I know, I know, you don’t need to tell me that there are already four banana bread recipes on this site, plus four additional banana cakes, and that’s probably enough, right? Genuinely, I believed I was done too, that the Banana Baked Goods course at SK University* had been completed. But then a few things happened. After creating the pumpkin bread of my dreams and what I hope will be the last zucchini bread recipe you’ll ever need over the last couple years, it began to bother me that the banana bread recipes on the site lacked what these have: a towering height and a crunchy top that will be hard not to lift off in one giant tile and swiftly coat the underside with salted butter. So, I created one and I’ve been keeping it to myself for over a year because, see above: SK is probably at Banana Bread Capacity. But over the last few weeks of, well, not doing a whole lot else, I can’t help but notice that we’ve all been making a whole lot of banana bread. And I think you might like this one instead.
Now, here’s the deal: You’re going to need 5 bananas. You might only use 4 but we are going to need 2 heaped mashed cups and that, for me, usually required part or all of the 5th banana. You’re not allowed to balk at the recipe using a full cup of sugar or two additional tablespoons on top — when you make a banana bread that’s 1.5x the volume of most, you need more of each ingredient (crazy, I know). You’re going to need to take a risk, that is to fill an exactly 6-cup (9×5-inch) loaf pan nearly to the brim and watch as the banana bread climbs to and even a little over it while it bakes. I’ve made this a few times and it’s never spilled over — you might want to put a tray underneath the first time, to play it safe because no matter how bored you are, I bet you’re not scrub-the-oven-just-because bored. You’re going to need to bake this for an hour, during which it will get quite dark on top but I promise, it will not taste burnt. And if you can bear it, you should wait until tomorrow to cut into it. It’s fine today but it’s excellent tomorrow. The top is as crunchy as a pretzel, the inside is plush and perfectly-crumbed, yet less squidgy than previous iterations. I can’t wait to make more.
* Please note additional appendices of Banana Tarte Tatin in The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook and Banana Bread Roll in Smitten Kitchen Every Day. No banana word yet on this baby.
Previously
Six months ago: Chickpea and Kale Shakshuka
One year ago: Essential French Onion Soup
Two years ago: Asparagus and Egg Salad with Walnuts and Mint
Three years ago: Cornbread Waffles and Mushroom Tartines
Four years ago: Sesame Soba and Ribboned Omelet Salad and Apricot Hazelnut Brown Butter Hamantaschen
Five years ago: The Consolation Prize (A Mocktail) and Baked Chickpeas with Pita Chips and Yogurt
Six years ago: Whole-Grain Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Seven years ago: Lentil and Chickpea Salad with Feta and Tahini
Eight years ago: Soft Eggs with Buttery Herb-Gruyere Toast Soldiers
Nine years ago: Spaetzle
Ten years ago: Irish Soda Bread Scones and Spinach and Chickpeas
Eleven years ago: Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Sauce and Bialys
Twelve years ago: Caramel Walnut Banana Upside Down Cake and Swiss Easter Rice Tart
Thirteen years ago: Mixed Berry Pavlova
Ultimate Banana Bread
- 1/2 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus more for pan
- 1 cup (190 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 2 slightly heaped cups (about 18 ounces or 510 grams) (updated weight, see why) of mashed banana, from 4 extra-large or 5 medium-large bananas
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
- 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
- A few gratings of fresh nutmeg (optional)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 cups (260 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) raw or turbinado sugar (on top)
Melt butter in a large bowl and whisk in brown sugar until smooth, then stir in mashed banana. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Sprinkle the surface of the batter evenly with salt, cinnamon, nutmeg (if using), baking soda, and baking powder, and whisk until the ingredients are fully dispersed in the batter, and then whisk 10 more times around the bowl because it’s better to be overly cautious than to end up with unmixed pockets. Add flour and stir until combined. Scrape batter into prepared loaf pan. It should come to just over 1/2-inch from the top rim. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the raw sugar; it will seem like a lot but will bake up beautifully.
Bake banana bread for 55 to 65 minutes. It is done when a toothpick or skewer inserted into the bread is batter-free — be sure to check the upper third as well, near the rim of the pan; that’s where I’d find the unbaked pockets of batter hanging out. The bread will get very dark but will not taste burnt.
Let cool in pan. This banana bread is good on the first day but exceptional on the second and third, if you can bear to wait.
To store: Leave the banana bread in the pan, uncovered. Once cut, press a piece of foil against the cut side of the remaining loaf but leave the top uncovered — you worked hard for that crunchy top and should not sacrifice it to humidity. It keeps for five days at room temperature, possibly a week in the fridge, but it vanishes in two to three days, max, so you, like us, might never find out.
Funny- I just made your jacked up banana bread recipe yesterday (without jacking it up) after searching for a more recent one. Looking forward to trying this one!
I needed this yesterday!!!!!!!! I had 5 bananas that came to 2 cups (THANK YOU for having a real measure and not “2 medium bananas”) but my usual recipe only uses 1.5. I had hoped to make a double batch. Anyway when I can find bananas again I am alllllll over this recipe.
This is pretty much exactly the age-old Better Homes and Gardens recipe, but with the brown sugar in place of white, which is what I’ve always done since inheriting this recipe from my mom. The sugar on top is a creative addition.
Sorry didn’t mean my comment to be a reply to yours. Darn phone.
Made this today! With Nutella swirls. Cannot wait to try it. It is currently cooling. Had no issues with it spilling out and my pan is the same size as the one in your recipe.
I just put it in the oven! Licked the spoon, and raw it’s delicious!! I added walnuts. Can’t wait ‘til it’s baked!! Perfect quarantine comfort food!!❤️
Can not wait to make this once I get my hands on bananas. I am going to make them in a muffin pan and add nuts, because nuts are required in banana bread in my mind :)
I made the jacked up banana bread in muffin cups! Perfection
Just made this and it’s delicious but got a bit dense toward the bottom. The top is light and fluffy though! Anything I can do to avoid this difference?
Love making these in the pampered chef mini loaf pan! Bigger than a muffin but cooks faster than a loaf pan!
I made this this morning and it turned out perfectly! It’s light and moist, and the crunchy lid takes it over the top. I added some pecans. Thanks for sharing. This recipe is a keeper.
Ha! your timing is perfect Deb. I’m trapped here at home with my WFH table overlooking a bowl with 5 bananas that hubs has declared “rotting”. I’d been paying with math to determine if I could get 2 loaves of Jacked Up Banana Bread, but will now try out this one. It will get bonus walnuts because it’s required in this house. Something to keep me busy until my new pet Beast the sourdough starter gets a little further along. Thanks.
You can keep posting banana recipes as often as you want IMO.
Also, where’s the bourbon? Can I add some?
I made this last night and added 1.5 tablespoons because this loaf is a little larger than the jacked up recipe. Worked perfectly :)
I’ve been buy way too many bananas lately and have tried a few recipes for banana bread. To make it vegan I substituted margarine for butter and “flax eggs” for eggs, and I have to say I am SO pleased how this recipe helped me achieve a moist banana bread that is light and delicious. My new go-to recipe for Banana Bread. Thank you!
Whaaaat!? Why didn’t you tell us??? Details?!?!
I agree! Exciting news—congratulations!
We made it today and it was a good base for future interactions for us! I found it to be too sweet for our tastes. If we reduced the sugar by 1/2 would we need to reduce any other ingredient to compensate (Ie liquid)?
Thanks for all you do!!
Can this be made ahead and frozen? And if made as muffins, how long should they bake?
I wasn’t feeling loaf either. I baked it as muffins x 25 minutes and that worked out. I did add 1 cup of chocolate chips though.
Is it possible to freeze this banana bread?
I love this banana bread recipe and have made it several times.
Would the bread maintain it nice crunchy top if it was frozen after baking for a few days?
thank you
I’ve made this at least 10x. Last night I tried it as muffins- worked great! I got 12 large muffins, baked for 24 minutes. I only used 1/4c brown sugar and added chopped pecans and dark chocolate chunks. I could eat them all.
I will not lie. I have been waiting for zucchini and pumpkin breads to get a banana sibling recipe! Yay!
This looks amazing! Do you have any suggestions for replacing the eggs? My hubs is allergic and I have yet to find a good egg-free banana bread recipe. Sigh.
I’m allergic as well and just made the jacked up banana bread, before I discovered this new recipe.
I replaced the egg for 3 tbsp chickpea water from a can of chickpeas (aka aquafaba, 1 egg = 3 tbsp aquafaba).
I also replaced the butter for non dairy butter, because allergies. Works like a charm!
Can’t wait to make this new version!
Hello Deb. Would a 9″×4″×4″ pan work, your Banana bread looks good and wonderful 🍌🍞🍌👍
Keep safe..😷
Since I am quarantined…no bananas, but lots of frozen ones. Think I could defrost them for this recipe? I have never tried frozen bananas in baked goods- just smoothies!
Bonnie: Yes, you can use your frozen bananas successfully in this recipe. Defrost some frozen banana chunks, then whip with a fork to “mash”. If you do this in a glass measuring cup you can prep the exact amount that you need. I’ve used frozen bananas many times for recipes like this and they work well. Good luck!
Making my third loaf. My husband, toddler and I can’t get enough. Such a great recipe!
While smittenkitchen is my go-to-site for al,ost everything else I end up making this vegan banana bread every single time. Maybe you and your husband will like it, too: https://ohsheglows.com/2016/10/07/vegan-banana-bread/
But no bourbon?? Would it totally throw off the recipe to jack this up?
Hello! The Superiority Burger banana bread doesn’t use any eggs and is delicious— I highly recommend it! You can probably find the recipe online, if you don’t have access to the cookbook.
Hi there! I am desperately looking for this Superiority recipe online. I thought I knew it by heart, but can’t remember the measurements! Any chance you can share? :)
I use Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer in nearly all of my baking for my egg-allergic daughter- works great most of the time!
I had success with a ground flax egg replacement (1 tbsp flax meal plus 3 tbsp water for each egg).
The kitchn tested the 8 best egg replacements and found carbonated water was the best
thekitchn.com/best-egg-substitutes-baking-23003895%3famp=1
https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-a-flax-egg/ Might be a substitute. The same site has a few recipes for banana bread. I’ve made her recipe for banana bread muffins for two a zillion times so imagine the others would be good.
Use chia seeds to make an egg replacer!
It’s simple – just mix 1 Tbsp chia seeds + 2.5 Tbsp water = a chia egg.
We are definitely on the same page! I just made your amazing jacked-up banana bread on Sunday and decided to improvise and give it the zucchini bread crispy lid treatment because… yum. I made the recipe as usual and then put a few tbs of turbinado sugar on top. It is absolutely amazing. Next time I will try this one!
Would it turn out ok If I substituted applesauce or flax egg for real eggs? Allergies in our house!
All we have left is bread flour. Would that work here?
I’ve made this once with all-purpose flour and once with bread flour (and some other substitutions) and the results were pretty consistent. The bread flour version was perhaps a little less tender.
Hi Deb – Thank you so much for sending such positive vibes during this time! We live in Syracuse, so the wave has been rolling over us. Sometimes NYC seems a million miles away, another world, and sometimes, like now, you are our next-door neighbors. Sending you best wishes that you all stay safe and sane over there!
Wow, this bread – I just sent the link to my husband, who is considered essential; he has been baking up a storm, he loves banana bread, so I am sure we will be sampling this soon – he will probably come home tonight with the recipe printed and five bananas! I am so looking forward to this!
I do have a question tho – why no nuts? Is that a personal preference, or does it have something to do with the baking? Just wondering!
I think we are going to start baking all the cookies in your cookbooks, in order; we started this once before but life got in the way. Suddenly, we now have the time….all we need to do is try to do this and stay skinny! Thanks again and sending our best wishes to you and yours….
Great timing—we didn’t eat the bananas quickly enough and I couldn’t tossing them into the freezer with the last ones that we ignored.
Hi Deb
What type of flour would work to make it gluten free and would it still be the Ultimate? Lol. And any further changes when making the substitution?
Thank you Ev Ferraro
I’m thinking about trying it with a 1 for 1 gluten free flour because it uses so many bananas! My husband has been making noises about throwing them away, but that’s a sin in my book. I’ll report back if I do.
I used Cup 4 Cup gf flour. I probably should have used about 1/4 cup more because of the amount of bananas. It is delicious but definitely squidgy inside. I thought that might happen. Next time, maybe 1 less banana and 1/4 cup more gf flour. But it does taste good, but possibly too wet for me. Baked it an extra 10 minutes, covered on top, too. Oh well. I did use up most of my huge bunch of bananas though. They were going into the garbage anyway. The trials and tribulations of baking gluten free.
I can’t find any flour in the store right now, so I am rationing the AP flour. Have plenty of white whole wheat flour. Can I do half WW and half cake flour?
Update: Baked this banana bread with 1/2 white whole wheat flour and 1/2 cake flour. Everything was weighed. It is delicious. The crumb is tender and moist (sorry for the lack of a better descriptor), but not claggy. I like the level of sweetness. Just right, for me. It used up more than half the bananas in my freezer. I will make another one tomorrow and clear out the frozen banana stockpile :). Thank you, Deb!
Thanks so much for this – I have whole wheat and cake flour and am going to try it!
How did it go? I only have whole wheat flour….
I made it exactly to recipe BUT I only had wheat flour. While extremely tasty, mine was sadly a bit on the dry side. I think with wheat flour I would add some extra liquid or possibly some oil to prevent this next time.
Hi, thanks for the recipe it’s delicious. One thing though, for me the banana bread didn’t rise as much as I see yours did, it did puff up while baking but as it cools it shrinks. I followed the recipe fairly closely so am not sure what I’m doing wrong… should I use more technique (ie. whipping the butter/sugar until fluffy, add eggs one at a time, etc) when making it? Because unless the recipe specifies I will usually go the easiest and fastest route. I want to try this again soon but hope someone can weigh in.. thanks in advance
Can I use frozen bananas instead as long as I follow the weight guidelines?
@Kim, yes. I did it successfully and with a flour substitution too.
Did you stick with 5 bananas or make sure it was 2 cups? Mine were pretty regular size bananas but definitely list volume from freeze/thaw.
@Amanda, sorry for the late reply. I’m just seeing your question now.
I actually weighed out the amount of bananas, all 680 grams.
I made this and all I can say is thankyou thankyou thankyou. I don’t even like banana bread, at least I didn’t before, but now I’m in love. I tried this out mostly to put in the freezer for my daughter’s fiance for after virus, but it’s almost gone. It was superb day one, heavenly day 2 and maybe even better today, day 3. I can’t wait to try it right out of the freezer and into the toaster, the way I eat zucchini bread. I hadn’t thought of adding bourbon, but I did think about rum.
Deb buries the lede, you love to see it. (congratulations, and can’t wait to preorder. something to look forward to!)
I can’t believe you sneaked that in at the end! Fantastic news, congratulations!
This banana bread looks incredible but at the moment there are no bananas to be had here in Bermuda & I only have 3 in the freezer. Oh well, jacked up it is for now!
I’m so excited! I woke up today thinking “It’s a banana bread day”! So. Many. Ripe. Bananas. My family loves chocolate and I’m wondering if adding either semi sweet or dark chocolate chips would work in this recipe or if should make another one? I’m beyond excited for another SK book! Congratulations! When can we get our hands on it?
Yay, I have all the ingredients! I’m getting bored with eating the same things every week. lol Thanks for sharing!
Erika Marie | https://imerikamarie.com
If one were to add chocolate chips to this, would you reduce the sugar?
I feel like this is fate – my second daughter turns 2 on Saturday and this very morning at breakfast our family (mostly my 4 year old) decided that what she’d like best to celebrate (besides friends and family, who will be calling from afar) is some banana bread cupcakes! Bananas are her favorite :) 2 critical follow up questions though – how best to adapt this to a muffin tin, and what kind of “frosting” to complement the flavor? (We need sprinkles obviously, hence frosting). Thank you in advance to anyone with advice! Hope you are all staying well and safe.
While I’m sure this would adapt well to muffin form, Deb does also have a banana cake recipe (with frosting!) that may work better as true cupcakes:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2010/09/monkey-cake/
I’m sure whichever you make will be delicious and so appreciated!
Thanks Sara! Luckily it looks like I have the ingredients for both, and will definitely use the frosting from the monkey cake either way. In my head, making a batch of muffins, frosting a few for the celebration, and then eating the rest for breakfast/snack the next few days seems more… responsible?… than making a whole batch of cupcakes and trying to fend off the sugar-crazed kiddos while all stuck inside under one roof together. But I have long held that muffins are simply cupcakes in disguise, so really… potayto potahto. Either way, delicious banana treats there shall be! Thanks Deb for this timely post!
Not sure how small children would feel about it, but I think a brown butter frosting would be incredible with this. I also love cream cheese frosting with any “fruity” cakes. Love your cupcake/muffin idea!
Ooh, this looks amazing! So funny, I looked at our bowl of over-ripe bananas today and thought to myself, I should make your jacked-up banana bread. I only have three bananas, so I will still be making that one, but looking forward to trying this one soon! And super excited for you and the new cookbook!
Yay! A trilogy! Love to you & your city.
I literally made your jacked up banana bread this morning! (after debating whether to do the zucchini bread adn then having it vetoed by himself)
man i will have to do a second to compare…
For those of us who are allergic to bananas, could you swap out the banana with pears? Is that too juicy?
Huh. Bananas and pears are pretty different, flavor and texture wise. I would find a pear bread recipe that is made to showcase pears. I wouldn’t be experimenting right now and end up with a dud and throwing away food. . .
You should make the pear bread in the archives instead.
So tasty! If you want to make muffins instead, I got 18 of them and baked for 25 mins. Delicious with double the cinnamon and adding chocolate chips to the batter.
Thanks for this comment! I am about to make these as muffins.
I also like making muffins out of these – and they are excellent! Used 1/2 whole wheat white flour and added chopped nuts. If I’m making them for kids, I add raw turbinado sugar on top before baking.
Great minds! I made a different banana bread just yesterday (my first banana bread — how weird is that?) and, inspired by your perfect blueberry muffins, covered the top of the loaf in turbinado sugar. SO GOOD! So incredibly good! Can’t wait to have more bananas go brown so I can try this complete version!
I don’t know!! Jacked up is my favorite ever!
I only had 3 bananas :((
Deb: Thanks for staying with us during this challenging time. Your posts are comforting.
Mary Lou
This is Baking now. I don’t have vanilla so I used Jack Daniels. Thanks for the recipe.
Loving your substitution. When anything calls for almond extract I use ammaretto
This is almost like Cook’s Illustrated Ultimate Banana Bread,minus all the additional work! Have you tried theirs and how would this compare in texture? Congrats on new book, cant wait!
So just today a local grocery store had cases of bananas for $6.95.
I bought a case cause baking seems to be the thing to do lately.
I’m going to make multiple recipes and this is one of them!
Everyone IS making banana bread right now. Including me! I’ve pulled frozen bananas out twice but still haven’t made it. But now I’m going to make this one! Do you think I could do it as muffins? Or mini muffins? My three year old son loves mini muffins.
Yesss congrats something awesome came out of this year!! Many thanks for remaining an uplifting read thru this. Also for the triscuits laugh. Also is this why you have been holding out on the chocolate croissant recipe?! I had to go make the kouign amann from Dominique Ansel on Vice in the meantime, you know, to perfect my laminating technique so I was primed and ready for the forthcoming pain au chocolat recipe,and now I am just ruined for any other pastry. I might never make it to New York, but at least I can have a dka. I figure if he says he has one for breakfast every morning, they can’t be too far from the pinnacle of breakfast treats.
I have always made your Jacked-up banana bread and love it (I make it GF for my husband who has celiacs). And yes, how did you know, I was going to make some tonight! Because viva la pan de banan during the pandemic. I will give this a try instead!
Thank you! I appreciate you posting new and exciting food ideas these days. Food is medicine for us all.
I was all set to make the Jacked Up Banana Bread today when this recipe popped up! I cleaned the oven LAST WEEK (out of sheer boredom), but since I like to live on the edge I didn’t use a pan to catch overflow. You’re absolutely accurate when you say it’s not needed. Mine baked perfectly in 55 mins.
