The Story:
A good banana bread recipe is priceless, but sadly can be hard to find. You want that deep dark color and a dense texture as you bite into the slice. My older Banana Bread Recipe is wonderful and I see it on Pinterest and people refer to it as a Starbucks CopyCat recipe, which I agree with because it’s THAT good. But this improved recipe is a little better because it uses buttermilk, which you may not have on hand if you decide on the spur of the moment to make it. But seriously, go get that buttermilk from the store and let your bananas get nice and dark, because this banana bread will make any day better.
The Best Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup ripe bananas mashed
- 1 3/4 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup buttermilk or sour cream
- 1/4 cup oil
- 1/4 cup apple sauce
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips optional
Instructions
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1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prep a loaf pan by greasing it.
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2. In a small bowl, use a fork to finely mash bananas (I used 3). Set aside.
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3. In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together. Stir in brown sugar.
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4. In another bowl, use a whisk to combine eggs, buttermilk (or sour cream), oil, applesauce and vanilla extract.
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5. Pour your liquid ingredients and mashed bananas into the dry ingredients. Use a wooden spoon to stir just until combined.
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6. Stir in walnuts or chocolate chips.
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7. Pour batter into prepped loaf pan. (If you want, cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the pan, but leave enough to come up over the edges. Once your bread is baked and cooled, you can lift those pieces of parchment paper to easily remove the bread. See photo)
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8. Bake bread for about 1 hour. Check the done-ness of your bread by sticking a toothpick or knife into the center. It should come out clean. If it isn't, leave the bread in for more time.
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9. Let cool in pan. As always, banana bread is better the next day. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Recipe updated February 2024: Includes tiny edits I have used for the last 10 years. Recipe no longer includes 1 tsp. lemon juice and has the option of using buttermilk or sour cream.
Pour you batter over the parchment paper (you may need a little help from a friend to hold it down).
But don’t leave too much parchment paper hanging off the edge because it can start to burn in the oven.
Hi, is it necessary to add apple sauce?
I like to add it because it makes it a little healthier, if you don’t have it on hand, add an extra 1/4 cup oil instead.
Thanks Lizzy
Btw i tried the choc chip walnut cookies and it was yum yum yum mmmmm
Just about to make bread. Looks wonderful! Could you please share the size of bread pan you used. Thank you.
I used a regular loaf pan which is about 9X5 inches
Do you know what size bread pan Lizzie used for her banana bread recipe? I used a 9″ x 5″. Is the batter supposed to reach the top of the pan?
Thanks!
My batter does get really close to the top of the pan!
Tried this today. AMAZING! I used raisins and almonds. Thanks for the recipe.
Hmmmm…I am now wondering if I can use apple sauce on all your cupcake recipes to cut some calories down…I am now changing my life style but I really miss your cupcakes Lizzy!! I just bake a batch of those Weight Watchers cupcakes with a diet soda, their are just “blah” and NOTHING compares with your WONDERFUL recipes..so moist, heavy and DELICIOUS cupcakes. I wonder if I substitute the oil with apple sauce will affect the texture on the recipe or if I need to bake them a little bit longer??
Yes you can use oil instead! It will change the texture a bit, but it should still be fine
Nice Recipe and presentation. It should be different taste with this banana with vanilla. Thanks for share this post.
I made your older Banana Bread, and it was so delicious. Banana Bread can be considered a comfort food. I did not put any walnuts in, so I will try with walnuts using this recipe. How did you cut your banana bread without nuts falling out? Did you use store bought Apple Sauce or Home made? Thanks
I used a good knife to cut the bread, but the nuts are also easier to cut through once they are baked. I use store bought applesauce, it’s a lot easier 🙂
I worked as a camp counselor in the us three Years ago. There i first got to taste banana bread. I am not a big fan of bananas in general bur its different with babana bread. The texture us incredible. But sooo dangerous four your weight 🙂 i will try old your old banana bread version before going to the mire healthy one. Maybe it doesnt even taste “right” outside the US.
Have a great day!
