Super Moist Banana Nut Bread Recipe
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Every baker should have a trusted, go-to easy banana bread recipe in their back pocket. This is my favorite one! With a super moist and buttery texture, this banana bread is sweetened with brown sugar, spiced with cinnamon, and loaded with (optional) nuts. See below for how to turn this banana bread recipe into muffins or how to use unripe bananas if you don’t want to wait for your bananas to turn!
YOU WILL LOVE THIS SUPER MOIST BANANA NUT BREAD RECIPE
This is the banana bread recipe I’ve been making since I met my husband in 2007. My (now) mother-in-law used to make this recipe all the time, and when I started baking from scratch, this recipe was one of the first ones I made regularly. It’s so simple, it doesn’t require any odd ingredients, and came from trusted Better (Crocker) herself!
A quick peek at the recipe, and you might think “there doesn’t seem to be anything special about this recipe. What makes it so good?” That right there is it. This moist banana bread recipe is so simple and unassuming that it actually uses water as an ingredient. Odd, right?
Maybe not! This recipe originated in the 80s, when everything was as simple as could be as the shift to two-income households started to change the way we did things. Not only that, but recipes that kids could make with little to no help? Even better!
This delicious banana bread recipe has stood the test of time, and while I do have a few iterations of this bread on my site, I don’t see a reason to change what works. This bread, in all its simplicity, produces the perfect loaf of banana bread for all your overripe banana needs. Add in nuts, swap for chocolate chips, or leave everything out and just let those bananas shine!
The only bad way to do banana bread is to not do it at all.
KEY BANANA BREAD INGREDIENTS
As I mentioned, no fancy ingredients here. If you’re using previously frozen bananas, make sure they’re completely thawed so you can mash them properly.
ALL-PURPOSE FLOUR: be sure to measure your flour properly. I have used half all-purpose and half whole wheat flour as well as gluten free flour (use 1:1 measure-for-measure) in this recipe with perfect results.
WHITE & BROWN SUGARS: we’ll use both to sweeten this bread, with a goal of adding moisture with the brown sugar.
BUTTER: be sure your butter is at room temperature. You’ll want your eggs and water to be room temperature, too. I typically use unsalted butter in my baking, but you can use salted butter if you prefer.
BANANAS: you’ll need 3 ripe bananas for this bread. You’re looking for about 1 and ½ cups of mashed bananas.
NUTS (OPTIONAL): I love nuts in my banana bread, but you can omit them if you prefer. I like to use pecans or walnuts, and often use a blend of both. If you want to swap in chocolate chips, go for it! Aim for keeping the add-ins to ½ cup total.
HOW TO RIPEN BANANAS
To ripen bananas quickly, stick them in a paper bag. This will help trap the gas released by the bananas which speeds up the ripening process.
You can also use the trick I use for my banana bread with unripe bananas and make roasted bananas. Visit that post for details on how you can use very yellow or even greenish bananas to make this exact recipe.
OVERVIEW: HOW TO MAKE BANANA NUT BREAD
Mash the bananas: you can use a potato masher or your stand mixer/handheld mixer to do this. I like to leave some larger chunks of banana, but you want to make sure the majority of your bananas are super smashed.
Combine the dry ingredients: toss together so they’re blended really well.
Cream the butter & sugar: I’ve tried this recipe with melted butter and I just prefer the fluffiness that comes with creaming the butter and sugar instead. This is the most involved step!
Add the dry ingredients: slowly add the dry ingredients and stir just until the batter comes together.
Add the nuts: I like to add my add-ins while there is still some mixing that needs to happen. That way, the rigid add-ins can help break up flour pockets and we don’t wind up overmixing the batter.
Bake: this is quite a long bake, about 1 hour. You’ll want to look for moist crumbs on your toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the baked loaf.
CLASSIC BANANA BREAD SUBSTITUTIONS
Feel free to omit the nuts entirely or use a different of nut. You can also play around with the spices. I love a heavy cinnamon note! But if you want some other cozy spices, you can consider ginger and/or nutmeg.
