Best Ever Banana Bread Recipe
Save RecipeGet my chef-tested secrets and make this easy banana bread recipe featuring sweet banana flavor, a brown tender crust and soft cake-like interior
Hi Bold Bakers!
When it comes to comfort baking there is just nothing that can be compared to classic, easy Banana Bread recipe. Something about that toasty, sweet smell that fills the house always gets me. Banana Bread tends to be one of those recipes that you need a master recipe for, one that never fails you. If you’re like me you probably have your mum’s or granny’s Banana Bread recipe written on a scrap piece of paper that you occasionally misplace and then freak out when you can’t find it! Well, freak out no more because I have your go-to, never-fail Best Ever Banana Bread recipe right here.
My Banana Bread Recipe Secrets
I have tried and tested so many Banana Bread recipes throughout my career. After time spent working in pastry and baking in restaurants to working in catering and now for myself, I have taken the best parts of all of the Banana Bread recipes I’ve ever created and combined them into one Best Banana Bread Recipe. Keep reading to find out the secrets to how you can get the best results.
How Do You Make Banana Bread
When I think of Homemade Banana Bread I think of the sweet hearty banana flavor, a brown toasty crust and a tender cake-like interior. To achieve that result, this recipe perfectly combines wholesome simple ingredients like sweet cinnamon, milk, ripe bananas and a not so common ingredient, hearty oats. The rolled oats soak up all the moisture and make for a soft and moist banana bread. This recipe contains eggs, but if you don’t eat eggs you can use my egg substitute chart for baking. Once you combine your wet and dry ingredients, make sure you only fold them together so you don’t over mix the batter and make it tough.
Making a Really Moist Banana Bread
In addition to adding oats to this recipe, flavorless oil like vegetable oil helps ensure you’ll get a really moist result. And here’s another secret trick: once you bake your banana bread, and you see a lovely golden brown color on top, take your bread out of the oven and cover it with aluminum foil while it’s still warm. Covering the bread with foil will steam the cake to make it extra soft and delicious giving you a sticky top like you’d find in a gingerbread.
If you’re craving some serious home baked comfort food, I have you and your family covered with this recipe. Make sure to cut thick slices and enjoy it simply with butter. Once you give this Best Ever Banana Bread recipe a try, this will be your new go-to recipe.
Try more of my Best-Ever Recipes:
- 1½ cups (7 ½ oz/ 213g) all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ cup (2¼oz/64g) rolled oats (preferably quick-cooking)
- ⅔ cup (5oz/142g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup (21/2floz/71ml) milk
- ¼ cup (2floz/57ml) flavorless oil (canola, vegetable, sunflower oil)
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 medium bananas, mashed
- Preheat your oven to 350oF (180oC)
- Prepare a 9x5 loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine your dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, oats, sugar, cinnamon and salt)
- In a large bowl, combine your wet ingredients (eggs, milk, oil, vanilla and mashed bananas)
- Pour the dry ingredients into the bowl with the wet ingredients and mix by hand just until combined. Do not over mix as this can make the banana bread tough.
- Pour the banana bread batter into the pan and bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick or cake-tester comes out clean. Enjoy!
- Store at room temperature wrapped in cling wrap for up to 3 days.
Meet Gemma
Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, and I’m passionate about sharing my years of experience to show you how to make game-changing baking recipes with over-the-top results! Join more than 1 Million other Bold Bakers in the community for new video recipes every week!
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Hi Gemma
Eva here from Singapore.
Can I use self raising flour instead of plain flour?
Hi Eva,
Yes, you certainly may. do not add any further raising agent, all will be well,
Gemma 🙂
Hello Gemma,
My banana bread is in the oven right now and by going with the taste of the batter that I’ve licked just now I’m gonna gain 5 pounds from eating this cake alone 😂 it is absolutely delicious and already feels like it’s gonna be the best ever banana bread I’ve made. Will post pics later and thank you so much for this recipe
Hi there,
Good! About the flavor, and the 5 pounds will not happen! Nobody ever put on 5 lbs by eating bananas, ans this bread is technically a fruit! That is what I think, the power of positive thinking 😉
I hope you really enjoy this, and you can share the love too,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma:
Yet again..another experiment…I added 1/4 cup of sweetened coconut. Even Better Best Ever Banana Bread.
Hi Karen,
Lovely idea, I love coconut in anything, can see what it would bring to this bake, thanks for this suggestion,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
I have a question
I have seen several other recipe which they cream the butter and sugar together, but I see that you use flavorless oil instead of butter. What’s the difference between those technique?
