The secret to great homemade banana bread is having a tried and tested go-to. Here I share a classic recipe that I have been using for years. The result: Freshly baked banana bread that is always flavorful and moist with the perfect amount of sweetness!
Do you have recipes to go to that you love and keep making over and over again? For me, this banana bread recipe is one of those recipes. I’ve been making this same banana bread since college! It’s so moist and delicious and it’s definitely one of our family’s favorite.
Watch How To Make Banana Bread
Homemade banana bread that’s flavorful and moist. Just need a few common ingredients to make this amazingly delicious banana bread.
I got this recipe from my best friend that I met in college. She was from Osaka and we met each other at the international students’ orientation when we moved to the US for college. She and her banana bread recipe have been my best friend since then, almost 20 years!
I wasn’t into baking until I met her. She loved making sweets and one day she gave me a few slices of this banana bread. It was very moist and it was different from other banana bread I had before. The texture is soft, with bits of banana and just the perfect amount of sweetness. The store-bought banana bread I’ve tried is usually dry and doesn’t have much real banana flavor.
My friend used a square 8” baking dish to make the bread. The height of the bread is shorter than your typical banana bread but you can slice bread into thicker slices. Simply pick up a slice with your fingers to enjoy a mouthful of this moist banana bread. What I love the most is enjoying it with a cup of great coffee in the morning.
This is one of the rare recipes, in which I measured ingredients with a measuring cup (I didn’t own a kitchen scale in college). Even though it’s not as precise, you will still get a good result. I put the weight measurement below for those of you that use a kitchen scale. I hope you enjoy this banana bread as much as my family does!
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Banana Bread
Video
Ingredients
- ½ Tbsp unsalted butter (for greasing the baking dish)
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (at room temperature)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 ripe bananas (divided; a 7- to 8-inch, medium-sized banana is roughly 4 oz/113 g with peel; see Notes)
- ½ cup raisins (optional)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Grease the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking dish with ½ Tbsp unsalted butter.
- In a bowl, combine 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour), ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, ½ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp baking powder and whisk all together.
- In another bowl, whisk together ½ cup unsalted butter (softened) and ½ cup sugar until well blended, fluffy, and pale yellow.
- Add 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell), 1 Tbsp neutral oil, and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract. Beat with the whisk until well blended.
- Mash 3 ripe bananas with a fork and mix into the egg mixture.
- Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir just until blended. Add ½ cup raisins, if you‘d like to include them.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with the rubber spatula. Slice 1 ripe banana thinly into rounds and decorate on top of the banana bread.
- Bake at 350°F (175°C) until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes.
To Store
- Wrap each slice or the whole cake with plastic wrap. Store at the cool place and enjoy within 2–3 days.
Notes
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on January 11, 2011.
Thank you so much for this simple recipe. It’s a keeper. This was my first time using a whisk to mix butter and sugar together. My butter was very soft, but it still was challenging to get the mixture fluffy. I think that’s why my banana bread came out a bit heavy.
In my convection oven, I baked at 325F for 45 minutes.
Hi PatRice! Thank you so much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your baking experience with us.
We are glad to hear this recipe is a keeper! 🤗
Can you substitute all purpose flour with oat flour in this recipe?
Hi Angel! Thank you for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
The Oat flour has a different density and texture. We have never tried it for this recipe before and are unsure about the outcome.
If you try it, please let us know how it goes!
Is there a way to prevent the banana slices on top of the bread from becoming overly dark after baking?
Hi Maria, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
You can brush the lemon juice over the sliced banana and place the aluminum foil during the last part of the baking to avoid getting dark.
We hope this helps!
A beautiful banana bread. My favourite. Easy to make and delicious to eat. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe
Hi Katrina! Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
Nami and all of us at JOC are so happy to hear this became your favorite banana bread.🥰
Hi Nami-chan! I would like to ask regarding the recipe, shall I just mix the butter and sugar or beat until light? Am going to make this with my son 😊
Hi Haniem! Yes, that’s correct. Hope you have fun making this banana bread with your son!
The best I’ve tried so far! So moist and soft. My daughter finished a third of it before it cooled down.
Hi Ern! Aww. We are so happy to hear your daughter enjoyed the Banana Bread!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
I made it for breakfast yesterday, and it was wonderful, Nami!
My son and I enjoyed it very much. Thank you for the recipe!
Hi Uyen! We are so happy to hear you and your son enjoyed Banana Bread!
Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!😊