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With its tender crumb, rich banana flavor, and irresistible crisp crust, this is the ultimate banana bread!
Are you on the hunt for the perfect banana bread recipe? Look no further — this is the one you’ve been searching for! Tender with a crisp crust, it’s absolutely phenomenal fresh out of the oven, and equally delicious when toasted up for breakfast the next day. You may be surprised to see an unusual ingredient in the recipe: lemon juice. Don’t worry, it doesn’t give the bread a lemony flavor. Like sour cream or buttermilk, the acidity in the lemon juice reacts with the baking soda to help the bread rise and give it a beautiful golden color, toasty flavor, and light, fluffy texture.
My family loves this banana bread plain, but you can easily add nuts or chocolate chips to give it some extra oomph. If you’re looking for more variations — because you can never have too many banana bread recipes! — I’ve got you covered with an array of options, including marbled, a chocolate, chai-spiced, whole wheat, and coconut-pecan banana breads. With so many delicious options, you’re sure to find a favorite!
What You’ll Need To Make Banana Bread
For a really moist, banana-y banana bread, use very ripe bananas. The bananas should at least be dark yellow with plenty of brown spots, and it’s okay if the skin has turned completely brown.
If you’d like to make banana bread and your bananas are not quite ripe enough, you have a few options:
- 24-Hour Method: Put the bananas (still attached at the stem) in a loosely sealed brown paper bag and let sit on the counter. The bananas give off ethylene gas which causes ripening, and trapping the gas in a bag speeds up this process.
- Quick Oven Ripening: Place the bananas in their peels on a parchment or foil-lined baking sheet (for easy clean-up in case they leak) and bake at 250˚F for 15 to 20 minutes or as long as it takes them to reach a deep brown color.
If you have overripe bananas and you’re not ready to bake, don’t let them go to waste – freeze them! I typically freeze them in bags of 2 or 3, as when mashed, they usually come out to about 1 cup (which is what most banana bread recipes call for). Simply peel the bananas and put them in an airtight container or freezer bag; when ready to use, thaw them in the bag and then mash.
STEP-BY-STEP Instructions
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Whisk to combine.
In the bowl of an electric hand mixer (or a stand mixer), beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time.
Beat well after each addition.
Add the mashed bananas, lemon juice and vanilla extract.
Mix well. It will look a little curdled at this point; that’s okay.
Add the dry ingredients.
Beat on low speed until just incorporated. Do not over mix.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes.
Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes.
Then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
HOW TO STORE BANANA BREAD
Banana bread is best served fresh out of the oven, but it will keep for a few days, wrapped in foil and stored at room temperature. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil or freezer wrap, or place it in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Video Tutorial
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Best Banana Bread
With its tender crumb, rich banana flavor, and irresistible crisp crust, this is the ultimate banana bread!
Ingredients
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas, from 2-3 large bananas
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 9×5-inch metal loaf pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the mashed bananas, lemon juice and vanilla extract and mix well. It will look a little curdled at this point; that’s okay.
- Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Do not over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The bread can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place in a freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 208
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Sugar: 14 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 394 mg
- Cholesterol: 51 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.