Hi Steven,
This is a choice really. This is a bread type recipe, so a little dense, which is what happens with this technique.
Creaming produces a lighter, fluffier finish, but not usually used for this type of recipe. You can change the oil to melted butter too if you wish. This recipe helps people who are avoiding dairy for one reason or another as the milk can be subbed out too.
I hope this helps,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
I am absolutely hooked onto your website and to your out of the world recipes. Not to mention your super responsiveness and good advise.
I want to know what changes to make to this recipe without eggs. My mom is a pure vegetarian and requested if I can bake one without eggs.
Cheers. AJ
Hi Aj,
Thank you for your kind words.
This banana bread has banana, of course, which is often used as an egg substitute. for this bread I think you can use either yogurt, flax egg, or applesauce.
Get to know flax egg, it is rich, works well in lots of recipes, and has good beneficial oils too.
Thank you for being in touch,
Gemma 🙂
I made this last Sunday, and the texture is amazing! I’ve made banana bread before, but it used to deflate right after baking, this one does not. I however find the cinnamon flavor a bit overwhelming, we can’t even really taste the banana or vanilla.
Thank you for the recipe!
hi Camille,
I am happy that you liked this recipe. Here in the US we love our cinnamon! I do understand that it is not for everyone, so adjust ot your own taste.
Have another go at this one, it is worth it,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma!
I definitely will! It is delicious like this already, and my mom loves it, it is just a matter of taste. Also, I was out of eggs so I can tell this totally works with aquafaba.
I love that your recipes are on video because it’s the best way to know they work, so thanks for that!
Camille
Hi Camille,
that is so good to know, thank you for coming back to tell us.
Good that oyu are baking with us,
Gemma 🙂
Hie..
Can I use whole wheat flour for d recipe??
You sure can, that will work really well. Maybe use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white though. Just so you get similar results to mine.
Best,
Gemma.
Hi Gemma! I had 12 bananas ready for use so I made the banana bread 4X. I sent out a company e-mail and offered the bread grilled in butter or simply warm out of the oven. All of the wonderful bread sold out. I also provided copies of the recipe for all!
Thanks again,
Michael
Wow!! I wish I worked with someone like you Michael.
Best co-worker ever!!
Gemma.
Thank you for your kind words. I followed that with a batch of 75 of your wonderful “no knead cinnamon buns”…needless to say they didn’t last long either. You have a happy bunch of followers in central Maine.
GRATZIE!
Michael
Would you please make eclairs soon?!? or creampuffs!!!
Hi Kaitlyn,
These are here (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/homemade-cream-puffs/). Do try this recipe,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma,
Can I use self raising flour for this recipe? I’d really love to try this recipe tomorrow morning but I do not have plain flour in my kitchen.
Thank u..
Hi Amelia,
Yes, just omit the baking powder, but add the baking soda/bicarbonate of soda, if you have it.
thank you for being in touch,
Gemma 🙂
Hi … how do I replace eggs in this recipe? when there is banana and milk already in the recipe
Hi Rajesh,
you can use applesauce, which will give a light finish, or yogurt. I think either of these will be good for this recipe.
Gemma 🙂
Thank you for this delicious recipe – i don’t really like bananas, but will gladly fight my family for a slice of this bread! I was wondering whether this could be made into muffins instead of using the loaf tin? Many thanks!
Hi there,
Yes, this will work in a large muffin pan/liner, and other Bold Bakers have done just that!
Watch your timing, it will be a lot different, and you will need to start monitoring after about 15 mins. Do not open the oven too often through the first 15 mins, then just touch the top, they will feel firm to the touch and nicely browned when done. A test with a skewer is always a bit more difficult with a moist bread/cake like this,
Gemma 🙂
Yes, Sandhya
This recipe is ever so versatile.
I have made it in every baking vessel I own,
Mini-loaf (steel and silicone), 1lb loaf (steel and silicone),
1.5lb glass loaf, USA Pans ( 1lb loaf, 8×8 brownie, Pullman pan, etc.),
3qt enameled cast iron Dutch oven, AND large-cavity muffin pans.
I am sure there are other ‘bakeware’ I have used too.
I have a pic above of muffins/mini-loaf, they look ‘light’ in color,
but it is just the lighting/flash.
When using a muffin pan [large cavity], I bake them for 20-25 minutes,
same as a mini-loaf. The muffin pan is not as tall as a 1lb loaf pan, so to
brown the tops a bit more, you may want to raise your rack a notch….
depends on your oven.
Most of my baking is done (anymore) in a counter-top [Wolfgang Puck]
low pressure oven, under pressure, for incredible moistness. You can
get similar results by using a ‘water pan’ in the bottom of a conventional
oven, even a convection oven. My choice for a smaller oven is to have less
cubic feet to keep evenly heated, although it limits me to less area for
baking as many items at a time, as well as what size bakeware will fit in it.
I also always use a ‘probe’ thermometer to check the internal temperature
of all my baked goods/items. Using a probe thermometer will teach you
how your [particular] oven performs, how to adjust your cook/bake times for
any recipe, cakes-breads-meatloaf-chicken/turkey- etc.
Probe thermometers are very affordable these days, and I suggest getting
a quality one, versus an ‘el cheapo’, and also one that has a silicone-coated
cable (usually 18″-24″ long). In certain applications, you can insert the probe
and close the oven door, and continually monitor your internal temperature(s)
without opening/closing your oven door and losing heat. Better baking with even heat.
What would I do without you Jona, thank you once again,
Gemma 🙂
I am looking for a blackberry dumpling recipe, please share one
Hi Becky,
This is a lovely recipe suggestion, thank you, I have added it to my list.
This is an ideal recipe for frozen berries too, and these can be really good value. There are a number of these recipes online, I will see if I can put a twist on one!
Gemma 🙂
I have made this recipe twice and both times it looked and tasted great. I like that it has oatmeal in it and is not overly sweet. We have a pre diabetic in our family and the oats and cinnamon in the bread can be good for blood sugar control as long as a piece is worked into “the daily carb count” . I thought about replacing 1/3 c of the sugar with a stevia sweetener equivalent. Do you think this adaptation would still produce a “good loaf” or do you think the recipe needs the full 2/3 cup of sugar for success.
I’m not crazy about oatmeal as a cereal but this is a good way for me and fuzzy children to get those heart heathy oats in the diet.Thanks for the recipe. It’s a keeper just for the taste alone but a five star for all the nutritional benefits as well. Sally
Hi there,
Yes, I do think you can work Stevia into this recipe. fiddle with it, until you reach the spot where it is still good, but balanced too for your pre-diabetic person.
Stevia is a great sugar sub, but it is not perfect for all dishes as it does not caramelize. it is also regarded as a curative for diabetes, but do the research, and get it in where you can.
good job with the banana bread, not too sweet, and nutritious too,
Gemma 🙂
I do low carb and this is what I use for baking and making dishes. I go by weight when mixing. To me, this has a much better flavor than the individual ingredients used alone, especially the Stevia.
Sugar-free Sweetener Blend – 1:1 substitution for sugar
Weight measurements:
12 oz. erythritol
16 oz. xylitol
2 tsp. Better Stevia
Cup measurements:
1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. erythritol
2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. xylitol
2 tsp. Better Stevia
Instructions
Process in food processor for a few minutes if you plan on using this in beverages or icing. For baking, you can just mix it together by hand.
I’ve only been blending this when needed, right before using it in recipes. I put a huge mason jar on my kitchen scale and just pour in the weight amounts of xylitol and erythritol and measure in the stevia. Then shake it really well.
Note:
If you want it sweeter, add 1 or 2 tsp more stevia. Can also try 1 cup erythritol and 1 tsp stevia, no xylitol.
Hi Karen,
Thank you for this great work, it is really useful, and I will add it to my own list of FAQs for reference.
You will see that I removed the links, I hope you do not mind, but others can google this to find a supplier where they live.
I really appreciate this input, there is no better advice than from experience!
Gemma 🙂
HI Gemma,
My apologies for putting up the links. I probably should have read more on the rules of posting first. In any case, no problem. 🙂
I .like this blend of sweeteners. It works really well for baking. The only issue I ever had was when I used it to make hot fudge and caramel sauces. I didn’t powder it and it crystallized when it cooled. The crystals did melt again when I re-heated the sauces, but I think it would have worked better had I run the sweetener through my coffee grinder and powdered it first.
Hi Karen,
not a problem! Thank you for this help, really so many people have a big issue with sugar, for all sorts of reasons, so it is great to get your experience. It is like a science experiment, tried and tested, well done you to go to all of this trouble. I appreciate it,
Gemma 🙂
As Gemma has advised before, you can use applesauce in this bread.
The sugar does more (in a recipe) than just ‘sweeten’.
I am a huge fan of stevia, and so far, it is the only sugar replacement
that we haven’t been duped by for health benefits, but it takes some
testing/tweaking to use as a replacement for sugar in baking.
