This one-bowl banana bread is the one we make every single week when our bananas inevitably go bad. It’s flavorful, moist, and so easy to make by just mixing everything up in one bowl.
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Simple banana Bread
Everyone has their favorite banana bread recipe and this is mine. My husband tried out all sorts of different banana bread recipes (including our chocolate peanut butter banana bread) out there then combined his favorite parts of each to make this one.
And it’s kind of perfect. It’s soft, has a ton of banana flavor, and not only tastes good on its own but also tastes good toasted up in the toaster oven for a bit. Pretty sure I let our bananas ripen half the time just so he’ll make this!
Why You’ll Love This
- No oil needed – this recipes uses just melted butter so it’s perfect if you’re like us and don’t use a ton of vegetable oil in your baking.
- Fail-proof – my husband is NOT a baker and he makes this perfect every single time. It’s really that easy as long as you take it out of the oven when the timer beeps!
- Easy to double or triple – want to make bread for your neighbors or gifts? This one is super simple to make in big batches by just increasing the ingredients!
banana Bread Ingredients
Ingredient Notes + Substitutions
- Bananas – make sure your bananas are nice and ripe so you can mash them well.
- Butter – salted or unsalted works just fine, melt and let cool before adding to the banana bread batter.
- Flour – I’ve always just used all-purpose flour for this.
How to Make Banana Bread
Making banana bread is one of the easiest things ever, it’s probably why it’s the one bread recipe I feel like everyone has made at some point!
Here’s a quick walkthrough of how to make this bread but make sure to check out the recipe card at the bottom for specific measurements and details!
1 – Make the Banana Bread Batter
- Mash the bananas either with a fork or hand mixer in a bowl.
- Add the melted butter and mix into the bananas.
- Add all the other ingredients and combine.
- Pour the batter into a buttered bread pan.
2 – Bake the Banana Bread batter
- Place the bread pan into an oven preheated to 350 degrees and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick put in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
- Use a knife to go around the edges of the pan to prevent sticking then turn the bread out onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
- Slice and serve with your favorite toppings!
Helpful Tip
Allowing the bread to sit and cool completely allows the insides to set and finish cooking as it cools. It’s fine if you want to slice it and eat a piece or two while still warm, but if you slice the entire thing right out of the oven it’ll often fall apart because the insides haven’t settled yet.
This bread is so good toasted in the toaster oven for a few minutes then slathered with butter on top. Or just eat it plain or add your favorite jam or jelly. It’s pretty much good no matter how you prefer to eat it!
How to store Banana Bread
Once the banana bread has completely cooled, place it in a gallon size zipper top bag and store airtight at room temperature. If you put it in the storage bag before it’s completely cooled however, it could steam up the bag and add moisture to your bread that you don’t want. It’s already moist enough without added steam.
I just put the entire loaf (or what’s left of it anyway) in the bag and zip it up. If you want to make life easier on yourself, you could also just slice up the entire loaf and place all of the slices in the bag instead. I just never know how much I’m going to want, so I leave it unsliced and often times just do a half slice or a mini slice.
How to Freeze Banana Bread
This bread freezes beautifully. I personally like to slice it and freeze each individual slice on its own. You can either wrap them up with plastic wrap and put in freezer safe baggies or you can just put them directly into baggies.
When you’re ready to thaw, just pull out the number of slices you want and let them come to room temperature before eating. Or just put them directly in the toaster oven or oven and heat until warm.
I typically make a couple of loaves and freeze the leftovers we don’t eat during the week and just use that until I make banana bread again!
More Bread Recipes
If you like quick breads, you have to try these other ones next! They’re some of our most popular recipes!
- Cranberry orange bread – our 5 star recipe that we’ve been making for over 15 years and everyone always loves!
- Pineapple bread – a tropical tasting bread full of delicious pineapple flavor!
- Ice cream bread – this fun funfetti bread is perfect for parties!
- Cinnamon swirl bread – a sweet quick bread with a cinnamon swirl inside!
- Chocolate chip zucchini bread recipe – the best way to enjoy zucchini!
- Lemon poppyseed bread – a sweet, moist, and full of flavor lemon bread!
Recipe FAQs
What size bread pan should I cook this in?
We typically bake this banana bread in an 8×4 bread pan, but you really could use any size you want – the size of the loaf and the cook time will just be slightly different so check it earlier than is written in the recipe.
How do I make this into mini banana bread loaves?
If you’re using a standard mini loaf pan (typically 5.75 x 3 x 2 inch), this will make four mini loaves if you fill the loaves about 2/3 of the way full. Still cook at 350 degrees but start checking the loaves at 30 minutes because smaller loaves cook much faster than the standard size one.
Easy Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe bananas mashed
- 6 TBS butter melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 ½ cups flour
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and butter an 9×5 inch bread loaf pan.
- Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Then add the butter and mix until combined.3 very ripe bananas, 6 TBS butter
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.1 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 large egg, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 pinch salt
- Pour the batter into 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly then remove from the oven.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes then carefully use a knife to go around the edges of the loaf pan to help the bread come out.
- Carefully move the bread out of the pan and onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before slicing and serving.
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