I originally published my banana bread recipe in 2018, and have just updated it in 2025 with my new method – which is just as delicious but only uses one bowl! This is my tried-and-true, never fails to impress recipe.
The banana bread my family and friends rave about.
Baking banana bread has been my thing for about a decade now. My recipe makes a soft, moist, flavorful loaf of tasty bread that is perfect for breakfast, snack, or gifting a loaf to a friend or neighbor.
I share loafs of this bread with neighbors, family, friends, and sometimes even my husband’s co-workers. Everyone always raves about it and it’s so simple to make, which makes it a winner in my book.
Tips for the Best Banana Bread
For best results, be sure to follow these tips:
- Use over-ripe bananas: Don’t try to make this with bananas that are not ripe or even just ripe. The banana flavor comes from over-ripe bananas, trust me! Read below for a tip on storing over-ripe bananas to use for your bread.
- Measure your flour correctly: This step is super important! Before measuring your flour, be sure to fluff it with a fork and then spoon it into your measuring cup, leveling off the top with the back of a butter knife.
- Tent with foil: At around the 40/45 minute mark while baking, you will want to check your bread to see if the top is nice and brown. If it is, tent it with aluminum foil so the bread continues to cook but the top doesn’t get any more browned.
Gluten Free-Banana Bread
You can make this recipe gluten-free by swapping the all-purpose flour for gluten-free flour. I prefer to use a flour that is a 1:1 ratio to regular flour. I have done this a few times and it came out great!
Store Over-Ripe Bananas to Use for Banana Bread
Freeze your over-ripe bananas: I don’t know about you, but we are constantly buying bananas and not eating them all before they get “extra ripe”. My favorite thing to do with those extra ripe bananas is to throw them in the freezer and save them for banana bread! Just put the entire banana in the freezer, and when you feel like cooking up a loaf of banana bread or some banana bread muffins, just pull some out to thaw for a bit!
Fair warning, they will look a little gross when you squeeze the partially frozen but now softened inside out of the banana peel. Rest assured, this makes for delicious banana bread! I have also done a combo of extra ripe fresh and frozen bananas, depending on what the current status of my banana supply is!
Ingredients for Banana Bread
These simple ingredients are combined in just one bowl then transferred to a loaf pan to create banana bread magic. Get the full recipe with measurements and ingredients in the recipe card below. Here is a summary of what you’ll need:
- Bananas, over-ripe, mashed
- Vegetable oil
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon
- Salt
How to Make Banana Bread
Super simple, you can throw this bread together and pop it in the oven in about 5 minutes. Here are the easy steps:
- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl with a fork or potato masher.
- Add the vegetable oil, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Stir to combine with a spatula.
- Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir together until just combined.
- Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and transfer the batter to the pan.
- Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
- After 40-45 minutes check, to see if the bread is browned on top. If so, tent the bread with aluminum foil and finish baking for about 10 minutes. A butter knife should come out clean when inserted in the center. Let the bread cool in the pan.
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The Best Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 4 over-ripe bananas mashed
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350.
- Mash the bananas in a mixing bowl with a fork or potato masher.
- Add the vegetable oil, granulated sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Stir to combine with a spatula.
- Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir together until just combined.
- Spray a loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and transfer the batter to the pan.
- Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes.
- After 40-45 minutes check, to see if the bread is browned on top. If so, tent the bread with aluminum foil and finish baking for about 10 minutes. A butter knife should come out clean when inserted in the center. Let the bread cool in the pan.
Hi, I’m Jessica! I am wife to Chris, and mom to Kaip, Alana and Koa. I am a website developer and blogger. In this space, I share about everything from parenting, making money from home, recipes, mom lifestyle, and things for kids! Learn more about me here.