Also, be cautious of ‘which’ stevia you purchase, some are loaded with
FILLERS to get a usable bulk for ease of use. Some stevia products are
purposely made to use 1-1 in place of sugar, just evaluate the additives
for your dietary/health concerns.
The best explanation I have (at this time) is from a trusted baker I know.
Chris Daniels says:
“Sugar plays a role in the physical structure of your baked goods, so you’ll need to replace the lost bulk of the sugar. For each 1 cup of sugar substituted, use 1/3 cup of a bulking agent. Potential healthy bulking agents include: egg whites, apple sauce, fruit puree or yogurt. Fruit juice or water may also be used in some cases. If one of these bulking agents is already being used — such as a banana in a banana nut cake — simply increase the amount of that ingredient in the recipe. The batter should flow smoothly and be neither too liquid nor too chunky. Sugar helps make cakes lighter, so your finished cake will be denser and potentially doughy. You can counter this by adding a bit more baking powder than the recipe calls for.”
A happy Bigger-Bolder-Baking journey to you, Sally, and your family as ‘test-pilots’.
Gemma is a ‘gem’ !
I cannot say any better than this!
Well done Jona, you have a scientific heart.
Stevia is indeed a great substitute, and the powdered one is best, so your applesauce tip is exactly what I would suggest to replace the bulk of the sugar.
thank you for your input here, I appreciate it,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma! I just tried making this bread today. I haven’t tasted it yet, but according to the toothpick test the inside is underbaked while the outside is overbaked and almost burnt 🙁
I really can’t figure out what I’m doing wrong! This happens with almost everything I bake from scratch. My oven is a convection oven, so I lowered the baking temperature by 25ºF. Please let me know if you have any advice!
Hi Chelsea,
it sounds like your oven thermostat is off. I presume this is a full sized convection oven, fan assisted. If it is a smaller OTG/Toaster type oven then the problem is in learning to manage the temperature. 20c/40f lower would be good for this type of oven, as the elements are too close to the food. Some people manage this by starting with both elements on, then turning off the upper elements once the bake is risen.
If this is a full sized oven you need to call the ‘man’ to fix it. It needs a thermometer to check the temperature and your local hardware store may be able to help with this.
this is my best guess,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Chelsea,
First step [as Gemma suggested] is to get a decent oven thermometer.
Amazon, Wal-mart, BB&B, etc. Hang it on the rack where you can see it through the glass door,
then check it against your thermostat at different degrees settings.
One thing to keep in mind, the bread will continue to cook internally once the heat is off.
I use a digital thermometer with a probe, and allow my bread to reach at least 195F internally
before allowing it to cool, and with these ‘wet’ breads, a toothpick test could be mis-leading.
Another tip, if your oven is properly working, still over-baked on the exterior, it could be
your loaf pan(s). I know that may sound crazy, and you can always cover the top, but if the
sides and bottom are over-baking, ………….. I have seen this with aluminum pans.
I have a lot of bakeware, but my best results come from both cast iron and/or USA Pans,
especially for breads.
Wow!
Good job Jona, I could not have said this better, thank you for your help,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma and Jona,
Thanks very much for all your help! I am a bit swamped with work at the moment but will update you when I get around to testing my oven temperature and looking at my loaf pans!
Lots of love,
Chelsea
That is the idea Chelsea, work first, sadly:(
Gemma 🙂
First time I make and eat a banana bread… Very delicious and the recipe is very easy.
I loved it 😍😍😍
Thank you
Delighted to hear that! Thanks so much.
Gemma 🙂
Your first is always special, I will never forget you Gemma after all you are my first ever bake. I did not post pics because it looked exactly like your banana bread and you truely are the best ever :). Thanks Gemma for showing me exactly what to do and why, giving me the confidence to start baking. I am really looking forward to trying the Irish scones next.
Take care
Risky
Hi there,
How lovely, thank you so much, I am really happy that you are baking with us. Carry on now, and post your pics, they really encourage other Bold Baker to keep at it.
Gemma 🙂
Gemma, do you have a recipe for Amish bread if so could you show us your recipe. i have a recipe that my gramma used to make her bread but it takes 10 days to complete .this bread is made yeast and the other ingredients that you usually would use but also you use vanilla pudding in it as well.
i am absolutely hooked on your website and made the applesauce and the brownies and they were out of this world.
keep those recipes coming please.
pam in montana.
Hi Pam,
how interesting!
Sounds like your Gramma was a great baker. This sounds like a sourdough bread, where she harvested the yeast from the atmosophere, it is a long, but worthwhile process if you are baking regularly.