Annika
http://douxflavor.tumblr.com
a truly amazing banana bread recipe is worth its weight in gold, Lizzie! Yours looks fabulous. I’ve never baked banana bread with lemon juice or buttermilk before, I’m intrigued 🙂
I finally get my ingredients together and now waiting for my bread to come out the oven…I will try this tomorrow morning with a cup of nice coffee! THAKS LIZZY FOR SHARING THIS RECIPE
I make 2 loafs…really good, moist and heavy bread!!! LOVE IT!! the only thing…I made it with chocolate chips and I am sure for my next time I will add more sugar and cinammon to the recipe! Thanks and keep them comming…but no to fast so I can catch on please… hahaha
I made this banana bread and it tasted great! Only thing was it cracked down the middle. Is there a way to stop this?
It may just be your oven…play around with the oven temperature next time you bake it
Made this bread for the 3rd time today. It’s a new favorite for sure. I used whole wheat flour, coconut oil and added cinnamon and it is fantastic! My oven bakes low so it takes mine about an hour and 20 minutes.
Thank you so much for this recipe! It turned out perfect! My whole family loved it!
This tastes wonderful but it baked for almost 2 hours at 350 degrees and it’s still gooey inside. After 90 minutes I had to take it out of the loaf pan and turn it upside down because the bottom wasn’t cooking. Nothing against the recipe, just plain operator error. Not sure what I did wrong.
I looooove this recipe! I can’t quit making them. I also add a teaspoon of cinnamon and half teaspoon of nutmeg to make it more of a fall treat. I bake them in jumbo muffin tins (makes 12) for 30 minutes and can hardly wait for breakfast each morning to enjoy these.
Best banana bread ever!
Bread is in the oven and my apartment smells amazing. I noticed from your picture that my cake puffed up much larger, above the pan and little over the sides, where as yours is sitting deep into the pan. Did you pour in all of the batter? Perhaps I have an abnormally smaller loaf pan? I am an hour in and the middle is till not done, however I tear off a piece of the side – accidentally of course – and it was delish!
My pan is a really large loaf pan, an also elevation can play a HUGE part on how things rise in the oven. And depending on if you use a glade, dark, or light loaf pan. SO many things play into consideration when baking!
hi lizzy i have a question.what is the lemon juice needed for?
Keeps the bananas from turning brown while they are sitting in a bowl waiting to be used.
This is our go to banana bread recipe! So delicious!! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Use the parchment paper! I didn’t & the bread really stuck to the bottom of the pan. 🙁
Is it ok if I don’t add the eggs? Or can you recommend a good substitute for it as I don’t eat eggs. Thanks!
Use a food processor or blender and mix 1 1/2 teaspoons powder and 2 tablespoons water for each egg being replaced.
I’m sorry but I didn’t understand. Powder what? Baking powder? I just want to be clear. Also in the recipe itself,, it may be my connection or something, but it looks like you’re about to say how many bananas you used when you added them into the batter on step number 2 but it gets cut off. The recipe reads “(I used” and then it cuts off. So I was hoping you could fill in for me. Pleeeaaassee… Lol thank you so much for this great recipe! I just want to be able to follow it. 😉
I did see the measurement of bananas but to be honest a lot of times I let my machines do it for me cuz of issues with my hands. So I did see that part. 😉 lol thank you again!!!
At the moment I am baking my second loaf from this recipe. I made the first a couple of weeks ago and my 11month old and myself ate the whole thing in three days (Daddy only got one small slice). It is soooooo good!
I add about 2-3tbs of roasted milled flax seed, just to sneak in a lil more healthy stuff. Thank you for sharing!
…oh, and also, I never have buttermilk on hand, so I substituted milk (made thicker/curdled) with lemon juice (a substitute i found in one of my cookbooks). Worked fine!
It really is THE best banana bread. I am obsessed every time I make it.
I made this today for my ladies’ Bible study group and it was delicious. Very moist and flavorful. I didn’t have any white granulated sugar, so I used all brown. Also didn’t have lemon juice so I decided to use a tsp of lemon extract. I will definitely make it again and try it with walnuts next time.
I’m getting ready to make this, but trying to keep the calorie count down. I’m wondering if you would recommend substituting Stevia for the granulated sugar and increasing the applesauce to 1/2 cup in place of the 1/4 cup oil.
