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 just made this delicious banana bread. I doubled the ingredients and substituted honey. It was perfect, the most moist and yummy banana bread I ever made or tasted. Everyone loved it. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I will make it again and am saving the recipe for future.
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad it was a hit.
Hi there I was wondering if I used pecans in place of walnuts would it be good? And if so, should I go about it the same way?
Hi Laura! Yes, you can use pecans without any changes to the recipe.
This is a great recipe! It’s simple but really, really good. I don’t use the raisins and it’s still so delicious! I’m so glad I found it.
Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad you loved it.
Perfect. I used very ripe bananas which added natural sweetness so I used 1/2 the sugar and some fresh blueberries. 5 Stars for sure. Thank you for sharing your recipe. …Tom
You’re welcome, Tom! I’m so glad you loved the recipe. Thank you for the feedback.
If I wanted to sub honey for granulated sugar, is it a 1:1 ratio substitute?
Hi Jack, yes it will work 1:1.
Hands down-the best banana bread I’ve tried! And it’s easy to make! So flavorful, moist and nutritious. Thank you,Natasha! My family totally loves it
I’m happy to hear that Natalia! Thanks so much for this great review!
Excellent! I lost this recipe for a while and was forced to make suboptimal banana bread. Fortunately, I found it again and this time I saved the link! I add an entire bag of chocolate chips instead of raisins and walnuts; not the healthiest but it sure is delicious!
Awesome, glad you like it!
I wasn’t sure I would like the addition of raisins to the banana bread, but this recipe is delish!
Hi Beverly. I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe. It’s one of our favorites to make!
The best banana nut bread I have ever tasted. This recipe is a keeper.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Diane!
Hi!
Just made this and it turned out amazing! I used salted butter instead of unsalted, and it still had the perfect amount!
I will be making this for future functions. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Side note: I had to bake for about 70 minutes, the middle of the banana nut bread took longer to bake; it was still gooie at 60 minutes.
Hi Courtney! I’m so glad you loved the recipe.
Did you use a different size pan? Every oven bakes differently so it may take some experimenting with your oven but I highly recommend using an in-oven thermometer (affiliate link) to help with that. Be sure to let your oven fully preheat before your start baking the loaf. I hope that helps.
My bread turned out quite bland (I’m sure it’s the user error based on other reviews), but I just don’t know what went wrong. I can hardly taste bananas..mostly walnuts. (I omitted raisins)
I used salted butter and omitted salt but that’s what I normally do. Did salted butter cancel out the sweetness? Could it be that my bananas were bland? Or did I over bake it? Thank you for your recipe, I want to give it another try. I did make your banana chocolate chip bread and it was delicious! I hope I can trouble shoot this one because I love banana bread.
Cheers!
Hi Al, that could be because of the bananas that you used, as long as you followed all the recommended ingredients and followed the instructions well, it should be fine. Let us know how it goes on your next try!
I added a little cinnamon, bumped up the sugar a little (and switched to brown.) It was yummy.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Toni! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
AI – I don’t think salted butter has enough salt to cancel the salt in the recipe. Bland baked goods are often the fault of not enough salt.
I hate to give one star but this bread is most only because there is too much butter in it. Not healthy and too greasy to eat. Sorry!
Hi Ana! We found it to be a good amount of butter, but it can be modified if you prefer. You can see some modifications in the notes above to make this healthier.
I have to agree. It’s too greasy and does not hold the shape. And while it tastes great, it has to be eaten with a fork or spoon.
My kids ask me to bake this recipe all the time. We all love it ~ I usually have to double it if we want some for later. Excellent!
Sounds great! Lovely to hear that you kids love our Banana Bread Recipe!
So moist and delicious! I skip the walnuts and just do raisins.
Thank you for sharing, Denise! It’s one of our favorites! We love this banana bread!
Making this again this morning. Great recipe! Thank you Natasha!
You’re welcome, Mikhael!
Confession time, can’t stop making this Banana bread. Fool proof recipe, if fallowed. Prep work takes longest, then comes together quickly.
Next time, can make it your own by adding what please the taste buds. Thanks you for sharing, but now on 5th time making in 3 months…
Aaaw, lovely to know that you enjoyed it so much! Yes, feel free to add some other toppings/other ingredients according to your preference.
I put chocolate chips in and it was great with brown sugar instead of white
Thank you for sharing, Nicole!
I think I finally found Grandma’s recipe…
But I don’t know where the 10 minutes of prep time went I must have been in double overtime… So I went ahead and doubled the cook time so I had enough time to clean up the flouring the pan oooops… I am here to tell you it was a down hill slide from there… First one egg then the other it was a real scramble…. Since this recipe reminded me so much of grandmas baking I stuck some stove wood in the oven to bring out the flavor… But seriously I am sitting here enjoying some of the best warm banana bread topped lightly with freshly churned butter I have had in decades…
That sounds amazing! Thank you for sharing your experience.
I made this today and added chocolate chips instead of walnut. Everybody loved it. Esp my kids. My daughter enjoyed it with homemade salted butter and my son enjoyed it with Vanilla Ice-cream. Thank you for this recipe.
I’m so glad you all loved it! Have you tried our Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe?
I’ve wanted to make banana bread for a long time and today I finally did. This recipe is amazing! I followed everything except the nuts because I am allergic to walnuts. I’m definitely keeping this recipe and next time will add chopped almonds to see how that turns out. Thank you so much!
Thank you for choosing our recipe to try, Claudia. Happy to know that you love the result!