Deb, if you love a recipe, we’re gonna love the recipe. Post it, even if there are several similar already posted on your site. All the SK loyalists will be overjoyed, not disappointed.
OMG when can I preorder???
Thank you. The book will not be out for *quite some time* but I’ll keep you posted. I appreciate your enthusiasm.
I swapped out the second egg white with bourbon because I wanted to marry the jacked up version with the absolutely crispy sound bite you had posted to IG on this recipe and it baked perfectly in 60 min! Waiting to bite into it tomorrow as you had recommended. However I reserved just a tiny bit of batter and baked 6 mini muffins for a sample (I was worried about the swap – wasn’t sure if I should sacrifice the richness of yolk or structure from egg white) and it tasted wonderful! Did not achieve the “cronchy” in the muffin tin obviously because it baked for less time but the taste and interior texture were spot on! And I didnt even waste the egg white – just scrambled it with a scant teaspoon of harissa oil and had a snack while waiting for the sample 🤩
I don’t know, Deb. It’s going to be verrrrry hard to top your millet banana bread which has been my go-to for years!
This looks delicious. I may be odd, but I really can’t stand any chunks in banana bread. Since I have been on a poppy seed binge lately, I may just add a few.
Can never have enough recipes for banana bread.
Can I use frozen bananas that have been thawed for this recipe? It looks amazing.
Yes
@Bonnie, I made this recipe with frozen bananas and it works great.
First off, your site has long, long been my go-to for all kinds of recipes. When I get an idea in my mind or a taste in my mouth, I come here first, always, to see if you’ve made something similar I can riff on, and/or often just make outright. Because your recipes are forever nummy, and incredibly well thought out/executable.
So today, being an American ex-pat who is self-isolating in Turkey, and having loads of beautiful produce I bought in single-person bulk when sh*t started to get real here, I woke today thinking I need to use my dang bananas before they go past perfect to yuck…I want American banana bread! Now, what was a good recipe I used to use…? And lo and behold, I take a peek here, and bam, it’s your most recent post. This isn’t even close to the first time over all these years I’ve had that sort of kismet with you/your site. : )
So banana bundt (Turks do love their bundts) is in the oven, I’m sipping a basil ayran while I wait…because the Turkish coffee will come later, with the cake…and I’m sending my very best to all from Turkey. And having pseudo-deep musings about the newfound sense of global connectivity we’ve all watched grow, as literally everyone in the world goes through this surreal time, alone together, and we here can perhaps connect…through cake. <3
*Also, so much gratitude, Deb, for your alternate measurement conversions. That's always a bit of a headache for me here, particularly in baking…and most particularly before my coffee. ; )
I was literally baking the double chocolate banana bread while this was posting. Now I have to wait for more bananas to go uneaten…
Very similar to the recipe I created years ago, however I use 2 teas of baking powder, along with the baking soda. I slice a banana open and press it along the top, it is visible, but pressed into the dough, sprinkled with the sugar. It looks beautiful, and the banana on top, is a sweet, soft bite.
I actually scrubbed my oven two days ago! Ha! I’ve arrived.
Why isn’t there a print button? I’d love to print this out!
There is a print icon that leads to a print template at the bottom of each recipe, where it says “DO MORE:” You can also click CTRL + P from any recipe post and it will take you to a streamlined print template. We will definitely make it easier to find when we next redesign.
Found it!! Thank you!
Woo hoo! Congratulations! Your cookbooks have been sitting on my coffee table since we started isolating 2.5 weeks ago. My daughter has joined my husband in asking if every new great recipe is from Smitten Kitchen, and I’m sure my son would be too, if he wasn’t in school out of state. I can’t wait!! I hope you will tour and come back to KC.
If I use the excess for muffins, how long should they bake for?
I’m so excited for this because you’re my go-to for, let’s face it, pretty much everything, and yet none of the previous banana bread recipes on here had really done it for me. I’m currently playing a game of how-long-can-I-avoid-grocery-shopping-and-still-have-fresh-food-to-eat, so am sadly out of bananas, but I’ll look forward to making this in the (near) future.
Why are your recipes not printable?
per deb’s reply to somebody else with the same question:
“There is a print icon that leads to a print template at the bottom of each recipe, where it says “DO MORE:” You can also click CTRL + P from any recipe post and it will take you to a streamlined print template. We will definitely make it easier to find when we next redesign.”
hope that helps :)
Can I add Nigella’s raisins plumped in rum? (I just tried her recipe this week and I am loving the tender bites of rum as I nosh on it)
Over 20 years ago, a coworker told me she always used 5 bananas in banana bread. I tried it and never looked back. I make your Double Chocolate Banana Bread with 5 bananas and it’s wonderful. Most recipes seem to call for 3 and I simply increase the bananas without increasing the other ingredients and it has always worked out. Any combination of very ripe and overripe-and-thawed-from-the-freezer works.
While feeling a tad guilty for asking if there could be a typo, I’m feeling the need to do so before proceeding. And wow, do I want to proceed! I love that you give the gram weight for the mashed banana, but would like clarification for the 24 oz. net weight of mashed banana, to be the same as 2 “slightly” heaped cups. 24 oz. seems more like 3 cups of banana to me. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
My slightly heaped 2 cups weighed 1.5 pounds — but I can check again next time. Which will be soon! You’re right, it sounds heavy.
I was questioning the weight too, I had two mashed cups of banana that totaled less than 450g, nowhere close to the listed 680g! I leveled up to a total of 500g with sour cream, but was worried about overflow cabbing the taste too much, so didn’t add more. It was still delightful.
Update! I just weighed a mashed cup of banana and it was 8.5 ounces, so yes, I think my weight is high here and I will update. I have a hunch, knowing me, that I had weighed the bananas with the skin on. Do you know why? Because you cannot buy a net weight of bananas from a store and it always annoys me if a recipe says, like, “3 ounces of peeled, cored apples in chunks” as if one might know offhand what a peel and core weighs and account for this when shopping.
We must get enormous bananas here (or maybe mine aren’t quite as over-ripe, and they get lighter as they get more brown… I probably should have waited one more day!), as I have 4 peeled bananas and they come in at 582g! Considering I have 6 of them, I’ll probably make two loaves.
Oh not only are your recipes the best but your humor brightens my day!
Ugh, now I have to choose between this and crackly! I love the pumpkin bread so much that I’ll have to give this a go, so I can have a massive banana loaf to last a lifetime (or through a pandemic 🤞🏻).
Hi Deb- I have mashed all six bananas in my house (4 frozen, 2 fresh-ish), and still only come up with just shy of 2c, 430g. Could I substitute applesauce for the rest? Would you recommend volume or weight? Thoughts? Thanks!
Yes to applesauce but plain yogurt or sour cream are even better because they’re more thick.
Can you use granulated in place of brown sugar? Brown sugar was sold out today.
If you have molasses you can combine it w granulated sugar to sub for brown: 1 tablespoon molasses plus one cup sugar
*if* I were to use brown butter, should I use 115g of butter and brown it, or 115g of browned butter?
You can just brown the 115 grams of butter.
Deb, thank you so much for sharing this recipe– what a keeper! I made this at 7000 feet elevation and wanted to include my comments, because it turned out perfectly, for anyone else at elevation who might want to bake it. I reduced the baking powder and baking soda to 3/4 tsp each, and reduced the sugar by 2 TBSP. I added an extra banana (so it was approaching a scant 2.5-3 C. banana) for moisture, and baked at 350 for about 75 minutes. Came out beautifully! Thank you!
Thank you for the notes about baking at elevation!
Thanks, Jourdan….I’m at 7’k…going to try this today!
Thanks, I’m at 8,200 ft, still learning how to bake up here!
Thanks for sharing your adjustments! I used the same changes and also had to bake it for 75 minutes. I added some dark chocolate chips too. It turned out wonderfully! This will be my new go-to for banana bread.
I’ve made this so many times and it continues to be a big hit with the family! I always add chocolate chips and some toasted pecans or walnuts – walnuts are our preference.
Last night I made it with GF flour and it needed at least 75 minutes to bake – 80 minutes would have been acceptable too. The GF people loved it!
deb, i shit you not, just the other day i was making banana bread (i know, lots of people are, that’s not it) and i was using my faithful 70s era joy of cooking banana bread cockaigne recipe. it’s delicious, no speck of that loaf remains any time i make it. but i couldn’t help but think of your pumpkin bread recipe which i love so dearly and wonder, could my banana bread look as beautiful as that while still being delicious? i started to think, well, maybe i could just replace the pumpkin with bananas, but then i thought, well, maybe not – bananas are a lot sweeter than pumpkin. i decided not to risk it. i was going to DM you about it instead but i forgot. and now, this! thank you so much.
That is the exact train of thought I had! Exactly! I went to crackly BB on here instead, which is the best BB I’ve ever made, but tomorrow i am going for broke (ultimate).
I just made your jacked up banana bread last week! Apparently quarantine does bring out the banana bread maker in all of us. Can’t wait to try this new recipe!
Would it be possible to use some type of oil as a replacement for the butter? My bananas are ripe now and getting more butter might take a few days!
Yes, it should work, although I didn’t specifically test it.
If I don’t believe in banana bread without chocolate, OK to add chocolate chips in?
Go for it!
I struggled with the other banana bread recipes on this site; they always came out a little too stodgy. This recipe turned out perfect, with a much lighter crumb, and I love the crackly, crunchy dome. I needed six(!) bananas to get to two cups, and used a slightly larger loaf tin to cut down on baking time and prevent spillage. Oh, and I added 3/4 cup of chocolate chips. I will make this my go-to banana bread recipe from now on, thank you!!!
BLESS YOU for including the volume of the pan and the weight of the bananas. I halved this recipe and made in an inherited not-quite-a-muffin tin with 12 cups that each hold one quarter cup. No overflow!
I used frozen bananas that were probably a few days past overripe when I froze them because I am both forgetful and overconfident in my fruit consumption. It took maaaybe 30 minutes (I started checking at 15 and lost track). Not as dark on top as a loaf, as another muffin maker mentioned. I put brown sugar on the top because I don’t have raw, so it’s probably lacking some crunch from that as well, but the top still is lovely.
There is very little better than buttered, warm banana bread.
Hi Deb! Mom and I just made this banana bread.We added toasted walnuts and did not have any turbinado sugar around so just sprinkled light brown sugar on top. Reminded us of a caramel scented coffee cake, so darn yummy and moist! Thank you 😊
This is the BEST banana bread recipe I have Ever made (Don’t tell my mom who prides her recipe as the best). We have allergies so I used Aquafaba (3 tablespoons for 1 egg) and vegan butter and it was amazing. Thank you Smitten Kitchen!!
Made this early today and was so impressed with the way it looked and smelled.
I added walnuts and raisins
But couldn’t wait for tomorrow and had a slice of it for dessert.
Has to be the best banana bread I have made to date. Delish!!!!
My go to was a Cuban Banana Bread recipe by Maida Heatter that I always loved but this one tops them all, can’t wait to have some for breakfast tomorrow morning
Thanks for your efforts!!!
My family declared this the best banana bread ever. I can’t stand bananas, but we’re on week 3 of quarantine over here in Spain and I figured baked goods are always appreciated.
And congratulations on your new book!
Wait until the next day to cut it. You’re hilarious! Have you ever considered developing a morning glory bread?
I added frozen cranberries and toasted walnuts. Yummy!
Banana bread is such a go-to for me. Looks like such a simple recipe.
Made 16 muffins using regular muffin cups. Subbed 1/3 whole wheat flour for the white, used pumpkin pie spice instead of cinnamon (it’s all I had), and added a heaping cup of chocolate chips. Absolutely delicious, not too sweet, nice light crumb.
Forgot to add: 25 minutes at 350 degrees was perfect for the muffins
🙏🏼 thank you!
How long would this bake using a large stoneware loaf pan? Thanks for the great recipes, Deb!
But can I put chocolate chips in it or is that wrong?
Of course you can!
I made this today and added semi sweet chocolate chips. By weight I used less bananas by about 50-60 grams, but by cup measure it was a heaping 2 cups. I also used some white whole wheat in addition to the all purpose. Not sure how much but I’d guess no more than 1/2 cup. It is absolutely delicious! Nice and sweet the way my family likes it! The texture is fluffy and tender.
A delicious banana boost during dreary New England, shut down weather.
I made this with a splash of bourbon. I used gluten free flour which made it a little crumbly but all in all, it was moist and flavorful. Impossible not to devour all at once. Yeah baby.
I made this yesterday and we had it today. It was really good and a lot more interesting, especially texture-wise, than regular banama bread, which we also like.
I used only a scant cup of sugar and my five smallish bananas weighed only 350 g, so a bit more than half the recommended amount, and it was still very good and definitely sweet. I used half frozen bananas, because that’s what I had.
I want to say thank you for a really fine recipe and great snack cake for my family!
I made this with my eight year old today. The only thing we did differently was to use thawed bananas that were previously frozen. Oh my word…. it is heavenly!!! I’m positive our family of five will not be able to test whether or not it is better tomorrow – there is no way any will be left by the end of today.
I seem to be short on all-purpose flour–any ideas for possible recipe modifications if using part (or full sub) almond flour? Or if we’re getting crazy, sweet glutinous rice flour (e.g. Mochiko)?
It’s like you read my mind yesterday! Awesome recipe. No substitutions and it turned out perfect. You’re right. It didn’t last 24 hours in my house. I’ve always made the Jacked Up Banana Bread, but this is for sure my new Fav. Especially since it doesn’t require Yeast! There is a serious shortage these days.
Folks who are nervous about removing enough batter to make a muffin or two should check their cupboards for oven-able goods. Why dirty an entire muffin tin when your cereal bowls, for instance, are oven-safe?
This bread is awesome, gotta try it! I’m also trying to switch to a healthier lifestyle and started to mine for healthy recipes like yours. Also, I’m training with SportMe running app, and I managed to get rid of some pounds. Your blog posts are super inspiring for me in this phase, thanks!
If I only have salted butter should I leave out the whole tsp of table salt? Thanks!
This recipe is now my go-to banana bread recipe. I added a cup of chopped walnuts and a half cup of raisins. I found the proportions of ingredients to be just right. Loved smelling it as it was baking. And…it is wonderful visually as it sits on my counter. Thanks for the advice NOT to cover it up, to preserve the crunch!
Great tip re: checking the top 3rd for batter pockets. Thought mine was done, but lo and behold!
Also I doubled the recipe and thought 10 bananas would be plenty but ended up needing 12 bananas total (I typically have a freezer full of bananas, so no sweat)! Mine were a little wimpy, especially since they were previously frozen, but I’m glad I measured!
Also this is perfect (she says, while spitting crumbs everywhere).
Made and taste tested minutes out of the oven. Delicious! I added some mini choc chips because we cant help ourselves. Fit in the pan as you said, no running over. A bit dark on top- as you said.
I made this and swapped out the regular butter for browned butter. It was delicious! I used an extra tablespoon of butter or so pre-browning, as I wasn’t sure how much evaporated in the browning process. Also, I probably only had about 2/3 of the total bananas the recipe called for, it still turned out great. The crackly sugar on top is wonderful, don’t skip it.
I made this today with my son and it was delicious! I LOVED the sugary crust. I’ve been making your recipes for years and your blog is my go-to blog for recipes. Thank you for all of your amazing recipes :)
I’ve made a lot of banana bread from a lot of recipes and this wins hands down! I used frozen bananas, thawed slightled, peeled, and drained off the excess liquid, and used sparkling sugar on top. Most excellent!
I love so many of your recipes but somehow have managed not to leave a comment – until now! I made this today with my daughters, age 10 and 7. We decided to make 12 (generous) muffins, baked for 20-25 minutes. They were spectacular! My daughters were so proud that they baked something so delicious and I am grateful for a wonderful afternoon with them during a difficult time. Thank you!
This recipe seems easy to follow. I’ll try!
Best Kitchen Utensils
So good! This recipe is a keeper. Added walnuts.
I had just been hunting for a good banana bread recipe when I saw your video on instagram as my three ripe bananas were teetering on rotting. To me, the ultimate banana bread is slightly healthy, and slightly indulgent, and it is hard to find a recipe that can keep that balance. I made the following adjustments to the recipe based on my preferences and what I had on hand:
– 2 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp water in place of eggs
– replaced half of the AP flour with whole wheat flour
– 1.3 c mashed banana (3 large) plus .7 c Greek yogurt
– added 3/4 c pecan pieces
I really loved the texture of this bread. The tender crumb and crisp top is the perfect combo. It did not feel heavy/dense/greasy. The only alteration I would make in the future is to cut the sugar down (could probably cut back by 50%). I think the bananas offer plenty of sweetness and the 1 cup brown sugar sort of distracted from that flavor (but I admittedly don’t have much of a sweet tooth these days).
Excellent recipe! I love that it is easy to half. I made short loaf because I only had two ripe bananas. I did a foil cover the last ten minutes to prevent burning.
I’ve seen everyone baking banana bread lately and I really want to give it a go. I’m definitely going to give this recipe a go!
Chloe X
https://www.chloepryce.com/
Just delicious! Made this yesterday and turned out perfectly. Didn’t have enough brown sugar so used half and half white granulated.
Made this with only one substitution: added ricotta because didn’t have enough bananas too make 680G. Overall flavor was excellent and moist but it was a bit too sweet for me. Overall delicious recipe, I’ll adjust for my tastes
Really good banana bread, and can be altered to taste by adding nuts, chocolate chips, raisins or whatever else you might enjoy in your banana bread. We opted for adding chocolate chips, and used about a half bag of semi-sweet chips. My tip would be that if you choose to add chocolate chips, I would suggest skipping the nutmeg. It did take a really long time to bake (I think 75 minutes). We did not have raw or turbinado sugar so skipped that, but even without the sugar on top it was a wonderful top crust. This is our third banana bread in the past 10 days, and I think it is our favorite recipe so far. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
This smells heavenly! Halved it to make two mini loafs. I followed the recipe to a T and am patiently waiting until tomorrow because I want that crunchy lid! Will report back.
I just made this today – it looks good! But one question: are you sure it’s okay to leave the bread uncovered in the pan overnight? Won’t it dry out/get stale? I’m new to baking and this last step worries me.
Jane, Deb’s direction is the same for her pumpkin loaf which I have made many times. I know it seems counterintuitive but as long as you keep the cut side covered the rest of the loaf is good for a few days (if it lasts that long!)
To clarify, you have to store the loaf in the pan with the cut side covered. This way the top stays crunchy and the loaf is protected from drying on all the other sides. Cheers!
Hi, other Jane, I made this, and this step hap me nervous, too, but it worked perfectly
Made this! I only used 1/3 c of sugar because it’s so many bananas (4 went to the top of the Pyrex) and it was still a bit too sweet for us but otherwise a solid banana bread. I only had salted butter (covid!) so I left the salt out. Wish I had added walnuts but again didn’t have any. It was really very good. I would def make again but prob with only the crunchy top sugar.
It just came out of my oven & I don’t know if I can wait until tomorrow to try it! It smells amazing. I wish I could post a picture of it it’s beautiful! Thanks Deb!
I made this today and I added some dark chocolate nibs from bulk bin (pre-covid 19 when there were still bulk bins). It was delicious and the crust really is amazing. Great recipe that I’ll definitely make again!
Yay for another SK cookbook! Eek!!! Congrats and I’m so excited!!
How are you and your family doing?! NYC must be an incredibly scary place to be right now! 💔
Perfect. Fast, easy, and full of flavor. DO NOT SKIP the sugar on top.
I am not a banana bread novice and have made a number of good loaves and bad loaves. My go to for several years has been from Cook’s Illustrated. Great recipe but nowhere near as streamlined as this recipe and also a bit heavy. My new go to. Thanks, Deb!
Perfect timing! Had 5 bananas that were about to go. The bread is in the oven now. Can wait to try it! Thanks for an easy baking project for quarantine.
Banana bread is the first thing I learned how to make in the kitchen when I was a kid. Like you, I didn’t think I needed another banana bread recipe but this was exactly what I was looking for. Halved it and it made 6 perfectly towering muffins that are amazing with whipped salted butter. Congrats on the third book!
