The secret to great homemade banana bread is having a tried and tested, go-to recipe. Here I share a classic recipe that I have been using for years. The result: Fresh 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 バナナブレッドの作り方 （レシピ）
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 breads I had before. The texture is soft, with bits of banana and just the perfect amount of sweetness. The store bought banana breads I’ve tried are usually dry and don’t have too much real banana flavors.
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 those recipes that 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 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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- ½ Tbsp unsalted butter (for greasing the baking dish)
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour (1⅔ cups = 208 g)
- ½ tsp salt (kosher or sea salt; use half if using table salt)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter (½ cup = 113 g) (soften)
- ½ cup sugar (½ cup = 100 g)
- 2 large eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 Tbsp neutral flavor oil (vegetable, canola, etc)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 ripe bananas (separated) (See Notes)
- ½-⅔ cup raisins (optional)
Gather all the ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and grease an 8” square baking dish with butter (bottom and sides).
- In a bowl, combine 1 ⅔ cup flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp. baking soda, and ½ tsp. baking powder and whisk all together.
- In another bowl, combine ½ cup soften butter and ½ cup sugar and whisk well.
- Add 2 eggs, 1 Tbsp. oil, and 1 tsp. vanilla and beat with the whisk until well blended.
- Mash 3 bananas with a fork and mix into the egg mixture.
- Add the 1 ⅔ cups flour to the banana mixture and stir just until blended. Add raisins, if you prefer.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading it evenly with the rubber spatula. Slice 1 banana thinly into rounds and decorate on top of the banana bread.
- Put the pan in the oven and 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. If you don't eat right away, wrap each slice or the whole cake with plastic wrap. Store at the cool place and enjoy within 2-3 days.
Banana: To quickly ripen bananas, bake at 300 F (150 C) for 30-40 minutes (depends on your banana) [source].
Recipe by Namiko Chen of Just One Cookbook. All images and content on this site are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without my permission. If you’d like to share this recipe on your site, please re-write the recipe and link to this post as the original source. Thank you.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally shared in January 11, 2011.
Hi Nami, I’m making this again to bring to a friend who just had a baby. The last time I made it it was such a hit…
Hi Sau! I’m really happy to know you are baking the banana bread again! And thank you for letting me know that. When I saw your comment this morning, it made my day. Baking it for the second time means you really liked it! 🙂
Hi Nami,
We love banana bread. I owuld love to try yr recipe, however my husband cannot take butter, can I replace the butter with oil?
Lin
Hi Lin! Thank you for being interested in this recipe and asking the question. However…I’m not really a baker (as you might have guessed) and I am afraid I can’t answer to this question. I assume it’s replaceable but I’m not sure how much oil is equivalent to the amount of butter in order to get the right texture. So sorry I can’t help you with this. 🙁
Just a suggestion… perhaps you can use extra virgin coconut oil (here is a link to the one sold by Trader Joe’s: http://www.traderjoes.com/fearless-flyer/article/1520 )
Of course, since I have not tried this recipe with coconut oil, I can’t say for sure that the outcome/texture will be the same as using butter. Perhaps, you may want to give it a go and let us know how it works for you 🙂
Thanks so much for your suggestion! 🙂
I replaced half of Nami’s suggested amount of butter with greek yogurt (ie. a combination of 1/4 cup of butter and 1/4 cup of yogurt) and it came out very moist. I think you can totally replace the entire amount of butter with yogurt. Or to be safer, replace 1/2 cup of butter with a combination of 1/4 cup of oil + 1/4 of yogurt (which is what I usually use for my yogurt cake).
Thanks so much for sharing with us, Hien! 🙂
Hi Nami,
What is the weight of banana to be used? Do we have to mash them?
Hi Jae, it’s about 600-700g (1.5-1.8oz). I break and mash bananas with my hands when I put in. Thanks for asking the questions!
This sounds delicious, I want to try it this week. Can you tell me what size pan you usually use? The picture looks like an 8×8. Thanks! Barbi
Hi Barbi! Yes, it’s 8″ x 8″. Hope you enjoy this banana bread! 🙂
Love this!
I love your decoration on top of the bread :). We make banana bread all the time, but this gives me an idea how to decorate the top.
Hi Nami,
Instead of using a stand mixer, could I just use a spatula to combine the ingredients? Or would I need to cream the butter, sugar and eggs together? thanks.
Hi YJ! Yes, you can use a spatula to mix this, instead of stand mixer. 🙂
hi Nami,
would really love to try this recipe. may i ask how much is 1 stick of butter ? thank you
Hi Loren! American 1 stick of butter is 1/2 cup = 8 Tbsp = 113 grams. Thank you for asking!
