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.
Just made the banana bread and we loved it! I tried several recipes before but found this one to be perfectly moist and taste.
It really is the best isn’t it? I’m so glad you loved it, Violeta!
I made this, drizzled honey on top , so moist and delicious! I will definitely make this again.
Love this recipe! Thank you for sharing! I love sweet things so I use a cup of sugar. I also use 4 medium bananas for more of a banana flavor. This bread is so moist and I get compliments on it every time!
Thank you, Natasha! I use a lot of your recipes in the home. I am still wanting to purchase your cookbook! It’s an ongoing joke in our home “is this one of Natasha’s recipes?” We love your page!
I have made this recipe in different variations and it is always so good! Definitely a favorite that I will continue to make.
Really like this recipe, the bread is so moist.
Can I use self-rising flour instead of AP flour?
Hi D, I haven’t tested self rising flour but likely you’ll need to add baking soda.
I’ve made this recipe so many times, always comes out lovely. I mostly use a little less sugar and substitute the butter for oil- and often use some oatmeal for a part of the flour. And my add-ins depend on what I’ve got lying around, but it’s always so good!
Hi Anne! That’s for sharing your experiment with the recipe.
This recipe is easy and comes out delicious!
I’m glad you enjoy it, Irene!
Really moist and delicious! Not overly sweet. I added 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and it was amazing! Will try next time with some chocolate chips! 🙂
I also squeezed in 1 mandarin orange for a bit of flavor adding.. I added pecans,sweetened dried cranberries,and dried golden raisins. The batter is wet enough to handle it and it was perfect! Bookmarked for future bakes! Thanks!
I love this recipe make it every other week for my kids – one question. When I make it the crust is always so thick and the inside takes so long to cook. The taste is great but wondering if you have any suggestions on how to remedy this 🙂
I’m so glad you loved this recipe! Did you use the correct size loaf pan? If it was smaller the there would be too much batter and it won’t bake properly without adjusting the time/temp. I would also encourage the use of an Internal oven thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) to verify your oven is heating correctly. If it runs too hot, the outside will burn while the center remains raw. The type of pan used can also affect how it bakes, different materials distribute heat differently. I hope that helps for next time.
Also- this recipe is written for a conventional oven, on regular bake mode. If you’re using a convection oven, it would require adjusting time/temp.
Check placement of your pan as well. Keep your pan closer to the top of the oven so the bottom bakes a sooner than the top and keep it in the middle of the rack of possible. Hope it helps..
Thank-you for a recipe with NO baking powder being used. I made as recipe said with two substitutions: half of butter was coconut oil due to me not having enough butter and one of the eggs was a “flax egg”. I did no add ins. The end result was perfectly delicious banana bread. 5 ⭐️
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Brenda!
Natasha, how many loaves does this make when I set it for 20 people? Is that 4 loaves?
Hi Ed, this recipe makes one loaf that serves 10. So if you set it to 20, that would be 2 loaves. I hope that helps. We used a 9.25 long x 5.25 wide x 2.75 deep pan. I recommend clicking “Jump to recipe” at the top of the post, it will take you to our printable recipe where you’ll have the option to change the number of servings. Hover over the number of servings highlighted in red and slide it to how many servings you would like to make. I hope that helps!
Thank you. It’ll go in the oven in a few minutes. Updates later.
Thanks I making for two seniors in my community. Have a wonderful day. ♥️
That’s just awesome! I bet they’re going to love that.
Would you change anything to make it into muffins.
Hi Patricia, it will work with as a muffin, here is my Banana Muffin Recipe for reference.
Hi, Natasha, I can’t wait to try this out. My mouth is salivating just reading the recipe! Just wondering, can I substitute dates for the raisins?
Hi, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work well to substitute with chopped dates. It would make the bread sweeter with dates however so keep that in mind in case you wanted to adjust the sugar.
I have made this more than a dozen times. It is my family favorite recipe for banana bread. Thank you so much for sharing this
Made this last night. Wow what an amazing recipe!!! Thank you
Thank you Natasha.I will definitely try this.Have about 8 ripe bananas that I’ve dumped in the freezer
Thank you so much for sharing
If I omit the raisins should I add mire of the pecan nuts or just use tge recipe as is?
Regards
Priscilla
Hi there! You can add more pecans or use the recipe as is without raisins. Hope you enjoy it!
Mine came out with a pretty strong baking soda flavor. Maybe it’s just me though, I’m a new baker.
Getting ready to make this, and wondered if I could sub whole wheat flour for the ap flour?
Hi Patricia! Whole wheat flour can work, but will result in a denser bread.