Ultimate Banana Bread
Caramelized exterior, moist crumb, and silky-sweet bananas in a vanilla-scented batter. This recipe is the quintessential formula for impeccable banana bread! Plus, it’s healthy and easy too.
This recipe was written for the Arizona Republic.
Why this banana bread works every time
I’ve been making banana bread for 25 years, and I’ve dabbled with the recipe countless times. I’ve adjusted the amount of flour and sugar, swapped egg whites and flax eggs for whole eggs, made the bread gluten-free and dairy-free, and with applesauce, milk, yogurt, sour cream, and butter. I’ve also played around with “add-ins”, including nuts, chocolate, and even Nutella. After all that experimenting,
I’ve discovered that the precise combination of ingredients in the recipe below works best.
There’s just enough batter to fill the pan without overflowing, the bread is perfectly (not overly) sweet, and it’s completely customizable to suit dietary needs. It’s also add-in friendly, meaning you can add nuts, chocolate chips, and more. Trust. me, this tried-and-true banana bread recipe is all you need from this day forward.
This banana bread is healthy too! Why? Because I used applesauce, which not only slashes half the fat in the recipe, but the thick puree also adds fiber and keeps the bread moist. You can’t really detect any “apple flavor”; the applesauce is used expressly to keep the bread tender and wholesome.
Use over-ripe bananas!
The darker the banana, the sweeter the flesh, and the more pronounced the banana flavor will be. If you only have yellow bananas and want to make this bread ASAP, speed up the ripening process by putting the bananas in a paper bag with a ripe apple or avocado. The ethylene gas emitted by the apple and/or avocado will ripen the bananas in 24 to 36 hours. If you need ripe bananas sooner, place them on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake at 300 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin blackens, and the flesh softens.
Don’t over mix the batter. The more you mix your batter, the more you encourage the gluten proteins in the flour to develop, creating elastic gluten strands. These chewy strands can lead to dense and rubbery banana bread.
- Consider add-ins. Add flavor, crunch, and nutrition to your banana bread by folding in 3/4 cup nuts, such as pecans or walnuts, and/or chocolate chips. I prefer semisweet chocolate chips in my banana bread. If you choose mini chocolate chips, use 1/2 cup because they spread out more!
- Don’t over bake your banana bread. The size and color of the pan you use – 8-inch or 9-inch, and light or dark – will affect cooking time. Darker, bigger pans will cook faster. Start checking your banana bread after 50 minutes of baking. When finished, a wooden pick inserted near the center of the bread will come out with little moist bits clinging to it.
- Let your banana bread rest before slicing. Cool your banana bread, in the pan on a wire rack, for at least 20 minutes before serving. This gives the sugars in the bread a chance to solidify, making the bread easier to slice.
Save leftovers
Banana bread will last up to four days, so wrap leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature or in the refrigerator. You can also freeze leftover banana bread for up to 3 months; to prevent freezer burn, wrap leftover bread tightly in plastic wrap, and then place the bread in a freezer bag or cover with a layer of aluminum foil. Label and date the bread and enjoy within 3 months (this is a quality issue, not a safety issue).
Substitutions to suit your tastes and dietary needs
This banana bread is completely customizable, and there are many ways to alter the recipe so everyone in your household can enjoy it.
- For gluten-free bread, substitute any 1:1 gluten-free flour for the all-purpose flour.
- For a darker-colored bread, use half white sugar and half brown sugar, or use all brown sugar.
- To replace the sugar entirely, substitute 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup for the 3/4 cup granulated sugar. Honey and maple syrup will add their own distinct flavors while keeping the bread moist.
- If you don’t have applesauce, you can use an equal amount of yogurt, sour cream, milk, cream, or half-and-half.
- For egg-free bread, replace the egg with 1 “flax egg”. To make one flax egg, combine 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal and 2 1/2 tablespoons of water; let the mixture sit for 5 minutes before using.
- If you don’t have vanilla extract, you can use almond extract. The almond flavor will come through, and it’s a nice variation.
Ultimate Banana Bread
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas, about 3 medium bananas
- 1/4 cup applesauce, preferably unsweetened
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8-inch or 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray. If desired, line the pan with parchment paper so you can remove the whole loaf after baking. Spray the parchment paper with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix with a fork to combine. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the mashed bananas, applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture (with a spatula) and mix until just blended; ignore any small lumps. If adding ingredients (nuts, chocolate chips), fold them in now.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Tap the pan on the counter to remove any bubbles.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out with little moist bits clinging to it (timing will depend on the size and color of your pan and whether you added nuts, chips, etc.).
- Cool the bread in the pan, on a wire rack, for 20 minutes before slicing.