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 love the recipe and will definitely try again – but I had issues getting it done in the middle. I ended up having to burn it a little around the edges (cooked 75 min). I wondered if there might be tricks to getting it done in the middle better? Like tin foil or something? Thank you for sharing your recipe – the nuts and raisins were delicious with bananas! 😍
Hi Jennifer! Did you use the correct size loaf pan? If it was smaller the there would be too much batter and it won’t bake properly without adjusting the time/temp. I would also encourage the use of an Internal oven thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) to verify your oven is heating correctly. If it runs too hot, the outside will burn while the center remains raw. The type of pan used can also affect how it bakes, different materials distribute heat differently. I hope that helps for next time.
I tried this recipe twice. One with raisins and walnuts. The second one with chopped chocolate pieces. Our ripe bananas were small so I used 4-5 pieces. I also used muscovado sugar. Both banana breads were perfect! Thank you Natasha and husband from our family in the Philippines!
That’s awesome! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with this recipe.
Great recipe! It turned out super moist. Only change was a little bit of cinnamon.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Kalyssa!
Easy to make. I added a 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and what a great banana bread.
I’m glad you loved it!
This bread recipe is absolutely amazing! So yummy. The only change I made was using brown sugar instead of granulated sugar. Next time I would probably only do a half cup. Other than that which is my own doing, A+!
So glad you loved it! Thank you for sharing with us.
This is the only banana bread I make the family and friends love it.
I’m so glad to hear that, Brian!
Perfect every time, very moist with nice crispy outside. I used chocolate chips instead of nuts and raisins and baked for 60 min.
Great to hear that you enjoyed it, Klea!
Wow best banana bread I’ve ever had. The first time I tried this recipe it came out pretty dry. Idk if it from the walnuts and raisins. But this time I watched your video about measuring and I used more banana and its perfect. Also I’m at 7200ft so I used half a tsp of baking soda.
Thank you, Austin. God to know that it turned out perfect the next time you tried it!
Can I substitute ap flour with Pillsbury gluten-free all-purpose flour.
Hi Sharon! I haven’t tested it myself but some
of my readers have reported using GF flour successfully for this.
Heaven in a pan. Used 5 bananas because they were going bad.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Oh my gosh, this is the best Banana bread I’ve ever had – let alone bake! I was doubtful with the white sugar instead of brown, but it is sooo good!
Thank you so much for trying the recipe, Traci! I’m so glad you loved it!
How long to you leave them in the over if you do muffins? I’m not sure if I need to cut the time down or not.
Hi Lynne, I have a note on this in the recipe, we love this Banana Bread so much we even created Banana Muffins from this recipe.
Really super moist. Amazing quite actually. Mine came out very dark, but so tasty. Used more bananas and they were way past their prime. But good for banana bread. I guess the raisins are key.
I made this bread, and my family LOVES it!! I made 2 loaves yesterday, and they’re both gone already. I added a pinch of cinnamon to mine, it was amazing.
That sounds wonderful! This disappears fast in our house too! I’m glad you loved it!
Hi! Can’t wait to try this! Is the honey to sugar 1:1? Thanks. Love so many of your recipes!
Hi Karen, yes- replace it 1:1 with honey. If your bananas are sweet very ripe, you can even use less.
Y’all! This is the best recipe I have found and I have made several!
I used 4 bananas instead of 3 and it was sooooo moist!! Incredible! This is my go-to recipe now ❤️
I did turn the heat down to 340 about 30 min and used a loose tin foil cover the rest of the 25ish min because it browned kind of quick on the top.
Hi Cindy! Thank you for sharing. I’m so glad you found a new go-to recipe!
I follllowed the recipe exactyly. The bottom was over done and the middle was goey. How do I fix this? Thanks
Hi Debbie! Did you use a different size pan by chance? It could be the type of material your pan is made of, different materials distribute heat differently. Check the placement of your oven rack to ensure it’s not too close to the heating element and I highly encourage the use of an Internal oven thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) to ensure your oven is heating correctly. I hope that helps.
I made this banana bread with chocolate chips and it is delicious! The batter is a lot more runny than I’m used to, so I was a little worried, but it turned out beautifully.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Adrianna!
This banana bread was so delicious and moist I don’t care for raisins but I happened to have chopped dates I used really tasty thank you as always for sharing your favorite recipes, still looking for a white birthday cake recipe God Bless 🙌
That’s wonderful, Sandi! Thank you for sharing.
I made a gluten free version of this cake and it came out amazing!
Flour substitution:
For 1-1/2 C flour, I substituted 1C buckwheat flour and a 1/2 cup tapioca starch (sometimes it’s called tapioca flour).
I use these flours a lot to substite for regular flour. And buckwheat is very nutritious.
Thank you Natasha for creating these excellent recipes!
That’s great, Rachel! Thank you so much for sharing that with us!
I want to use this recipe but put it in a muffin tin instead, how long do you suggest I bake for?
Hi Ava! You can reference my Banana muffin recipe