SHARE
  • V
  • GF
  • NS
  • DF
  • View Recipe Key

How to Make the Perfect Banana Bread

How to Make the Perfect Banana Bread

This perfect banana bread recipe will teach you how to make a tender, moist, and flavorful treat you’ll want to eat for breakfast, snack, and dessert.

How to Make the Perfect Banana Bread // FoodNouveau.com

This post contains affiliate links. Full disclosure is at the bottom of the article.


My search for the perfect banana bread has lasted years. Over time, dozens of recipes have disappointed me: the too heavy, the over-the-top rich, the cardboard dry, the overly dense, the excessively banana-tasting (yes, there is such a thing), the so-packed-with-grains-it’s-not-even-enjoyable-anymore, the flat-as-a-shoe, the tasteless, and the ho-hum. I have struggled to find the right additions: nuts or chocolate or nothing at all? And then there’s the everlasting issue of timing: some banana breads burned after 45 minutes, whereas others were not even cooked through after an hour and a half.

Because of my passion for banana bread, for years, every time I made it, I tried a new recipe. They weren’t all bad, but I was still waiting for that quintessential recipe—the one perfect banana bread recipe from which I would never want to stray. In the end, I tested and tweaked my way to my own perfect banana bread recipe.

How to Make the Perfect Banana Bread // FoodNouveau.com

What Makes Perfect Banana Bread?

  • Perfect texture: This perfect banana bread has a tender and moist texture that makes you want to eat it as is, without any toppings or spreads, but toasts well, too.
  • Easy baking: This banana bread rises to an airy texture and is baked to perfection in 60 minutes.
  • Simple ingredients: This perfect banana bread recipe uses basic ingredients you most likely already have on hand.
  • Awesome nutritional value: This recipe uses whole wheat flour, which boosts the nutritional content of the banana bread and adds a slight caramelized sweetness to it, and just enough sugar to underline the banana flavor. The recipe also suggests the use of other ingredients to make the banana bread even heartier and healthier, but it’s already good for you as is.
  • Perfect… and versatile: This perfect banana bread can be eaten from breakfast to dessert. I’ve been having a toasted slice of this banana bread every day for breakfast for years. I have now sold my son on the idea, and our favorite way to eat it is slathered with peanut butter and raspberry jam (him) or marmalade (me). It’s a quick and easy breakfast that’s nourishing enough to carry me over to lunch without feeling hungry. This perfect banana bread would sure be great as an afternoon snack or even for dessert, slathered with–gasp!–chocolate or cream cheese frosting.

Slices of perfect banana bread: aromatic, tender and moist // FoodNouveau.com

How to Pick the Right Bananas for the Perfect Banana Bread

The bananas you choose to make perfect banana bread must be very ripe. If you think they’re ready, wait a couple of days more. The skin of the bananas should be more than speckled with black—it should have large black spots all over. The bananas should be very aromatic and soft to the touch. In other words, it’s when bananas look way past their prime that they are ready to be transformed into perfect banana bread.

Below, left: Perfect for snacking, not ready for banana bread.
Right: Perfectly ripe bananas for making perfect banana bread.

How to know if bananas are ripe enough to make perfect banana bread // FoodNouveau.com

How to Freeze Bananas for Later Use

My secret to being able to make banana bread on a regular basis is to buy big bunches of bananas once in a while and freeze them when they’re perfectly ripe. Once the bananas are very ripe, you can either bake this perfect banana bread right away or freeze the bananas for later use. There’s no need to place them in a freezer bag or container. You can simply freeze bananas with the peel on: their envelope will protect the flesh from blackening—and from freezer bite.

Frozen bananas thaw at room temperature in about 30 minutes, or you can microwave them for 2 minutes to accelerate the process. Be aware that thawed bananas are pretty disgusting to look at, but they deliver big-time flavor.

To add thawed banana flesh to the recipe, slice off one end of the banana and then turn it upside down over the mixing bowl. The flesh should slip right out on its own or with a gentle nudge down. After the flesh is out, press down on the peel one last time to get any remaining banana juice out.

