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.
Delicious as written, including the raisins and nut add ins. Also through in some mini chocolate chips as well.
From the reviews it seems that the recipe is also flexible, which is a good thing.
Will bake them again with a few tweaks of my own with the butter and sugar. I often do with quick bread and muffin recipes.
Will edit using 1/4 C butter and applesauce. In addition, with the sweetness of the bananas and add ins, 1/2C of sugar should be plenty.
Thanks for ther recipe!
BTW- I read years ago to dust any add ins with some of the flour mix to keep them grin seeking to the bottom. Works every time for me.
Thank you for the wonderful feedback and review, Jo! 🙂
The flavor was on point with this recipe. BUT, I am not sure what I did wrong? By the time it was baked so the center was cooked, my edges were a lot drier than they should have been. Maybe because I used a glass Pyrex loaf dish?? Any help is appreciated, I would love to try this recipe again!
This recipe has thousands of 5 star reviews and I’ve never had this be dry. If it’s dry, it’s usually due to either using too much flour or over-baking. I’ve attached my tutorial on How to Measure your Ingredients. I also recommend using an Internal Oven Thermometer when baking to check your oven temperature and make adjustments if needed.
I checked mine at 43 min, bc it smelled so good, and already browned on top. Looked done so checked it, and it was done. I recommend checking it at 40-45min…..
Could be the reason why edges were dry. Overcooked.
Very good recipe otherwise!
Yum!!! Saw the rating, read a bunch of the reviews and did my own tweaking lol. I used 1/2 butter – 1/2 applesauce. I used 1/2 sugar – 1/2 brown sugar. I added a bit of cinnamon and allspice. Deeeelicious!!! Thanks for the fabulous recipe!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Lisa!
raisins weren’t a great idea, but i’m glad to have gotten rid of some of my lbs of raisins ive been wanting to get rid of. i’ve done banana bread a few times before and this is the first time i’ve done them with raisins. i’m eating this and im like, its not bad but raisins certainly don’t go so well with bananas. ill consider a handful of smashed up pecans and a tablespoon of almond butter for the heck of it next batch instead of raisins and walnuts, to mix it up : D
Hi! What would the cook time be if I made these into muffins instead? I’m going to try it!!!
Hi Elijah, we create a recipe for Banana Muffins
Hi Elijah, I also made muffins with this recipe. I put them into the oven for about 25 mins and they came out perfect. (Note: I only had 6 muffins in the oven)
Hope this helps!
This is an amazing recipe!!! Our new favourite, especially my toddler’s. Although I think it has too much sugar. I’ve added half the sugar and still it was sweet. Next time I’ll try the honey version. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Eka! I’m so glad you love the recipe. 🙂
Yes great recipe.does not need sugar ,ripe bananas sweet enough .plus you may like like jam ,peanut butter ,cream cheese ,ect ect .even cheese .endless choices.or just plain.
I literally could not care less about leaving reviews on things but I need to give this 5 stars and let anyone who reads this know that this is the best banana bread I’ve ever had in my entire life. I substituted walnuts for candied almonds and I wanted to weep with every bite.
Wow! That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Sophia!
Absolutely fantastic recipe! I’ve baked this twice in 2 weeks and it’s been spot-on perfect every time. I use much less sugar than recommended. It’s that easy to tailor to your personal taste. Thanks x
Hi Laura! I’m so glad you love the recipe! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
Hi Natasha,
Love watching your videos. Everything always looks delicious.
Can this recipe be made in cupcake tins?
Hi Eileen! You can use my banana muffin recipe. 🙂
Nice Recipe but it’d be nice if the web page offered a simple way to save the recipe as a card or page or such, maybe I just missed this but if so, it’s off on the side or buried or .. maybe I’m just not catching it. Lots of pop up ads too that maybe are hindering my finding it.
Hi! We offer a printable recipe card for each recipe. Simply click Jump to Recipe at the top of the post, and that will take you to the print-friendly recipe card at the bottom of each post. Once you scroll there, click on the recipe card’s print icon to open a print screen. I hope that helps.
I have to say best banana bread everrrrrrrr, Natasha you slayed with this one. Periodt so simple and easy to wip up yet so good and complex tasting saranghae<3
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
We made this last night for the very first time & it was very delicious!🥰 (wish I could upload the photo) But thank you for sharing this recipe. Unfortunately, it didn’t last for 20 minutes & the whole loaf was gone!😂 We put chocolate chips instead of walnuts & raisins. Baked it 45-48 minutes & it turned out so soft/moist inside & crunchy on top. New family favorite! Will definitely bake it again next time… 2-3 loaves to make sure we have leftovers.😂
That’s wonderful! This is a hit in our household as well and definitely goes fast! 🙂
Can your moist bananas bread made into muffins instead of the loaf?
Hi Gigi! Yes, several of my readers have made it into muffins as well. You can reference my banana muffins recipe.
This was SO good!! I am replacing my long standing recipe of 15 years for this one. SO moist! I left out the raisins and walnuts and used gluten free flour because I have Celiac. This was truly amazing, as are ALL your recipes. Thank you!!
Wow, that’s something big! Thanks so much for your trust and good review. We’re so glad that you love this recipe a lot!
I made this for the 1st time tonight for a bedtime snack. I doubled the recipe as we have a big family.
It was AMAZING!! I did omit the raisins. And, instead of sugar I used honey ~ only had about 2/3s of what the recipe called for though. No worries since I did have mini chocolate chips on hand! haha!
Everyone is off to bed with a tummy full of warm banana bread. YUM!
So glad you loved it, Caroline! Thank you for trying my recipe. 🙂
Best banana bread I’ve ever had! Super moist and full of flavor! I didn’t do any of the add-ins because I like banana bread au natural! I also made it in a 9×9 glass dish and baked it for about 35 min because I like nice big squares of banana bread rather than slices. Thank you for this delicious and easy recipe!
You’re very welcome! I’m so glad you loved it. 🙂
Have been making your recipe for several months, I’ve added more bananas, pecans and mini chocolate bits. Everyone absolutely loves it and says it’s the best Banana bread they’ve ever had. I agree. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Robert! I’m so glad you love this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
I just made your banana walnut bread and it is amazingly moist and very tasty. However, I used half the amount of sugar because where I live our bananas are very sweet and smaller in size, so i used 5 bananas instead…..love it
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Sharon!
This is my go-to lately, I half the butter and only use 1/2 cup of sugar. I let the bananas get so ripe they smell like they’ve just walked out of a bar, so plenty of sweetness and flavor there. I also add chocolate chips (probably more than I should) and either walnuts or pecans. Comes out beautiful and satisfying. <3
I’m so glad you love it! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
I am making this today. Maybe I’m lazy but I like my easy way…
Smash bananas, add all wet ingredients plus 1/4 cup sour cream
Mix all dry ingredients together, then combine. Don’t overmix.
If adding chocolate chips, walnuts, raisins, dried cranberries, whatever – put batter in baking dish then fold them in gently so they dont all fall to the bottom
Also, I did not have a mixer to cream the butter and sugar so there were clumps of butter, will see how it turns out. Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Mandi! I hope you love our recipe!
So you didn’t actually make this recipe and yet left a comment?? 😂
I love your recipes and have made many of them. This is OK. I feel the butter, although it moistens the bread, really takes away from the banana flavor and turns it a little more greasy as well. I prefer the one I make, but it is good. Just my two cents. Keep on baking!
Hi Chris, the bread would be pretty dry without the butter and we have made this many times without it seeming greasy or overpowering the banana flavor. Did you use salted butter by chance, and also make sure your butter is softened so you don’t end up with pieces of butter in the batter.