Not a baker by any means, but both nut breads and banana bread seem to be in a different category! Love the way you have ‘dressed’ yours . . . shall copy . . . thank you
Thank you so much, Eha! 🙂 Have a lovely weekend!
Hi Nami
if I have self-raising flour, can I take baking soda and baking powder out from the list?
also, do you think I can use sunflower oil instead?
Hi Lillie! The proportion is probably not the same, but I think it’ll probably work just fine. It’s my best guess. I’ve never used sunflower oil but it should be okay! 🙂
Always love to see old recipes revived! This is a good one. Love its appearance! Thanks.
this looks amazing and I absolutely love how you placed the bananas on top. Too cute and so delicious
Hi Nami!
would like to try this great recipe. is it still taste moist in next day?
Hi Kylo! Yes, absolutely! Make sure to wrap with the plastic wrap after the bread is cooled down. 🙂
So beautifully presented, I love the clever way you use chopped bananas as a decoration! I totally agree, banana bread is probably one of the most desirable recipes to make again! 😉
What a beautiful banana bread – like how the bananas are placed on top! Delicious!!
I must try this recipe!
looks really tasty!
Thank you Helena!
Nami-san, I think there is something about this cooler weather that makes you crave carbs. There is nothing like a delicious homemade banana bread to make your day perfect with a cup of tea. This will be great to put in the kids lunches too. I love how you decorated it with the bananas. Sharing, of course!
I have many old recipes but great little recipes with photos that need to be redone, etc. I was thinking about doing the same thing. Are you keeping the old post in the archives so that others can access it or do you decide to hide your old post? What is your recommendation on this? Take Care
Hi Bobbi! What I do is to change the date of the old post (this post was originally published 1/11/11) to current date. All the comments since the original post date stay. We should not have any duplicate content on our own website. Therefore, if you don’t change the recipe (or just minor fix), I recommend updating the publish date. Also, if you update the picture, it’s always nice to treat it as a new post. Maybe update the content a little bit too. Since the original post date, we have more readers, so it’s nice to refresh the post once in a while. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thank you Nami-san! I have updated some of my posts but changing to the current date is a great idea. Will do with my next updates. Take Care and have a super weekend!
What a beautiful banana bread! Love that you are sharing you friend’s recipe who got you into baking, it looks delicious!
I love banana bread and this recipe looks delightful!I can’t wait to try it soon! 🙂
Nami, I’ve never seen a banana cake this beautiful. Definitely droolworthy!
Lovely presentation! I can just imagine sitting down with a cup of coffee with a friend (or my husband or a good book) at midday to enjoy this. The sliced bananas on top are such a nice touch. I always have a ton of bananas at home (I like to snack on them) and we adore all banana-baked goods. This one looks very special!
This is smart idea using square baking pan. It def takes less time to bake and it’s baked better, I think! Banana bread, it’s always everyone’s favorite… Yours look fantastic!
What a pretty banana bread! Love the way you decorated the top! I bet your home smelled fantastic when making this bread.
Perfect timing as I have bananas ripening on the counter after a banana bread request from Katie:) I love how you garnished yours—so pretty!!
After a long week (it’s almost Friday!), I think this shall be a good reward for the weekend. =) Thanks for reminding us of this great and simple classic~~
Nami,
love your video!!! and love this version of banana bread. . I’ve never seen it with the banana pieces on top and it looks SO pretty!!!!
I like that your banana bread is pretty dry 🙂 I don’t like too moist bread 😀
One thing I absolutely love is banana bread. And yours looks amazing. I love the decorative bananas on top.
How lovely to have a recipe from your best friend at college. I do love how this bread is decorated with slices of banana. I do love banana bread and it’s something I often make as we always seem to have over-ripe bananas and lunch boxes to fill xx
Love this so much. Nami. Looks so yummy and should be perfect for a girl gathering.
Banana bread is such a clever way to use the too ripe bananas. I have seen many banana bread, but I love yours particularly not only because it looks gorgeous but most of all because there is a friendship story behind, so I guess it must have a special place in your heart… I must say I cherish most the dishes I make according to people who are dear to my heart…
Hi Nami! Fantastic recipe! Thanks for sharing it.
Hi Pearly! Thanks so much for your kind words! 🙂
hi nami, i’ve been an avid fan of your site and always looking forward to new recipes… tried almost all your recipes and my family loves it… banana bread is one of my favorite and would try to bake this… just have a question is it possible to use bread flour instead of all purpose flour? thank you.