Oh YUM. Like many people, I’m on lockdown now but I have some bananas and simply HAVE to make this! Cannot wait!
Well, I had one sad banana so I decided to check the freezer to see if I had three more… I had TWELVE FROZEN BANANAS. What the heck. Anyway, my 2 year old and I made this recipe as muffins! We added half a cup of pecans and half a cup of chocolate chips. It filled the liners right to the top. We also added dinosaur sprinkles because, why not? I reduced the baking time to 32 minutes to account for them being muffins and not a loaf and they came out absolutely perfect. Thank you for another wonderful treat!
I made this five days ago, and now I’m making it again. Deb, you’re an angel. Thank you for bringing this superb and dangerously easy bread into our lives.
Disappointing. My loaf came out heavy and dry, although I baked it for less than the recipe’s time. I’m going back to my Nigella Lawson recipe.
Mmmm made this yesterday. Threw in some mini dark chocolate chips. That crust is everything!!!!
Darn, forgot the sugar on top—rushing to get it in the oven before my zoom HH started. Top got a little dark at 45 mins so I put a piece of foil on top. Turned out perfectly!
So my husband found this recipe and I wanted to try it out being a banana freak. I made the bread exactly as you said. Smells divine…..but didn’t rise to the occasion as I thought it would. The height of the bread is only 3 inches high and yes I used a 9 x5 pan and all my ingredients were fresh. I used a whisk as you said , eggs at room temp and butter cold. So why didn’t this loaf get up there in size? Please explain.
What size was your pan? Are you at an altitude, by any chance?
Cleo, you mention your butter was cold, but the recipe says to melt it. Did you do that? If you did, maybe your baking powder or baking soda was too old to rise?
The bananas sitting on my table wanted this to be their destiny. Just the right amount of sweet. I added a shot of espresso à la David Lebovitz. Thank you for bringing joy to shelter in place
Made it exactly as the recipe specifys (including nutmeg) and it is SO GOOD! Definitely pay attention to the size of your pan like she mentions. My pan only holds 5 liquid cups, so I used 3 1/4 c of batter. For reference, once baked it 100% filled the pan without any spilling over.
Made with Namaste gluten free pancake mix because no way was I going to use gf all purpose (read: rice) flour. 1/8 inch crisped layer on top, cakey throughout, not dense, does not disintegrate, did not overcook. Excellent crumb and very tasty! A new go-to I think, though this time was because I got sick and lost my appetite until the bananas were overripe.
Any advice on how to modify for muffins? I’ve seen recipes that tweak ingredients not just bake time.
No need to tweak anything. You can fill the muffin tins quite a bit. I’ve been tagged in dozens of pictures from people who have made these as muffins and they look great.
I made this and it was fabulous! The craggly, crispy top is to die for. Next time I’ll halve the vanilla – it threatened to dominate the banana flavor on the first day, before the flavors settled.
I was out of baking powder and couldn’t justify a trip to the store, so I doubled the baking soda and added <1/4 of yogurt. Worked out great for anyone else whose baking supplies are looking scarce right now!
My husband made this bread this weekend – awesome! It came out perfectly! He made it as written. Thanks for the great ideas on cooking and baking our way through this thing. Hope you are all doing well!
We also just baked your jacked up banana bread! Minus bourbon, plus walnuts… It is true, there is never enough banana recipes.
I have never commented on one of these recipes but I have to say…as I was mashing bananas for this recipe, my 17 year old daughter said to me, “Mom, why is everyone making banana bread right now (yours was my second recipe since being homebound)?” I told her I thought we all just had a lot of bananas in our freezers just waiting to be used, and now was as good a time as any.
My 13 year-old son, a day later, came in, grabbed a piece of your banana bread, and looked me straight in the eye: “Mom, THIS banana bread is SPOT. ON.” Scenes from a kitchen in Atlanta…
I should add…I had to sub in half whole wheat flour for the AP flour since I cannot find any at the store. And I did add chocolate chips because, of course. ;)
You do not seem to want us to print the recipe so that we can actually use it. Or is there a way of doing so. It is nice to entice us with what looks like good, doable recipes and then not allow printing. Why not?
There is a print icon that leads to a print template at the bottom of each recipe, where it says “DO MORE:” You can also click CTRL + P from any recipe post and it will take you to a streamlined print template. We will definitely make it easier to find when we next redesign.
I’m really surprised that you couldn’t find a nicer way of asking how to print the recipe? Or taking the time to read through the comments to see that the question was already asked and answered.
ULTIMATE!! Worthy addition even if there were 50 banana bread recipes. Delicious crumb, and a moist but not too moist inside, which is key. Doesn’t need any additions. I subbed Maldon sea salt for the turbinado on the top, but that’s just me.
This looks amazing! I want to try baking this in my motorhome oven but it’s not very high. Could I use a wider but more shallow pan and get the same results? My mouth is watering just thinking about eating it!
Yes, but you will probably need less baking time.
If I add chocolate chips to the recipe how will it affect the baking.
I’d expect it to bake for the same amount of time
Thanks for the recipe! I subbed Trader Joes gluten free flour and non flavored coconut oil and coconut sugar Cooked an extra 5-10min. and it turned out great!
Just looking at it makes my eyes happy, with your recipe I might be successful in creating this in my kitchen. Thank you for sharing this.
I made a mash-up of this recipe and the marble banana bread recipe. Basically, marbled this recipe. I didn’t have enough bananas (4 did not yield the heaping 2 cups) so added some applesauce. It was absolutely amazing. I will make this over and over again.
Honestly, this was the best banana bread I’ve ever had. It rises beautifully in the pan and tastes as glorious as it looks. Maybe it’s the “quarantined me” talking but I can’t recommend it enough. Deb, you never disappoint. <3
Kinda disappointed to see all white flour in an item that lends itself so easily to healthier types.
You might prefer this version.
I will definitely come back to this b-bread recipe! “Ultimate” is right. We’ve been doing a lot of baking lately (along with what seems like the rest of the country) and the first 2 banana breads I made fell short. This was moist, like Deb said, through to the second day (didn’t make it past the 2nd day).
You have wonderful recipes, truly, and I enjoy reading them; however, is there a way you can figure out how to print out your recipes easily, say like “allrecipes.com” or other bloggers that set it up so your recipes print out nicely? I have to copy and paste and then fix it so it prints out on a sheet of paper. Just a friendly suggestion! Keep up the wonderful website! It’s great! :-)
There is a print icon that leads to a print template at the bottom of each recipe, where it says “DO MORE:” You can also click CTRL + P from any recipe post and it will take you to a streamlined print template. We will definitely make it easier to find when we next redesign.
I made this last week. I needed a 6th banana (they were pretty small), and I added chocolate chips (because kids) and it was awesome! Perfectly done in 55 minutes. Top was crunchy for days with the storage method. Love this banana bread!
Can frozen bananas be used?
I used one fresh (past its prime) banana and the rest were frozen…but I thawed the frozen ones for a bit. No problem.
This seriously is the best ever banana bread! I made it for my Mom (she has cancer and can’t taste anything very well) and she LOVES it so much! I think the crunchy texture on top really helps her discern the flavor better, if that makes sense.
SOOOOOOO yummy!!
Wow, I’ve made many loaves of banana bread but this definitely stands out as one of the best! Not sure if it was the fresh nutmeg or what but even Mr. S said it was delicious. I seldom have 5 ripe bananas but I will keep count in the future.
This is the ultimate and worthy of using the last of my eggs and flour, which are hard to come by these days.
Note: I live at 5000 foot elevation and used a slight teaspoon of both baking powder and baking soda and it was perfect.
AP flour is a precious commodity in my house these days, so I made this with 100% white whole wheat flour and you could never notice! Ditto vanilla extract, so I added 1 tsp of bourbon instead. The loaf rose beautifully and turned out perfectly moist. Thank you for this perfect recipe when we needed it!
This sounds like the perfect banana bread recipe- I’m going to make this for an afternoon treat with a cup of coffee! Thanks for the recipe.
Made this and it’s delicious — thanks! I added chocolate chips and walnuts, so I did scoop out a muffin in case that’d have taken it over the top of the pan. But that was also good for getting to sample the muffin while saving the bread overnight since you said it’s worth the wait. For that, do I have to wait to cut into it at all (like some yeasted breads), or do you mean whatever part I don’t eat will be “exceptional” tomorrow?
Like some other commenters, my mashed bananas weighed too little even after I got up to 2.5c, so I decided to split the difference and stop there. (Could the discrepancy be that your scale was set to lbs & oz, so what you actually used was 1lb 5oz, not 1.5lbs?)
Congrats on book #3!!
Whoa — you’ve got me worried now! I think I’m usually pretty good at reading a scale but you know, my apartment is noisier than usual these days. I’ll verify next time. Glad it works out. I prefer not to cut into it until the next day, keeping the crust and crumb intact.
I just made this and the loaf seamed to collapse after coming out of the oven. Your comment on the bananas has me thinking that’s my issue since we weight out all ingredients rather than measure. We had to use a little over 6 bananas to get to 680g. If we went for 1lb 5oz (595 grams, we would have used just over 5 bananas). I’ll have to try this with less banana next time.
This was way better than I expected! Thank you!
I don’t think I’ve ever made the same banana bread recipe twice. Always searching for the one. Until now that is, so easy and we all loved it!
Hi! I can’t wait to make this! Could Whole Wheat flour work instead of AP? Thank you!!!
I haven’t tested a full swap. I know it works but it can be more dry. I usually start with a 1/3 to 1/2 swap and adjust from there.
Overflowed the pan. Smoked out the house. What a disappointment.
Did you check the volume of your pan before you started? I mention that it must hold 6 cups and no less, and that the first time you make it, it’s safest to put a pan underneath, even though it’s never overflowed in my 6-cup pan.
Hi Deb!
Made this exactly as instructed – perfect!
Not too sweet – beautifully rich banana flavour (had a few medium sized ones in the bowl going black that needed to be used – not quite enough though, so topped up with some that had been sitting in the freezer for ages!) – Made it last night – and it was so great slathered with butter this morning…
Which isn’t to say I don’t still love your Jacked-up banana bread recipe as well!
Both different – and both are great!
Can’t have too many ways to use up leftover, squishy bananas – hate to waste them when they taste so good like that used in baked goods –
The blacker and squishier the better :)
I do not have raw sugar on hand – can I do a mix of brown and granulated for the topping? Thank you! – this recipe was fate, popped right up when I was looking this morning – congrats on the new book! I was flipping through SK Everyday just yesterday!
I would use granulated, not brown, which will be more likely to get too dark in the oven. And thank you!
The kitchn tested the 8 best egg replacements and found carbonated water was the best
thekitchn.com/best-egg-substitutes-baking-23003895%3famp=1
This banana bread was amazing!! The crunchy top was perfect and the inside was so moist. Definitely will be making this again and again.
Delicious. 4 very large bananas (understandably damaged along the grocery delivery route beyond repair for eating whole, but excellent for baking with) worked perfectly for me. Thank you, Deb, for these little treasures of recipes and feelings of solidarity between families keeping indoors right now.
I have a bag of frozen bananas in the freezer intended for smoothies. Would these work in the banana bread? Thanks, it looks delicious!
Yes
Bread is the Passover recipe?
No, Passover recipes are here. I’ll have a newer recipe up by Thursday/Friday — not easy getting work done these days with two kids to homeschool.
Omg, even better than you said it would be!
Just pulled this out of the oven! Loved that it used up all 5 of the bananas languishing on the counter. I had only 1 egg so I substituted 3Tbsp peanut butter for the second one. I also made it into muffins instead of a loaf. 18 muffins, 22 min @ 350F. Turned out delicious!
great recipe. made it last night as written and it’s delicious! love the crispiness of the crust with the sugar and the texture of the cake. went to your site yesterday by chance looking for a banana bread recipe and there it was at the front page!
Made this the other day with some added pecans and coconut sugar on top.
Moist with a crusty lid, not too sweet…and all gone. Oh look! More ripe bananas! Thanks, Deb!
Wow, this is the last banana bread recipe you’ll ever need. So so so good! I added pecans because I had them on hand, and love the added texture. Would love to try adding walnuts too.
OMG, this was definitely theeeeee best banana bread ever!!!! I used 5 bananas, but they didn’t quite reach the 2 cup mark. I mashed 4 of the bananas and thinly sliced the 5th one- makes for nice little pockets of banana-ness. Also, I added 1/3 cup 2% greek yogurt, which I think made it suuuuper moist (I hate that word…but I really had no choice…sorry!). This is going to be my go to recipe from now on. Rave reviews from everyone who’s tried it. Thanks for another epic recipe :)
I can’t seem to find a 9×5 loaf pan online – anyone able to share a link to one they like?! :)
The best banana bread I’ve ever had/made. Thank you for sharing this with us and blessing our families with delicious banana bread! Especially yummy slathered with salted almond butter. Even my husband and kids, who are generally (unbelievably) not banana bread fans, couldn’t resist.
I used 1/4 cup of coconut oil instead of 1/2 cup butter and the recipe turned out great!
My kids and I made this yesterday with our very ripe bananas. It’s so delicious! Love all your recipes! Stay well!
We like it. 680 grams of bananas is no joke. 7 bananas was the magic number. I followed this recipe to the letter, except when I added 3/4 teaspoon of cardamom. It took our loaf 70 minutes to cook, at 350 degrees convection.we are at 1,175ft above sea level. We did not wait to eat it. We sliced into it, after 1 hour.
Deb has doughnut-like pan that she has showcased on here… I bought one, and I measured it out. It will hold 6 cups of batter, so the “pan” could be used for this banana bread recipe
Sur la Table: 4.5 X 8.5. Heirloom quality.
We made this and it was delicious! However, the center middle portion didn’t cook all the way through even though we left it in for at least 65 minutes. We didn’t want to overcook, but I’d love the secret for cooking it all the way through!
Yum Yum
Just keep it in longer. It won’t overcook, just get dark.
I subbed the brown sugar for white sugar (all I had left in my quarantine pantry) and used vegetable oil instead of butter to make this dairy free. I’m sure neither substitution is an improvement over the original, but it came out perfectly baked. If anyone is looking for a great loaf pan, my Nordicware aluminum loaf pan fits this bread as well as the spectacular SK Pumpkin Bread.
Five Star Banana Bread!
I didn’t have quite enough bananas (short about 130g), so I added a couple tablespoons of grapeseed oil. The results were fantastic! The banana bread is moist, very flavourful, and it has the perfect texture – not heavy or spongey!
Thank you Deb!
I made this first as listed except with Earth Balance spread instead of butter and it came out great! Then I tried doing the Earth Balance along with flax eggs to make it totally cholesterol-free, and it still came out great! My family absolutely loves this recipe :)
Deb, don’t you usually up the flour amount to 2 1/2 cups when you make big quick breads?
Just checking if there was a typo or something
I don’t have one single formula. I promise there’s no typo here.
Made this morning and omg… seven hours later it’s almost gone. That crunchy topping has pushed this recipe to the top of my favorite banana bread recipes. Thank you for sharing!
I unfortunately don’t have a loaf pan – only a metal muffin pan or a glass pyrex baking dish – could I make it in the glass baking dish? Thank you!
Just a thought: tonight we made jammy onions from your first cookbook. Then, we made open sandwiches by toasting a slice of this wonderful banana bread and cheese, then topped it with the onions. Yum! We have made the onion recipe many times using different cheeses and breads and it is always good. So, here is another delicious thing to do with this wonderful bread! Thanks!
(Emmentaler on Rye with Sweet and Sour Red 0nions)
This is so good, don’t change a thing.
Yum!! I just made this and it smells so good. I used the full weigh of bananas (didn’t measure volume, sorry) and it was almost 6 bananas! I also only had whole wheat pasty flour and measured 2 cups instead of weighing it. I misread the recipe and put a heaping tablespoon of cinnamon instead of a teaspoon, oops!! And finally, I filled 10 mini loaf tins (3/4 cup size) and filles them a half inch from the top, baked for 27 minutes. Deeeeeelicious!
I’m sorry , I have tried them all including Flowers in Manhattan and I can’t say I’ve made hundreds but somewhere close and accidentally I discovered the best tasting one came from king Arthur’s flour web site
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/whole-grain-banana-bread-recipe
Made this yesterday, exactly as written. Did not worry about the very brown top, like you said. My pan was a bit small, so I made two muffins also. This is just as delicious as you said it would be! Thank you! By the way, I haven’t cut into the loaf yet (let it “sit” overnight), but the muffins had a moist, springy, soft texture. Like a dessert, honestly.
Can’t wait to try this! Thoughts on whether bake time or temperature would need to be adjusted to bake this in a toaster oven? Thanks!
Sorry, I haven’t baked much in a toaster oven — maybe it will get brown sooner? Will the loaves be smaller?
@Alexandra, I baked this in an Oster convection toaster oven and was very successful. Since it’s a convection oven, I usually set my temperature to about 20-25 degrees F lower than any recipe. If the top gets too brown, lightly tent with foil.
This recipe is perfect. I baked it in my 9 x 4 x 4 TALL Pan de mie (without the lid), which is what I use now in place of 8×4 or 9×5 pans. It makes a taller, prettier loaf, and it’s truly all purpose. It holds 8 cups of liquid (almost to the top) and 6 cups with plenty of room to spare. Your batter will not overflow this pan and your loaf will be a little narrower and quite a bit taller. You can read about it here on King Arthur’s website: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2019/09/02/theres-more-to-this-pan-than-pain-de-mie. You can also order a 9×4 x4 from USA pans without the lid on Amazon.
Forgive me if this comment appears twice
I made this banana bread as soon as it was posted – perfect timing, had 5 ripe bananas all ready
The loaf was delicious – slight area of not-quite-done area in the top/middle but still sooooo good!
My brother, who is very picky/critical, even liked it!
My daughter came home and made the recipe as muffins – also very popular here at home and at her office
I am currently making “ultimate banana bread” recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, Cooking School – my brother sent it to me lol
It so far has required the use a many, many bowls, plates, pans, utensils – crazy!!
Very similar to yours, but it does not call for baking powder and you have to microwave and drain the bananas and then reduce the banana liquid ?!
I will let you know how it compares/turns out – making muffins so I can have some with walnuts, some without
Oh my goodness, this was delicious. It’s been less than 24 hours and there are less than 2 servings left between my two kids and me. That’s trouble, but the right kind. Thanks for another great recipe.
Welp, it’s still in the oven but oozed over even though I think I have the same sized loaf pan. But the crunchy oozed part tasted delicious so I’m still looking forward to it.
Awesome! I just came across this while searching for banana bread recipe. Definitely on my to-do list for tomorrow. Thank you.
I hate to be that person but…any substitute for raw sugar? I want to make this, but it’s the one ingredient I don’t have!
If you have any coarse or sanding sugar, that could work. Otherwise use granulated.
The bread is delicious and a great way to use up all my overripe bananas. Although it did overflow a bit in my 8 1/2″ pan, I found it to be delicious… and the baked, sugar-crusted pieces that overflowed onto the cookie sheet were crispy and wonderful appetizers before diving into the bread itself! Thanks for another great banana bread recipe!
I baked this for Easter. It really is the perfect banana bread! I thought it would over flow for sure so I lined the bottom of the oven. It did not. I made a beautiful loaf of bread that my grandmother rounder be proud of! Thanks for the recipe.rrrrr
Made this last week and at first did not like it as much as your Jacked Up Banana Bread (without the Jack). However… I did not initially see your comment about it being better the next day and OMG are you right. It is perfect in every way, including that amazing, craggy every so slightly carmelized top. Thank you.
I bought bananas exclusively to make this! This is so incredible thank you for sharing this recipe. It is amazing. Love the texture and flavor!
When adding nuts, do you have a preference on pecans or walnuts?
Personally, I love walnuts (and I like to toast them first for extra crunch and flavor).
I have so many glowing things to say about this recipe, but I will start with this: never once did I think I could love another banana bread like I loved the “jacked up” version and then I started making the “marbled” version here and I soon realized that I would never love a banana bread more than that one! And now, lo and behold, I’ve come to tell you that I will never love a banana bread more than this ULTIMATE one! I guess I’ve learned one thing, never doubt Deb.