Yes, you can do both!
Im making this banana bread for the second time its amazing! And my family loves it too!
I wish I had ripe bananas to make this right NOW! It’s my fav recipe as well. And it’s a great one to make at night because it’s even better in the morning 🙂
Good Morning Lizzy!!
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe!! I made it last night for breakfast this morning and it truly is the BEST!! Everytime I make banana bread I make a different recipe because I have not found one I am in Love with. Well….my search is over!! Thank you 🙂 I love your blog!!
I love this recipe too! It’s awesome and always a crowd pleaser
Love this banana bread…. But once I put mine in the pan I sprinkle cinnamon and brown sugar on top…. The hubby loves it and never shares!!! lol
Mmm, sounds delicious!
Instead of walnuts, can I use pecans instead? Will it affect the taste?
You can use whatever nuts you want! Pecans would be great! Or you can use chocolate chips or nothing at all.
This is single-handedly the best banana bread I have ever eaten! Thank you!! What a gem!
You can never have too many banana bread recipes! I’m saving this one for my next batch of brown bananas!
I’ve been making my moms banana bread recipe for years. When I saw this recipe, I thought I’d give it a try. I’m glad I did. I followed the recipe as written. It’s moist and delicious! Thanks!
Just made this and yes even though I forgot to add the brown sugar (ouch) it is the best stinkin’ banana bread ever!! I’ve given nothing but junk to our missionaries for the past two months so tomorrow they get this — and they will totally love it!! Although I think I’m make another batch using the brown sugar and perhaps send this to my husband’s office (they’re not picky!!! Although it is very good without it!!)
Oh good! But yes, make another batch with the brown sugar because it makes it awesome! Also, banana bread is always better the next day, so I always make it at night and serve in the morning or that evening 🙂
Came across this bread while searching for “buttermilk” recipes. It is delicious! I have made it twice now. I had to make a few variations (had no applesauce, so I used orange yogurt… also this time I had no bananas (but was craving this bread, so I used pumpkin) but it still turned out incredible!
Can I use melted butter instead of oil?
Yes!
Could you use bread flour as a substitute for all purpose flour? How would that change the bread?
It will just make your bread more dense!
Could this recipe be made in a bread machine?
No! No need for that, just mix by hand and bake!
Have you had luck freezing this banana bread? I love having banana bread in the freezer and wanted to try a new recipe.
I honestly have never tried it because I can barely keep it around food more than a few hours (everyone eats it), but as lot as you seal it up tight, you should be able to freeze it no problem!
I tried this recipe yesterday and it IS the best banana bread I’ve made. Everyone loved it! I find it is a little bit on the sweet side… could it be because I used sweeten applesauce (store-bought)? Should I have used unsweetened applesauce?
I use unsweetened… you can always add a pinch more salt!
Can you replace the buttermilk with a milk and lemon mixture? And if so, how much?(proportions)
She has another recipe that you do that in! So I think you would be fine to do that. I found the buttermilk makes it more moist!
I made this the other night! Super moist and yummy! It came out pretty dark though, almost looks burnt on the outside. The end pieces are kind of dry. I insert a toothpick to check doneness. Do you think it’s just my oven? Should I increase temp or decrease? Like I said it’s still really yummy, I would just like it to look prettier 🙂
I made this today. I didn’t have parchment so I just sprayed the pan. It all fell apart. It seemed like all the chocolate chips were at the bottom and just stuck to the bottom. I probably would cut down the sugar too with the chocolate chips..super sweet. Not sure where I went wrong but it didn’t make a nice loaf…difficult to cut as well. Maybe needed to cool longer?
