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.
Whoops! Just saw the converter button at the top!
No worries at all! I’m glad you found it!
Please include metric measurements for the rest of the world. Cheers!
Hi Andy, If you scroll down to our printable recipe card, most of our recipes have a metric conversion option on the printable recipe card. We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes, but it is taking some time to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help.
Just tried this recipe and it was absolutely wonderful!! Easy, simple to follow and so good. Thank you so much!!
Just wondering if this can be made in a Bundt pan, planned on doubling the recipe. Would that work?
Hi Valerie. Please see my Banana Bundt Cake Recipehere.
Wow just got this banana bread recipe from this video and made it perfect. This is not my first time baking banana bread just tried YouTube banana bread and made it perfect less than an hr baking followed d measurement and temp . Will do it again this time with walnuts or choco chips . Thanks
I seem to always feel the need to alter recipes, and I did on this one as well, by omitting the raisins and adding apple sauce to replace some of the sugar. Was one of my favorite banana breads ever!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Delicious bread, easy recipe. I added dark chocolate chips to mine and it turned out amazing!
Thank you!
I’m so happy you loved it, Alex!
I was also bummed with this recipe. I followed tht instructions to a T and it took over and hour and 20 min and I had to take it out because the outsides were starting to burn. The inside though was wet and doughy. 😕
Hi Michaelyn. A few things come to mind. Did you fully preheat your oven before baking? Did you use a different size pan, or was it glass?
It is not normal for it to take that long to bake. I also encourage the use of an internal oven thermometer (amazon affiliate link) to ensure your oven’s temperature accuracy.
This happens to me a lot, too, with this recipe. I use a ceramic pan. I’m not sure what I could be doing wrong because, I too follow the recipe exactly right.
Hi Piper! A ceramic pan heats more slowly and doesn’t conduct heat as evenly as metal.
The edges and center take longer to bake, so your bread may need extra time in the oven.
I made this without nuts and added small amount of chocolate chips This is my favorite Banana Bread. I give it 5 stars ⭐️ without a doubt 😋
I made it it’s so delicious, my kids love it 🤩🤩 thank you so much for recipe but I put half cup of sugar and 4 banana
I use 4 ceramic mini loaf pans, reducing the temp 5 degrees and cooking for 40-43 minutes. Occasionally, I’ll make the chocolate version and add dark & milk chocolate chips. Both versions are PERFECT every time!
I was first so excited to try this recipe because of the review, but then got so disappointed by the recipe because the bread was not as it is shown in the video, even though i followed exactly as it is written in the recipe. First of all, it took 1 hour and 15 min to be ready from the oven and once I took it out from the load pan, the outside was ready but inside was like doughy, too wet, and underneath was completely pressed up and oily and a bit burned. It didn’t look like a banana bread except tiny part on the top. I didn’t feel I want to eat it and now i don’t know what I can do with the loaf. So disappointing. Also, I could blame my oven, but I can’t because it has been with me 8 years and never failed with the temperature.
Hi Merim. I’m so sorry to hear that it didn’t workout for you. That is frustrating. I would love to help troubleshoot. This is one of the most popular recipes on my blog, with thousands of 5 star reviews. It’s definitely been tested and proven to work well for many people (myself included). What type and size pan did you use? Did you fully preheat the oven before starting to bake the bread? It can bake very differently depending on things like how the oven bakes, the pan type (glass vs. metal), how ripe the bananas are, or even how thoroughly the batter is mixed. Even though I have experience baking, I still use my In oven thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) to verify my oven’s temperature. I hope this helps.
Hi,
I too am in the midst of making it. So far, it’s been in thr oven for 1:25min. It is in a glass dish.
I had some of these same issues and am still in the process of tinkering, but what I have found to help me (so far) :
Slightly lowering the temp (325), bake it on a higher rack, and tent the pan with foil after about 35 minutes
Make sure everything is softened/at room temp before mixing and use on a low setting for a minimal amount of time just until combined
My loaf kept cooking too quickly on the ends and coming out a little too dense so I’m going to try combining all wet ingredients at once before mixing and doing the same with the dry ingredients to reduce the total amount of mixing. I also wait until my bananas are at maximum ripeness and add 1/2-1tsp banana extract for sweetness. Following the cooling instructions at the end is very important. If you’re like me and don’t have a cooling rack you can make one out of aluminum foil. Lastly, I found that my bread tasted way better the next day and 2 days later after letting it sit in some Tupperware lined with paper towels.
Hope any of this helps
Well, I’ve used a lot of recipes for banana nut bread and this is absolutely delicious. Definitely a keeper. Thank you so much.
That’s so great to hear!
I’ve baked this banana bread 4 times and each one is terrific and I’m not a baker…flavorful, moist and stays together after slice ing.
Ever since I found this recipe I have been making banana bread. Every two weeks I make 3 loafs and I keep looking out for ripe bananas at the grocery store. This is by far the easiest best and moist banana bread recipe I have ever used. Thank you for this recipe. 👏👍. From Woodbridge Ontario
I tried this recipe last month and it turned out great! I’m going to try it today with GF flour.
Have you had success doubling this recipe or do you need to make multiple individual recipes for multiple loaves?
Hi Jamie, Yes, you can double the recipe. Enjoy!
It’s so yummy. Thanks for sharing. Can l add buttermilk to the recipe?
Hi Remi, yes, buttermilk will work.
I use GF flour and add 1/2 cup walnut and 1/2 chocolate chip and instead of all but I use half oil and it turns out great even with these modification
Would it be fine to bake two loaves, or do I gotta stick to one at a time? This will be my first time baking.
Hi Paul. Yes, that would be fine.
I’m so so bummed. I read all of the good reviews and gave this recipe a try. Unfortunately 7 minutes before it was supposed to be taken out of the oven, I checked on it and it was burned on all sides, but the inside was so so doughy. 🙁 I have never had an issue with my oven before. So beware if you make this recipe. I’d crank the oven way down.
Hi Lou. That’s not normal. Are you using a convection/fan oven? If so, it will bake faster so you’d need to make adjustments to bake time/temp. This recipe was tested in a conventional oven, using regular bake mode.
Also- the type of pan you’re using can make a difference in how it bakes too.
Well here goes just put 2 loads in the oven so we will see
Mine seem way overdone as well. They smell like they were starting to burn, hopefully it was just the walnuts on top.