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 is my new go to for banana bread! Delish!
That is so great to hear, Debbie! Thank you so much.
Omg! This has to be the best banana bread I’ve made. So flavorful and moist. I adjusted the ingredients – added 4 bananas in the mixture, two sliced bananas to add to the top of the bread, added 2 cups of brown sugar and 1 cup of white sugar and 2/3 vanilla extract without raisins.
That’s just awesome! I’m so happy you loved this recipe Tuyen!
Hi! I really love your recipe and I’ve tried using it multiple times, but I always end up with a not moist banana bread. I can’t figure out how to make it moist… I even tried lessening the baking time to 50 mins
Hi Patrice, I haven’t had it come out dry following the recipe. The bananas, eggs, and vanilla do the trick. Did you possibly use very small bananas? This post on measuring may help your dry ingredient measurements. If you’re scooping your dry ingredient incorrectly that may be the culprit.
They were small so I added one more banana to the recipe. I’ll check out the post and try again this Friday
Sounds like a good plan. Please let us know how it goes.
Hi Natasha, reading your recipe for Banana bread, gonna make it today. My question is can I use the Monk Fruit sugar instead of granulated sugar. We are trying to watch our sugar intake. Thank you, have a bless day
Hello Joyce, sounds like a good plan. I haven’t really tried using Monk Fruit sugar yet to advise so you might have to do an experiment to find out. Please share with us how it goes.
Hi natasha im maribel francisco living here in winnipeg manitoba. Im not really good on baking but with your recipes they all turn out so good to think that you made them easy to follow and the ingredients are mostly in the house and i also enjoy watching you not only ur pretty very bubbly too.
Thank you so much for that thoughtful compliment. I really appreciate it!
Can I use salted butter instead of unsalted in a recipe?
Hi Sharon, you could use salted butter and just omit the salt in the recipe.
Thinking of leaving out raisins-don’t like them-and replacing them with chocolate chips, maybe even replacing the nuts with chocolate chips too. Is there something I can do so they won’t sink to the bottom?
Hi Irma, I bet that would work! Have you checked out our Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe? We use chocolate chips in it.
can i use baking flour instead of baking soda, if yes does the amout remain the same
Hi Katrina, I haven’t tested that so I can’t make that recommendation or if it would be enough leavening for this recipe.
Hi natasha’s. I love your recepie l am starting to bake but how much is one cup of flour in grams, then thanks
Hi Maryam, this Ingredient Weight Chart can be useful.
Hi Natasha! Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe. Can I use 4 bananas for this and still use the same measurements for the ingredients?
Hi Mizz, we have done that before and it worked well.
Thank you for the recipe. It’s so moist and delicious. Love it!!!!!
You’re very welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Turned out to be the BEST Banana bread recipe I’ve ever made. I omitted the raisins as I am not not a big fan and added more walnuts and some crushed walnuts on the top before popping it in the oven. Yummy!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Femina!
I used to like coming to ur web to get recipies but now with all pop up advertising and I cant turn it off it makes sad…
Hi V, 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.
I appreciate your feedback and I hope you love every recipe you try.
Natasha, I don’t understand measurement in cups. could you please help me? How many grams in cup? 227? 3/4 cup granulated sugar? 1 1/2 cups of flour? thank you, Irina
Hi Irina, if you click “Metric” in the recipe card, you will see the measurements displayed in grams.
Thank you very much.
I enjoy you soooo much. Thank You!
I’m so happy to hear you are enjoying my blog! Thank you for sharing that with us.
Thank you Natasha for the amazing recipe. I made this last night and it came out great. I used coconut sugar and some honey. My husband and daughter loved it.
My pleasure! I am so happy to hear that you and your family loved it.
Great Recipe! Thx so much! I added 1 tsp of cinnamon and used Craisins. Made them into 3 mini loaves. Baked for 30 minutes.
Yay so awesome! Thanks for your great feedback.
Loved the recipe! Came out better than expected! Thank you
That is awesome! Thanks for your good feedback.
Came out perfectly and better than any other recipe
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Laiba!
I used total whole wheat flour and replaced the raisins with dried cranberries. It was delicious
Thank you so much for sharing that with me Patricia! That’s so great!