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.
Best banana bread recipe I’ve ever made. I’m vegan but substituted plant based butter and flax egg for the egg. I also no longer eat sugar, so I used a monk fruit/allulose blend with a teaspoon of stevia powder. Added one full teaspoon of vanilla extract and this bread came out so moist. Absolutely perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
hello! I want to try this recipe today, but I only have two medium to large overwrite bananas. Will that be enough?
Hello! If they’re 2 large bananas that should work. The texture may be slightly less moist than if you used three, but it will still come out delicious.
thank you so much! I think I’m going to wait and make sure there’s three… Your reviews are amazing and I can’t wait to try this with the proper recipe!
The best banana cake i made ever!!
I wanted to use brown sugar in place of granulated white is that ok
Hello that should be fine. You can use an equal amount of brown sugar as the white sugar called for in the recipe.
This is my go-to recipe for banana bread. Always perfect ratio ingredients and always comes out perfect. I sometimes tweak the recipe and usually omit the walnuts and raisins. This time I swapped vanilla extract for pandan extract, and rasins for dried cranberries. Made into 3 individual portions im excited to see the result. I always trust Natasha’s kitchen will be a stand up recipe.
Going to try this with bread flour and dried cranberries instead of raisins… very excited!
mmmm looks delicious, will make ti with the raisins n walnuts
I hope you love it, Maria!
I just made this bread today. Fabulous. Not to sweet, very moist. Perfect. I did tweek it slightly and added a 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, only because I love cinnamon with bananas. I did have to rent it with foil the last 10 minutes, as it was browning a little too much. But it turned out amazing and I certainly will make this again. Thanks, Natasha!
You’re very welcome, Beverly. I’m so happy you enjoyed it.
Amazing banana bread! Mine didn’t rise mich though. Should I add baking powder? I subbed sugar for maple syrup!
It came out perfect. The first time I’ve used butter. My mom’s recipe used oil. Think I like this one better!!!
So glad you enjoyed this version!
Very good recipe! Next time I will reduce the amount of sugar, it tasted way too sweet for me. Thank you!
Made it like you have it in your recipe best ever will make it again. Thinks so good.
So glad you loved it, Marvin!
I NEVER leave review and I just had to for this recipe! I have used a lot of banana bread recipes and this is by far the BEST! I will never use another one. I made a few loafs and also did some mini muffins for my 3 year old twins and they approved! Thank you
Hi Caitlin! That’s so wonderful to hear. Thank you so much for the review.
I love this recipe! I had some bananas going black and knew they were perfect for banana bread.
I’m so glad to hear that, MK!
If you salted butter instead of unsalted butter, will it change the taste?
Hi there! Be sure to omit the salt if you’re using salted butter to balance it out.
Hi Natasha,love your banana bread recipe, have made it many many times. My doctor suggested to stay away from white flour. So today I tried it with almond flour. I did the regular recipe, I did add 1 teaspoon of baking powder. It tasted really good, but it did not rise. Have you ever experimented with almond flour? I wonder what I did wrong?
Hi Ute! I have not, I’m sorry.
What kind of pan did you use? A metal pan is much preferred for cakes, which banana bread really is. You won’t get much rise if you use glass for instance.
I’m by no means a baker, but I don’t think the glass loaf pan was the problem. That’s what I always use, and rising is never an issue.
I made the banana bread recipe with mini chocolate chip morsels. Next time I plan to add the walnuts! It was very moist and very yummy!
I also made a batch into the muffins. Hoping those will be just as good…so I can share them with friends and family!! Thank you!
Thank you so much for the recipe! It worked amazingly! The instructions were perfectly clear! Delicious! (:
Wonderful taste, great moisture level, great recipe
Easy for novice to follow recipe: concise, clear explanations with photos.
Outstanding taste!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Sandra!
Hi Natasha! Can I make these into muffins? If so, what would I need to change with temperature and time?
Hi there! You can use my recipe for Banana Muffins