CAN I TURN THIS INTO CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD?
Absolutely! This recipe takes well to any kind of nut, and any kind of chip. Aim for keeping the add-ins to ½ cup total. We love using peanut butter chips for a fun twist!
HOW TO STORE BANANA BREAD
Be sure you’re storing banana bread covered tightly as it will lose moisture significantly if exposed to air. To make it last even longer, you can stick it in the refrigerator.
CAN YOU FREEZE BANANA BREAD?
You can absolutely freeze this bread and it saves beautifully. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap or foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
DOES BANANA BREAD NEED TO BE REFRIGERATED?
It does not need to be refrigerated, but storing it in the fridge can extend its life. I like to warm my bread up (lightly toasted with butter, please!) so the chill doesn’t bother me. If it bothers you, set out your slice for about 15-20 minutes to take the chill off.
BANANA NUT BREAD RECIPE FAQs
Classic Banana Bread with Brown Sugar and Nuts
Ingredients
- 1 and ⅔ cup (200g) all-purpose flour be sure to measure properly
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (100g) firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature preferred
- 3 medium size ripe bananas mashed (about 1 and ½ cups)
- ⅓ cup (80mL) water room temperature
- ½ cup (60g) chopped nuts1 optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (177ºC). Spray a 9" x 5" loaf pan with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat both of the sugars and the butter together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs and beat again until completely incorporated. Add the banana and the water and beat again until everything is combined.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, stopping when everything is just incorporated. Gently stir in the nuts, if using, with a large spatula, and combine the rest of the batter with a spatula until no large flour pockets remain.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, then bake the loaf for 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Allow loaf to cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack before serving. Loaf stays fresh, covered tightly at room temperature, up to 5 days, or in the refrigerator up to 1 week. Loaf freezes well. Remove from pan and wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
Notes
- Nuts: I prefer walnuts or pecans, or you can use a combination of the two (I often do this). You can also replace the nuts with chocolate chips, or use half nuts and half chocolate chips.
- Banana bread varieties: try my salted caramel banana bread or almond flour banana bread next.
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
Nostalgia alert! This looks EXACTLY like the banana bread my mom used to make us growing up, and I’ve been search for the recipe for-ev-er. She said she just loosely followed a recipe in one of her favorite cookbooks, but couldn’t remember which. Probably Betty! YOU ARE AMAZING, lady. Going to have to bookmark this one for some weekend baking and a trip down memory lane.
YES! Probably!! I have a little cutout from a photocopy from my MIL, and it actually was pretty hard to find the Google link, hahaha. I hope you try it and love it!
This is the BEST banana bread I’ve ever had! Huge hit with my picky eaters… the neighbors… anyone who’s tried it!
Thanks so much, Tara! I’m really glad you and your crew enjoyed it.
I am not a very good baker, but this recipe is super simple and easy to follow and DELICIOUS. The cinnamon elevates the flavor making it even more yummy.
So happy to hear this, Sarah!
Making this again today!
Awesome, Sarah! Enjoy!
Quick and easy! I make it without the nuts and my kids love it!!
Thanks so much, Ashley! So glad everyone loves it.
When it seems inconvenient to make banana bread with over-ripe bananas, this recipe turns that around. It’s so, so simple and the most delicious!
Love this. Thanks, Lauren!
Delicious! Whenever I have some over ripe bananas I make some kind of banana bread/muffins. I tried this recipe today and subbed chocolate chips for nuts so that way my daughter could enjoy them at her nut free school. I will definitely keep this recipe now as my staple banana bread!
Thanks so much, Alex 🙂
I’ve always liked the recipe in my Betty Crocker cookbook because it has buttermilk. Which I never have, so I make sour milk. I always thought that was the key to the moistness! I don’t add cinnamon, maybe I’ll try next time. I do occasionally add chocolate chips, because they always make everything taste better, right? I also toss my bananas, peel and all, in a ziplock and throw in the freezer. I keep reading to peel them first! Never in mmm~hmm years have I done that! Hahaa