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.
I have made this recipe multiple times, (without the nuts) I’ve even taken it for co workers. The best ever. I fell upon it because I didn’t have brown sugar. A must try
Hi Natasha, I’m very much interested in making this. New to calling and my oven cubes with lot of symbols which is very confusing. Could you tell which symbol to use? Top and bottom heater? Or top and bottom heater with fan? Pls confirm.
Hi there! It would be best to reference your oven manual for instructions since not every oven is the same. My oven is a conventional oven (not a fan or convection oven) and it has a heating element on the top and bottom.
Good recipe, less suger next time.
How much does one serving weight?
Hi Luna! I did not weigh the loaf, but we get 10 slices from one loaf.
Tasted good but it’s very sweet. I would use less sugar next time maybe half.
Hi Christine! If your bananas are overly ripe, the bread will be sweeter. But you can definitely reduce the sugar.
My clients love this recipe. Thank you. They are 89 and 93 years young.
So glad to hear that, Cynthia!
Hi Natasha!! I’ve been following your YouTube channel for years and every recipe I have made of yours has been absolutely delicious!! I made your banana bread last night and it really is the best banana bread I’ve ever tried! Thank you so so much for sharing all of your lovely recipes!! 💕
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Becky!
Why should I use unsalted instead of salted butter? Thanks!
Hello! I like using unsalted butter so I can adjust the saltiness easier but you can use salted butter too and omit/reduce the salt in the recipe.
Great recipe! I added some vanilla powder to the flour and an extra banana for extra flavor, in addition to the liquid vanilla.
How long to bake if I am using mini pans ? Half the time?
Hi Joyanne! Some of my viewers have tested mini loaf pans and reported baking at the same temperature same temperature for 25–35 minutes. I would keep an eye on them and check early on.
Great recipe. I was contemplating on whether to cut down on the sugar. Glad I didn’t because 150g is just nice – not too sweet. Substituted the raisins with semi sweet choc chips.
Amazing recipe! Thank you so much for sharing it! I made it twice in a week! Turned out perfectly. Second time I improvised, and still perfect! I used the whole spelt flour, agave sirup, various nuts, oats.. I am making another batch as a gift for a friend who just had her baby. It will be a perfect snack for her! Thanks a million ❤️
That’s wonderful, Edina! So glad you loved this recipe.
Best recipe by far. Great flavor and useful tips. I substituted sugar with pure allulose sweetener in 2nd batch. Worked perfect.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Rodger!
Added chocolate chips instead of the raisins & it was delicious!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Andrea!
I used your recipe and it came out really good although not as moist as I expected. The next time I made it, I added 1/2 cup of sour cream to the recipe. Perfect!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Jerry! I wonder if your bananas were smaller causeing it to be more dry. It should be very moist. I hope what you try next time works better.
How would one adjust the bake time/temp when using a muffin pan instead? I have both metal and silicone muffin pans, but I would prefer to use the silicone
Hi Dominique. I haven’t tested this in silicone pans so I don’t have the exact timing for that, but please reference my Banana Muffins Recipe for instructions on making these in a muffin pan.
I used dark metal cupcake pans and set the timer for 30, they were done before 30 minutes. When they smelled done I checked them and they were good, guessing 22-25 minutes. Oven was at 350
Great recipe! I didn’t put in the nuts since I was feeling lazy, also skipped the raisins cuz hubby doesn’t like raisins, but the cake came out great nonetheless! Moist and not too sweet 🫶🏻 I’ll make this again and again!
I absolutely love this recipe but I don’t have eggs could I add extra bananas instead?
Hi there! I have not tried that variation to advise how it would turn out. If you do an experiment, let us know how it goes!
Made this today. I may have found something to finally rival my mom’s recipe. But, I absolutely hate the ads that pop up and video ads that automatically go to full screen here.
I’m so glad you loved this recipe, Brent! Thank you for sharing your concerns and feedback. The only way we can continue providing free recipes is by having ads on our site, so we are not able to remove those at this time. We find that most people would rather see the ads than pay to see the recipes. But we will definitely take note of your feedback and use it to improve our website.
I appreciate your feedback, and I hope you love every recipe you try.
Hi Brent! If you’re using an iPhone & safari are the browser, you can tap the little icon in the left of the address bar and then tap “hide distracting items” and select all the ads and they’ll disappear 🙂 alternatively, often times with recipe websites, you can turn on the “reader” in safari which will take away everything except text and images
This is my go-to banana bread recipe and it always turns out wonderful. I use half the amount of butter and the other half applesauce. It stays very moist and lovely. Trying to cut out a few of those calories.
That’s so great, Cyndi! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
In the oven right now, I can’t wait, my dog seemed to love the batter (minus the sugar as I forgot and added it later), I added chocolate bits instead of walnuts and raisins since we have picky eaters in our family lol, can’t wait to eat it
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