I always portion out my ingredients according to the weights (thank you Deb) provided and I used SEVEN bananas for this! I only have whole wheat pastry flour and dark brown sugar right now, so used those, and it turned out fabulous! Also added some toasted walnut pieces because why not? It was a little under-cooked in center at 60 minutes, so kept it in oven for a bit longer. My bread didn’t dome as perfectly as Deb’s but it is, unequivocally, the best banana bread I’ve ever eaten. Husband agrees!
I know what I’m making with all my extra time at home now! Thanks saved this and can’t wait to make it!! :)
I checked it at 55, 65, 75, and 85 minutes. This sucker took a whopping 93 minutes to bake all the way through for me!
This came out of the oven 30 minutes ago and I couldn’t wait any longer. It is delicious. Thank you so much.
OMG! I have made several banana breads over my 40+ years of baking; loved the jacked up bread but this is outstanding!!! Used some mashed frozen bananas with an added fresh one. First, my hands were cramping so I used my stand mixer; super easy. I also used nutmeg, it isn’t optional in my mind. The topping is what takes this over the edge from very, very good to excellent. It took 65 minutes but had I think if I hadn’t been testing it starting at 55 minutes it probably would have been 60 because I kept letting heat out of the oven. I let it rest for 6 hours before I had to take a bite as a midnight snack; it was great this morning. It won’t make it another day. Great job, Deb. Thanks again.
So, yesterday I made this bread and the chicken, leek and rice soup–this being at home is sharpening my culinary skills.
BB is in the oven now and it smells so very excellent!
Quick question: why does the recipe call for fine sea or table salt instead of kosher salt? Is there is benefit to using the former?
Would also love to know the weight for salt so I can swap to kosher if needed (I needed so just eyeballed it — fingers crossed it was enough!).
Kosher salts range wildly between brands; 1 teaspoon of one has the same saltiness of 1/2 teaspoon of another, and could throw a recipe off. Fine salt is consistent.
Made this, quick warning: make sure you’re not baking this on the top rack or in a smaller top oven. Mine smashed into the broiler.
I took it as an excuse to taste it – if it’s this good on day one, I can’t wait for day two.
Hmmm. It was delicious out of the oven, then turned quite rubbery after a few hours. What did I do wrong, I wonder?
Did you wait overnight until cutting into it?
I tried one of my jumbo muffins this morning, after baking them last night. Also noticed just the bottoms were a bit rubbery too. I assumed I over-baked them a bit.
Very good. Very rich.
Almost too rich for my tastes, easy to stop after one slice.
My favorite and so delicious! So close to the recipe that’s been in my family for decades. Ours has no vanilla or cinnamon. And of course lard was used instead of butter. Your method helped fill in the gaps I had on the very vague recipe card. Thank you!
I made this today. 4 whole bananas and a bit more than 1 banana that was frozen chunks I partially thawed. (closer to 560 grams but I chalk it up to the par frozen bits) It fit 12 jumbo muffins and I baked them for exactly 25 minutes. I enjoy a one bowl mix. Added some mini chips and walnuts to some. And did a white sugar coat top (like the rasp buttermilk cake) until I realized I had turbinado sugar and then threw some on top anyways. Never had a bad recipe from here yet. :)
This banana bread is delicious. I only had white whole wheat flour and 4 bananas but it still turned out great. I added a handful of mini chocolate chips, chopped pecans and chopped dried cherries. (Sadly I forgot the sugar topping.)
Thank you Deb for providing all of us with great recipes which are easy to follow and turn out great; it’s helping to make this tough/sad time a bit better. Now if only I could find yeast in the store – I’d love to try baking bread/challah/pizza. I wish people would stop hoarding. We all want to bake/cook for our families; take what you need and leave a little bit for others!
I used exactly the size pan recommended but the batter did not fill the pan nearly as high as illustrated. I went ahead and baked it anyway, it rose, but certainly not over the pan. I wonder if the large amount of banana (and mine were really brown, so pretty liquidy) had something to do with it. Banana bread-wise it was fine, but not outstanding for me. Now, your newest pumpkin bread recipe was a revelation and worked great, so I had ‘high’ hopes for this one, but it didn’t work out. We certainly ate it though!
My 4 year old wanted banana muffins and these turned out wonderful! I sprinkled a bit of sugar on top of each. Baked at 350 for about 30 minutes. This recipe makes about 24 muffins (I could probably have stretched it to 32 if I made them a bit smaller). My daughter loved them and everyone else in the family did, too! Thank you for another great recipe!
Holy moly this is great banana bread! Moist, tender, flavorful. I made it straight up as written. Nuts or chocolate chips or both would be a delightful addition.
The ONLY downfall is that I don’t often have enough bananas that need to be dealt with to make 2 cups mashed. Today I did, and boy am I glad.
Thanks Deb!
Deb! This is SERIOUSLY THE BEST banana bread I’ve ever had. I have been baking for 50 years since I was a teenager and have made so many different BB recipes. I thought I had my favorite. This tops them all by far! I’m so excited, can you tell? The crunchy top is perfect, the bread is so moist, light and tender and using 2 cup+ bananas makes the flavor YUMMY! I’m so excited to delete all of my other BB recipes. Thank you thank you thank you!
You are heaven sent. Truly! I have made your pumpkin bread, zucchini bread and today this banana bread and they are all SO good. I appreciate that these recipes use ingredients that I can readily find in my pantry. You’re the best!
I don’t have a loaf pan… I do have a muffin pan. Could this recipe work as muffins?
Made this last night – have already eaten half. So good, thanks Deb! Only had 4 medium bananas and no loaf pan so used a 9.5 in pie plate instead and baked for a bit less time, until nice and brown on top. Despite the changes, still the best banana bread I’ve made, great crumb and non-stodgy texture. Yuuuum.
Thank you, Deb, for understanding that what we need more of right now are baked goods and one-bowl recipes. I only had four smallish bananas (roughly 1.5 cups of banana), so I substituted unsweetened apple sauce for the rest. I often feel like banana breads are short on banana flavor, but this recipe was still delicious with less banana—though I suspect it would be even better with the full two cups. As someone else mentioned, I used brown sugar instead of raw sugar on top of the loaf, and I have no complaints.
This is the absolute best banana bread recipe that ever existed! I’ve been making the same banana bread recipe that my nana got from The Boston Globe food section 50 years ago – and have never been swayed by another. This one is so similar but with swapping brown sugar and adding spices, I had to try it. The cinnamon seems like way too much for is, of course, perfect. This is the keeper that will be saved for the generations. Deb you hit it out of the park once again!
Let’s just call this quarantine survival banana bread.
It turned out great. I baked it in my oversized Emile Henry loaf pan so no danger of overflow.
You can taste all of the butter. Crispy lid and great crumb.
No nuts, no chocolate chips just pure wonderful banana bread.
Definitely my favorite banana bread so far and I have tried a lot of recipes over the years. I used 1 c. whole wheat flour, 3/4 c. all purpose and 1/4 c. mesquite flour. The mesquite flour gives a wonderful nutty flavor. I cut the brown sugar down to 1/2 c and it was plenty sweet. Lots of fresh ground nutmeg. Yum!
This was a perfect banana bread. Not as sweet that I’m used to. But it’s a nice updated version! The crunchy top!!!
I substituted 1/2 cup mochiko (rice) flour and it added a really nice texture similar to mochi. I’ve been experimenting with banana bread recipes, like many others, while spending all this time at home. This one is a keeper!
This was so good! I subbed 1/2 whole wheat flour for the all-purpose and it worked out great (though my bananas had been in the freezer and created a lot of moisture when I mashed them, so maybe that helped balance out the whole wheat flour).
Fantastic banana bread recipe. Love how tall this one bakes up!
Second time I’ve made this. It’s the best banana bread I’ve ever made!
This was the best banana bread I’ve made (less dense and more flavorful than the other SK ones I’ve tried)! It’s great fresh out of the oven, but I noticed the next day the banana flavor and sweetness were almost a little too much for me. I went a little over on the amount of mashed banana so as not to waste any; next time I’ll stick to the measurements and lessen the sugar a bit, as the fruit is pretty sweet on its own. It took about 65 minutes total to bake and probably could have gone a few mins longer. The sugar crust is really lovely but sadly I had to store it airtight and it quickly disappeared into just sugar, as expected.
I made this with Bob’s 1 to 1 flour (gluten free) and chocolate chips. Delicious. I line all my sweet bread, cake and brownie pans with sugar – makes a crunchy crust, which works really well with GF which can sometimes get a little mushy over time.
I am not GF, but the texture is divine with quick breads.
we never get fed up of bananas! it looks super moist!
My husband who said he didn’t like banana bread has asked me to make another loaf soon. We are just waiting for the bananas to get brown. He likes it with walnuts. I like it toasted with butter. Thank you for the great recipe!
Welllllll, OK, maybe I’ll give this one a try but meanwhile please DO NOT remove the recipe for jacked up BB which I positively swoon over, K?
Never!
I made this recipe exactly as written. I only had four neglected bananas on the counter, so I borrowed from our frozen smoothie stash to get to the requisite two cups. This is, hands down, the best banana bread I’ve tried. My kids call it “Maui-worthy,” as they hold banana bread on Maui as their gold standard. The loaf is light and airy, with a delicate flavor and outstanding crunchy top thanks to the raw sugar (which I may have doubled – no regrets). We stored the bread as suggested, and it maintained it’s crunch over three days. I have found my banana bread recipe for life. Thank you, Deb!
I have made this recipe 3 times now and it is delicious every time! This last time I browned the butter and it was a nice addition. I love the crunchy top! I need to measure the volume of my pan, mine never gets as high but it doesn’t affect the deliciousness. All 3 times mine needed 70-75 minutes of baking time but my oven runs cool.
Okay,we have excess mushy bananas and I’m making this this weekend. My question for you is about convection ovens. Do you have one, and or use that function for baked goods? I’m really just starting to experiment with mine despite the fact that I’ve had this oven for 7 years. PS. I made your oatmeal raisin walnut cookies a few weeks ago and was able to share some with my 87-year-old mother who pronounced them delicious. She’s right – they were! Love your cookbook and your site. Stay well.
Mine didn’t rise as much as yours, but wow. My new favorite BB recipe. Perfect flavor. Should I try more aggressive whisking next time?
You’re right. This is the ultimate banana bread. I have tried TONS of recipes during quarantine, and this one is hands-down the best. I didn’t measure my 5 bananas, and I think I probably used too many, because I had to bake it for longer than the recipe states (70+ minutes total). The notes on how to store the loaf are essential – store it in the loaf pan, with just a piece of foil on the cut end. I turn out the loaf onto my cutting board whenever I cut a slice, and then pop the loaf back into the pan with the foil for storage. Keeps the loaf moist and the top crispy.
Oh lord this is beautiful!!!! However I had it in the oven for 75 minutes and still the very bottom seemed raw and the sides???? The middle was cooked through. The bananas i used had been mashed up and in the fridge for 5 days…covered. Could they have sunk to the bottom???? I stirred everything very well… as you directed in the recipe???? help. I’m going to make it again. This will be my go to banana bread!
I made this and it is amazing! It did spill a little over the sides but it was no problem. Put in a half cup of chocolate chips and they were made even better!
Silly question . . . . . i do not have a scale to weigh bananas. The recipe calls for 2 slightly heaped cups of mashed bananas, but your photo shows cut slices in a glass measuring cup. Should we use the amount that is cut in slices in measuring 2 cups, or mash enough bananas to fill to the 2 cup line?
I prepped most of the ingredients last night, ready to make the cake this morning, and realised as I was about to put it in the oven that I hadn’t remembered to weigh how much mashed banana I had! A bit late, then…
Still, it turned out edible and indeed very tasty, so I can’t have been that far off.
Delicious! I was a little short on 2 cups banana and added a bit of sour cream to make up the difference. Husband declared it best banana bread evah! The tip about storing it in the pan with foil on the end is a total game changer. Thank you! Thank you!
Delicious. I made it with the frozen bananas in my freezer and it tastes delicious. My 8 year old loves it and that makes me happy. Also, it was super easy to make.
Deb, I have made all the versions of banana bread on your site because I love you and I love all your renditions. Up until now, jacked up and marble banana have been my two favorites, but alas, this ultimate banana bread is really something. I will probably always go back between the jacked and marble because of the number of bananas seems more probable to have on hand, but this was absolutely delicious and I made it exactly as written and has no issues. The bread was light and deeply flavored. A keeper for sure. Thank you, Deb for all that you do. Xx
I’ve made this 4 times since it’s been published and it’s perfect every time. New fav banana bread recipe, for sure.
I made this yesterday afternoon. I did not try it until this morning as advised. It is very dense. Is it supposed to be that way??
Did it get tall and rise over the brim of the pan?
No, the batter was about an inch below the top when I put it in the oven. The middle section rose up to just shy of the top.
You’re sure your baking soda and powder are good? No chance you accidentally used self-rising flour? Might you be at altitude? These are always the first things I look at.
I made this last night (with our last two eggs – thanks coronavirus), and just now overheard my daughter saying “I didn’t even know banana bread could taste this good.” Win!
I baked mine in a 5×9 glass loaf pan and it took 90 minutes to cook through – I don’t know if the glass or the density of the mix is to blame but I suggest leaving extra time!
I added chocolate chips because I have been baking either your double chocolate or marbled banana bread every week since COVID-19 locked me in my apartment and I think a chocolate withdrawal at this point would be unwise…
I also got into the habit of using an immersion blender to mix the banana, butter, and sugar. I like that it really blends the banana in completely and makes for a smoother mix.
That said – it rose quite a bit though not as spectacularly as your photos. It has cooled with a nice crunchy top and it is all over browned and beautiful.
And of course it is absolutely delicious.
My second time making it. This time I added 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, last time not as much. my bananas were also not too ripe, but my son could not wait. Begging me to make it. We barely needed the foil. It was gone within 12 hours.
The link for the “why” r.e. updated banana weight goes to a different recipe entirely and it doesn’t really address the issue with the banana weight here.
Thanks for the heads up. It should have linked to this comment: https://smittenkitchen.com/2020/03/ultimate-banana-bread/#comment-1537120 (now fixed)
I made this with no substitutions and no vanilla extract (forgot it!). My bananas were very, very ripe! It turned out delicious – the best banana bread I’ve made. I used freshly ground cinnamon, and it was a game changer. Definitely try it if you’re a cinnamon lover like me. Thank you Deb for this great recipe!
I made this and it’s the best banana bread recipe I have ever tried. My friend made it too and said the same thing. Thank you!
Just made this as muffins… cooked them 30 minutes… too hot for trying still!
I made this last week and it was the best banana bread ever. Now I want to make cupcakes. Added pecans to the recipe and it worked well.
But where’s the nuts? No nuts!
I was in serious doubt when I saw this recipe. Coz, your marbled banana recipe is our family favourite and has the unanymous vote of nothing beats this! I was in two minds, then went for this recipe as I had almost 2cups full overripe mashed bananas. The smell from oven was divine and heavenly. The crust was to die for. The only change is I put 2 heaped tsp cinnamon in the batter and some chocolate chunks on the top instead of sugar. You topped yourself Deb, again!
Great recipe! I made as muffins and they turned out perfectly. Substituted whole wheat flour for all-purpose and 1/2 cup stevia for 1/2 cup brown sugar. Delicious! Will bake again. Thanks, Deb. :)
Also substituted ground nutmeg for fresh.
oh man I’ve been making your jacked up banana bread for over 10 years and dare not try another – it’s SO good – but what the heck i’ll try this – eek! 😆
after just one try, 100% this is now our go-to banana bread.
i made this for the first time yesterday. i was dying to use my new bundt pan so i did — and am happy to report it looked beautiful, and the cook time was about the same. i usually make a recipe straight the first time, but in this case about one “banana” was actually two small steamed sweet potatoes i had in the fridge. i did use the nutmeg though i don’t have fresh. by the way, i so appreciate having weight measures, was especially nice for the bananas here.
i can’t eat banana but reports from the family are extremely positive. there’s just a little section left to try on the second day! the only caveat to this being “the best ever” was a request for walnuts and chocolate bits in the next one.
Only had 3 bananas so I added frozen blueberries and it turned out great.
Deb, someone should give you a medal at the end of this quarantine. I can’t tell you how many times I have turned to your recipes during this last 7 weeks. I know that I can trust them to turn out and that means a lot when you don’t want to waste precious ingredients. Thanks for all of the delicious recipes that have made this time much more bearable. There’s something about baking that is very comforting.
This is it. This is the one. Deb, you’re right, it’s the ultimate!!!! I, like the rest of the quarantined world, seem to be baking more banana bread than I ever have in my life, but have been disappointed with every loaf I’ve attempted (It’s too dry! It’s too dense!). This one is just….perfect…is it the 5 bananas in the batter? Is it the perfectly crunchy sugar topping? Who knows? But it’s magical!!!
Also, even though it was dreadfully difficult, I waited to slice into it until it had completely cooled, and that really was worth it.
Thank you Deb!!
Truth in advertising! This IS the ultimate (and I have made a lot of banana bread in decades of baking). I followed the instructions meticulously, and even baked it in the same Goldtouch loaf pan that Deb uses. After 10′ of baking I was a bit worried because it was curving over the side—I thought for sure there would be spillage. BUT NO! It turned out perfectly. While tinkering with recipes can be fun, I don’t want to do anything with this one. It is perfection. Thank you, Deb.
I’ve learned that it’s almost impossible to go wrong with banana bread. Since moving back to the US after 2 years where we ate bananas that grew in our neighborhood, we can’t eat the ones that come to market here…ha ha, no flavor, but I get them anyway, let them over-ripen, then peel and freeze them. My hubs is crazy about banana bread, and I try to make it regularly for him. I have a recipe called banana-banana bread, calls for 2 2/3 cups mashed banana! so good! thanks for posting.
Tried this today, came really nice. So tasty, I added some walnuts as well. Thanks for a great recipe! :)
This recipe is wonderful! I like to add extra nutmeg and chocolate chips, but my dad loves it without the spices. Best banana bread ever! so easy to change up to fit the needs of picky baked goods eaters:) Thank you for sharing
Thank you, Deb. When my 12 year old stated his desire to make banana bread with me on Mother’s Day, I was ecstatic! So I turned to you as I rely on Smitten Kitchen for recipes that work. I thought I would add to the knowledge pool with a few adjustments I had to “make do”. First I had to make a request for ripe bananas on our local neighborhood page, and sure enough a neighbor had a surplus. I used whole wheat pastry flour for the APF, and reduced the sugar to 1/3 cup after reading one of the comments. I only had 5 T of butter available, so I substituted one additional T of canola oil, plus one T of toasted sesame oil. Then, the closest thing I had to raw sugar was some “amber rock sugar for tea” that someone had abandoned in our worksite breakroom. All of it worked perfectly and everyone agrees this is the best banana bread ever. But you already knew that! Thank you so much for your work.
Hi there!!! Made this last week and LOVED it :) Thanks so much!! I’m wondering – if I wanted to add old fashioned oats to this – how much would you recommend/would it effect the recipe otherwise?
I was disappointed as the bread had a strong baking soda aftertaste. I did follow the exact mixing procedures.
I followed the recipe exactly, except for 1 oops–I put in cloves instead of cinnamon. The bread turned out fantastic. I probably won’t share it with some, but the texture is amazing.
Is the amount of table salt (1 tsp) listed in this recipe correct? Your other banana breads call for 1/4 tsp.
Yes, this is much bigger. You can use less if you’re worried but I don’t think I’ve read a single comment to date concerned about the level of salt.
I used less than 1 tsp of sea salt and the bread is inedibly salty. Must be the type of sea salt I have.
This is fantastic banana bread! I don’t remember the last time I made the same banana bread recipe twice, but I have done that and actually printed it out to make sure I don’t lose it. Thank you for a bright spot during this crazy pandemic!
Ok, I thought I wasn’t a fan of banana bread, I only ever make it for the kids when the bananas are starting to die. But this time I had too many dying bananas so I tried this recipe and Oh. My. Gawd. This is so good. Thanks for ANOTHER amazing recipe Deb.
