Skip to Content

Banana Bread – the Best Made From Scratch Recipe

Sharing is caring!

Banana Bread is one of those delicious desserts that can be made at a moment's notice and is perfect with a cup of hot tea or coffee. The next time you are in a pinch, look up this recipe and make a batch!

When my kids were little, one of my favorite recipes to make was banana bread. It was simple and easy and used only a few pantry ingredients. I would wait until bananas were on sale and then I would buy up a bunch and make a few loaves of my made-from-scratch banana bread.

banana bread featured image

These loaves make great gifts for Christmas and birthdays. This recipe has stayed a family favorite and to this day brings back so many memories of laughter and love in the kitchen with my kids making a batch.

Ingredients List

banana bread hero image

This really is the best banana bread recipe, period. You can mix everything in one bowl, you can vary the amount of sugar or bananas. And the secret to its great flavor? Melted butter.

banana bread

Here is what you need to make this:

  • 2 to 3 very ripe bananas, peeled
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar (1/2 cup if you would like it less sweet, 1 cup if sweeter)
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
Banana Bread Step 1

Use over-ripe bananas for the best bread. The yellow peels should be at least half browned, and the bananas inside squishy and browning.

Bake the Bread

banana bread

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and butter a 4×8-inch loaf pan. In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.

Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.

banana bread step 2

Mix everything together and place in a loaf pan. I like the Pyrex-type glass dish as things don't stick as badly as they do with metal pans.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F (175°C), or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Banana Bread Step 1

Mix everything together and place in a loaf pan. I like the Pyrex type glass dish as things don't stick as badly as they do with metal pans.

The best bananas to use for banana bread are those that are over-ripe. The yellow peels should be at least half browned, and the bananas inside squishy and browning.

banana bread

This is where you need to watch the bread. You will think it is completely done, but the middle takes a bit longer, so make sure that the inside of the middle is baked through otherwise you have to cut it out.

Remove from oven and cool completely on a rack. Remove the banana bread from the pan. Slice and serve.

banana bread step 3

And that is it! This is the perfect easy recipe that will make one of the best-tasting dishes you will ever make. Be sure and use a bread knife to cut your loaf with because the serrated teeth will allow it to make clean cuts and not tear your bread apart.

When your family walks in smelling this, they will feel loved and adored 🙂

Yield: 1 loaf

Banana Bread – the Best Made From Scratch Recipe

Banana Bread – the Best Made From Scratch Recipe

This banana bread is so moist and delicious. It's easy to make and can be frozen for later

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 very ripe bananas, peeled
  • 1/3 cup melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup if you would like it less sweet, 1 cup if sweeter​
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C), and butter a 4x8-inch loaf pan.
  2. In a mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork until completely smooth. Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas.
  3. Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour.
  4. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F (175°C), or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
  5. Remove from oven and cool completely on a rack. Remove the banana bread from the pan. Slice and serve.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

10

Serving Size:

1 slice

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 239Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 195mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 1gSugar: 24gProtein: 3g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Stacey

Saturday 15th of July 2023

What kind of sugar - brown (light or dark) or regular granulated. Type of salt - table or can I use kosher or sea? What size of egg - small, medium, large, extra large? Salted or unsalted butter and is measurement before of after melting? So I brown the butter or just melt it. Recipe is very vague and I am not a baker so many questions based on searches for recipes.

Jennifer Sikora

Tuesday 18th of July 2023

I am not sure what post you are reading, but in both the article and the recipe card I state everything that you are asking. My advice is to always read a recipe thoroughly before making it.

Mary Kay

Monday 9th of September 2019

This recipe is simple and I have made it twice now , it is delicious and bakes well in my new Rachel Ray pans .

Jennifer Sikora

Sunday 22nd of September 2019

So glad you love it!! It's my favorite too and Rachel Ray always has great pans for sure.

April

Monday 20th of March 2017

This sounds delicious! I loooooooooooooove banana bread. I actually planned on making banana bread tomorrow but then I noticed somebody ate the last couple bananas lol, so now I have to wait to go to the market tomorrow!

Manju Mahadevan

Monday 20th of March 2017

Banana bread is always a favorite and yours looks nice and moist. My favorite recipe has some sour cream in it too but I think i can use this recipe, if I run out of sour cream any time.

Lynn | The Road to Honey

Sunday 19th of March 2017

Isn't it so interesting how certain foods can trigger so many memories. For me it's zucchini nut bread. I remember when I was little my mother's garden would produce more zucchini than we could keep up with so we would make batch after batch of zucchini nut bread & freeze it so that it could be enjoyed throughout the year. This simple banana bread looks delicious. . .and as luck would have it. . .I happen to have ripe bananas resting patiently on top of my fridge.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe