf pan, it will take longer to bake. If you’re using a glass pan, try decreasing the temperature but 25 degrees and baking it for longer. I hope that helps.
Great recipe. I make it especially for my 4 yr old granddaughter and no one else. Am not much of a cook, but this makes me look like one (in the eyes of my daughter lol). Thank you for sharing it!
The only recipe I use for banana bread! I bake often I make this bread several times a month.
350 calories per serving … what is one serving?
The whole recipe has 10 servings/10 people. You can divide the whole recipe to 10 to get the per serving size.
I made this a couple weeks ago and it was so yummy! If I wanted to make this into muffins instead of a loaf, would I need to reduce the cooking time or anything? Thanks in advance!
Hi Dani! You can reference my Banana muffin recipehere.
The recipe looks delicious- however; I don’t want to manually calculate carbs for diabetics. The “nutritional” info is listed but lacks all context because it doesn’t specify what a serving size is.
Hi Katie. At the top of the recipe card, you will see how many servings this recipe makes. The nutrition facts listed are per slice/serving.
I love this recipe so much that I’ve made it 4 times in the past month since I found it. I always want bananas around and this is the perfect way to use them up at the end of the week. Decadent, moist, and uses things you’ve already probably got on hand. I’ve tried swapping sugar for maple syrup, used 1/2 white sugar 1/2 honey, and just used white sugar and it’s been great every time. I also swap the walnuts and raisins for anything I have on hand, like chocolate chips pumpkin spice. 10/10 making right now and will make again!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Cait!
I grow my own bananas and this past month I have had tons of bananas from my plants. I make banana bread every other day and with your recipe it comes out amazing. My son makes peanut butter sandwiches with the banana bread. Can I use brown sugar instead? Will the quantity change?
Hi Daly! That’s wonderful. Brown sugar will change the texture, it will be more dense and chewy.
Thanks! This turned out perfect! I used a glass baking dish so it took about 15 minutes longer. I also used one teaspoon of cinnamon and used pecans instead of walnuts.
hi Natasha. love your recipes. Was wondering how much is your recipe book? I’m from Canada. and I love your sense of humor too.
Hello Claudia! You can go to my blog post here to check the different online websites where you can purchase my cookbook. I hope you love it!
Can you skip the walnuts and raisins? My kids don’t love them.
Hi Kelly. Yes, you can leave those out without having to make any modifications to the recipe. We leave the nuts out as well due to a family allergy.