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.
Best banana bread I have made in years. I added some chunks of Ghirardelli chocolate caramel candy and walnuts (no raisins) and it was fantastic!!!!!! I have made it twice now and will keep this as my go to recipe. Thanks for sharing!!!!
I’m so glad you loved it! I appreciate the feedback, Nancy!
hi natasha I am a newcomer to your site and love it I live in Toronto Ontario and just made your banana bread it was very tasty but not as moist as I expected and any suggestions also what type of baking soda do you use as other recipes use both powder and soda? thank you so much
Hi Diana! I’m glad you found my blog. I used this baking soda HERE.
Also, watch my tutorial on how I measure my ingredients HERE. If you are using too much flour, it could cause the cake to be dry. I hope that helps.
Hi Natasha! Can I double this recipe? Cause Im planning to make more banana bread.
Hi Len, I’ve seen others comments that they have doubled the recipe and it worked fine.
Should I double the amount of baking soda too? and I need to adjust the time of baking too if Im going to use small loaf pan right.
Yes, you would double all the ingredients if you are making a double batch. The baking time will need to be adjusted based on the pan size but I have not tested this in different size pans to advise on the exact time for each so you’ll need to keep an eye on it.
I made the recipe in mini loaf pans and baked at 350 for 35 minutes and they came out perfect!!!!
Hi Nancy! Thank you for sharing that with us. I’m sure, many will find this helpful. 🙂
Hello –
How many cups do the bananas equate to? e.g. 1 cup 2 cup, etc.
Thank you.
Hi Carolyn! Based on online research, 2 medium-size bananas (about 7-8 inch long) make about 1 full cup of mashed bananas.
Thank you so much for this detailed recipe. Taking to my daughters for dessert. It won’t last long with the teens.
Hi Toni! You’re very welcome. 🙂
Delish!!! I made three mini loaves and they turned out perfect! My question: flying out in 3 days; will these still be fresh by day 4? Or should I freeze them in the meantime? Thanks!
Hi Melissa, Thank you for your great review. Freshly baked banana bread will keep well for about one week in the fridge when properly stored. Out on the counter, it’s good for a day or two. I hope this helps!
BEST banana bread I have ever made. My husband and his friends DEVOURED it! I didn’t have vanilla extract, but added a little brown sugar, ground clove, and ground cinnamon instead. Also… Chocolate chips. Chocolate chips turned this into more of a dessert bread 😋 and we LOVED it! Thank you so much for the recipe!
Hello Nina, thanks for the awesome review! So glad that you enjoyed our Banana Bread recipe.
Made this since I had 4 riped bananas and followed the recipe, except I did 1/2 sugar since bananas are sweet, it was amazing! My house smelled wonderful.
Hi Linda! I’m so glad you loved it. We love this recipe too! 🙂
It tasted so so good. I baked this morning. I do not expect that it will last beyond dinner.
Thank you for your recipe. I will make again.
You’re welcome, Kim! So glad you loved it.
In addition, I used King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free flour, I also measured my flour and then sifted it, and again, the Wilton loaf pan is non stick and metal.
Thank you for sharing, Evelyn! 🙂
Hi Natasha, I really want to love this easy recipe (still in oven as I write this review), but, I am now cooking it for another hour (which will be 2 hours and 40 mins) since the middle was still not baked. The only thing I did differently was use 4 overripe bananas, instead of 3. I am also using a Wilton’s non-stick loaf pan. I buttered it lightly and light flour dusting. Help, please. Why is it taking so long to get it cooked on the inside, instead of being wet. Any help is greatly appreciated 😀
Hi Evelyn! It could be the extra banana that caused the bread to be wetter and not cooked in the middle. A couple of things that could help, be sure to fully preheat your oven before you start baking. It is important for the oven to reach the desired temperature beforehand or it will take longer to bake. I recommend the use of an internal oven thermometer to see if your oven is calibrated.
Also, verify the size pan that you used. Mine was 9.25 long x 5.25 wide x 2.75 deep. If you used a smaller size, it could be that the loaf is too thick which took too long to bake through. Lastly, I would look over the recipe again to see if you missed anything or measure incorrectly. This is my tutorial on how to correctly measure ingredients HERE. I hope that helps.
why would you add an extra banana and think it’s Natasha’s fault. That’s a lot of extra moisture.
Could I use self rising flour? It’s all I have right now. If not I could go buy some all purpose flour.
Hi Alyssa! I have not tested it but here is what one of my readers said, “just made 2 loaves with self-rising flour, no added baking soda. also, i added dried cranberries and cinnamon, half white sugar and half brown. oh my, it was delicious!” I hope that helps.
Delicious.
Made this and the chocolate chip banana bread.
Easy to make. Did not disappoint! Will Make again.
Glad you liked it! Thank you for sharing.
I made this bread, not a very strong banana taste. Moist. I turned the oven off before the bread was completely done and it worked out well.
Hi Starla! Did you use ripe bananas? If they were not ripe enough, the bread won’t be as sweet or taste much like bananas.
I soaked the raisins before I put them in and I’ll added half fresh honey and half Dulce de Leche. Was delish !
Glad you enjoyed!
I would suggest using whole milk buttermilk making it in Bundt pan leave out raisins and make a buttery cream cheese frosting to drizzle over top takes banana bread to nes heights everybody raves over it! I think you will need baking soda/baking powder enjoy!
My Mom makes a very similar loaf but replaces butter with 1/2 cup Miracle Whip and no vanilla or raisins. It is very moist.
I was disappointed with the outcome. It turned out dry
I read the recipe again and dis exactly. Only reduced the sugar to 1/2 cup since the bananas were ripe
Still can’t figure out what went wrong
In any case, i dipped it in hot chocolate
No option to attach the photos.
I’m sorry to hear that. My only other thought would be that you possibly used too much flour or it over-baked. Watch the tutorial on how I measure my ingredients HERE. I also use an internal oven thermometer to ensure proper oven temperature. I hope that helps.
I used this recipe for my first banana bread. Not bad but it was missing something…buttermilk. I took the BettyCrocker and used lemon/milk substitute and it was way better.
We’ve never had any issues using this recipe and even without buttermilk but feel free to give that a try! We’d love to know how it goes.
I love this recipe, make it all the time when the bananas turn brown. But the most difficult part of the process is accessing the actual recipe amidst all of the pop ups and unnecessary instructions and video. I sure wish you would move the recipe to the top of the page.
Hi Katya! I’m glad you love the recipe. You can click on the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page, that way you don’t have to scroll down through the blog post.
You can just click on jump to recipe at the top of the page. And if you see something afterwards you might be interested in you can always view it then 🙂