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.
This was the best I have had! Just added mini chocolate chips! Hubby, who doesn’t care for banana bread even ate a few pieces!
That’s great to hear! Thank you for the excellent review and feedback, Sharon.
Can I substitute almond flour and would the ratio stay the same?
Hi Sandy, I haven’t tested it myself but some of my readers have reported using GF flour successfully for this.
Ok, I hate reading reviews that rave about the recipe and lists all the different ways they changed it….and unfortunately this is one too but my friend who is a baker, assured me it wouldn’t be a big change. I’m not a baker and I only eat banana bread to be polite but what I made is amazing!!!! I followed this recipe except I was out of flour so I used jiffy baking mix…I still added the baking soda… and used walnuts incase that makes a difference. They are soooo light and fluffy not the dense little muffins I’ve only ever had!!! These are sooo good!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Gayle! I’m so glad it worked out with that substitution!
I made this today and OMG is it good. I used sugar in the raw, white wheat flour and dried mixed berries instead of raisins since non of us like raisins and baked it in a 8 loaf mini pan for 30 minutes. They came out perfect.
That sounds wonderful. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for this recipe. Best banana bread recipe I’ve found so far. Used 5 banana, a little less sugar and mistakenly used only 1/2 the butter it called for. Turned out beautifully.
Hi Maggie! I’m so glad you still loved it.
I want to make this tonight but I only have almonds and pistachios on hand for nuts and dates for dry fruit. Could it still work with any of these?
Hi Georgia! Yes, those would be fine too.
Fool proof like all of Natasha’s recipes. I use walnuts and golden raisins and mash the bananas in a potato ricer. I just purchased her cookbook.
Thank you so much, Delia! It means a lot that you would purchase my cookbook!
Made this in a little muffin pan and with 12 mins left of the 55mins they were burned to a crisp!
Hi April! The baking instructions are for a larger loaf pan, not mini muffins. They will get done significantly faster if you’re using a mini muffin pan so you’ll have to watch them in the oven so they don’t overbake/burn. Please reference my Banana muffins recipe which uses a standard cupcake/muffin pan.
I cooked mine in the exact pan as the recipe calls for and it is not burnt but way overdone. Next time I will take it out at 40 mins and see how it goes. I don’t even have a convection oven. Smells amazing though.
Such an easy recipe .. and it turned out excellent .. I used honey instead of sugar n whole wheat flour instead of regular white flour .. the result was amazing.. thank you so much for sharing this flawless recipe. I have made it 5 times already.. this one is my husband’s favorite.. definitely a keeper 💖
That’s wonderful! I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe. Thank you for sharing.
I MADE THIS BREAD AND I DOUBLE IT TO MAKE TWO LOAFS AND PUT I CUP OF WHITE SUGAR AND ONE OF BROWN SUGAR, VERY GOOD
I made this bread just as the recipe states and it is delicious! I got compliments on it and will make it again. Yummy!
So glad you loved it, Stacy! Thank you for the wonderful review. It’s our favorite to make.
Can I use self rising flour, and omit the baking soda and salt?
HI Sara, without testing that substitution, it’s difficult to guess how that would turn out. Keep in mind that Self-rising flour combines all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. Each cup (about 120 gm) self-rising flour has about 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Also, baking soda is 4 times stronger than baking powder so I suspect it would not be enough leavening.
To much walnut & raisin & not enough banana. Lessen nuts & raisin & increase banana. Also cook tim should start checking about 35 mins.
Hi Kimberly, if you are using a convection oven, you definitely want to start checking earlier.
Excellent! One of the best recipes I’ve tried. Simple to make. (I didn’t add the nuts or raisins)
So glad you loved it, Sue!
Any tips on keeping the banana bread from getting a soggy strip of uncooked bread on top? I tried baking longer but didn’t want to burn it.
Hi Amanda. Are you using the correct size pan? I’ve had this happen when the pan is too small and there is too much batter (it doesn’t cook well in the middle). Also, be sure to let the oven fully preheat before baking. I like to use an Internal oven thermometer (Amazon affiliate link) to help ensure the oven is heating correctly.
Other causes could be humidity. You could try lowering the temperature just a bit and baking a little while longer. I hope that helps.
I make this often, but always add a teaspoon of cinnamon! Banana bread really needs the cinnamon according to the kids! I have a loaf in the oven right now.
Made this on Christmas morning and my boyfriend loved it! I think we have a Christmas tradition.
Wonderful feedback, thank you!
Baking right now and it smells great! I added a splash of rum to the mashed bananas to bring the flavor out.
Yum! I hope you love it!
Took out at 45 minutes and was over baked. Bottom half was not edible. Tasted like it needed more sugar.
Hi Cece that is unusual – did you make sure your temperature was in Farenheight and also that you were using conventional oven mode and not convection? Convection bakes faster and requires modification.
I used a mini load pan that has 8 loaf pits. A batch perfectly filled the mini loaf spaces. 30 minutes, perfect. I made a batch of nut free by omitting the vanilla extract and walnuts.
Thank you for sharing. Deedee!
Can I use 4 bananas, and will mixing the ingredients all in one bowl affect the recipe? Thanks so much!
Hi Anon. It’s recommended to use 2 bowls for this to get the best results. Some of my viewers have used 4 bananas in this recipe just fine. I hope you love the recipe.