I don’t have a standard traditional banana bread/muffin recipe, but thought this sounded like a great jumping off point. Here’s what I did, and it turned out GREAT:
– Instead of butter, I used 2 ounces melted coconut oil and 2 ounces homemade 2% Greek yogurt. The yogurt made the oil seize (duh), so next time I will add the yogurt with the eggs and vanilla.
– Reduced brown sugar by 50% to 1/2 cup.
– 4 large bananas was spot-on 18 ounces for me. I mashed them directly into the large bowl after whisking the fat and sugar.
– Used about 1/3 whole wheat flour by weight — just what I had on hand.
– Baked in regular 12-cup muffin tin for 24 minutes. They were quite full but not full enough I was worried about overflowing. They domed up beautifully and came out moist and sweet, but not achingly sweet. Could maybe have done another minute or two to get a crisper lid, but didn’t want to overbake. I couldn’t bear to let mine sit out uncovered overnight with the bugs that come out of the cracks this time of year, so I may never know the true glory of the crisp lid here. Sorry, Deb!
For those who care, with these modifications the recipe came to about 210 calories per muffin (or 1/12 loaf), which makes me feel like this is something I can keep in the regular rotation and not reserve for treats.
My usual banana bread/muffin recipe is a chocolate one that uses less flour and bananas with cocoa and dark chocolate chips, and I will definitely adapt this to those flavors — yours is a better base recipe. Thanks for another keeper!
Hello! How long would you bake the spare muffin or two?
Most muffins bake for between 20 and 25 minutes, so I’d check in around then. Fill it almost to the top, as you will the loaf pan.
This is excellent! A worthy sibling to Deb’s fab Jacked-up Banana Bread. As she wrote above, this one has a slightly finer crumb, but still flavorful and moist, even more so if you wait a day before you serve it or freeze it. In this version and in the previous one, I reduce the cinnamon by at least half; I think otherwise the cinnamon overpowers the banana flavor. But that’s me.
Made this while substituting butter with olive oil (three-quarters rule!) and it was UNFORGETTABLE. So light. So fluffy and just the right amount of banana-y ness. Seriously, my parents whom I often try to impress via baking remarked it tasted /professionally made/. Thank you so much!!!
Hi! How many minutes to bake in 2 small loaves?
Thank you!
Andrea
How many cups of walnuts can I add to this? I’m thinking 1/2 cup.
Adding nuts shouldn’t affect the bake, it’s just a matter of how densely you want them scattered. 1/2 cup is a good place to start; I wouldn’t go more than 1 cup.
My husband who thought he didn’t like banana bread has fallen in love with this. He is even bringing me home bananas as a subtle hint it’s time for another loaf with pecans of course! You are so right, the sugary crust is so wonderful! This is now my go to recipe!
This is now my go-to Banana Bread recipe. I also made what I call the Bananas Foster Bread based on this by caramelizing the bananas with allspice, cinnamon and flamed with rum and banana liqueur before following the rest of the recipe
I’ve never had a ‘go to’ banana bread recipe before, but this one is it! I made it in two smaller loaf pans, baked for about 50/55 minutes. I made one w chocolate chip but we actually liked the one without (!) better
This is the BEST banana bread that I have ever eaten or made. I made to adjustments. I only had dark brown sugar and I added chopped pecans. The sugar on top makes it extra special. Oh, I didn’t add nutmeg because I didn’t have.
I love the weights! It only took 3 of my large bananas to get over 520 g. Wouldn’t have wanted it to overflow!
Just tried this bread and it has AMAZING flavor. I didn’t have fresh nutmeg, so used a little ground nutmeg and only had dark brown sugar; still delicious. I baked it for 55 minutes and a skewer came out clean; I assumed it was done and left it to cool over night. Unfortunately the bread doesn’t seem quite done in the middle – it is too moist. Have you ever put banana bread back in the oven post-cooling? I thought this might help dry up the middle a bit but don’t want to ruin the deliciousness…
Thanks for all the amazing recipes Deb!
Amazing recipe! Easy to execute and remember – I love the simple ingredient amounts. We make this weekly and share with housebound neighbors. Have been using 1/2 canola oil instead of butter for cost and availability and it’s worked great. We add chocolate chips or blueberries and sometimes chia seeds all to success. Agreed that best way to store it is by wrapping only the sides. It’s sad when the sugar crust melts away! (Although this is delicious without the crust if you want to cut some sugar.) Hope all is well and healthy!
I love Deb’s recipes, but this one did not work for me which is really surprising! Granted, I have a 10-month-old so my brain is not always (okay, never) firing in all-cylinders. My loaf did not rise much at all, so ended up dark, dense and almost too wet inside. I weighed everything because I come from the professional baking world and that’s my jam. My baking powder and baking soda were also fine because I had just made some other things recently that worked great. I’m tempted to try again, but increased the baking powder and potentially also the flour a bit. Everyone seems to love this and the pictures do look like my perfect banana bread!
This food is very tasty and filling, you can eat it as a snack and even a hunger barrier.
I made this for my family the first time we were able to gather together in a few months. It was such a big hit. But, I have to say, my heart will always be with your jacked up banana bread.
What modifications do you recommend to the recipe if I am using it to make banana muffins instead?
You’d only need to adjust the cook time. If standard sized muffin cups are about 2/3 full, 25 minutes or so should do it!
What modifications would you recommend to make this into banana bread muffins?
Agree with the title – this is THE ultimate banana bread! I will be coming back to this recipe again and again. Probably in like 3 days as long as no one eats any more bananas, if I’m being totally honest. Maybe I should hide the bananas.
Just made my second loaf in a week. Thanks again, Deb!
I used half the brown sugar (1/2 cup packed), and the result is addictive.
I used an oven-safe silicone giant ice cube tray (Mammoth Cubes). It took about an hour, rising into a beautiful loaf of separable, weirdly shaped “cube-cakes”. I had a little batter left over, which I baked separately. The top gets wonderfully crispy; it’s actually nicer than nuts would have been.
This is the best banana bread I have made so far. Browned butter with melted sugar could be a secret ingredient! Thank you Deb for posting yet another one.
If this is the ultimate banana bread can I ask what the penultimate banana bread was? Seriously, so glad this (and SK) exists. xo
There are, in fact, four banana bread recipes on this site, plus four additional banana cakes. Glad it was a hit.
Has anyone tried adding chopped strawberries to this? I did a comment search but didn’t find anything. Thanks!
Making my way through your BB recipes! (Never too many of those in my opinion!) This was my 2nd (Jacked Up was clearly the first!)! I was nervous about spillage, but alas, none – even with 2 heaping cups of bananas! Mine were frozen naners and a bit of a mixture of types, so it was great to have the measurement in actual cups and not # of bananas. Next up, marbled BB! Love your site Deb!
Thanks for the perfect banana bread recipe! Today I am making this to gift to my father-in-law for father’s day on Sunday. This recipe gives you the most satisfying piece of banana bread you’ll ever eat.
Hi there! I am desperately looking for this Superiority recipe online. I thought I knew it by heart, but can’t remember the measurements! Any chance you can share? :)
I made this last night into 12 muffins and cooked for 25mins. Delicious!
I made this today with the addition of some unsweetened shredded coconut and it’s simply glorious! Best banana bread I’ve ever made, perfection!
Love, love, love you and your amazing recipes. We cannot go a week without your amazing kale/goat cheese salad. And your writing.
But this note is really about your piece in the NY Times on Sunday. Kudos to you for bringing up and shouting about the elephant in the room. If only, it might help entertain the kids!
I just made this bread, the smell of it baking made it hard to wait while it cooled, so we didn’t!!! Awesomely delicious!
I just made this with the 5 leftover bananas I had sitting around! Super delicious. I subbed coconut oil for the butter, and used a mix of oatmeal (1/2 cup), whole wheat flour (1/4 cup) and regular all purpose flour (1-1/4 cup). I made it into 12 muffins (baked at 350 for 25 minutes), and they rose perfectly, without overflowing.
I added added clove and ginger, instead of cinnamon (my niece is allergic).
Thanks for another great recipe!
2-3 days you say it lasts?? Three grade schoolers ate the whole loaf (with just a little help from grandparents) in 2 hours,. It’s wonderful!
Another amazing recipe, Deb. Your blog is delightfully smart, funny and engaging and your recipes are masterful, beyond expectations, every single time.
I made this lovely banana bread in a Bundt pan and served it with neufchatel blended with maple syrup. Only adjustment was using half whole wheat pastry flour. Thank you. I’m not sure if I should buy more cookbooks. But I an using links to shop. Must keep you working!!! 🤗
I have made this about 6 times since quarantine began. Anyone call it the “Teaspoon Banana Bread” in their heads? Deb, thank you for crafting this to be not only delicious but also so dang easy to memorize!
Did you use a convection setting? I find it still takes about an hour even with convection.
Oops. I just put this in the oven without paying attention to the ‘5 bananas’ part. I used 3 which I usually used for the ‘jacked up’ recipe. I guess we’ll see, duh to me for not reading closely.
I made this recipe for the 2nd time yesterday. The first time I made it according to the recipe, but added pecans. I found it to be too sweet for our taste, so made it again with the following modifications,
1. Replaced butter with 1 cup of whole milk ricotta cheese (love this addition);
2. Did not use any sugar;
3. Added 1/2 cup of GF oatmeal;
3. Added 1/2 cup of pecans and 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of dark chocolate chips.
4. Baked initially for 1 hour, then added another 6 minutes.
My husband is a huge banana bread fan, and this resulting modified version was fantastic!!! Moist and plenty sweet, with a beautiful crust. Thank you for this recipe. After trying many different banana bread recipes, this is now the go to recipe in our household. Delicious!!!
I used 5 bananas and was nervous to put all of the batter in the loaf pan so I made 4 muffins on the side. The bread came out absolutely amazing! The rise was perfect and the turbinado sugar adds a nice little crunch. I now wish I would have made the whole batch as muffins to help with portion control – haha!
Very good. Been huffing it for two days. And yes, it’s better on the second day.
Used 3/4 cup dark brown sugar and it was plenty sweet. Next time I will use less cinnamon as well. Tip: I lined pan with parchment, and the overhang of paper blocked any overflow of batter. As an added bonus, it made the final shape look like Wonder Bread.
I made this last night with 3 overly ripe bananas but since it was slightly less than 2 cups and the recipe insists on 2 heaping cups, I added 1/2 cup canola oil, reduced the flour by 1/2 cup, and threw in chopped walnuts because I like chopped walnuts. Followed everything else as written and baked for just under an hour. The crumb is so soft, moist, and not too sweet. Considering I tweaked the recipe, everything came together easy and turned out great. And yes, waiting until the next day means the sugar top can crystalize in a really good way.
Ok. My old bananas got a little too mushy so I could only use 2 3/4 of them…so I grated up a smallish zucchini (our sole zucchini harvest!) and tossed that in. Here’s hoping!
Omg – now I know why you added another banana bread recipe to the site. This is beat I’ve ever had! Thank you for your never ending quest for perfection!
I’m 12 weeks pregnant, and your trio of “ultimate” quickbreads (zucchini, banana, pumpkin) are the only food category that is consistently appealing and has not yet sent me running for a bucket. And thankfully they’re easy to make, so I can throw it together and get in a decent nap to recover while it bakes
After a particularly rough evening of “morning” (i wish) sickness last night, I woke up starving and somehow got it together to make this banana bread. I just ate a slice hot from the oven. It’s perfect. My happy tummy and I are so grateful to you right now!
The crust on this is absolutely gorgeous. Amazing, deep flavor. So moist. Another great recipe- thank you!
I had a bunch of bananas getting too ripe for my kids liking so I came here to get the recipe for the jacked up banana bread. I saw this and thought…smitten kitchen never disappoints…I’ll try the new best banana bread recipe. It was good. I made 2 loaves. They were full and very good. Everyone ate them and liked them. But…my family and friends still think the jacked up banana bread recipe is the best we have ever had. I definitely agree. I’ll go back to that one next time. It always gets rave reviews!
I’ve made this awesome recipe as is many times, and can now report after a weekend with a vegan and gluten-free party that those modifications work out splendidly, too! I subbed 3/8 cup olive oil for the butter, and successfully tried both aquafaba and flax eggs for the eggs (yes, it was such a hit I made it twice!). For the flour, I used 1.5 cups brown rice flour and 1/2 cup almond meal. I usually use weight measures, but went with volume this time (this worked out to more than 195 grams of brown rice flour). It also took the full 65 minutes rather than the usual 75. Yum!
I let my bananas get all-black, some even a little boozy inside. and I tried this with a glurg of Kahlua and some fresh local walnuts & cocoa nibs. Really good. It has a velvety texture and the banana shines through. Had no nutmeg, so used cake spice, my go-to for baked goods calling for cinnamon. This is a truly great cake; have never seen the method of adding salt & leavenings to the egg mix before–it works so well. Thanks!!
Yummmm. I’ve made this a few times and have loved it each time.
Today I make a half recipe since I only had two very large bananas. Made them into muffins instead of a load, and (using a tip from many of your other recipes) browned the butter before whisking it in. Divine.
This banana cake recipe is one of the best I have made in years
The raw sugar on top sure,y does make it ultimate
Thank you thank you
5 stars
The first time I made this, my husband said that it’s the best banana bread he’s ever had. I have made it a few times now; it’s definitely on the baking rotation.
The first time I made this, my husband said that it’s the best banana bread he’s ever had. I have made it a few times now; it’s definitely on the baking rotation.
Thank you SO much for this recipe, Deb, I feel like it changed my life! As a diabetic I am looking for changes that still allow me and other friends with food adherences to have the things other people have, but sometimes it’s like a challenge to figure out the puzzle about how to do it. I trust you implicitly as a recipe creator and someone who is NOT frivolous with adding sugar and carbs. That said, I knew I would tweak it just a little because I live with carb and sugar guilt on the reg. I get diabetic nerve pain when my levels go up too high so I take a lot of precautions to avoid it because it sucks. I LOVE the fact that you amped up the banana quantity, it’s the key to the puzzle forever. <3
Toasted mine with peanut butter. Sang your sweet praises!
So for anyone who still wants to make this glorious bread, here are my diabetic subs (also taste-tested by three other low-sugar/low-carb people):
6 bananas, up from 5
3/4 cup brown sugar with 1/4 of a cup being replaced by a granulated sugar/cinnamon/orange zest mix I made myself (recipe: 1:1 ratio of granulated sugar to cinnamon with the dried zest of orange or whatever citrus fruit you choose- zest and leave to dry on counter until no moisture remains)
1 cup of spooned and leveled whole wheat flour plus 1 cup AP flour (could sub AP for apple flour, oat flour)
Cooked for 40-45 mins instead of 50-55 (I had no spillage, like Deb said!)
Thank you again! And to all who leave comments for others to see how their experiences work out too!
Hello, can you make muffins instead of a loaf with this recipe?
Yes, absolutely.
I love that this has everything in weights, so convenient and fool proof! It’s frustrating when recipes call for “2 bananas” when there’s a huge variation in size! I made it this morning as written (with the addition of 1 TBPS bourbon :) and it was a hit. Definitely my new go-to banana bread :)
This just didn’t rise much for me and even though it baked for a full 65 minutes it didn’t get a nice crumb. Just kind of dense and almost wet. Sea level kitchen. Gluten-free flour blend. I added some xanthan gum as I usually do for baking. I love your recipes and get good results almost always – not sure what happened here but will try another recipe next time I have overripe bananas!
I haven’t tested this with gluten-free flour but with regular, I always get a great rise so I suspect that’s the culprit.
This was so good that my boyfriend who doesn’t eat cake took it home with him and ate it all himself.
Late to the party, but I have just made this for the first time and it is by far the best banana bread I have ever had in my life. Bye, Mom’s recipe, so sorry, but you can’t hold a candle to this one. Perfect crumb, and also it somehow tastes like the butter and brown sugar and spices that went into it in the most wholesome and delicious way. Just. Brilliant.
I added 1 cup of walnuts, and because I only keep salted butter, used that. Oh, and extra large eggs, again, because they’re what we have. Done perfectly in the full 65 minutes.
I made this and it’s delicious. Followed the recipe exactly, EXCEPT that the kitchen I’m in right now doesn’t have a loaf pan. Nevertheless, I persevered, and made the banana bread in a large cast iron skillet. Yes, it’s more cake-shaped than loaf-shaped, but the great taste is the same, and mine only needed 30-35 minutes of baking at 350. Thanks for another great recipe Deb! (And yes I used 5 bananas — do it!)
I have never had such a delicious banana bread. It is rich, dark and almost caramelly. My favorite part is the crispy lid. It’s a perfect surface for spreading butter. I added crushed walnuts to my batter for “health.” But really for crunch.
This recipe truly is ultimate. I don’t think I’ll ever make another banana bread. Thank you!
I was short on bananas but still wanted to try this, so I cut the recipe in half and made it in two mini-loaf pans (the kind that generally come in sets of three and hold about 1.5 cups of batter each), baking for approximately 35 minutes. It is very good!
Just made this and devoured 1 1/2 slices! Confession: I added walnuts and bittersweet chocolate chunks and it was divine!
This bread is the one. I didn’t have turbinado sugar but Demerara works just as well. I’ve also adapted it into two great variations!
Vegan:
– substitute 2 eggs with 2 “flax eggs.” Mix 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds with 6 tablespoons of warm water and stir. Let sit for 10 minutes so it can get nice and goopy. I find success grinding whole flax seeds in a NutriBullet.
– substitute butter with coconut oil
Less Sweet:
1/2 cup of sugar makes for a very plain, barely sweet bread that one of my friends prefers, but I like reducing the sugar to 3/4 cup. No need to change the amount of wet ingredients! (Works for both regular and vegan versions.)
Also works great as 12 muffins! Reduced baking time to 20-25 minutes for muffins.
Simply delish! Moist but not mushy, perfect texture – a huge hit! My new go-to for using a bunch of bananas!
We love your Jacked Up Banana bread recipe but I was out of Maker’s Mark last week so I opted to make this recipe. I didn’t even get to take a photo of it bc it smelled so delish that the family couldn’t even wait for it to cool before digging in! Everyone decided that this banana bread is the best recipe EVER! And to think you can make it in just one bowl! Thanks for all your yummy recipes!
TLDR: this was fantastic, just like the zucchini and pumpkin versions. :)
Question: Can you update recipe with recommendations on additions? I.e. up to what….1cup (?) Of chopped nuts or chocolate chips or more if you want both?
The wordy version:
I’ve been making the same banana bread for years, slightly altered from original. I’ve tried others but always regret switching, but still sometimes I just get curious and can’t help myself from trying something else again.
Ì discovered your site early in pandemic with the browned butter rice krispies (OMG YUM!) And then the ultimate zucchini loaf, which led me to the pumpkin bread. (No regrets besides my waist line.) So thinking about banana bread last night it dawned on me that you (the reigning queen of quick bread) might have a similar recipe for banana! Did a quick little search and VOILA!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. It’s 100% my new go-to.
I was so happy to see this recipe today! I too feel you needed it since you have the absolute best pumpkin bread recipe! I’m no one special but I wanted to thank you, and tell you that your efforts are appreciated!
Please stay safe and healthy!
I am so excited. This is baking in my oven as I type this and my house smells so good! I can’t wait to actually taste it! Yay Deb for another awesome recipe!
I have never made banana bread before. I just have never liked it enough to bother. Until now. This is delicious! It’s like banana bread’s sophisticated older sister.
It is wonderful. My partner even asks for more and professes not to like cakes.
This has become my go-to banana bread recipe, and I always add a heaping teaspoon of ground cardamom with the other spices (otherwise following Deb’s recipe to the letter). I adore cardamom and it’s wonderful in this bread!
I hate to freeze it because it so good but I want to make holiday gifts for several people. Your thoughts on freezing?
It will freeze well but it won’t have as crisp of a top once defrosted.
Can I add nuts to the recipe?
Yes. I like to toast them first, so they stay more crisp.
This bread is great! I usually need five bananas too. Sometimes, like today, I only had enough mashed banana for 1 3/4 cup so I added in some sour cream and applesauce to fill out the two cups. Mine is done in 55 min or maybe even a bit before. Wonderful every time! Thanks and all the best to you Deb.
