Banana Bread

This simple and easy Banana Bread is going to be your go to recipe from here on out! With 10 minutes hands on time, simple tips and easy instructions, you will love this recipe.

Truth be told, I always make my Chocolate Chip Banana Bread . . . never this plain version. But the other day when we couldn’t get to the store, and I didn’t have any chocolate chips, I made this.

It was a HUGE hit! My kids were skeptics, but have since discovered that they indeed love banana bread, with or without chocolate chips. And I know that your kids are going to feel the same way.

My Chocolate Chip Banana Bread is a viral recipe based off this base recipe from America’s Test Kitchen. They do just about everything perfectly, and this bread recipe is no exception. This bread is moist, delicious, and not overly dense. Perfect!

How to Make Banana Bread

This is a quick bread recipe, meaning it doesn’t use yeast and doesn’t need any rise time – kind of like a cake. So easy!

1. In a lare bowl whisk together: flour, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a smaller bowl whisk together: melted & cooled butter, eggs, mashed bananas, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla extract.
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
4. Pour it all into a loaf pan and pop it into a preheated oven.

Done!

Why Do We Use Brown Bananas

The reason we use brown bananas in this recipe is because the more ripe a banana is, the more sugar it lends to a recipe.

While it is 100% true that you can use your oven to brown your bananas, all you are really doing is making them softer. You aren’t releasing more sugar. So your end result will be a banana bread that isn’t as sweet.

I suggest that you use bananas that have truly ripened on their own.

How Brown Do Bananas Need to Be

Do you guys like my banana picture? It sort of reminds me of me trying to be an expressive art student in high school.

Anyway.

I wanted to give you a visual of how ripe your bananas should be. You don’t need to wait until your bananas are black to make this recipe. This level of speckle you see is plenty.

How to Freeze Ripened Bananas

If you have a whole batch of ripe bananas but only want to make one loaf of banana bread, freeze the remaining bananas for future loaves.

1. Peel the bananas.
2. Put them on a parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Put them in the freezer for 1 hour.
4. Transfer them to a freezer safe airtight container for up to three months.

When you are ready to make bread, let the banana thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Yogurt vs. Sour Cream

You will notice that this recipe calls for sour cream, whereas my counterpart Chocolate Chip Banana Bread recipe calls for yogurt.

The reason for this is simply that I have found so many people who are adverse to yogurt.

Please know that either one works perfectly in this recipe, and also that you don’t really taste either in the final bread.

I suggest using what you have on hand.

How to Store Banana Bread

If you are like my family this will disappear FAST. Store it in an airtight container for up to four days on the countertop.

This bread will freeze well. Wrap a whole loaf well and freeze it up to 3 months. Or freeze it as individual slices after baking, cooling, and slicing.

Variations

As with any good base recipe there are so many different ways you can change this up. Here are some:

• CHOCOLATE CHIP BANANA BREAD: As mentioned above, this is one of my viral recipes. It’s well loved and well reviewed.
• STRAWBERRY BANANA BREAD: A simple twist that is delicious and fun. Perfect for summer.
• ZUCCHINI BANANA BREAD: I LOVE this version. Probably because it convinces me I’m eating healthy. So tasty!
• BANANA CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS: If you’d rather, you can make this into muffins. A great snack for on the go!

If you make this recipe or any of my variations, leave me a comment and let me know!