The Very Best Banana Bread Recipe

I started making this banana bread when our son was two or three years old. This fall he leaves for college, so this recipe and I go back about eighteen years, to our first house, somewhere around 2008 or 2009.

When there are bananas starting to get a little too brown on the countertop, my kids come find me: “Mom, it’s time. You’ve got bananas for banana bread. When are you going to make it?”

It makes two loaves, because it disappears super fast around here. The second loaf is usually gone by morning.

Why I Went Looking for This Recipe

Every banana bread I tried before this one had a problem. Some wouldn’t bake all the way through and came out mushy in the middle, and the rest only made one loaf, which is not enough in this house.

So this recipe came from a little bit of tweaking on my own, plus researching what actually makes banana bread moist. To me, the answer is buttermilk and real butter.

I honestly don’t know if it’s truly the buttermilk. But this is the best banana bread I’ve ever had, my kids are 15 and 18 and they still go crazy over it, and it’s the first thing I’m baking into care packages when our son gets to school.

The worst part about this recipe is that it takes about 50 or 55 minutes to bake, depending on your pans. Other than that, it’s pretty dump-and-go.

The Banana Question (and What Else Goes In)

Ripe Bananas

How ripe is right? Not moldy, but you want more than a few brown spots.

I wait until there’s an inch or two of brown starting to take over the banana and it’s just a little bit soft.

Honestly, bananas rarely last that long here. Between açaí bowls and everyone grabbing one on the way out the door, three or four don’t usually survive. It mostly happens when we’ve been out of town and I come home to a ripened-up bunch.

I don’t love keeping ripe bananas in the freezer. They come out really mushy and soggy and it kind of gives me the icks. But I’ve done it: three or four bananas in a quart-size freezer bag, ready for the next time I want to bake.

Butter

Real butter, softened and creamed with the sugar. Between the butter and the buttermilk, that’s my whole answer to why this loaf is moist when so many others are dry.

Buttermilk

I don’t actually keep buttermilk in the house. When the countertop bananas are getting to the point of no return, I grab a small container of buttermilk at the store.

If you’d rather not buy it, stir 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into ½ cup of milk and let it sit for five minutes. It works.

Everything Else

Eggs, sugar, flour, vanilla, salt, baking soda, nothing fancy. I use whatever vanilla I have on hand.

Chocolate Chips (I’ll Save You the Trouble)

I’m a big fan of chocolate chip pancakes, but chocolate chip banana bread does not go over in my house. I’ve tried.

My kids are traditionalists about banana bread. If your house is different, a cup of semi-sweet chips folded in at the end works fine.

How to Make This Banana Bread

Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease two 9×5 loaf pans, bottoms and sides. Cream the softened butter and sugar, stir in the eggs, then add the mashed bananas, vanilla, and buttermilk and mix until smooth.

Add the flour, salt, and baking soda and stir just until you don’t see dry streaks, then stop. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.

Now, the bake time. All ovens are different. You should be nearby and check on your banana bread starting at 50 minutes.

Don’t open the door for long. Maybe even just turn the oven light on and take a peek at the loaves. If they look baked and a little hard on top, it’s time to start the toothpick test.

Get a couple of toothpicks out on the counter before the end of the bake. Slide the oven rack out carefully and put a toothpick into the middle of the loaf, right where it splits on top, about three-quarters of the way in.

A little bit of crumb on the toothpick is fine. What you don’t want is wet dough. If it comes out wet, set a timer and give it a couple more minutes.

If the tops are browning too fast, drape a sheet of foil loosely over the pans, but don’t seal the edges.

One more thing worth checking: your oven temperature. A mis-calibrated oven is usually the real culprit when a loaf won’t bake through on time.

When they come out, both loaves go onto a wire rack so air can cool them all the way around. If you leave them in the pans, the hot pan keeps browning the outside of the bread. Honestly, that cooling step is part of what makes this really, really great.

What We Actually Put on It

Neither of my kids will touch butter on banana bread. I will.

My slice goes on a plate with a little pat of butter, into the microwave for about 10 or 11 seconds until it softens, and then I rub it around the slice. It’s so good.

The kids don’t bother with plates half the time. They slice off their own two- or three-inch slab and go. A loaf works out to about three or four slices in this house.

How Long It Keeps (and Why Day Two Is Better)

It can be better on day two since the flavor settles in overnight, but it almost never lasts that long here.

After the loaves cool on the wire rack, whatever isn’t eaten right away goes into a gallon-size storage bag on the counter, and everyone helps themselves.

Counter

2–3 days in that bag. After that, fridge or freezer.

Refrigerator

Up to a week. It firms up a little, but 10 seconds in the microwave brings a slice right back.

Freezer

Up to 3 months. Cool completely, wrap in plastic, then foil.

Slice before freezing if you want grab-and-go pieces. Come fall, I bake a lot more of this. I don’t know why, I just seem to.

Banana Bread FAQ

Why is mine gummy in the middle?

Usually too much banana, an oven running cool, or pulling it too early. Use the toothpick test above, and remember a little crumb is fine but wet dough means more time.

The one truly gummy batch I’ve made was my own fault, and it involved strawberries. That story’s below.

Can I make this into muffins?

Yes. If you only have one loaf pan, do one loaf plus 12 muffins (about 18–22 minutes at 350°F).

I’ve done it, but I’ll be honest: my family doesn’t go for the muffins the way they go for the loaf.

Do I need a stand mixer?

No, just a bowl and a wooden spoon. A mixer actually makes it easier to overmix, which is how you get dense bread.

What if I don’t have buttermilk?

Same substitute as above: 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in ½ cup of milk, five minutes on the counter.

Can I freeze banana bread?

Yes, up to 3 months. Plastic wrap, then foil. Thaw on the counter or microwave a slice for 30 seconds.

The Versions I’ve Tried (Including the One That Failed)

Strawberry Banana Bread (Don’t)

One time I sliced fresh strawberries into both loaves to make strawberry banana bread. Gummy. Gross.

My family was incredibly disappointed, and I was so bummed that I’d ruined both loaves at once. Fresh fruit adds too much moisture to a batter that’s already carrying four bananas, and I’ve never done it again.

Walnuts or a Cinnamon Swirl

These are the two changes I’d trust, because neither adds moisture, which is what sank the strawberries.

Fold in ½–¾ cup chopped walnuts, or layer 2 tablespoons of sugar mixed with a teaspoon of cinnamon between two layers of batter and swirl with a butter knife.

Mini Loaves

Mini loaf pans run 30–35 minutes and make easy gifts for teachers and neighbors.

If a Loaf Somehow Survives to Day Three

Around here there are no leftovers. But if your house is more disciplined than mine and a few slices go stiff: slice thick, dip in egg and milk, and pan-fry in butter.

Banana bread French toast is the best argument I know for hiding a few slices on purpose.

Other Things That Disappear Fast Around Here

• Biscuits and Gravy Casserole, a crowd-pleaser breakfast that feeds everyone at once
• Quick Breakfast Casserole, eggs, sausage, and cheese all in one pan
• Crockpot Lava Cake, warm chocolate dessert with almost no effort

If you make this banana bread, leave a comment and tell me how it turned out. And if you ignored me and tried the strawberry thing anyway, I especially want to hear about it.