There’s no such thing as too many banana bread recipes! My mom was a single mom for most of my childhood, and we didn’t have much. It was always a great pick-me-up for all of us when she would make banana bread, and it’s still a big comfort food for me today. Her trick to getting the “crunchy top” was to bake her banana bread in those old tin ribbed cylindrical coffee cans—as I said, we didn’t have much. Doing so always created a “crunchy top” all the way around! I’m 35 years old, and she still has—and still makes banana bread—in the same old coffee tins!
Joe- How interesting and I feel like I remember my grandmother using coffee tins as well for baking. What a nice childhood memory and sounds like you have a clever, resourceful and kind mom:)
This looks delicious,I was wondering if I could use ghee for this recipe,also I want to bake in in tiny loaf pans I have a pan that has 4 small loaf pans on it so I will try to bake in there to give as gifts
Loved this recipe, clearly written, and thanks for including the total weight of bananas to use. In my oven, the center of the bread reached 200 degrees F. after 75 minutes— between 200 to 205 degrees is the ideal for doneness– at least that’s what I’ve been told. I find my Thermapen instant thermometer more objective than the guesswork of checking the center of the bread with a toothpick for doneness. Another excellent recipe. Thank you, Deb.
This is the best banana bread I’ve ever made, thank you!
Fantastic and so easy! If you’re short on bananas, just drain some canned pears into your Cuisinart and take them for a spin. Add the puree to your mushed bananas. Very yummy.
I made this last night, so it could sit until today… Its super tasty, but mine didn’t dome/rise as much as your pictures? And it’s a bit dense on the inside, and very rich/soft. I’m thinking either I didn’t defrost my frozen bananas enough, and/or my baking powder and/or soda was off? I guess I will have to make another loaf soon to test! (Which, considering the speed at which this one is being eaten, won’t be a problem). Thank you for the delicious recipe!
Are you at an altitude, perhaps?
You’re not allowed to balk at the recipe using a full cup of sugar or two additional tablespoons on top —”
Haha…I love the way you write with gusto.
I was rushing around to get ready for unexpected company and needed something to feed them over coffee. I made this by dumping the first 6 ingredients (including the whole but mushy bananas) in a mixing bowl and mixed it all together then added all dry ingredients (including addition of whole walnuts) and mixed some more. Shoved it in the oven with the turbinado topping and kept cleaning. 50 min later it emerged after filling the house with scrumptious smells and I cooled it outside so I could serve it quickly. Excellent!! And easily the fastest most delicious thing I’ve ever thrown together. THANK YOU!!
Your double chocolate banana bread, marbled banana bread, and now this ultimate banana bread are my favorites! Thank you for including weights, especially for the amount of mashed banana. I like that this recipe yields a banana-forward flavor, but isn’t so squishy in the center as other recipes I’ve tried in the past. The only modification I’ve made is to decrease the brown sugar to 2/3 cup, as I prefer a less sweet bread. Today I increased the recipe by half (1.5 times the original recipe, except keeping the brown sugar at 1 cup) and baked it in a Bundt pan for about 55 minutes. The increased batter filled about 2/3 of my 12-cup Bundt pan and rose to 3/4 of the pan after baking, which makes me think that this proportion can be baked in a 10-cup pan.
previous banana bread recipes I made had a tendency to be overly greasy or dry. This one hits the right spot precisely! Very much recommended! 🤩
I didn’t have enough banana (~400g), so I reduced the flour to 220g and the baking soda and baking powder to scant tsps, and it came out great! Added toasted pecans and baked in a 9×5 pan for about 70m.
This is so good! I’ve made this recipe twice, once as a loaf and once as muffins, both times it was fantastic. I love the sugary top so I sprinkled additional raw sugar on top halfway through baking to add more texture, it was really good. Thanks for this recipe! It will be my go to banana bread.
If I wanted to “marble” this using the technique in your marbled banana bread, how much flour would you suggest separating out to be added only to the banana batter (assuming I’d then add the equivalent amount of cocoa powder to the chocolate batter). Thank you!
It’s like you were *looking inside my kitchen this week* where I have exactly this on the counter, because I had that many bananas going bad. You want 1 1/3 cups of flour and then to divide the batter (they were about 545 grams each half). 1/3 cup flour + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in one half; 1/3 cup cocoa + chips in the other. However, mine almost overflowed. I haven’t worked out the kinks yet but the marbled versions don’t dome as well, which is risky here. Proceed with caution!
Haha…great minds :-) I took out a large-ish muffin’s worth of batter and it seems it *might* have overflowed if not, whereas I have no overflow issues in my pan with the ultimate (non-marbled) version. Thanks for the measurements to divide/marble…it came out perfectly.
Hi Deb, As a faithful Smitten Kitchen baker (though I don’t interact much…) I have to say everything I bake from your book and recipe is utterly delightful.
Several years ago, I found a recipe (sure thought it was from you) called “Dark Side of the Moonpie”. It was so decadent and delicious and rich rich rich!
Was that not your recipe? I was so sure it was my first ever SK recipe.
Am I mistaken? I can’t find it on your site. :(
Thank you so much for all the good recipes and for any help you can offer with this question.
I don’t think it’s from me but it sounds delicious. Is it this?
If you want to use almond flour in place of all purpose flour, should I alter any other parts of the recipe? Thank you for responding.
I wouldn’t recommend it as a full swap here — it won’t hold up the structure of the bread. If you’re looking to make this gluten-free, I’d use a gluten-free baking flour blend.
I made the ultimate pumpkin bread and loved it so when I saw this I had to try it too. I halved the recipe, as I only had 3 bananas, and made 9 muffins at about 25 mins. So, so good. These will definitely be gone by tomorrow.
I made it this weekend and it is excellent. I added a handful of toasted pecan pieces because we love nuts. Just as you said, it completely filled the baking pan but did not spill over.
If I wanted to add some millet to combine the best of both worlds (I know, I know, but I ADORE your crackly banana bread recipe and I can’t help myself), do you think I should just add in 1/4 cup? Or should I reduce any of the dry ingredients here? I’m already expecting that I’ll need to scoop some batter out to make muffins to avoid an overflow situation.
You can just add it here
This was excellent! I made it as written which was too sweet for us. The second time around, I cut the sugar to 2/3c and subbed in 1/4c of oat flour – the crumb was beautiful; I LOVE the overwhelming banana flavor of the bread! Next time, I might try cutting back the sugar to 1/2c … would I need to account for the missing liquid ingredient in this case? Thank you in advance.
I used he exact same size pan as listed (USA Bakeware, so a good pan) and mine barely domed. Used baking powder that has been kept in the freezer and everything else as above. I’m a pretty accomplished baker; I’m trying to figure out what could be wrong. Any ideas?
Reply to myself: Patience grasshopper. At 65 minutes it looks perfect!
Can I use oil instead of butter? If so, how much? Thanks Debbie.
I made this yesterday, and added a pack of blueberries into the mix and it is *chef kiss* amazing. saving this recipe for all my future banana bread needs.
Made today and hubs said it was the best thing I ever baked (excuse me, cream scones?!?!?!) but kids agreed so ok. Added a little bourbon, 1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces and would keep both/maybe add a little more. Maybe mini chocolate chips? Bake as muffins? Good choices all-dense, moist and delicious, a keeper!
I’m a little banana bread-averse as I’ve had so many dry, insipid slices of ‘banana bread’ at cafes etc., over the years. Dull, pointless cake.
But I had three over-ripe bananas about to be chucked into compost – and hated to see them wasted – so made this instead.
Best banana ‘bread’ I’ve ever had. It’s just a wonderfully moist banana cake. And as you said – even better the day after – and the day after that. If it lasts that long. Really fantastic! (Oh – threw in a handful of walnuts too – perfect!)
Thanks again Deb :)
I added chocolate chips because I assumed that is the only way my chocolate obsessed teenager would eat it. After just one bite, he declared that it would have been equally delicious withOUT the chocolate. Wut??? Baking tomorrow exactly as is!
I made this recipe (with the addition of 2 cups of chocolate chips) as 16 muffins and they turned out perfect! I checked them after 20, then 25 minutes in the oven but ended up needing 30 minutes. Thank you Deb, for your recipes which never disappoint, and thank you, former commenters, for reporting on your experiences :-)
Loved the crispy craggily top. It smelled heavenly while baking! Made minor substitutions based on what was at home and personal palate. Half of the sugar was still very sweet, and ripe bananas are sweet anyway. Next time would use less than half of the sugar. Generally find that most recipes here are too sweet for me so I’ve leaned to always decrease the sugar. Used about a third white whole wheat flour. Only had 5 tbs of butter left in the fridge, so made up the rest with canola oil (by weight). Also measured bananas by weight. Still turned out moist with the substitutions. Baked 60 minutes. I think my pan is wider so it the cake is not as tall but still the same bake time.
Greetings from Australia! Could you tell us please why you mix the salt, spices, baking powder & soda into the wet mix rather than into the dry and then into the wet with the flour? Would love to know the science behind this. Many Thanks :)
Yes! Most cakes have a dry ingredient bowl and a wet ingredient bowl that’s then combined, but my goal is a one-bowl recipe. We need the salt, leavener, and spices to be very well-distributed into the batter, of course, but we don’t want to overmix the flour. I’ve found that adding them in different steps allows me get it done in a single bowl without compromising texture. Hope that makes sense.
This recipe did not cooperate today. I had little lumps of flour in the batter that simply would not break down! ugh, i had to smush them one by one, and i probably didnt get them all. Any tips to avoid this for next time?
Combining pandemic hobbies, I added in 120g of sourdough discard, reduced the flour by 60g (to 200g) and reduced the bananas by about 60g (I wasn’t very precise about this part, but my 5 bananas were probably in the 450g range). Turned out great.
Made this and half was eaten less than 8 hours.
I appreciate the recipe ingredients in grams.
I used browned butter and added room temp butter to make up for the loss from browning.
Added a tablespoon of rum like banana foster.
I didn’t have sugar in the raw but next time I’ll make with a crumb, oat crumble, or streusel for texture.
Thanks for your amazing recipes, you’re my go to. Any idea how this could be modified to bake in a 9×9 pan?
I only had two ripe bananas so made up the rest of the 510 g fruit with one grated and three quarters of a finely chopped apple. I added only a little over 1/2 cup of brown sugar and replaced 1 cup of ap flour with whole wheat. OMG! This must be the best banana bread I’ve ever made. So tender and delicious. Next time I will try all bananas. Husband and I ate almost half of it with our pork chop dinner.
Huh. That’s funny. My bf has been enjoying his pork ribs with a side of this bread.
Made a double batch in the Kitchenaid. Used an 8 cup loaf pan, plus 4 huge happy-kid size muffins, to be eaten the first day. Needed a long bake but was total paradise, especially with chopped pecans and just a squeeze of lemon mixed in to really amp up the rise.
I have been looking for the perfect banana bread and now I have finally found it. Just perfection!
Great recipe as usual! I cut the sugar to about 100 grams which was good for our Asian palates. Instead of sprinkling the top with 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, I used 1 tablespoon demerara sugar, but they didn’t quite melt and I had some crunchy granules. Assume using turbinado does make a difference!
Also asian. Also cut sugar down to 100 grams. Kinda bland day 1 and perfect on day 2. Did NOT skimp on sugar topping however and yes turbinado sugar had much different results, the top of the entire bread has like a thin toffee like layer. Super crunchy and delicious but it is a touch too sweet for me. Will try 1.5 tbsp next time.
Hi! I’m in the market for a banana/carrot cake loaf. Any thoughts on adding carrots to this or should I base off a carrot cake recipe?
I bet you could swap one of the cups of mashed banana with a very packed grated cup of carrot.
Ooohhh … great idea!!
Also plan to frost. Seems festive.
Result: It worked, and people really seemed to enjoy. I did not frost. I assume they’re a little less sweet with only half the banana, so keep that in mind.
This is very good, but I still prefer the jacked up banana bread recipe (though I’ve never used the alcohol). I have, however, started to use the turbinado crust from this recipe on the jacked up version, and think it total banana bread perfection. Thanks, Deb!
I have been so devoted to your Jacked Up Banana Bread recipe that I have always ignored this one when it comes up in my search results, UNTIL NOW. Holy cow, this really is the ultimate banana bread. I realized as I was about to start baking with my 2-year-old daughter that I was out of butter and replaced it with half an avocado and a tablespoon of neutral oil and they (we made muffins) were still out of this world.
I made this but substituted carrots for half the banana (at Deb’s suggestion after I asked about the possibility). People seemed to really enjoy. I think they were not as sweet as they would have been but that’s cool. I made them into muffins and baked for about 25 mins.
What level is baking in oven.Tje last tome I made it in middle of oven top burned now I’m trying 1 level down.
The first time I made this, my husband said that it’s the best banana bread he’s ever had. I have made it a few times now; it’s definitely on the baking rotation.
BEST BANANA BREAD WHOOAAAAA. Def day two is better. I lowered the sugar drastically, 100 grams. Did not skimp on the sugar topping however. Also just because, I swapped out about 50 grams of the butter for refined coconut oil. Added more than a few grates of fresh nutmeg and added the tiniest pinch of cloves. And 1/4 cup toasted pecan pieces. Also used a real 9×5 pan (measured the top and bottom), it actually didn’t rise as much as Deb’s but i did leave the batter out for a few minutes waiting for the oven to get to temp so I’m sure that had something to do with it. Wowee wow wow, i am eating it now on day 2. Stored as deb instructioned. So. Freaking. Good.
This is the BEST banana bread recipe. I’ve made it several times as muffins. I am interested in tweaking the recipe to make them lactation booster muffins by adding 1-2 tbsp of brewers yeast and 1-2 tbsp of flaxseed meal. Does anyone know if I should add more liquid or take away a few tbsp of flour? Thanks!
Made your banana bread today and it is really very tasty. I did not have all purpose flour so used 1,5 cup of whole wheat spelt flour and 0,5 cup of oatmeal flour. Just like some other bakers I only used half the amount of sugar and I needed to bake it @180c for about 65 min. and another 10 minutes on 160c. Came out with a nice dark top and great moist crumb. Love it! Thank you so much for this recipe.
Just love all your recipes and I’ve made this one pot banana bread several times as we live on a boat and simple is best for a boat kitchen! Can this bread be frozen? My bananas were ready last nite so I baked the loaf up but I need it for Sunday brunch but worry freezing might harm the wonderful crunchy top! Pls advise!
This is my go to banana bread recipe. I’ve made it probably 10 times and it’s always amazing. Plus it’s so fast & easy, timed myself today, 15 mins from beginning to smash my bananas to in the oven. That’s quick prep makes it perfect for when I need to use up some overripe bananas.
Hello Smitten Kitchen ! Could this be baked as muffins instead of a bread loaf? If so, how long do you think the baking time would be? I live alone so muffins would be better because I could freeze some for later. Thanks!! Lisa
Absolutely. It will make about 18 and they should bake between 22 and 25 minutes.
Yes! I did this last week. We baked for 22-30 minutes, starting with 22 and then working our way up.
Excellent banana bread recipe. Love how easy it is.
This is the only banana bread recipe I will use from now on, thank you.
Turned out perfectly despite:
– not having cinnamon or nutmeg
– using melted margarine
– doubling the recipe
– and had an extra 1c of mashed bananas (for 2 loaves)
And I mean crunchy sugar, dome-shaped, evenly baked, moist, fluffy, perfection.
SK has done it again.
Welp, I only had three bananas, but I also had about 3/4 of a zucchini, so I thought why not? I grated the zucchini, mashed the bananas, made this recipe into muffins, and loved the results. The zucchini bread recipe is so similar I thought it might work. Thanks for this wonderful recipe I have made many times, always in muffins. I can’t be left alone with a whole loaf of this marvelous banana bread, so the muffins go in the freezer for portion control!
officially the best banana bread i’ve ever made. and weighing the bananas helps! easy to underestimate those suckers. thank you for another wonderful recipe!
I’ve generally made your jacked-up banana bread (minus the bourbon) and am not sure how I missed this. But I had 5 and a bit very black bananas and was glumly reflecting that I would probably only be able to hey rid of 3 of them as I browsed, so very grateful for a recipe that deals with a neglected bunch in one go (I had about 60g more banana than your recipe called for so have chucked it in and hoped for the best). I had no plain flour so used self-raising flour with half a teaspoon of baking powder and got a rise comparable to yours. Heaped teaspoon of cinnamon, half a teaspoon of nutmeg, and as I have a box of not-the-right-pearl-sugar-for-Belgian-waffles to use up I sprinkled that liberally on the top instead. Cooked at 150C in a fan oven in 1 hour 15, still slightly damp when skewered but I think that’s chunks of banana rather than uncooked flour and I think that will resolve as it cooks more in the pan. I can leave it until tomorrow as I have chocolate olive oil cake and caramel shortbread bars to use up but it smells absolutely fabulous and it’s killing me not to dig in right now.
Update: it’s fabulous, although it did sink a little bit on cooling, and the two of us are halfway through it four hours after the first slice.
We’ve made this weekly since my last comment as we always have a few bananas going south at the end of the week, always in muffin format and with a cup of chocolate chips by order of the tiny oligarch in my life.
For those who want muffins but miss the crunchy darker top of the big loaf, I find that cooking this in a muffin tin with 1/3 cup of mix per muffin, at 170C fan-assisted, for 30 minutes, produces a nice tall muffin with a lovely burnished crunchy top that is still lovely and moist within.
I have made this recipe dozens of times now, and it’s always perfect. I use the blackest of black bananas and I add toasted pecans to the batter and to the top (because they make everything better). I’ve also made this in muffin tins, and it makes 12 perfectly plump muffins in about 22 minutes. The whole fam is hooked. Thanks for this gem!
Deb, just out of wild curiosity, do you test your recipes using both the weights you give and the cup measurements? I tend to make your recipes using my measuring cups, but some things (butter, bananas, chopped fruit and veg) suit weight better than volume. As a Brit I feel a bit more comfortable weighing but I was always taught to stick to one method for a recipe even if it gives both and I realise I have been assuming that you use cups yourself.
NB: just to be clear, I have never had a recipe of yours fail yet using cups, which is why I now start here when I want to cook sometjing. And this is definitely not meant to suggest that you should be doing any more testing than you already do! I just wondered because you mentioned that you had weighed the bananas and it got me thinking.
I use both. I weigh some, cup others, but if I use cups, I always verify weights.
This is really good to know – thank you!
We just made this as muffins at my 3.5 year old’s request, with milk chocolate chips. I got 15 beautifully risen 1/3 cup muffins. 25 mins at 165C fan cooked them perfectly and the child was face down in them two seconds later. However, delicious though the muffins are, I personally prefer this in the loaf tin and minus the chocolate chips.
On the plus side perhaps we won’t have got through 7/8 of the batch in 12 hours this time round!
After almost 16 months of making this banana bread, I had to circle back to say, this is THE one! Decades of looking for the perfect banana bread recipe, and I’ve finally found it. Because I am one person, and that’s a lot of bread, I discovered this perfectly fills two Fat Daddio 7.75 x 3.75 x 2.5 Inch loaf pans. I had picked up a 2-piece set at TJ Maxx for under $10 just before lock-down and then wondered what I would ever use them for. This smaller size is just perfect for me and I give the other one to my aunt. I do use parchment “slings” to avoid scratching the pans when slicing. (You can lift the bread out, slice and plop right back into the pan.) I add 1 cup of walnuts or pecans because nuts in banana bread are a must for me, but otherwise I make the recipe just as you have written it. I will never need another banana bread recipe!
I baked this recipe (smells amazing) but can never get my toothpick to come out “batter free”. It seems that it’s just the banana that is on the toothpick. Is there a way to differentiate between the banana thats in recipe and the raw batter? I find this always happens when I bake banana bread. Thank you!
There is probably a better answer to this question than mine, but mine is this: I don’t worry too much about a chunk or a trace of something on whatever I’m testing with, but if it comes out with a little drape of still-raw mix on it then it’s going back in the oven for another 5 minutes.
