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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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.
Unfortunately mine came out flat. I would add baking powder to the recipe.
Hi Nikki! We’ve had excellent results using baking soda as the leaving agent. Did you follow the recipe as written? Using too much banana can weigh down your batter and not allow it to rise properly. Also, be sure to fully preheat your oven before baking and allow it to fully bake. Sometimes it will appear baked on the outside but not fully baked in the middle and this can cause it to collapse when it’s removed from the oven.
Thought it was great! Very easy & loved the taste & texture. Didn’t have raisins but will try next time – or maybe currants or chopped cherries? That taste & texture will be a new one for me, but is sounds intriguing so will ease into it 😉 100% approved by my grandson – who also very much enjoyed watching the process!
Hello Carol, thanks for sharing! Great to hear that you loved it and yoru grandson did too!
This recipe was easy to follow and it turned out tasty! However, I think it needs 4 bananas instead of three and it would make it perfect.
Hi Courtney! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Be sure to use bananas that are ripe enough or they will not have as much flavor and the bread will be lacking the banana flavor. Many of my readers have used 4 bananas in this as well with good results.
I l;oved this recipe! I would love to see the recipe have how many measuring cups of bananas instead of 3 bananas, as all bananas are not the same size. I looked it up online, and it said 3 bananas is equal to 2 cups bananas. Is that correct, Natasha?
Hi Bridget, 3 bananas are roughly 1 cup mashed.
Hi Natasha, this recipe has got to be the easiest most delicious banana bread out there, hands down. Skipped the raisins & nuts and its still amazing! I used 4 small to medium bananas. The only thing I really wish you’d do is : provide an exact cup measurement of mashed bananas, (as others have also asked). I know you’ve said 3 large bananas make about a cup but depending on where you you buy them “large” can vary greatly, and I think providing an additional cup measurement option with this recipe would give a lot of us more confidence in making it. That being said, thank you so much for dynamite banana bread!
Thank you! I wish I measured them that way but thanks for the feedack. I appreciate your review and we’re so glad that you loved it!
Hello Natasha.
If I double the recipe, but only have 5 bananas would it ruin it?
I haven’t tested that but I would double the ingredients too if I want to be safe.
The taste is good, but I followed the instructions directly and it came out a little wet. It was baked for an hour. I even did the toothpick method and it came out clean so I aafigured it was done. How can I make it more dry? I measured everything exactly.
Hi Samantha! This recipe has been tested and proved to have great results as written, with hundreds of 5-star reviews. A couple of things to help troubleshoot. If the ratios are off, your bread texture will be affected. I recommend watching my tutorial on How to measure ingredients to ensure you’re measuring correctly. Also, I highly encourage the use of an Internal oven thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) to ensure your oven is fully preheated before your start baking and to ensure the oven is calibrated well. Lastly, did you use the same size pan? If you are using a different pan, that will change the baking time. If your pan is smaller and deeper, it would take a lot longer to bake through. I hope that helps.
Oh my goodness Natasha! I have been making banana bread for many years and I thought I would try your recipe. I followed it exactly and it was absolutely amazing! I’ve never added raisins before and wow, what a great addition! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
Yay thank you for trying out my recipe and I’m really happy that you loved it!
This is the most moist, flavorful banana bread I’ve made. I never have eggs so I subbed flax eggs. It didn’t rise as much as yours but was still so good. I’m going to continue to try to improve the rise using the flax eggs. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Aaw love it! Thank you so much for your wonderful comments and feedback, Mary Ann.
The mark of a good recipe is when you can “throw in what you have” and not do the most careful job of it, and it still comes out tasting incredible! I used pecans and chocolate chips (what I had available), measured sloppily (full disclosure), used gluten-free flour, mixed everything by hand, and baked it in an 8″ round cake pan for 30 min. This easily rivals the best banana bread I’ve ever made, even when I actually tried.
That’s amazing to hear, Angela! So glad you loved this recipe.
I looked for a different banana bread recipe and chose this one because it used the word moist in its description. Far from it. My search for a good banana bread recipe continues. If I could rate it zero stars I would.
Hi Doug! This recipe has been tested and proved time after time with hundreds of 5-star reviews. Did you make any substitutions? My thought would be that either your ingredients were not measured correctly or it was over baked and dried out. Be sure to watch my tutorial on How to measure ingredients . Using too much flour would cause this to be dry. I hope that helps in your baking endeavors.
Super recipe… I made a triple batch because we had that many bananas that were overripe. Turned out great, and I added chocolate chips to the batter, and made them in 9″ cake pans. They cooked perfectly, and I’m going to freeze 2 and keep one out for breakfasts and snacks. We’ll, maybe freeze 1,one in the fridge and one out. I know they won’t last long.
Sounds wonderful! Thank you for the feedback.
I loved it-
I am a single mom and I have been making a few extra dollars making them for friends and family..
thank you
Took a pic but no way of uploading
Soo pretty ma’am
Thank u
You’re welcome, Araceli! I’m glad you loved the recipe. You can tag me on Instagram or Facebook. #natashaskitchen
Hi Natasha. My name is Devi. I just made this recipe, but I skip walnut and raisin, coz I don’t have any of them. But still I like it. This is good. I will definitely made this recipe again.
Thanks for sharing *hug.
That’s great, Devi! I’m glad you loved the recipe!
I would like to make mini loaves. How long would it need to be baked for? What temp?
I haven’t tested making this to mini loaves yet to advise of the temperature and time.
Yum,
I doubled the recipe and used half the sugar, plus I added an extra banana..they made great muffins for the grandkids and me!
Thanks for the recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I used the recipe yesterday, with some minor modifications. I had two large and two small bananas (so four in all) and I used frozen blueberries rather than nuts and raisins. The cook time had to be extended a bit given the extra “wetness,” but it is a great recipe for super easy moist and tasty banana bread. Thank you.
Thank you for sharing, Hope! I’m glad you love the recipe!
I made 2 loaves of this delicious bread. So moist & easy to make.
My new go to recipe. I omit the raisins & used 4 bananas. Thank you Natasha…
Yay wonderful! Thanks so much for your good comments and feedback, we appreciate it.
This is my go to banana bread recipe. I do 4 bananas instead of 3, makes it more bananaie.. I also add chocolate chips and raisins as well! Super good!
Thank you for sharing! I’m so glad you love it.
Delicious! I made two loaves. One with brown sugar and cinnamon and the second I followed the recipe exactly. My husband was taking one to work tomorrow but couldn’t resist a slightly warm slice. All I had were almost green bananas so I roasted them in the oven for 20 minutes at 250°. My house never sneaked so good. Thanks for the recipe!
You’re welcome! I hope it becomes a hit at your husband’s workplace too. Thanks so much for this review.
I’ve made banana bread before but my first time using this recipe was yesterday to bring to a family gathering. Everyone LOVED IT!! Also a bit upset I’ve never made it for them before.
Guess what I’m doing right now? Making another loaf.. hands down the absolute best recipe! Thank you for sharing.
Wow! Thanks so much for this awesome review. It always makes me smile when I see comments like this, thanks for sharing!