Banana Bread is one of those simple, classic recipes I don’t make nearly as often as I should. I have many fond memories of mom making it out of the blue, and having a nice warm slice with bit of butter for dessert, breakfast, and snacks throughout the day.
Truthfully, I don’t actually like bananas all that much. But I do like them in certain baked goods, and banana bread is forever one of my favorite.
Interestingly, I’ve made banana bread recipes before, but never just a classic banana bread, at least for the blog. If you want something a little different, check out banana nut bread muffins or a chocolate-heavy choco-chunk banana bread.
Tips for this recipe:
- Use ripe bananas. The riper and browner they are, they more flavorful they will be. It’s best to use bananas in season, of course, but you can ripen green bananas by sticking them in a paper bag alongside either an already-ripe banana, or an apple.
- For a faster way to a softer banana, freeze them and thaw them. They won’t be as sweet, but the texture is right.
- Feel free to add chocolate chips in place of or alongside the nuts.
- Speaking of nuts, I don’t like walnuts at all, so I use pecans instead. You, of course, can use whatever you like.
Ready to bake? This recipe is super easy and is ready to eat in about an hour and a half. Let’s get to it!
Classic Banana Nut Bread
Equipment
- Loaf Pan 9"x5" ideally
- Stand Mixer Optional but makes creaming butter and sugar faster
- Wire Rack
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1 Tsp Baking Soda
- 2 Tsp Cinnamon
- ½ Cup Butter Melted
- ½ Cup Brown Sugar
- ½ Cup White Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- ½ Cup Buttermilk
- 3 Bananas Ripe and mashed
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Chopped Pecans
Instructions
- Grease the bottom of your loaf pan. If your pan is smaller, you may need more than one for the batter. Preheat your oven to 350℉.
- Combine the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon in a bowl and set aside.
- In your mixer (or by hand if you're powerful), cream together the melted butter and the sugars until it's smooth and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs until fully mixed.
- Add in the buttermilk, bananas, and vanilla and combine.
- Add in the flour mixture and beat together until about half mixed. Add in your nuts and any other mix-ins and finish mixing.
- Pour your batter into your loaf pan and spread it out evenly.
- Bake for an hour and 20 minutes. The top should be browned and cracking. If you want, you can check the internal temperature with a thermometer; you're looking for about 205℉.
- Remove from the oven. Let the loaf cool for about five minutes, then flip it out of the loaf pan and let it cool to your ideal serving temperature.