I made chocolate banana muffins today using the flour/chocolate ratio from your chocolate banana bread recipe (1 and 1/3 cup flour with 2/3 cup cocoa and a cup of dark chocolate chips). Lovely. They rose better than I had expected but I think I would do 1/4 cup muffins next time instead of 1/3 as a couple of them did collapse slightly.
PS I admit to being slightly embarrassed at the number of comments I have put on this recipe. But what can I say? I really like banana bread.
Have been on the hunt for ages for the “perfect” banana bread and this is it!!!
Thank you, search is over.
Made the recipe with a jumbo 6 count muffin pan, baked for 35 minutes at 350 degrees until they reached an internal temperature of 200 degrees. Perfect :)
So good! I added chopped toasted walnuts & dark chocolate chunks to equal 1 cup, & used a slightly bigger pan. The color is quite dark, as promised, but tastes amazing, not burnt at all.
This is hands down my favorite banana bread recipe and I have tried so many. Yesterday, I made one and couldn’t wait until this morning to have a slice – not easy to hold off but I did. This morning it seems much denser/heavy than usual. Flavor still great. No clue what I did wrong – followed recipe to the letter and have made it at least 5 times before – no clue what I did wrong – Please advise.
Thank you so much.
BTW, I used 5 medium size very ripe bananas.
Really excellent! Will be my go-to recipe for banana bread from now on. I did use significantly less sugar based on some other reviews (80 g of white sugar, didn’t realize i was out of brown sugar until already mid-batter) and I found it to be plenty sweet, and added walnuts. Beautiful tall loaf with a great crackly top.
Firstly: all the way from Denmark: thank you for a truly inspiring blog AND many good reads:) and now the Q: have made this banana bread many times and it never fails to impress. If I wanted to reduce the amount of sugar what would I need to do besides that? Add more flour? Reduce butter?
Thank you again/Susanne
I make this all the time with only half a cup of brown sugar and no other changes. It’s perfect for my family as we often find American dessert recipes too sweet.
Always turns out PERFECT! Love that it uses so many bananas. Thank you for the great recipe.
Just baked this yesterday and like others, I couldn’t wait and dug into it right after it cooled. It was delicious! We still had some leftover today though and I have to say it truly is better, the top has a lovely sweet crunch and the flavors are bursting in every moist bite.
Definitely a win-win both the day of and the next!
My daughter and I made this tonight together. She learned how to read recipes and follow directions. I learned how to be patient with others doing things differently! We just shared a piece for after dinner treat. OMG. Delicious. Thank you, Deb.
I’m beyond promising that this comment is my last, but we literally do make this every week and I often tweak it to suit what I have in. Tonight I made this with 100% whole wheat self raising flour (subbed cup for cup) and half a tsp each of baking powder and soda. I always use mixed spice instead of cinnamon and leave out the nutmeg. I used dark muscovado sugar for a change and added a cup of dark chocolate chips. I left it to sit for about 10 minutes whilst the oven heated as I had read a comment somewhere that leaving whole wheat batter to hydrate for 10 mins or so avoids the dryness that some people complain about. Used demerara for the topping and baked it in a loaf tin for 115mins at 170 degrees C (fan oven). I got a gorgeous dark, moist, craggy-topped loaf with a lovely deep malty taste. We preferred this to the plain flour version.
this is by far the best banana bread I have ever made. it lasted about 4 hours on the counter in my house of 3 hungry adults. The only reason there isn’t a loaf in the oven right now is because I just realized I’m out of eggs and don’t have any alternatives. I’m gonna try adding chocolate chips next time. >:)
I’m making it for a secod time, as soon as I had bananas ripe enough. This is the go-to for banana bread from now on. (I did take the liberty of adding a few small chocolate chunks into it) Thank you!
I didn’t have enough banana so I grated an apple to get to 510 grams. I cut the sugar in half, used whole wheat flour, used applesauce and oil in place of most of the butter (I probably could have just skipped the butter), threw in some pecans and added millet (once I went ‘crackly’, I never went back) on top with the sugar. It still turned out well. It was plenty sweet (maybe because of the apples). I usually stick more closely but wanted to live on the edge that day and figured I’d share my subs.
This is baking right now and our kitchen has NEVER smelled so good.
Over the years, I’ve tried many recipes for banana bread and for the most part they’ve all been just fine. But this recipe is the best one EVER! It came together easily and far exceeded my expectations! I’ve definitely found my go to recipe for sure. Thank you!!
Baking my way right through the quick breads. After making 2 giant pumpkin breads I’m now on my second banana bread this week, that’s 10 bananas later. Its the best banana bread I’ve ever made and has now replaced the go to recipe I’ve been using for the past 15ish years.
Ok, that was pretty awesome! I also buttered my pan, and then shook raw sugar into the pan, before pouring in the batter. I stole this from a recipe for chocolate banana bread. This resulted in a 360 crusty sugar extravaganza. Great recipe!
I made this today and it just came out of the oven. Maybe it’s my oven or maybe I used too many bananas, but it took nearly two hours to get a skewer to come out clean!
Mine took way over an hour also
I weighed my bananas because I figured the size varies. Mine came out in the time as written.
We found this to be a little bit sweet; perhaps reduce brown sugar to 3/4 cup?
I made this today with pecans and dates. Haven’t tried yet as it’s cooling. It took a lot longer to bake but maybe because I added the pecans and dates.
This is my 4 yo daughter’s favorite – she asks for it constantly! We have a long flight coming up & I’d like to make this in muffins for her. Any recommendations on cook time or other changes? Thanks!
I’m getting ready to make this in muffins–just scrolled up to earlier comments–there are plenty of folks who have already done so (up to about May of 2021, found many comments). I will post more after my experience!
A follow up on my earlier comment: I, like many folks, successfully made these into muffins–wonderful. On a second, more rushed & later evening cooking session, got distracted and left off the eggs entirely! Realized this after I had distributed batter into the muffin pan. Shrugged shoulders and hoped for the best–maybe they’d turn out to be scones? Guess what? They rose beautifully! Still worked out great! So, to those with egg allergies, I have proved, they are fine without eggs! (Maybe not quite as rich, but really good!)
I’ve made this recipe many times now, with the most recent iteration currently in the oven. I’ve reduced the sugar to about 3/4 cups without any noticeable effects (will try 1/2 next), added fresh cranberries, and used whatever quantity of bananas I happened to have on hand, and each iteration has come out perfect and delicious.
I love this recipe. I always make it gluten free and use King Arthurs cup for cup flour with no additional changes. It bakes up beautifully and never lasts more than a day at our house. One of my children will tell me that all the new bananas on the counter are for this bread and we can’t eat them! Thanks Smitten Kitchen for the wonderful recipe.
Such a good recipe. I find cinnamon overused and overpowering (same in apple pie) so did 1/4 tsp of cin and 1/4 tsp of garam masala only. Perfection.
Can i turn this recipe into cupcakes/muffins? Same recipe? need asap. Iʻm about to cook them in a cast iron muffin tin in cob oven, after our pizzas come out.
Absolutely. Muffins, for sure.
I’m nursing my baby and I’ve had to give up dairy. Could this recipe work with oil instead of butter?
I brought a delicious streusel banana bread my brother’s. He said you know what would make this the best banana bread? Smitten Kitchen’s Banana Bread recipe. He was right. The streusel Smitten Kitchen banana bread is the moistest so the best!
This has become my go to banana bread recipe! I add about half a cup each of chopped walnuts and unsweetened coconut. It adds delicious texture and flavor!
I have likely tried more than a dozen banana bread recipes in my time but I have to say that this one is the best. This will be my go to banana bread recipe from now on. This baked up beautifully for me – it took the entire 65 minutes. I especially appreciate how this can be made in one bowl with melted butter.
I made this today for the nTH time! Today’s tweaks – a little less sugar, used half the butter and made up the other half with “brownie” flavor Ellenos Greek yogurt (lightly sweetened plain Greek with a swirl of chocolately goodness at the bottom). It is perfectly delightful, moist, with a slight tang. Can’t taste the chocolate but I like how the yogurt tones down the sweet with the tang. Another success. Thanks, Deb!
Hello
Is it possible to use frozen bananas?
Thank you!
When my bananas get REALLY ripe I freeze them. Defrosted they are black, soft, extremely watery. Should I not use them? Maybe drain some of the liquid before weighing?
I have made this recipe countless times with frozen bananas. I freeze my bananas whole with peel on. I defrost them whole, drain most (but not all) of the liquid that resulted from defrosting, then peel before weighing.
What a great recipe. I was wondering if oil could be used instead of the butter. I know butter has a better flavour, but oil is easier to use. I am a lazy cook!
Oil would work just fine here.
Fabulous!! Will definitely be making more.
I LOVE this banana bread, exactly as you’ve written. I must have four or five recipes for banana bread in my files, but this one is really the best. That crunchy top, Oy so good. And not cloyingly sweet. Just right, although I’m diabetic and wonder how this recipe would hold up substituting monkfruit sweetener for the brown sugar. It would probably suck, as this recipe of yours is perfect.
A little nervous! I used 5.5 small bananas using the weight guidelines and I’m nowhere near the top of my 9×5 loaf pan. I double checked all the ingredients and don’t think I left anything out!
This banana bread is SO GOOD I have made it at least 3-4 times within the last month. Everyone loves it and the hint of cinnamon definitely elevated the taste. My favorite part is the crunchy top layer it bakes up beautifully and has just the right amount of crunch. You have to give this recipe a try!
Deb, I made your ultimate banana bread tonight… I don’t even know where to start… this is the BEST banana bread I’ve ever made or tasted!! It’s moist, naturally sweet, and so flavorful… I’m sorry it took me so long to make it! I followed your recipe exactly, using 5 bananas(19.8oz) , and added 1 cup of chopped walnuts. It was so easy, delicious and Beautiful!!! Thank you soooo much… I will try more of your delicious recipes… please keep them coming… Geri
I made this gluten and dairy free and it was delicious! My subs for anyone else needing these dietary mods:
– for flour 1/4 almond flour, 3/4 King Arthur flour gf blend (measured, not wt)
– for butter: coconut oil eyeballed to 5/6th of butter amount
– extra egg
– extra 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
– reduced sugar to 2/3c and it was still very sweet
-baked about 70 minutes
Thanks Deb for recipe and for banana weight— what a game changer!
Just wanted to hop on and say that since I found this recipe a few months ago, I have made it weekly! My whole family loves it! Super easy, delicious and never fails me. I even make them into muffins with shredded chocolate – yum!
Great recipe!!! I use a quarter of the sugar and replace 60 grams of the flour with a sourdough starter for a slightly more complex flavor. Pro tip: Slice a banana lengthwise into thirds as a topping prior to sprinkling sugar.
After 25 years of making Banana Bread I finally decided on a Recipe a few years ago, taking this & that from different recipes … your’s is very close to mine, but I go full hog on the Tops Crispness – I add 3 Tbsp’s of chopped Pecan’s and a few shakes of finishing Sugar and Cinnamon (more Cinnamon!!!). I love it, but try at your own risk.
This is my Go-To banana bread for my big family. They also love your Blueberry muffins. Big fans here in Texas!
Another triumph. Enjoying a slice with cream cheese and walnuts on top
Beware adding too many extras! The addition of walnuts (not an insignificant amount) was enough to cause spillover in the oven. I’ve baked it before without an issue but the extra walnuts put it over the top, literally.
My 4 small bananas came out to 300g and I successfully scaled down most of the other ingredients in proportion (about 2/3rds the recipe, halved the sugar, 2 whole eggs). Lovely baked in a flatter in (7 by 11 in) for extra turbinado sugar-crust surface area!
Thank you for this glorious banana bread recipe! I have never found one that I was completely overjoyed with until now. It has all the right attributes. I think it is the most beautiful too with it’s dark, craggly top. Better get some more bananas …
I threw in some other leftover fruit – blueberries and a few strawberries and they approved as well.
Still fabulous – made it today and my pan is the same as yours – added about 4 oz of chocolate chips and it still didn’t overflow – perfection
This is hands down the best banana bread recipe. I’m convinced my husband only buys bananas now just to let them turn brown so I make this bread.
If I wanted to make your delicious banana bread dairy free, without the butter, do you think I can do a 1/2 cup swap with olive oil? I understand it may impact taste. I just do not like the taste of the vegan butters that are out there! Or do you have another suggestion for a butter swap (apple sauce??)?
I make this dairy-free and also dislike vegan butters. I have used olive oil with good results but like coconut oil best. I use 5/6 of the amount (approximately) when I replace butter with oil as butter has water that oil lacks. Sometimes baked goods are too greasy for my taste with 1:1 replacement.
I made a double batch and made them into muffins. Makes between 2 1/2 – 3 dozen. Cooked at 325 convection oven (s/b 350 reg oven) for 30 minutes.. Perfect!!! Yum!
My go-to every time. I will say, when I find pockets they are in the top middle, not in the edges. Hoping todays isn’t totally ruined, I was baking with kids and my son dumped salt in. Fortunately I think it’ll be under salted but ooooh that was hard to keep my cool. I also often use less sugar.
For anyone who is wondering whether this recipe is combatable with gluten free 1-1 flour is definitely is. I’ve used Bob’s Red Mill and King Arthur with amazing results.
Can I add chocolate chips in this recipe ?
Sure!
I made this using dark brown sugar as that’s all I had, and I was short about 70g of banana so I added some plain greek yogurt. This recipe is very forgiving because it came out amazing. I’ve also made it exactly as written many times and it of course is perfect, but just wanted to chime in with some substitutions in case other people are wondering!
This time I added some frozen raspberries (that I picked last month) and it was AMAZING. I did it in place of the 5th banana (thinking I needed to compensate for the extra moisture that the berries would bring) but I suspect if it would still be excellent just adding them to the recipe as is to get the full banana punch too. Even thought this is the only banana bread recipe I like, and it is wonderful, in general banana bread is always missing a bright, punchy note to my palate. The raspberries were perfection for this! Even though typically in baked goods raspberries loose structure, mushy and tart is perfect here! Seriously give it a try.
Clearly adding a comment to this list of comments 2.5 years after she posted this is ridiculous but I wanted to share because it was too good not to share!
Only had 230g of flour and it came out just as soft and dense as you’d want banana bread to be. Absolutely delicious recipe.
So, I just got a glucose monitor and for the life of me I do not understand how eating a slab of this (yes, I said “slab”) slathered with butter for breakfast the last two days running did not send my glucose readings off the chart. Bless you for this and for the zucchini bread recipe which are the ultimate! I haven’t gotten the loft as your did but I’m not complaining. So wonderful!
Hi! We love this recipe in our house. I’ve used two different ovens and while using all of your prescribed ingredients and pan size etc., it always requires me at least 75 min (if not a couple minutes longer than that!) to have a stick batter free. Do you have any idea why that could be? Thanks!
Made this today – it’s my go-to for banana bread and remix whatever I do. Today I added a few tablespoons of buttermilk when I added the eggs (no reason other than having buttermilk) and let the mix sit at room temp for 20 minutes before I put it in the oven for 60 min. Also added garam masala with the cinnamon. Have to say it was the most fluffy version of this bread I’ve had yet, but unsure if that was just the oven gods today, or if that amount of buttermilk could do anything with the chemistry. I’d do it again next time.
My bananas weren’t 100% ripe and when I mashed them they were still chunkier than I would have liked. I took my immersion blender to the bowl and got a nice creamy batter!
This is the best banana bread I have ever made or ever eaten. Full stop. Not sure anything more needs to said, except, THANK YOU, Deb,
Deb, how did you get so smart!! I forgot how much I like this recipe and you are so right, it does rise above the pan but does not drip over even a wee bit!! Love that it does not dirty a bunch of dishes to make this one as well:)
Sorry Deb , this is not up to your usual high standard
Looking forward to your new book though !
Well, I’ve made this more times than I can count and today I had four of the largest bananas I’ve ever seen, turning brown…so, what else was there to do? My only sub today was to use half butter, half full-fat vanilla bean Ellenos yogurt, because I had a half stick of butter open already and didn’t want to open another one to make up a full stick. It’s been a while, so it’ll be hard to wait til tomorrow to cut into it!
Well, I royally screwed that up. I can now tell you that if you absent-mindedly double the brown sugar, you will get a dense, deflated, and super sweet loaf. My poor bananas! I can’t believe I did this to them.
I just baked this recipe by scaling everything back to a 4/5 recipe because I only had 4 medium ripe bananas that weighed in at 400g after peeling, and because I was a little nervous that the volume would cause spillage in my USA Pan 1-lb loaf pan. It measures exactly 9×5 to the outside dimensions on top, and about 1/4″ shy of the 8×4 measurement Deb reported hers to be on the bottom, with a warning that anything less could be an issue.
I can report that there is plenty of extra room at this volume, so the next time I have 5 bananas, I’ll scale it back up. I figured others might want to consider scaling if they don’t have this many ripe bananas on hand.
I’m wondering your professional recommendation if I substitute dark brown sugar in your recipe that calls for light brown sugar? I see others subbed almost 1:1 but with the reactive properties with baking soda, curious if this will bubble up higher than anticipated if I do a 1:1 sub. Looking forward to making this!
It will work almost seamlessly as a swap in most recipes. It might throw off a butterscotch a little, but not a lot.
Thanks for the tip! Ended up doing the 1:1 – bread could have been a little more moist but the rise was fabulous and the flavor is spot on – amazing recipe thanks again!
Just to let y’all know: I’ve reviewed this before (fabulous!), and have made this numerous times. This time around I got distracted and forgot the sugar AND the butter…I know, disaster, right? Nope. It was still delish, though not quite as moist or sweet. Now, I always cut sugar in about half anyhow, but leaving it out completely, because the bananas were extremely ripe it didn’t hurt it all. Great recipe!
I really like this recipe! I’ve made it 4 times now and my family loves it, the only thing is there’s always an uncooked layer near the bottom. Does this recipe call for fan oven? Or just normal please? :)
I didn’t have the full volume of bananas, so I used about 175 grams of homemade pumpkin purée in its place. It took longer to bake, about 75 minutes, possibly because pumpkin has higher water content. I also used a pumpkin pie spice blend instead of just cinnamon. Overall it turned out great. I don’t think I’ll make a quick bread without a crunchy top from now on!
I wanted to split this between two smaller loaf pans (8″ x 4″ – closer to 7 x 3 at the base) to give as gifts. Any suggestions for how to adjust the time/temperature? Thanks!
Made this yesterday — delish! I am so glad you acknowledged it would seem like a lot of raw sugar on top. I would have cut it in half if you hadn’t promised that it would bake up beautifully. You were right!
Love this recipe and the simplicity of a tsp of everything!!! It’s my go-to banana bread recipe.
Your banana bread recipes have quickly become some of my favorites! I’ve tried your double chocolate banana bread, marbled banana bread, and now this ultimate banana bread, and they’ve all been delicious. I appreciate that you include weights for ingredients like the mashed bananas, as it makes it easier to get the proportions right. I love that this recipe has a strong banana flavor, but doesn’t turn out too moist and squishy in the center like some other recipes I’ve tried. The only modification I’ve made is to reduce the amount of brown sugar to 2/3 cup, as I prefer a less sweet bread. Today, I increased the recipe by half and baked it in a Bundt pan for about 55 minutes. The increased batter filled about 2/3 of my 12-cup Bundt pan and rose to 3/4 of the pan after baking, which makes me think that this proportion would work well in a 10-cup pan as well. Thank you for sharing these amazing recipes!
I’ve been making this for a while and my husband loves it (I’m not a banana bread fan in general so it’s really for him). My issue is purely aesthetic. I cannot get mine as tall as yours appears to be. All ingredients are fresh! Any ideas?
This is my mom’s recipe which I’ve been baking since 1966, when she let me bake in my own. We don’t use baking powder in addition to the soda though. And these days I like to swirl flaked chocolate through the batter once it’s in the loaf pan… very good!
This recipe is almost the same as mine, but mine has 1/4 cup milk and zero sugar. I actually loathe banana bread but I make it for my partner and kids and they love it.
Just baked this in my ceramic King Arthur Tea Loaf Pan. Used some cardamom sugar and sparkling sugar on top. Success! Nice lid!
