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 bread was pretty good but it was a little dry. To be fair, I had 4 overly ripe bananas so I needed to use the 4th banana and added 1/4 cup more flour and 1/3 cup sugar. So that may have made it dry. However, second time making it I followed your recipe, added the 4th banana and one small package of vanilla instant pudding (have also used banana cream) This knocked it out of the park on being moist and flavorful. Just do the toothpick
test for doneness.
Very moist and soft
Turned out quite dry, I think a cook time of 55 minutes is way too long.
Hi Hannah! It’s a more dense and moist batter than other breads/cakes so it takes longer to bake. Be sure to measure your flour correctly. Using too much flour can cause this. Watch my tutorial How to Measure Ingredients (Wet and Dry) VIDEOto help. Also, each oven bakes differently and the type of pan you can also affect how the heat is distributed. I highly encourage the use of an in oven thermometer(Amazon affiliate link) to ensure your oven’s temperature is accurate.
This is the first recipe that I tried and it was awesome. This forced me to follow you😃
What will be the measurements if I want to make it more than 1 loaf?
It’s a blockbuster in the family and I always end up with the crumbs 😁
Thank you in advance,❤️
You can double the recipe or use my Banana Bundt Cake Recipe
Is it imperitive that the walnuts be “toasted”?
Hi Mark! They do not need to be toasted, although toasting them helps bring out the flavor.
Love it! It was a big hit with my family!
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Terri!
I’ve used several of your recipes and they’ve been great. I decided to try this and follow the recipe exactly. Unfortunately it was dry and family wouldn’t take a second slice. I ended up throwing it away.
Hi Marlene, I’m sorry to hear that. It turned out dry. I have a few suggestions to help with troubleshooting. First, make sure the bananas are very ripe with lots of brown spots on the skins because they add moisture and sweetness to the banana bread. Also, make sure to measure the flour correctly. If you push the measuring cup into the flower bin, you can get up to 25% too much flour which can make your banana bread dense and dry. Leslie, ovens can vary and make sure that you bake until a toothpick comes out completely clean. It sounds like most likely the banana bread was over baked. Also, this recipe is written for a conventional oven and not convection which cooks faster so that needs adjustment.
Would it be possible to double or triple the banana bread recipe for a bundt pan to serve as a cake?
Hi Deb, I have a Banana Bundt Cake Recipe here you can reference. I hope you love it.
I’m going to try this recipe. Question- why white sugar over light brown sugar?
Hi Roseann, we believe we found the perfect balance with white sugar, but you are welcome to use brown sugar also. You can use an equal amount of brown sugar as the white sugar called for in the recipe.
This is a great recipe! It came out so moist and the addition of walnuts and raisins made it the best banana bread I’ve ever made!!
I’m so glad you loved it, Marie!
Excellent recipe, my Banana Bread has come out moist & yummy. Thanks Natasha.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Maya!
How long and what temp should I bake the extra batter at in my regular-sized muffins pan? I don’t want to throw it out because the loaf turned out FABULOUS!! 😍
Hi Michele! If you’re using standard size cupcake/muffin pans, you can follow my Banana Muffins Recipehere.
Very good. I doubled the recipe and came out with three full size loaves. I did not add the nuts or raises because these were a gift to neighbors. For half of the sugar I used a mixture of maple syrup and honey. I was shorter one banana so I added one third cup of applesauce. Turned out great.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Tami! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
The family LOVED this raisin banana bread. We couldn’t wait for it to cool so as soon as it came out of the pan we slathered our slices in salted butter. Delicious. The next day it was requested to be made again. Thank you!
You’re so welcome, JD! I’m so happy it was a hit with the family!
How much honey do we use in place of sugar in banana bread
Hi Ann! You can use it as a 1:1 substitute, or use less if your bananas as very ripe and sweet.
This very moist and delicious. It was easy to make. I did 1/2 dozen muffins and to small loaf pans. My 2 year old and my 50+ nephew loved them.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Marilynn!
I made this for my family for the first time and it was a success right away. I didn’t have walnuts so I used almonds instead~
The bread was crispy from the outside and moist in the inside. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe, Natasha!
You’re so very welcome!
Great recipe! My husband loves it, and he is hard to please!
That’s great, Connie!
Everytime I make this it’s gone in a day. I’ve tried so many banana bread recipes and this one is always perfect. It’s soooo good. I know it by heart now. Thank you!
Hi Tallie! I’m so glad it’s become your favorite version.
I didn’t have the walnuts so I used pecans and topped the bread with a blueberry reduction. The bread is very moist, light and lasts for days.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Nancy!