Hi Baobei! Thank you so much for following my site and trying many of my recipes! So happy to hear your feedback and THANK YOU!! I recommend all purpose flour for this recipe to get the good fluffy texture. 🙂
I love banana bread… I have some overripe bananas sitting on my counter right now screaming to be made into some. I also love how you garnished it with the sliced bananas… that’s so pretty. I will totally be copying you on that. 🙂
No wonder your family likes it! These bread look like the fruit puffing and turning into a bread like magic! It has that texture only well baked banana breads would have 😉
Julie & Alesah
Gourmet Getaways xx
Banana bread is a constant feature in my house since it is a delicious and ideal option for lunch pack too. My version is similar to yours, only that mine also has yogurt added to it 🙂
We both posted banana bread at nearly the same time! I love your version. I’ve never thought to add sliced bananas to the top of the bread. Very good idea!
I have to say, this is one of the prettiest presentations of banana bread I’ve seen!
I love the sliced bananas on top – so pretty!
Hi Nami,
I just made this and am enjoying a slice of banana bread right now. I had to make some substitutions with what I had on hand and swapped out the butter with coconut oil and coconut sugar for the white and it turned out delicious. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Hi Janice! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and for the kind feedback with substitute info! So happy to hear your banana bread came out well! 🙂
I make banana bread since I don’t remember when, but I never do it in a square, and it looks fantastic!!!
This looks so beautiful Nami. I agree, there are few recipes we keep going back to. I will for sure try your version out.
I’ve never met a banana bread i didn’t like, this looks delicious!
Hi,can I leave out the baking soda for this banana cake?thks
Hi Shirley! Sure, although I haven’t done it yet, it should be okay. 🙂
My family love banana bread and I always make for them. Will try out your yummy recipe! Thanks for sharing Nami ^_^
Just perfect to starting a day and before performing wisdom teeth extraction surgery, lol
I have bananas waiting for this recipe! I also love thst it’s all done by hand.
I love Banana bread! I make it almost once a week! =)
Oh that’s fabulous! i think everyone in my family will love it
Hi Nami,
This banana cake recipe was so delicious and the banana slices looked great. I prefer using a cake pan versus a loaf pan. The recipe was very easy to follow.
Hi Darlene! I’m so happy to hear you liked the recipe! I like the cake pan or baking pan rather than a loaf pan too (I like thick cut haha!). Thank you for your kind feedback! xo
Such an easy, great recipe! I’ve whipped it up 3 times in the last month! So yummy, it’s a hit with everyone!
Hi Annie! Aww thank you so much! I’m so glad to hear you enjoy this recipe! Thanks for your kind feedback! 🙂
hi,
If I wanted to make this banana bread in a loaf pan, should I double the recipe? Bake it longer?
Hi Nancy! Hope this chart will be helpful.
http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
I use 8 x 8 square pan. Please check your loaf pan size and compare. 🙂
I have made your banana bread many times… sometimes I even make it vegan and it always turns out amazing!!! Thank you!!! 🙂
Hi Paula! I’m happy to hear that! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂 xo
just tried this, soooo easy and sooo good, always great recipes from you Nami!
Hi Zusy! I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂 xo
Hi Nami, last week I made banana bread for friends at the office , this is the 1st time I made it and I don’t think that they really like it because it looks not as pretty as you made (my husband said my banana bread look like a Halloween bread) but i’m so happy cause all my friends & my boy really like the taste and they asked for more….
Hi Kenken! I’ve been making this for 15 years, so I know how to make it look pretty, in a way. Don’t be harsh on yourself. 🙂 Practice helps, too, and I’m sure next one will look better than first! After all, taste matters most! 🙂
Hi Nami,
Made this last week and it was so light yet so banana-ey in flavour! I air-fried slices of it the next day so that it’s crunchy and had with butter 🙂
Yummy 🙂
Happy New Year Fern! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! So sorry it took me a long time to get back to you… What a great idea to air fried the banana slices! Happy New Year to you and your family! xoxo
Lovely! I found it only took 40 minutes both times I’ve tried this. Only change I made was adding a small sprinkle of cinnamon before topping with the sliced banana. Next time I may try subbing applesauce for the oil as I do with most of my recipes, and eventually attempt to make it vegan for my sister. I’ll report back with results! The original recipe has been a hit with my in-laws as well as my husband’s coworkers.
Hi Malinda! I’m happy to hear you and your family enjoyed this recipe and I love that you shared different versions! Thank you for your kind feedback and tips!
Hi! How many calories the bread has?
Hi Valeria! I’m sorry but I don’t include the calorie count or any nutrition information on my blog. I am not a dietitian and I also don’t want to use the third party source for my blog. I’m sorry.
Hi Nami,
I tried this recipe and substitute yhe flour with gluten free flout and butter with oil since my son is on gfcf diet. It turned out great! Moist…soft…and sweetness just right. Thank you for this wonderful simple recipe!
Hi Lyana! I’m so glad to hear that you tried this recipe with GF recipe and it worked! Thank you for writing your kind feedback and I’m sure many of my readers appreciate your tip! 🙂
Hi Nami
Tried making the banana bread, love it!
May I know if I can replaced half of the all purpose flour with superfine wholegrain flour (unbleached)?
Thank you
Angela
Hi Angela! I’m so happy to hear you liked this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂 I think you can, but I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure about the outcome…
Hi, this looks lovely! Just wondering, what is the weight of the 3 mashed bananas? Thanks!
Hi Lisa! I did not measure the weight after mashing bananas… Sorry! I make this recipe for over 15 years, and each time banana size is not equal or same, but it works great. So don’t worry about specific size too much. Hope the ingredient picture helps!
Hi Nami..I made this 3 times and each time I received praise for it. It is also the first time I bake a cake. So happy that it is a so easy and yummy recipe.
Hi Angie! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! So happy yours came out well. Thank you for trying this recipe! 🙂
I love banana bread. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Martha! Hope you enjoy this recipe!
Hello Nami.. i made banana bread this afternoon.. for the second time. Taste really good.. we love it.. but this time i doubled the recipe because i have a lot of bananas and i use glass baking pan and butter. I found the result a little bit oily. The 1st time i made this, i use aluminium baking pan, butter, baking paper. Oily but not much. Is it because of the baking paper? Or the canola oil? I put 2 tbs because i double the recipe.. should i put 1,5 tbs instead of 2? Thanks..
Hi Windy! What’s baking powder? Is that parchment or wax paper? If it’s parchment paper, it shouldn’t be oily. The ingredients should be doubled… It’s hard to compare with there are too many variables. Hope next time it won’t be too oily…
Should I half this if I were to make it on a regular loaf pan?
Hi SuYi! Could you check this chart to see if you need to change the amount? Depends on what loaf pan you’re using. 🙂 http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
One hour is too long. I checked it at 40 minutes it was finished, may even be a bit overcooked at this point.
Hi Stephanie! Each oven is different (and size matters too), so I’m glad you noticed yours are done sooner. I’ve used 4 different (American size) ovens making this same recipe and I always use 60 minutes. Hope the cake was okay after baking for 40 minutes.
I love to try this for my Japanese husband.
I am in japan now but most of the kitchens here in Japan doesnt have oven.
What othet alternatives you can suggest to bake this?
Hi Paola! Yeah Japanese kitchen doesn’t come with an oven. However, our microwave can be microwave-oven. Have you checked to see if yours can bake in there? You need a oven or oven toaster at least to make this cake…. sorry…. I have a steamed cake recipe that you can use a frying pan… 🙂
I am not so sure..
I will check it later.
Anyway, do you happened to have a hardcopy of your cookbook? I wanna buy it for easy reading…
I like your recipes because it’s written in English
Hi Paola! I don’t have a hardcopy of my eBook. Maybe one day I’ll work on a real cookbook when there is a right opportunity… 🙂
This recipe is my go to recipe. I have been making it for a long time. I switch ingredients around with things I have on hand. This recipe always works. I really recommend it.
Hi Paura! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear you like it. Thanks for your kind feedback. Your comment made my day! 🙂
Hi
I tried this recipe and the taste turned out great ! The only draw back when I made this was the inside was very dense and wet and it looks more like a cake than a bread . I can see two layers ( the bread layer and the heavy bottom layer )
I wonder what I did wrong .
Hope you can help !
Linda
Hi Linda! Seems like the batter got separated, heavier content stayed on the bottom. Maybe you could incorporate mashed banana with batter a bit more. It should be consistent throughout. And double check your actual oven temperature inside too (sometimes it’s different from what the oven says or what you set). 🙂
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while, and yesterday the stars aligned finally and I had four ripe bananas and some free time to do some baking. It came out great — dense, flavorful, and beautiful. It was easy to make, and didn’t stick to the pan at all, either. Thank you for sharing it!
Hi Mae! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. Thank you so much for your kind feedback! 🙂
Hi Nami, I keep staring at those ripe bananas on the counter and then I remember your recipe. One question – how many cups of mashed bananas do I add to the batter? My guess would be 1 cup? Thanks!
Hi Elie! I don’t usually measure by a cup, so it’s a bit hard for me to answer… but google search told me:
1 medium banana = 2/3 cup sliced bananas
2 medium bananas = 1 cup diced bananas
3 medium bananas = 1 cup mashed bananas
2 medium bananas = 1/2 to 1 teaspoon banana extract
(Source: https://www.thespruceeats.com/banana-equivalents-1807459)
Hope that helps!
This helps! Thanks!