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.
Another great recipe. Did almost exactly but left out the raisins.
Sounds good, great to hear that you enjoyed it!
Making this recipe right now!! It’s in the oven as I am typing this, cannot wait to see how it turns out. Will I ever be able to stop making this banana bread?!
Will keep you updated in about an hour once we dig in 😉
Hi Bella! This is our favorite banana bread recipe, and we always make extra because it disappears so fast! It’s definitely hard not to make this, especially when we have all the ingredients on hand.
So good, I made it twice!! This came out so delicious and moist
I could imagine this recipe tasting great w/ muffins too!
The second time I made it, I threw in some cinnamon. Both times made with two handfuls of dark chocolate chips. So easy you can remember too!! Thank you!!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you loved it.
I made a sauce for this, butter, brown sugar, dolce leche, and cinnamon. This was delicious even solo as well. Making it again as I type.
That sounds amazing!
I did this banana bread yesterday came Out delicious . I followed the recipe add 1 extra banana some cinnamon.My family loved it
I’m so glad to hear that!
Could you give the measurements? Id love to add that to my next batch, it sounds so perfect!
Could you please share the sauce recipe? It sounds delicious
Hi Samuel and Lea,
Sorry for the late reply.
This makes a really small batch since the bread is already sweet. I kind of eyeballed it. You could use more of the ingredients to make more, just be easy on the butter because it could be too oily. However, you could use a spoon to take out the excess butter.
*on low heat/stir until consistence of caramel*
1 tbsp. butter, 2-3 tbsp. brown sugar, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 2 squeezes dulce leche, I used Nestle. You can add or deduct to your liking, make it your own.
Seriously the BEST banana bread recipe I have ever tried! Wrote it down and will never use anything else! I sent some to work with my husband and all the guys at work wanted a copy of the recipe for their wives! No joking! We don’t like nuts or raisins so I simply omitted them and followed the recipe. Works out perfectly when doubled as well. Wonderfully delicious and moist every time!
That’s wonderful, Candace! I’m so glad it was a hit.
I made recipe into muffins with chocolate chips this weekend. They are awesome, but I was wondering if you have any recommendations about how to turn them into banana bran muffins with this recipe?
Hi Candace, We created Banana Muffins from this recipe. I hope you love these.
Hi Natasha! I can tell this is an excellent recipe, but I can’t figure out what I did wrong last time and I want to try again. My bread came out to dry/crumbly and over done, even though it still tasted good. I cooked it at 350 for about 45 min, but I do know my loaf pan was a tad smaller than your dimensions. I know yours was a little over 9 inches in length, and I think mine is like 8. Perhaps that had something to do with it, so what would you say with a smaller pan? Maybe lower the temperature a tad? Or maybe not use my loaf pan but something else like a square cake pan or something. New oven, in Florida, so no altitudes. I’ve made a lot of your recipes and they’re all great, so I wanna get this one, right! LOL.
Hi Rebekah, its hard to say without being there, but any adjustments to the recipe when baking can cause issues. The smaller pan size may be the culprit, but I would also ensure you’re not using to much flour. Being dry has never been our experience when followed correctly. Dry bread is a result of over baking or using too much flour. Be sure to either weigh your flour or fluff it with fork and add it to your measuring cup spoon by spoon. Do not scoop it out or you will end up with too much. I’ve attached my tutorial on How to measure ingredients . I hope that helps.
Omggggg I was using cake flour 🤣🤣🤣🤣 thank you for your reply! The second time was much better, but I’m still gonna try it with the exact correct pan 🤣
You’re welcome!
Love this!! can you add blueberries with it would it change anything??
Hi Meghan, I haven’t tried this recipe with blueberries to advise on the outcome, if you experiment, please let me know how you like that.
Nice recipe with raisins and mite. Easy to follow. I LOVE sweets, but this bread with 3/4 cup sugar, 3 ripe bananas, and a 1/2 cup of raisins is TOO SWEET. Next time I will use 1/2 cup sugar and probably add cinnamon.
Sounds good, thanks for your feedback and review!
This is my go to recipe for banana bread. Supper moist and absolutely delightful. I always double the recipe, so I have one in the freezer when I want something sweet to go along with my morning coffee.
I substituted roasted slice almonds for walnuts. As if that weren’t enough, when I peeled my overripe bananas, I discovered they were too fermented. Instead of throwing away my batter, I used peanut butter and milk. My banana bread without bananas turned out great! Thanks for the recipe.
That’s great, Bob! I’m glad you were still able to use most of the recipe.
Can i use self rising flour instead of plain flour and not add the baking soda and salt?
Hi Maria. I haven’t tested it with self rising flour. Let us know if your experiment.
I make this probably once a week, sometimes twice. It never lasts long. The kids love it and I like how easy it is. I just leave out the raisins as I’m not a fan.
I do load up on the walnuts though.
So glad the family loves it!
Made it exactly as you wrote it excpet i made three small loaves. Thank you so much.
Thanks for following the recipe as it is! We’re glad that you enjoyed our Banana Bread recipe!
Natasha… I love this recipe! So easy and quick. I add a package of banana cream pudding to the dry mix. Adds richness and super moist! Thank you. Peace
Thanks for shaing, Jody. It’s worth trying I’m sure!
The banana bread is baking in the oven now. I’m sure it will be amazing! Unfortunately I found all of the ads incredibly annoying hence 4 stars. In the future I will print the recipe ahead of time. I discovered the print preview is much easier to view.
Thank you for sharing your concerns and feedback, Christina. 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. But we will definitely take note of your feedback and use it to improve our website.
I appreciate your feedback, and I hope you love every recipe you try.
This was a delicious treat to get me excited for fall. I had to cook it for an hour and 5 mins for some reason but when it was finally finished it was AMAZING! 10/10 recommend!
Yay thanks for the perfect rating and review!
i made these in muffin tins with chocolate chips, baked for about 20 minutes. they were delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Abbi!
Substituted buckwheat flour and honey for my gf’s diet preferences. Added blueberries, apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and a tbp of walnut liqueur. Rum also works. Splendid.
Thank you for sharing!
Do you think this could be frozen and thawed for a later date. I live a bit always from hope and was thinking of making them for the holidays.
Hi Alyssa! Yes, it freezes well.
Tightly wrap it in 2–3 layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil then place it in a freezer-safe storage bag or reusable container. It’s lasts for about 3-4 months.
I added the walnuts but added chocolate chips instead of raisins. I took it our at 55 min and the toothpick came out clean but I noticed that mine came out lighter on top and did not grow as much as yours but it came out so good and still came out fluffy very yummy hubby said to keep this recipe 😋
Hi Lorie! I’m glad that you still loved the recipe. Thank you for sharing.