Grab yourself four overripe bananas and a few other pantry items to make this super Easy Banana Bread. It’s great for breakfast or even dessert. You will find it moist and delicious!
This is just one of the bread recipes that my family and readers love!

 

Do you ever buy too many bananas? I know I do way too often. Some weeks, my family will have them consumed in no time at all. Then I have some weeks that I am needing a recipe that incorporates the left overs.

I quite often have to remind myself mid week to check the status of our banana situation. If I buy too many, my family will request their favorite Easy Homemade Banana Cream Pie or this easy banana bread recipe. Baking quick breads is so simple so I quite often will bake bread with ripe bananas.

Moist banana bread is great for breakfast, a snack or dessert! You can make it easily with or without additional mix-ins. Make it a Banana Bread with nuts if you like lots of texture.

Why you’ll love this Easy Banana Bread recipe

• This is the perfect sweet bread recipe for over ripe bananas. I know having extra bananas happens to most of us.
• This banana bread from scratch requires just one bowl so cleanup is a breeze.
• Go ahead and add some pecans, walnuts, raisins, chocolate chips, freeze dried fruit… it’s a fully customizable recipe.
• This bread recipe makes a perfect gift during the holidays or as a quick thoughtful neighbor gift. Just wrap the loaf in some plastic wrap and add a personalized note.

Banana Bread Ingredients

To make this Easy Banana Bread recipe, you’re going to need a handful of pantry staples- plus some overripe bananas you need to get rid of. Here’s everything you’ll need:

• Bananas – You’ll want to use very ripe bananas for this recipe. Deeply brown bananas are going to work the best but you can even get away with using black bananas if you check for mold and any bad smells.
• Eggs
• Vanilla Extract
• Sugar – We used white granulated sugar for our banana bread recipe.
• Vegetable Oil
• Flour – We just used plain all-purpose flour this time around. Sometimes, we’ll use a 50/50 blend of all-purpose and wheat flour for a more rustic banana bread.
• Baking Soda

You’ll also want to have something like shortening on hand for greasing a loaf pan.

See recipe card for quantities.

How to make the BEST Banana Bread

Making Homemade Banana Bread is so easy! Once you’ve made it a few times, you’ll be able to make it in your sleep. There will be no need for any special kitchen tools like a hand mixer. To make a loaf or two for yourself, here’s what you’ll do:

• Peel your bananas and add them to a medium to large mixing bowl. Use a fork to thoroughly mash them.

• In a separate bowl, crack your eggs and beat them together before adding to the mashed bananas along with the sugar, vanilla extract, and oil. Stir well with something like a spatula or wooden spoon to combine all of these wet ingredients.

• Briefly whisk together the flour and baking soda before adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. This will form a sort of “bread batter” that we can transfer to a prepared loaf pan. I used an 8×4 size but most any similar sized pan will work. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out clean. Cooking times can very as all of our ovens are different. Allow at least 15 minutes for the bread to cool before transferring to a cooling rack.

Substitutions

Banana Bread is great because you’ll usually have all the ingredients you need on hand. Just in case you need to make a few substitutions, here’s some you can use:

• Bananas – If you don’t have bananas, your closest substitute is going to be using plantains and making Plantain Bread. If you have bananas but they aren’t ripe, consider baking the bananas in their peels at 300 degrees for around 15 minutes. You could also try the Brown Paper Bag Method for ripening bananas quickly that the Pioneer Woman has shared. These baked bananas won’t be as good as ripe bananas but they’ll work and you will still have tons of banana flavor.
• Sugar – Of course, there’s tons of other sugars out there you can pick from when your making banana bread. Something like light brown sugar is the first thing that comes to mind: it’ll give your banana bread a caramel-y sweetness that’ll work great! You could also sub in something like honey, maple syrup, or agave syrup if you prefer those.
• Vegetable Oil– If you prefer to use melted butter instead of the oil, feel free to give it a try. I have not tested but, it should work as well.
• Eggs – Out of eggs or only have one left? Try using some applesauce as a substitute for eggs: up to 1/4 cup of applesauce per egg missing. This’ll help keep some of that moisture in our finished bread and it’ll add in some extra flavor too. This is a great option if you’re interested in a vegan Bread.

Variations

There’s plenty of other bread recipes made with bananas you can make using our recipe as a starting point. Here’s a few ideas for variations to get you started:

• Banana Nut Bread – One of the most popular banana bread recipes has to be Banana Nut Bread as it is a classic. It’s easy to turn our recipe into a Banana Nut Bread recipe too: just add in 1/2 cup to 1 cup of nuts to your banana bread batter. You can make a Walnut Banana Bread, a Pecan Banana Bread, or use any other nuts you like!
• Loaded Banana Bread – Nuts aren’t the only thing you can add to your bread batter. There’s plenty of other add-ins that can packs tons of flavor into your next loaf of banana bread. Consider adding some raisins or other dried fruits, chocolate chips, or even tropical fruits like coconut and pineapple.
• Spiced Bread with bananas – Adding baking spices to your next banana bread loaf is another solid option. Go with stuff like cinnamon, nutmeg, or allspice. If you have them on hand, you can even use something like Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice or Apple Pie Spice.

Storage / Freezing

Storage: Storing bread is pretty easy, whether you keep the bread in the fridge or out on the counter. Wrap your homemade loaf well in plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container. Kept at room temperature, expect it to last 4-5 days. In the fridge, you’ll probably get a good 6-7 days out of it.

Freezing: You can even freeze this bread and it’ll hold up pretty well. Tightly wrap your bread in plastic wrap and/or foil and transfer to a ziploc freezer bag. Keep in the freezer for 3-6 months (for best results) or up to a year and let thaw at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

Other Banana Recipes that I have shared

Looking for bread recipes? Try these:

• Banana Pudding
• Banana Cake
• Bananas Foster French Toast Casserole
• Creamy Strawberry Banana Salad

Other Bread Recipes

Here are some more of our other bread recipes I shared: