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
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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Banana Bread
Video
Ingredients
- ½ Tbsp unsalted butter (for greasing the baking dish)
- 1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ½ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter (soften)
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (at room temperature)
- 1 Tbsp neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4 ripe bananas (separated; a 7-8" medium-size banana is roughly 4 oz/113 g with peel; See Notes)
- ½ cup raisins (optional)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC). Grease an 8” square baking dish (the bottom and sides) with butter.
- In a bowl, combine 1 ⅔ cup (200 g) flour, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp baking soda, and ½ tsp baking powder and whisk all together.
- In another bowl, whisk together ½ cup (113 g) soften butter and ½ cup (100 g) sugar.
- 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 flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir just until blended. Add raisins, if you like to include them.
- 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.
- 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
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! 🙂
Dear Nami, this is such a great recipe! Simple and yummy! I’ve baked it twice already and because my daughter prefers chocolate, I’ve replaced raisins with chocolate chips and added walnuts as well. I am no baker at all, but this recipe is really so easy for a noob like me! Thumbs up!
Hi Angeline! Awesome! Thanks so much for your kind words. I’m happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe. My kids love chocolate chips too!
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. 🙂
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! 🙂
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
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! 🙂
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 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..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!
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! 🙂
I love this banana bread recipe so much! The sweetness level is just right for me. I’ve made this a few times now this during quarantine and I eat it all haha.
Hi Jenny! Haha! I’m so happy to hear you enjoy this banana bread recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
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!
This was so delicious. I’m pretty sure I’m going to have to hide it from my partner so he doesn’t eat it all tonight! I will be making regularly for sure 🙂
Hi Georgie! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m so happy to hear you liked it. Thank you for your kind feedback. Haha, you and I think alike: I worry about my kids and Mr. JOC eating up my favorite food. 😉
I made it today and wow, it looks amazing. I’m not a fan of bananas, but for some reason, I love a good banana bread (such as this recipe). Many thanks!
Hi Julia! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m glad you liked it! 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
A first timer here! I love that the sweetness of this recipe is just right to my taste.
Tested cooking it yesterday and it turned out good. I’m making for the second time today.
So simple and easy to follow. Thank You!
Hi Lilia! Thank you so much for trying this recipe! I am happy to hear yours came out good! Thank you for your kind feedback and enjoy the banana bread! xoxo
I made this with my trusted Zojirushi breadmaker set on cake mode. It worked out perfectly.
Hi Joanna! Wow, that’s wonderful! The bread maker has a cake mode! It must be so convenient!! 🙂
Hi Nami, am I able to use this recipe for an Instant Pot? I don’t have a rack but I’ve been really enjoying using it to make pork belly with your recipe (by the way, it’s SUPER delicious) so I was wondering if it’s possible to use it to bake banana bread. If so, what are the changes that have to be made? Thank you!
Hi Jean! Hmm I’ve never made a cake in the Instant Pot before – probably because I like the “burnt/char” taste that oven gives. Let me know if you try! 🙂 Thanks for the kind comment on the pork belly – I’ll respond to your comment on the pork belly post. 🙂
hi Nami,
Can the all purpose flour replaced by cake flour or mix both?
Hi May! Sure, you can do that. 🙂
Hello Namiko,
Can I use a a rectangular bread pan instead of 8″ square to bake the banana bread?
Thank you & regards
Wennie
Hi Wennie! Sure you can do that! 🙂
Hi Nami!
I used a bread tin and the top layer is cracking unlike yours. Is there anything to adjust if one is using a bread tin vs a square pan?
Hi Charmaine! You can use a bread tin instead of a square pan. I sometimes make it with that too. And cracking – that’s supposed to be. Good bread always cracks right in the middle. Some people purposefully make it a nice line by guiding the bread to crack by different methods.
https://www.justonecookbook.com/matcha-marble-pound-cake/ Read under “The Crack on The Pound Cake”
Hope that helps!
Thanks so much Nami!
Definitely felt better knowing I was indeed on the right path.
The cake is perfect, I love the dense texture! And the flavours are bold! I added chocolate chips into mine hehe.
Oh that sounds delicious! Thank you again for trying this recipe! 🙂
Hi! I’m 19 and I’m approaching to baking. My mom really likes bananas so I decided to try and make this and we loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe 😀
Hi Giulia! I’m so happy to hear that you and your mom enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Wonderful recipe! Easy and delicious! I’m usually terrible at baking but this time I got it right so easily! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Gemma! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for your kind feedback!
Hi,
Can i use bread loaf tin instead of glassware to bake this banana cake?
Any idea how long will it take?
Hi ST! Sure, you can. I typically use the same amount of time. 🙂
I have been using your website for years as out of the 30 or so of your recipes I have tried, they have all been great! The extra little adjustments from other Japanese recipes I have seen makes them taste much better.
As almost all restaurants are closed now and I used to spend my time as a keen amateur food critic, I admit to feeling a bit depressed given the lack of variety in my diet. In particular, during extended times working from home, I have had much more time to prepare my food. A highlight of my day is meal time as I try to try one or two new recipes from your site each week.
Looking for some sweet treats to replace my pastries that I would buy outside, I decided to give your banana bread a try. I’m glad I did as it was delicious and was a great daily addition to my afternoon tea.
Thank you for continuing to keep new posts coming as trying your new food brings joy to my otherwise boring day.
Hi Chris! Thank you so much for your kind words. It meant so much to me. I hope you enjoy cooking Japanese food at home, and I’m here to help if you have any questions. 🙂 I totally agree, cooking/eating good food has been a highlight of our life these days, too. We eat well and stay healthy. Take good care, and have fun cooking! 🙂
Hi Nami! Your baking recipes are all so easy to follow and always turn out very successful. Have been baking chiffon cakes using your recipes. So excited to see this banana bread recipe, can I use brown sugar instead?
Hi Joelle! Thanks so much for trying my chiffon cake recipes. You can use brown sugar but the texture will be slightly different. But you can. 🙂
Hi Nami, I love your recipes and have made this a few times, albeit with different results. Sometimes it’s amazing, and sometimes not so much (I probably used too many bananas). I’m from Malaysia and we have a wide variety of bananas so depending on what I have, often have to guesstimate to make up 3 American bananas.
Would you mind measuring your mashed bananas in a cup? Or by weight without the peel? With this, the results should be more consistent. ありがとうございます！
Hi Debra! Thank you for trying this recipe! It happens to me too as sometimes I get a large or small banana (not average medium size) but I try to use my medium size as a standard. So when I buy large bananas, I try to adjust. In the US, an average medium-size banana (7 to 8 inches long) is 4 oz or 113 g with peel. It tends to be slightly bigger probably up to 120 g.
Thank you for your reply Nami-san! I JUST baked this again yesterday as we had way too many bananas from my dad’s farm 🙂 I added dried cranberries in place of the raisins and reduced the sugar by 25% as our bananas are really sweet. とても美味しかった！
Hi Debra! So happy to hear that it came out well! Thanks so much for your feedback again. 嬉しかったです！
Just made this tonight! My 5 yo son is already one his second piece! Been testing out a bunch of banana bread recipes and this one is the winner in my book!
Hi Ha! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m so glad you like this recipe. Thank you for your kind feedback!
Another great and easy recipe! I made this 3x already with my 3 year old daughter. She mixed while I measured out ingredients. Very easy and delicious way to use up ripe bananas.
Hi Lori,
We couldn’t be happier to hear how much joy and excitement Nami’s recipe has brought to you and your family!
Thank you very much for trying this recipe and your kind feedback!
Hi Nami, thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ve tried my fair share of banana cake recipes but never got good results. But yours is so simple (no mixer! No “egg whites at ribbon stage”! 😂)
I tried yours for the first time today and it tasted great! The sweetness was just perfect and it was moist and soft. I’m just not sure if I got the texture right. Mine was more of a dense cake (It was kinda overbaked at 1hour). Is it suppose to be more chewy like bread? Or dense cake like what I got?
Hi Jas,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed this Banana Bread.
This Banana Bread shouldn’t be chewy so I think you got it right.
However, please note that the baking time may be slightly different for everyone due to the different oven, type of baking dish, and ripeness of the banana. So please bake it until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. (your case may be shorter than 1 hour)
I hope this is helpful!🙂
Many thanks! I’ll try a shorter time the next round.
Hi Nami,
Wanting to do banana bread but realised no baking soda. What can I use to substitute/replace?
Thanks
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer!
In the case, You can use baking powder.
1/4 teaspoon baking soda = 1 teaspoon baking powder. However, baking powder contains a bit of acid, so you might have a more acidic taste.
I hope this helps!😊
Greetings from Asia… I baked it and Love it. Thanks Nami 💓💓
Hi Jennnifer,
My pleasure!
We are so happy to hear that it turned out good and you love it!😊
How much is each banana in grams without the peel? I would like to be a little more consistent. Or have a range to shoot for. Bananas can vary so much.
Hi Cheryl,
Nami uses 7-8″ long medium-size bananas, roughly 4 oz/113 g with peel per each, as she mentions in her recipe.
We hope this helps!
Hello Nami,
I baked this banana bread, and we loved it! This is my favorite banana bread :). Thanks so much for sharing this recipe. ありがとうございます😊。
Hi Gabriela, Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback! We are glad to hear this Banana Bread became your favorite one! ありがとうございます！☺️