Perfect Banana Bread // FoodNouveau.com

More Helpful Tips for Making the Perfect Banana Bread

  • Use what you have on hand: My recipe for perfect banana bread offers lots of substitution tips. These will enable you to make banana bread with whatever’s in the pantry.
  • Buy bananas in bulk and freeze them when they’re super ripe: You can’t make banana bread without… bananas! You can’t buy banana bread-ready bananas at the grocery store. Keeping bananas in the freezer means you’ll always be ready to indulge your banana bread cravings.
  • No buttermilk on hand? You can make just enough for this recipe in a pinch: add 1 1/2 tsp (7 ml) white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup and then fill with milk up to the 1/2 cup (125 ml) mark. Stir and then let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Use as indicated in the recipe. You can also substitute any type of milk or plain yogurt. Just make sure to avoid using Greek yogurt, as it would a batter that’s too thick and result in dense banana bread.
  • Add coffee to the mix: Adding a shot of espresso or 2 tbsp of very strong coffee to the batter deepens the flavor of this perfect banana bread. This may seem like a strange addition, but coffee and bananas go wonderfully together. I picked up this tip from pastry chef David Lebovitz, who says coffee is a tropical fruit, as are bananas, so the combination makes sense. Don’t worry; the resulting banana bread doesn’t taste like coffee at all. If you want to avoid the caffeine content, you can use decaf coffee instead.

Slices of banana bread with hazelnut spread and coffee // FoodNouveau.com

  • Be creative with flavor additions: You can make plain banana bread, but you can also add delicious mix-ins to improve the flavor and increase the nutritional value of the bread. Chopped walnuts or pecans, sesame, hemp, or sunflower seeds, and chocolate chips are all delicious additions. Pick one, or combine them to your liking. Just make sure not to add too much so you won’t weigh your bread down. I provide options below but don’t hesitate to create your own combinations.
  • Keep a close eye on the baking process: A common mistake is to underbake banana bread. The bread can look perfectly puffed and golden brown on top, but still be very wet and underdone inside. Make sure to properly test for doneness before you take banana bread out of the oven: a long, sharp knife or a bamboo skewer inserted deep in the center of the bread should come out clean. Underbaking means that upon cooling, the banana bread will deflate to a flatter, denser texture–the bottom could even be still wet. If in doubt, you’re best to err on the side of baking banana bread for longer–as long as you cover the top with foil, it won’t burn and you’ll be sure it is cooked properly. Past 60 minutes, check for doneness every 5 minutes. Once you’ve nailed the proper baking time for your oven, take a note of it. You’ll know what to set your timer to next time you bake this perfect banana bread.
  • Don’t burn that baby: Check what the top of the banana bread looks like at the 50-minute mark. If it’s already deep golden brown, loosely cover the top of the banana bread with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning. 

A slice of perfect banana bread slathered with hazelnut spread // FoodNouveau.com

 
Slices of perfect banana bread: aromatic, tender and moist // FoodNouveau.com

The Perfect Banana Bread

This easy, perfect banana bread recipe produces an incredibly aromatic, tender, and moist treat you'll want to enjoy for breakfast, snack, and dessert.
Prep Time:10 minutes
Cook Time:1 hour
Total Time:1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 1 loaf, about 12 servings.
Author Marie Asselin, FoodNouveau.com

Ingredients

Optional Mix-Ins

  • cup chopped walnuts or pecans, sesame, hemp, or sunflower seeds, or chocolate chips (pick one or combine to total 1/3 cup)

