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.
Wow! This is hands down the best banana bread I’ve ever made. It turned out so moist and flavorful—my family loved it !Thanks for sharing this keeper.
My go-to recipe. I add a half teaspoon of cinnamon for a bit more flavor.
Made this the other day! Absolutely best Panera bread I’ve ever made or tasted for that matter! I didn’t put nuts or raisins in it, but it was so moist and it’s delicious
Thank you for your awesome feedback!
Hiya! Could we sub the sugar with honey? And if so, how much?
My sister Anna made this into a honey banana bread; replacing sugar with honey.If you’re bananas as very ripe you can use a little less honey/maple syrup then sugar but a 1:1 swap works too.
What temperature/How long to bake- if I want to do muffins next time? Love this recipe so much! Thankyou!!!!
Hi Syd! I’m glad you loved it. I have a Banana Muffin Recipe too.
Very easy to make! I did this banana bread for the first time and it taste delicious! Thank you very much!
I’ve tried many banana bread recipes but this one was the perfect amount of sweetness and the moist texture was spot on. My kids devoured it and they are hard to please.
Yes! It’s the best banana bread recipe for me, many thanks🤗
We make this bread a lot in our house. Our employees love it too!
That’s so great to read, Ryan!
This has been my go to recipe every time I make banana bread. Everyone loves when I make this for them. Thank you! I use pecans instead!!
I bet its delicious with pecans! Thank you for sharing that with me, Myisha!
I love this recipe, on my first try I was concerned because it had color but was still undone . Decided to lower the convection oven temperature and it was perfect
I accidentally put 1/2 cup of flour instead of 1 1/2 cups but somehow it still came out delicious, so I gotta give this recipe 5 stars because if something can be that good with that bad of a blunder, it must be great. If you are looking to make a pudding-esque banana bread that goes great with ice cream, I highly recommend making the same mistake I did.
Omg I did the same thing 🙃 glad it’ll still taste good
Yum! This is the 2nd time I’ve used this recipe and it came out wonderful both times. I followed the instructions as given. I used cast iron bread pans to cook in and it was done in 40 minutes!
Thank you Natasha.
Yum! This is the 2nd time I’ve used this recipe and it came out wonderful North times. I followed the instructions as given. I used cast iron bread pans to cook in and it was done in 40 minutes!
Thank you Natasha.
My favorite recipe for banana bread. Only recipe i use.
Love the recipe made it plenty of times isis possible to add cocoa powder to this and make it chocolate?
Hi Ari! See my Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe for that. Feel free to add in walnuts and raisins if you prefer.
I was going to add cocoa powder but I didn’t because I didn’t know how much to put in but I may try it next time
Is it possible to bake these in muffin cups? Loving the recipe so far!
Hi Kim! Yes, that should work. I have a Banana Muffin Recipe here.
I dont know where it went wrong but it took me 1.5hrs for this to still be so runny and wet. I didnt use the raisins or walnuts and instead put white chocolate on top. I think it needed more flour. It also burnt in the first 50min. I ended up just mashing it all up and finished it off like that, more like a bread pudding i guess. I’ve never had problems with other banana breads before even if ive substituted 😅🙃 but im glad it worked for everyone else!
Hi Sav! I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. Did you fully preheat your oven before you baked? I highly encourage the use of an internal oven thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) to ensure your oven is heating correctly. It shouldn’t need more flour if everything was measured correctly. Even if your bananas were a little larger, this is a very forgiving recipe.
Are you using the correct size pan? This is a common issue when the pan is too small. Also, the type of pan matters- glass, ceramic, light/dark metal. If your oven is convection/fan, it would require lowering the temperature when baking.
Hi, yeah, I used glass in convection. I did it all properly, I lowered the heat and for longer. Maybe I didnt need as much sugar then, but it was way more wet than it should’ve been. It’s not bad but not the best banana bread ive made unfortunately, more oily maybe my chocolate chips weren’t helpful idk. But I shall try again some time 🙂
For next time, you could try: slightly less banana or sugar, bake in metal pan if possible, and maybe fold in chips sparingly. That usually balances moisture and texture better.
I also used a glass baking pan and unfortunately I think that may be the problem because at around 47 minutes, the top completely burnt and also caved in but it wasn’t cooked throughout. I didn’t want the rating to go lower so I gave it 5 stars but wanted to let ppl know to use a metal pan!
I have to bake mine for an hour 10 minutes.
First time making this recipe 😋
Absolutely delicious and so moist! Definitely a keeper!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Tammy!
I love this banana bread so much! Make it all the time. How do you usually save it? Should we refrigerate it after the first day?
I’m so happy to know you love it! For short term storage like 1-2 days you can store it at room temperature. Just wrap it in an airtight container or plastic wrap. For longer storage, you can refrigerate it for a maximum of a week and you can also freeze it for longer storage.