A cheat is to use my no knead recipe for pizza here (https://www.biggerbolderbaking.com/best-ever-pizza-dough/). This makes a great loaf. If you add yogurt to this you will get a sourdough flavor, if you age it a bit longer it will improve the flavor too. It is a fermented dough. You can experiment with this, and google sourdough bread, so you see the process, it is interesting,
Gemma 🙂
Hi Gemma, it is true that I always wanted to bake but was soooo sceptical for the time and effort I felt was too much! Then I came across your channel and felt more confident to do it . The first recipe I tried was your best ever banana bread and it turned out great . ( pics uploaded) . Since this was the first time, the only tweaking I will do for future is to reduce cinnamon a bit, just to adjust to our ( me and my family’s) taste. I did add some walnuts too. It was very thoughtful of you to describe during you video when to add such things. Thank you 🤗 so much .
Also have one small question, can carrot bread be made from your carrot cake recipes. If not, if you can tell me some alterations that can be made.
Thank you so much again.
With lots of Love to you
Tanu
Hi there,
Banana bread is a different type of thing really. That is not to say that you could not make a bread type recipe using carrots.
I will get this on my list. You can add carrot to banana bread, you can use this recipe and change the banana for apple/cooked sweet potato/zuchini etc. I will need to try these though, but I think you could try the applesauce + A grated large carrot (to replace the banana) and walnuts, and adjust the spice to taste.
do let us know if you try this one!
Gemma 🙂
The first time I made this recipe I totally forgot to add the oil. To my surprise it turned out just fine and the whole family enjoyed it with reports of moist flavorful bread. This is now a go to.
Right on!! That’s what i love to hear.
Gemma.
Hi Gemma! I made this recipe a few days ago and it was a BIG hit! I accidentally put 1/2 tsp of baking soda into it instead of 1/4 tsp but it actually didn’t ruin it. It just gave it a crunchy crust. Awesome recipe!
lol that’s good. I’m delighted you liked it. I’m hearing form a lot of people that it’s a family favorite now. 🙂
Gemma.
Hi Gemma, in your banana bread recipe you say to have the oven set at 180°c. Is this for a normal oven?
I have a fan oven and wondered if I would need to turn the temperature down to 160°c.
Hoping you can help with this matter, loving all your recipes.
Many Thanks
Hi Alison,
You can if you wish, but just adjust this by 10c/20f.
You may find the time a bit longer, so keep a little eye on it, it will be firm to the touch when ready,
Gemma 🙂
Can you switch to whole wheat flour, Whats the equivalent? I am trying to stay away from white flour, do have recipes.
Thank you
Hi Paula,
I have not made this with wholewheat flour. I know some other Bold Bakers did, and reported that it worked well. If I were doing this I would try 1/2 and 1/2 wholewheat/plain flour. This type of bread is really flexible, so no good reason not to try it, it will not be a fail,
Gemma 🙂
Thank you
However I bake this, it’s delicious.
Dutch oven, mini-loaf pan, muffin tin, Pullman pan, etc.
Pics above. I use coconut oil (99%) for baking, and even
use up my sourdough starter [perfectly] in this recipe,
replacing most of the flour.
I keep my spreadable butter in butter bells, one is salted
KellyGold, the other is a cinnamon-maple syrup-vanilla-salt
butter, like the famous ‘steakhouse’ butter.
Even cold from the fridge, sliced, and spread with soft butter,
this bread is DELICIOUS…….warmed, it is DECADENT.
WOW!
Very impressive, thank you so much for this excellent input. Really we love to hear how you adapt recipes to your available ingredients, dietary needs, preferences etc.
I never though to use a starter for this type of bread, now I have to try it. Well done you, lots of other Bold Bakers will be delighted to read this!
Gemma 🙂
can i use brown sugar?
Hi there,
sure you can, and it will make a great flavor too,
Gemma 🙂
I tried this recipe and it was amazing. The bread was finished in no time. This was my first time baking by myself and it was super easy to follow. Amazing
Hi there Alecia,
Well done you!
That is so nice to hear, so glad you have started baking with us,
Gemma 🙂
I have tried this recipe twice now, the first time I used melted butter as I did not have any suitable oil in and it was really nice. The second time I used veg oil and it was much more moist. The only tweak I made was less cinnamon (about 1/2 teaspoon) for my taste buds. I have tried quite a few banana bread recipes (where the banana sinks to the bottom) but I will be sticking to this one from now on. Thank you for the recipe!
Yes!
So happy to hear this Louise, always great to hear how you make these recipes to suit your own ingredients, and taste. It really helps other bold bakers too, thank you,
Gemma 🙂