Instructions

  • Lightly grease a loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
  • In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and allspice.
  • In a second mixing bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, and coffee. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and, using a spatula, stir to just combine. Fold in the mix-ins of your choice.
  • Transfer the mixture into the prepared pan and use a spatula to flatten out the top. Bake this perfect banana bread for 60 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a long, sharp knife or a bamboo skewer inserted deep in the center of the bread comes out clean.
    Check the banana bread at the 50-minute mark: if it looks deep golden brown, loosely cover the top of the banana bread with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning.
  • IMPORTANT BAKING NOTE: Banana bread may require a longer baking time depending on your oven, so make sure to test doneness before removing it from the oven. (See testing tip, above.) Underbaking means that upon cooling, the banana bread will deflate to a flatter, denser texture—the bottom could even be still wet. If in doubt, you're best to err on the side of baking banana bread for longer—as long as you cover the top with foil, it won't burn and you'll be sure it is cooked properly.
    Past the 60 minutes baking mark, check for doneness every 5 minutes. Once you've nailed the proper baking time for your oven, take a note of it. You'll know what to set your timer to next time you bake banana bread.
  • Transfer the perfect banana bread to a wire rack and let cool completely.
  • SERVING: Serve sliced banana bread at room temperature with butter, hazelnut spread, peanut butter, or jam. You can also warm up slices in a toaster oven to wake up the bread's enticing aromas.
  • STORAGE: Wrap perfect banana bread in plastic wrap or store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days. You can also refrigerate carefully wrapped banana bread for up to 1 week, or freeze for up to 1 month.
  • NOTE: How to make your own buttermilk
    No buttermilk on hand? You can make just enough for this recipe in a pinch: add 1 1/2 tsp (7 ml) white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup and then fill with milk up to the 1/2 cup (125 ml) mark. Stir and then let rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Use as indicated in the recipe.

Did you make this?

Tell me how you liked it! Leave a comment or take a picture and tag it with @foodnouveau on Instagram.

This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.

If you click on an affiliate link, I may earn advertising or referral fees if you make a purchase through such links, at no extra cost to you. This helps me creating new content for the blog–so thank you! Learn more about advertising on this site by reading my Disclosure Policy.

Author: Marie Asselin

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS RECIPE?

Rate + Review

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




  1. Allo, j’ai aimé te recontrer à la FBC Conference. J’en fait tellement des recettes de pain aux bananes. Ma préférée en ce moment est cette de Cook’s Illustrated. Je dois essayer la tienne. Merci de partager!

  2. This bread started rising before it went into the oven! No coffee in my house, but I do have a small stash of Kalhua… added grated white chocolate and walnuts. Excellent!

  3. first time at ur site Marie… really wonderful site u have here. I landed here when i was searching for our traditional Quebec style pudding chomeur.. Will try that this weekend.

    Meanwhile, I want to know if it is ok to omit espresso for this cake and still get god result? Unfortunately, I am intolerant to any coffee smell.

    Thank u in advance! :)

    • Hello Sasi, I’m happy your search for a pouding chômeur recipe led you to my blog! You can absolutely leave the coffee out of the banana bread recipe. I have to say that it’s pretty much indiscernable, but if you’re especially sensitive to coffee’s smell and taste, you’d better leave it out. It provides a nice flavor accent, but the bread is just as good without it. Use more vanilla extract (1 1/2 tsp) instead.

  4. I realized at the last minute that I didn't have the wheat flour so I just used white. The bread didn't rise at all, so I assume that the reason was the flour. It smelled great cooking and even tasted ok even though the texture is kind of gluey.

    • Using only white flour shouldn’t have prevented your bread from rising. If the cake didn’t rise, it may be because the baking powder you used was stale. Also, did you test the cake for doneness before taking it out of the oven? It may have been undercooked – depending on your oven, banana bread can take a long time to bake!

  5. I'm looking forward to trying this. I was planning on making it tonight, but because you recommend letting the bananas brown completely I'll wait a few days. I can't wait to try this!

  6. Just thought I’d let you know this post is still alive and kicking. With brown bananas on the counter and a similar dilemma of many past recipes that, while good, weren’t yet The One, I searched Tasteologie/Notcot and found this. Mini loaves and muffins are in the oven and smelling wonderful!

    • It’s a great idea to make mini-loaves, I love them! I hope you liked the recipe and that you’ll be back to discover more of the recipes I publish on this blog.

  7. this is the best recipe ever, I have made this like a 1000 times for friends and family and they loved it, a big THANK YOU, your the best.

  8. I noticed in the directions it mentions adding salt, but in the ingredient list there isn't any. How much salt do you use?
    Thanks!

  9. Fait dimanche soir… La tempête de neige m'a inspiré. Je l'aurais fait en après midi mais ma dinde occupait tout le four ; )

    Miam miam… Mes collègues seront chanceuses à l'heure du thé!
    merci pour la recette !