I just made this with some slight variations––I browned the butter, added in some semi-sweet chocolate chips, and added a packet of vanilla pudding. Even fresh out of the pan (because I couldn’t wait), it was divine. I look forward to trying it tomorrow after it sets.
I made this last night according to your directions, baked for 55 min., and we’ve enjoyed it today. It’s yummy and the top is great, but the bread is a little firm for our liking. I think we’ve discovered we prefer the kind of banana bread that you refer to as squidgy. :)
Why do you sprinkle the salt, spices, baking powder and soda on top of the wet ingredients instead of mixing with flour before combining? Curious. I am sever to try this recipe. Thank you for putting it in the baking universe!
I made this again today for the second time – it’s such an easy recipe to follow so really commend you for sharing so much detail! I didn’t have enough banana this time (only 477g) and it definitely impacted the banana flavor and moisture of the bread. I also used self rising flour (that’s all we had in the house) so I omitted the salt and baking powder as directed by the internet :). Overall successful even with the slight mods. Next time I may add the cardamom and maybe more nutmeg. Curious if there’s an animist recipe anyone has tried with another fruit? Appreciate all the comments from those who have made!
This is simply perfection! Excellent tip on the muffins (I made 3 – good thing!) and the “batter pockets” (I found ‘em). Nutmeg is essential, as are some chopped pecans on top so they get toasty during baking. I’m now buying bananas in bulk :)
Made your ultimate banana bread. Excellent! It’s now my go to recipe. I doubted recipe and it made 3 7”x5” loaves in aluminum foil pans. Shared with my neighbours. *****
This is in the oven right now!
My kids are going through one of those phases where every week, they ask me to buy bananas, but they only eat them maybe every other week. We already have a stock of banana muffins in the fridge, so it’s time for banana bread! I like that this recipe didn’t require too many ingredients (like both oil AND butter, multiple kinds of sugar, buttermilk, etc).
I didn’t have raw/turbino sugar so I just sprinkled regular granulated on top. I used a 9×5 loaf pan but there was a LOT of space at the top, this didn’t even come close to overfilling the pan. Hopefully that’s not a bad sign!
Yummy, i love this one-bowl recipe! I used coconut oil in lieu of butter, added walnuts and fresh grated ginger, and upped the spices. I baked as muffins (made about 15) which I will freeze so I don’t eat them all in one sitting. 😃
Made this (again!). This time subbing one cup (130g) of all purpose flour with 120g/1 cup whole wheat pastry flour. Worked very well. As a diabetic, I shouldn’t be eating this anyway, but I love the recipe so I’m trying to make it more “me” friendly without ruining it.
I love this banana bread. It’s perfect every time, even with the middling capabilities of my toddler helpers :)
I followed this recipe to the letter and it WAS the best banana bread. My new go-to.
I just made this and THIS recipe is my favorite banana bread recipe. I love it just as much as your pumpkin bread recipe. Perfection!
I made this with gluten free flour (teff, almond, tapioca starch and brown rice flour) and used a parchment collar to keep the batter from flowing over the sides.
In my ever evolving banana bread journey, I have established that in my standard muffin trays 1/4 cup in each cup produces a perfectly domed muffin. The cups will hold 1/3 cup but the batter can’t hold a bigger dome the way it can when you make it in a loaf tin. I would have got 15 muffins if I hadn’t let my child lick the bowl too early.
HI Deb.
Can I substitute frozen bananas as long as I stick to the calorie recommendations?
Hi Deb, could I add 1/4 cup millet (as in your other crackly banana bread recipe) to this without changing anything else? Thanks!
Hi Deb! If I substitute oil for butter how much oil should I use?
I made your pumpkin bread this fall.. it. It was so absolutely gorgeous that I couldn’t stop looking at it. Just before it finished baking my son called to me from the kitchen, “Mom, this bread is going to explode”. That’s how high it was! It goes without saying that I took a picture of it! It was higher than the picture of yours and the crumb was unbelievable! I wish I could send you a picture of it.
Tomorrow, I’m going to bake a banana bread and it came to me that you might have a recipe similar to the pumpkin bread one. I know it’s not in any of your cookbooks because I have all three. Of course I googled it, and miracle of miracles there it was!
Thank you so much!
If there’s any way I can send you a picture of that pumpkin bread let me know! You’d be so proud that it ‘belongs’ to you!
I love this dessert, added some fresh made whip cream.
Loved this! Used it with bananas that had been hidden in my freezer forever, and it still turned out!
:)
I don’t think I’ve ever left a comment on an online recipe before, but it is absolutely time: I’ve made this banana bread so many times that I think I could do it with my eyes closed. I’ve used four bananas, five bananas, bananas from the freezer, have never actually measured or weighed the bananas, and it always turns out great. I’ve swapped eggs for flax eggs, turned out great. I’ve added other mix-ins, turned out great. Made it on vacation in weird broken rental ovens, turned out great. Everyone I’ve given it to raves about the flavor and the crunchy top. The perfect recipe, I will never try another.
This really is the best banana bread recipe I’ve made. Amazing that it’s (mostly) one-bowl as well. I cut the recipe by 1/3 (based on the amount of bananas I had) and used oil for butter and it came out fantastic. Moist and full of banana flavour. It did come out slightly sweeter the next day (perhaps from the banana flavour developing overnight) so I might reduce the sugar by a bit the next time. I used berangan banana (I live in Singapore) and tropical bananas are a lot sweeter than regular Cavendish types.
This is my favorite Banana Bread Recipe, Wow
I have made this banana bread at least 10 times. It is the standard in our house. Beautiful, delicious, crowd pleaser you won’t regret making!! It never lasts more than 2 days in our house!
Hello! My ñame is Mónica,i m from Argentina
I love your recipes,I have a doubt about your ultimate banana bread,i have to mix all the ingredients in a mixer ? How many time should I mix? Thank you
Mónica
You can mix it by hand.
I veganized™️ this recipe, and it came out fabulous! It was also gluten-free since that’s the flour I had on hand. Big tip: if subbing ingredients, use a scale. I’ve subbed vegan ingredients before with less success, I think, because I just did my normal measurements with a measuring cup. Shoutout to Bob’s Red Mill for having egg replacement powder that actually works well in my baked goods. 🥚🍌
Can I bake this in an 8×8 glass pyrex? Or a 10 inch cake tin? I’m guessing same temperature, but less baking time? Which would work better, do you think?
I haven’t tested it in either but my loaf pan holds 6 cups — I’d say the 8×8 is best.
Completely spilled over. Do NOT take the risk!!
There was a recipe I read a while ago to uses the whole banana, peel, and all. Trim the ends before putting the bananas in the freezer, then use the blender to purée the whole banana. It leads to a much more banana forward, flavor, and we love it! The crackle top of this recipe is so wonderful. Thanks!
I use this recipe a lot and it is hit and miss with me. I suspect mostly because of my oven or possibly improper banana ratio. While reading the recipe today I noticed the reference to jacked up version so checked it out. I came back to this recipe and made it to recipe and added the bourbon and a pinch of cloves, omitted the raw sugar and used pecans. Came out perfect!
I always set the timer to 5 minutes before the lowest time noted and start checking from there for doneness. I use an instant read thermometer instead of a toothpick in the center and check every 5 minutes. When it reaches 190 the loaf is done. It will continue to cook a bit once out but should not get over 200. Works every time for perfectly baked loaves like this or lemon loaf etc.
Definitely looks good. The last great banana bread I made was from Johanne Chang’s “Flour” cookbook from her iconic bakery in Boston, which I felt was going to be very hard to beat, but I’m very tempted to try your recipe too to see how it compares.
Made this today as a half recipe for mini muffins with my toddler and it is excellent.
3 medium bananas worked perfectly for the halved amount. I decreased sugar by 30 g and baked for 18 mins, made 23 mini muffins that I’m trying not to inhale by myself.
The only thing that didn’t work is the crackly sugar on top (that was a rookie mistake to try it – obviously not enough time for it to caramelize).
This recipe is fantastic. I did not have a full two cups of bananas so added a little applesauce to complete the two cups. Loved it.
Same! Making this lovely ultimate banana bread in substitute for the Globe recipe that uses oil instead of butter (dairy sensitivity), perfect!
The part I enjoy about Smitten Kitchen (aside from sampling the end result) is scrolling down to the bottom of the comments and noting the folks responding today to a recipe posted in 2014. Yes!
Every time I’ve made this banana bread it doesn’t cook in the time specified. And if I cook it until a toothpick comes out clean the bottom catches giving it a slightly burnt taste. Any suggestions? I love making this bread so I’d like to figure out what I’m doing wrong…
You might try baking it at 325 instead; it will take longer but might not get as dark. In general, lighter color metal pans can lead to lighter-colored bakes vs. glass or darker pans.
This recipe is delightful! I halved the batch since I didn’t have enough bananas on hand, which meant I didn’t have enough for a loaf. It made 7 perfectly risen muffins, and it took about 30 minutes to bake. I also subbed King Arthur gluten free all-purpose flour in hopes the texture wouldn’t be compromised. It wasn’t! The crumb is delicious! I don’t think ANYONE will know my version is gluten free, and that’s how I like it!
This recepie is already perfect as it is, a real crowd pleaser! I recently added a heaped tablespoon of dark miso into the batter and it was such a worthy upgrade. It’s kinda fussy to buy a tub of miso just to make banana bread, but it truly shines in this recepie!
I’m not a normal mom. I’m a hot mess mom, who likes to start banana bread projects without checking ingredients first. But despite only having 4 medium bananas and 1 egg, this recipe was an absolute gem. So delicious.
My only complaint was the oven going off during bathtime, and discovering the bread baked perfectly into the top rack, but all of this was my fault and not yours. This recipe is gold. Thank you.
I’ve probably used 15 different banana bread recipes over the years and this is hands down the best. The inside is super moist and the crust is sweet and crunchy. Delicious!
Recipe looks great, can’t wait to try it! Is there a reason why you mix in all the spices separately from the flour VS mixing them well with the flour before adding them all together?
It’s more about adding everything but the flour before the end. Spices cannot be overmixed; flour can and it would toughen the cake. This allows the cake to be one-bowl.
This was so good! I didn’t have any eggs, so I used 2 tsp of egg replacer and 2 tbsp of sourcream instead. I also added some chopped walnuts. It turned out amazing!
I never thought anything would outshine your chocolate-marbled banana bread, but I like this even better. That crunchy top!
essentially, the American “SUPER SIZE ME” of banana breads, with the focus on quantity over quality. Disclaimer – I live in Hawaii, banana bread is very common, though ours is typically about half the size of a standard loaf (about 1/3 or so the size of this monster). I followed the recipe to a T, and the end result was very sweet and not very banana-y. In hindsight, I would cut the sugar by 1/3 to 1/2 and increase the bananas by 33-50%, and possibly cut the butter by 1/3. Nuts would be a nice addition too, for a little added texture. I probably will not make this recipe again, though
It wasn’t until I was halfway through the recipe that I realized I only had 410g of banana. I threw caution to the wind (not my thing, I’m a strict recipe follower) and added 100g of plain yogurt. OMG it was amazing. It was so moist, so banana-ey, so delicious. I will be using my substitution every time.
“1/2 cup (4 ounces or 115 grams) unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus more for pan”
1 stick of butter = 8oz = 1/2 cup
So should it be 8oz or 4oz?
No, 1 stick of butter (in the US) is 1/4 of a 1-pound box, i.e. 4 ounces or 115 grams.
Sorry if this has been answered and I didn’t see that in the thread: Has anyone used bananas that they’ve frozen? I hate to throw away overripe bananas so I’ve been sticking them in the freeze. But using them in baking… I’ve wondered if that can affect the moisture content (detrimentally) of the baked good.
No, it’s just fine to use.
Thank you, Deb! First-time commenter here, but long-time fan of your recipes. :)
I think I’ve made this banana bread over 100 times and it’s just the best banana bread ever. It’s funny because banana bread and muffins have become such a big part of our lives as parents. Who knew! We make it weekly. This is the holy grail of Banana bread. You won’t ever need another recipe.
As I sat in the sun eating a slice I felt compelled to write a comment (which I have never done on a recipe, so here’s to firsts!) because it’s that good. A recipe this good being shared for free, shouldn’t go without thanks!
Thank you, what a treat!
I really thank this website that my employer gave me. I did this Banana bread recipes 2x in a day. the best “Banana Bread” i baked, soft, moist, and tasty. Mine i added 1 tsp. of hem seeds just to give more nutrients to my kids who doesn’t like veggies,but love to eat bread. Try it so easy to make.
Just grapeseed oil instead of butter. Made in an 8 by 8 brownie pan came out perfectly.
Made this with 1 C of chopped walnuts in the batter, plus added a bit more walnut and also chia seeds to the topping for crunch. 12 domed, generous muffins, baked 25 min, turned out great!
This is one of my most-repeated SK recipes! I make this at least once a month and the only thing I do differently is to add lightly toasted walnuts and pecans because my family only believes in Banana NUT Bread. Otherwise, this recipe is utterly perfect!
WORD on testing near the edge of the pan temperature tip.
Very, very good!! Made last night and we enjoyed this morning at breakfast. Turned out perfectly. Only thing I might do next time is add some toasted pecans. Wouldn’t add chocolate chips because it’s pretty sweet as is.
I didn’t have raw or turbinado sugar so mixed one T. brown sugar and one T. white sugar to sprinkle on the top. Probably not as crunchy as the raw/turbinado sugar but it definitely added some crunch and extra flavor.
I have made this recipe several times, and it’s always amazing! I recently only had 4 small bananas (about 350 grams), so I decided to use applesauce to supplement the rest. Turned out great!! I couldn’t tell a difference with my previous bakes.
Lisa, in the USA, one stick of butter is 4oz and is equal to 1/2cup (per the box of butter). It’s got something to do with measuring butter by volume and not weight. It’s different for dry vs wet ingredients – I wish I knew the scientific technicalities. So, no typo …. just the way the measurements are indicated for butter in the US :)
Whoops. You’re totally right. I think I was mixing up that a stick is 1/4 lb not 1/4c. I was baking with my 3 and 6 year old, which always breaks my brain a little to begin with. There are four tiny sticky hands to keep an eye on while reading recipes and measuring. Thanks for the correction.
I’ve been eying this recipe for awhile but today was the day! Alas, I’d not read that I needed 5 bananas; my three came to just 310 g, so I substituted the remaining 200 g with Pumpkin puree. Turned out wonderful!! I also made a couple of other changes… made two loaves (4×8″) instead of the one big one (baked for 50-60 minutes). And added a handful of raisins and a handful of roasted pecans that I chopped into 1/4″ pieces. I think adding the pumpkin cut the super-sweetness that banana bread often has. Texture was wonderful and I really liked the glaze from the turbinado!
Did it taste lmore like pumpkin bread or banana bread? I only four small bananas and some leftover pumpkin puree in fridge, wondering if I should try!
Hi Deb, I came here to ask the same question as Roger did above. As written, your recipe currently reads “1/2 cup butter” or “4oz or 115 g”. I think there may be a typo. I’m assuming, based on your answer to Roger that the recipe should only include the 1/4 cup (or 4oz/115g) butter. Is that so? Can you check the recipe line for the butter measurement? Thanks! Looking forward to making this one. :)
Ultimately Loved this recipe; only baked it in a springform, topped with cream cheese & pecan frosting Thanks again Deb 👏
I made this today weighing the flour, sugar and banana. I used 1/4 c + 2 TB safflower oil instead of butter for a friend’s dairy allergy. I baked this in a 9×9 metal pan for 26 minutes in my 350F oven, no convection. So easy and all in one bowl! Thanks Deb
Made many times and always comes out perfect. I recently turned it into muffins and used bob’s redmill 1 for 1 GF flour and they came out great!
I made this! This was great and the top domed beautifully. I only had white sugar and subbed that instead of brown and it turned beautiful. I added slivered almonds and chocolate chips. It did take about 13 minutes longer to bake but I wonder if that had to do with the white sugar. Honestly my go to banana bread recipe from now on!
I modified this recipe as follows and it turned out INCREDIBLY.
Added:
150g semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
80g rough chopped pecans
1/2 tsp dark chili powder
Extra 1/2 tsp salt
Substituted:
Dark brown sugar for light brown
Natural sugar for raw/turbinado (top is hard and crusty!)
Can you use half whole-wheat flour?
Thanks!!
Yes
Has anyone tried this with whole wheat flour? I have some I need to use up. This recipe looks great!
Sorry if I am a bit confused… so is the 510g weight of the bananas WITH peel?
Peeled
Can I make this with canned pumpkin? And could I add oats?
I would probably just make my pumpkin bread. I have not added oats but I bet you could maybe swap 1/4 of the flour by weight for oats.
Deb, I borrowed some extra ripe bananas to add to mine. Just took it from oven! Mine isn’t quite as high as yours but still nicely rounded, baked for 61 minutes. It did not spill out, crept onto top rim a bit – all the better for crunchy bits! Weighed everything, baked at 350. Didn’t use convection, though I am wondering how that might affect it. House smells heavenly! Thank you!
I have a whole file of just your recipes. Made this yesterday and it is now in garbage…it is literally tasteless and dry…..I have made the James Beard Banana nut bread since 1973 and every time I go off course I regret it. His recipe remains the OG.
Sadly, I am disappointed with this recipe. Deb’s recipes are usually so reliably good! I weighed all ingredients, including the very ripe bananas. Flavor was bland and texture/moisture more cake-like, fairly dry. I will use the raw sugar on top, tho’, for a different recipe.
My bread is not rising! My powder are all fairly new, because of the holiday baking extravaganza. What do suppose I’ve done wrong?
THANKS SO MUCH,
L
Are you at an altitude?
This was the most amazing banana bread I have ever made. my kids always want chocolate chips so I added a bunch of minis. So divine. This will be my new go-to! Thank you! Big fan of @smittenkitchen!
This really is the last banana bread recipe anyone ever needs! Using a scale takes away all the guesswork about what size banana yields a cup and so on. Thanks for another incredibly delicious recipe created in one bowl!
Another tip is to mix everything by hand, not using a hand or stand-up mixer. It really helps keep the light and fluffy texture.
I have been a long-long-long time use of the Jacked Up Banana Bread recipe and this is my new favorite. If anyone who sees this is wondering, I was short 50-60g mashed bananas and it turned out fine.
I like to make them as mini-muffins, takes about 10-12 minutes, same temp.
So moist and better than store bought banana bread! Added some chocolate chips. Favorite banana bread recipe so far
Yum! This came out perfect. I added some chocolate chips and chopped pecans and we ate half the loaf before it even cooled down.
I was using the metric measurements and thought it seemed small. My cake is in the oven with 260g of flour! Shouldn’t it be 470g?
Hi Deb, please check the metric measurement for flour in this. It’s not at all right, neither 1 or 2 cups. 🤷
(I have been very happily consuming your blog since before we both had kids.)
Thank you.
The measurement is correct. My cups of flour weight 130 grams each.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve made this recipe, it truly is the ultimate banana bread. I reduce the brown sugar to 90g and add a cup of dark chocolate chips or chopped pecans if the kiddo isn’t taking it to school.
Love, love, love this recipe and have made it many times. This time I wanted chocolate but didn’t have any chocolate chips – so swapped out 1/2 C of flour with Hershey’s Dark Dutched Cocoa. Turned out super – nice chocolate flavor and the banana is still the star.
We have a lot of bananas growing up in the farm and Im doing this recipe with all the banana varieties that we have: I just did this recipe with a more traditional variety, I used 5 of them and not a full cup of sugar: it’s very good and the crunchy top is very unique I think I might add nuts next time for extra crunch. In the next couple of months we will have purple bananas (orangy flesh) and mafafo bananas (a cross between plantain & regular banana) and I hope we can get manzano banana which is a variety that has apple hints (so delicious!)…this will be a tasty project for sure and this recipe is perfect to try all those bananas!
This is a fabulous recipe that works every time. Weighing the banana flesh could be one of the secrets of its success. Love the flavour as it’s not too sweet. It’s also very generous in size. I’ve just halved the recipe as we’re two and let you know how we get on with that.