Banana Bread

Why Banana Bread Is Always a Classic

Besides being easy and tasting great, it’s the perfect way to use up bananas that are getting a little too ripe for munching. Plus, it’s just so cozy! Banana bread is a baked good with comfort and love baked into every bite. 🥰

Recipe Ingredients

• Bananas – Two or three large ripe bananas will give you plenty of mash. The riper they are, the sweeter and more banana-y your bread will be.
• Eggs bind the batter and give your bread a good structure.
• Sour Cream lends a nice tang to the bread while keeping it moist and light.
• Flour – Grab your all-purpose flour, and be ready to add baking soda and powder to the mix to help your bread rise. Yes, your favorite gluten-free all-purpose flour will also work fine.
• Sugar – Both granulated and brown sugar give this bread just the right amount of sweetness.
• Butter – For rich flavor and tender crumb, don’t forget the butter!
• Flavor Players – To spice things up, you’ll need vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Optionally, add allspice, cloves, cardamom, and nuts to the mix for warm and bright flavor notes and a delightful crunchy texture. 

How to Make Moist Banana Bread

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and set it aside.
2. Mash: In a medium mixing bowl, mash the bananas with a potato masher or puree them in a blender.
3. Moist Ingredients: Add eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and melted butter to the bananas and mix until smooth. Set aside.
4. Dry Ingredients: Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

5. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry for about 2 minutes or until the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Fold in nuts if using.
6. Pour: Scrape down the sides, pour the batter into a loaf pan, and spread evenly.
7. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Serve: Cool, remove it from the pan, slice, and serve.

Recipe Variations

• Add flavor! Nuts, like pecans and walnuts, are excellent options. Dried cranberries, raisins, pumpkin seeds, chocolate chips, coconut flakes, and lime zest all add amazing flavor and texture.
• Make banana muffins by dividing the batter between the muffin pan wells and bake them at 375℉ for 30 minutes.

Tips and Tricks

• Always grease your pan well before baking to prevent the loaf from sticking. Lining your pan with parchment paper also helps.
• Resist the urge to peak. Don’t open your oven to check on the bread too much – especially at the beginning of the bake. Opening the door repeatedly can make the oven temperature fluctuate and affect the quality and timing of the bake. 
• If your bread looks a little too brown but hasn’t passed the toothpick test yet, turn the temperature down a bit and tent foil over it for the last few minutes.
• Ripen bananas faster for banana bread by putting them in a warm, sunny spot. Or wrap them in a brown paper bag and put them in a warm spot.
• This recipe is so easy you don’t even need a hand mixer, but you can use one either way.

Make-Ahead Instructions

Make it a day or two ahead of time if you’d like. It tastes just as good the day after baking! You can also freeze banana bread by the loaf or individual slices for up to three months. Thaw them whenever a craving hits. 

Serving and Storage Instructions 

Serve warm or at room temperature. Store banana bread at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days, in the fridge for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to three months. 

What Goes With Banana Bread

Slather your banana bread with caramel sauce for a super easy dessert, then add a dollop of homemade whipped cream. Cream cheese frosting and hard sauce are two more great options. Serve it with a pumpkin spice latte, and your life will be complete! 😋

More Recipes to Try

• Texas Sheet Cake
• Condensed Milk Sweet Potato Pie
• Pineapple Pound Cake
• Chocolate Delight
• Honeybun Cake