I tried other banana bread recipes and have made yours 4 times, and your recipe is by far the best. Your recipe is far moister than the others. I made a few changes, however, and these changes are only due to my personal preference. I decreased the sugar to 2/3 cup instead of 1 cup; I increased the brown sugar from 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup; I did not use any apple sauce so I increased the oil to 1/2 cup; I used 1/2 cup of finely diced walnuts instead of 1 cup of chopped walnuts; and I added 1/3 cup of semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (note: if you add anything more than 1/3 cup of chocolate chips, then the bread becomes too chocolatey; if you use milk chocolate chips, then the taste from the milk chocolate chips tends to blend in with the sweetness of the bread and doesn’t stand out, but semi-sweet or bittersweet kicks up the chocolate taste a notch). One time I crushed the walnuts into a powder form and added 1/2 cup of that to the recipe and this also made the bread taste incredible. After making your recipe, my husband remarked, “Damn!” Overall, this recipe truly is spectacular and it will always be my go-to banana bread recipe to knock the socks off my family and friends.
HA! LOVE it Valerie, this really is the best banana bread recipe. Thanks for leaving your own adaptions, it’s always fun to see what people do with my recipes!
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I just have to let you know I absolutely love this Banana Bread!! I have made it over and over again and don’t even bother trying other banana bread recipes since it is by far my favorite. So moist and delicious!! My kids asked me for muffins this morning so I’m going to try this recipe in a muffin pan and see how it turns out. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe with us all!
It’s one of my FAVORITE recipes ever too!!
Made this twice, outstanding. Didn’t have applesauce used coconut oil ,4 bananas. put it in a bundt pan came out great.
Made this today. AWESOME!!! Best Banana Nut Bread I have ever made. I made muffins instead of the loaf, I don’t have the best of luck with loaves. I used 1/2 cup of coconut oil instead of the oil/applesauce combo. Didn’t have applesauce on hand. Turned out beautiful. This recipe is a keeper!!
To make, a Cup of Buttermilk, use 1 Tsp, Of Vinegar, Or Lemon Juice,— And Let it set for 1 min, Bam—-fresh Homemade Buttermilk!
You really should try this recipe with half the amount of sugar and brown sugar. Still amazing and cuts down on some of the unneeded sugar we all intake.
This is the best banana bread I’ve ever made and I’ve been making banana bread for 30 years.
Hi Lizzy
I´m a new suscriber; and I just wanted you to know that I made the banana recipe yesterday and it was simply delicious!!!!! I didn´t have applesauce and I put more oil like you said and it baked perfectly!!!! Thank you so much for theses amazing recipes!!!! I´m from Cuenca, Ecuador Southamerica
Thanks once again
What size loaf pan is used?
I use a standard 9 inch pan, but sometimes I’ll do a smaller one and make a few muffins with the extra batter!
I love this recipe! This has been my go to banana bread recipe for over a year now. Every time I try a different recipe it just doesn’t compare. I didn’t have any buttermilk the first time I made this so I substituted 1/3 cup of sour cream and it was delicious, so now that’s how I always make it. I added peanut butter chips a few times and I’ve made mini loaves and muffins too.
This was the best banana bread and to me it is a 5 star. It’s moist and the flavoring is great, in fact I’m making it tomorrow night again thank u
Did you really use 1 1/2 tsp. soda? I would think it would be bitter.
Absolutely Awesome!!!!
Thanks for a great recipe! It’s the closest I’ve come to the banana bread my Nana used to make. The first time I made this I omitted the white sugar by mistake. It turned out perfectly and we didn’t miss the extra sugar. My bananas were very ripe so they added lots of sweetness as well as the packed brown sugar. I’m just baking four more loaves and look forward to slicing into one. I tripled the recipe for the four loaf pans. It was when I was determining the ingredients needed I discovered that I had forgotten the white sugar the last time. I’m hoping this hint for reduced sugar is helpful for those who are trying to cut down on sugar.
I am so happy to have found your recipe. I used half the regular sugar and baked it in a glass casserole dish. It was so delicious! This will be my go to recipe for banana bread going forward.
Can i add baking powder and cinnamon powder? Ratio pls.
Would substituting coconut sugar for the white sugar ruin it?
Delicious. Will use applesauce next time. This time I substituted the applesauce with an extra egg. I also added walnuts and chocolate chips. So yummy!
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This is indeed the best banana bread recipe. But I prefer it as a muffin. It takes less time to bake, the corners don’t get overcooked and crusty and it’s much easier to distribute and share. I added many more walnuts and dark chocolate chunks. Absolutely delicious!