You can’t go wrong with a moist, sweet banana bread! 🍌 It’s one of those comforting classics that’s super easy to make and perfect for using up overripe bananas. Here’s a simple, delicious recipe for the best banana bread, with a little touch of cinnamon for extra flavor.
🍞 Classic Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 ripe bananas (about 1 ½ cups mashed)
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup granulated sugar (or ½ cup if you prefer it less sweet)
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
- 1/3 cup buttermilk or regular milk (you can also use yogurt)
- Optional: ½ cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips
Instructions
1. Preheat oven and prep pan:
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter or cooking spray, or line it with parchment paper for easy removal.
2. Mash the bananas:
- In a large bowl, mash the ripe bananas with a fork or potato masher until smooth with a few chunks left.
3. Mix the wet ingredients:
- Stir in the melted butter to the mashed bananas.
- Beat in the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until well combined.
- Add the buttermilk (or milk/yogurt) and mix it all together.
4. Combine the dry ingredients:
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon (if using).
- Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing just until combined.
- Do not overmix — a few lumps are totally fine.
- If you’re adding walnuts or chocolate chips, fold them in gently at the end.
5. Bake:
- Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake for 60–65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- If the bread starts to brown too quickly, cover the top loosely with aluminum foil.
6. Cool and serve:
- Let the banana bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Slice and enjoy warm or at room temperature!
Tips for Perfect Banana Bread
- Overripe bananas work best — the riper, the sweeter and more flavorful your bread will be!
- For extra moistness, you can add 1/4 cup sour cream or Greek yogurt in place of some of the milk.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can easily make a substitute by adding 1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar to regular milk and letting it sit for 5 minutes before using.
Optional Variations
- Add-ins: You can mix in chocolate chips, dried fruit, toasted coconut, or chopped nuts (like pecans or almonds) for added texture and flavor.
- Topping: Sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on top of the batter before baking for a sweet, crunchy crust.
Banana bread is so versatile — you can make it your own with different flavors, but this basic recipe is a tried-and-true winner. Would you like to try a banana chocolate chip bread or maybe a cinnamon swirl banana bread?
