The Best Homemade Banana Bread

A tried and true recipe for everyone’s favourite tea time snack. This banana bread uses ripe bananas (the riper the banana, the better!) and bakes up with a light fluffy texture. Add walnuts or chocolate chips, if you like.

You gotta love easy baked treats you can share with family and friends. Check out these simple treats for baked goods from the blog. We love Lemon and Cranberry Scones for weekend breakfasts and brunches. Also, any time can be cookie time with these golden baked Tropical Coconut Chewy Granola Cookies.

My go-to Banana Bread Recipe

I’m not saying that my banana bread has ‘been around’, but it has definitely been places. This recipe has followed me around the world and back again. It is the standard by which I measure every new oven in every new place that I’ve been.

I have this banana bread hundreds of times. So, it allows me to know if an oven is running hot or cool based upon how it turns out. You’d think we’d be sick of it by now, but it is one of my kids most requested after school treats.

I make it for breakfast or I’ll make it when we have last minute visitors. Five minutes is all it takes and it makes the house smell heavenly and welcoming.

The fact is that I can never, ever throw out an over ripe banana. It’s just not in my character to do so. Into the freezer it goes, awaiting the day I give its life new purpose. However, if you are craving banana bread and don’t have any in the freezer, here’s how to ripen bananas in 20 minutes.

How to Make Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 350 F. Use a wooden spoon to cream the butter and sugar together in a medium bowl. Next, add the eggs to the butter mixture. Mix well. Mash the bananas with a fork until no large lumps remain. Add the mashed bananas to the butter mixture and mix well.

Next, add dry ingredients to the same bowl and stir only to moisten. Fold in 3/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped walnuts, if using.

Pour the batter into a loaf pan (I use a glass one because I like how it bakes) and level batter. Bake at 350 F for an hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

A Fun Flavour Twist

While my original banana bread recipe does not have any vanilla in it, I thought I’d take a page from Nigella Lawson and add some.

She also recommends adding espresso powder to add a bit of an Italian vibe. It’s actually pretty tasty but if I’m going to add anything to the batter it will be chocolate chips or chopped walnuts.

If you make this Banana Bread recipe please be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Be sure to follow me on Facebook and Pinterest for my latest recipes. Also, if you do make this recipe please tag me on Instagram, I’d love to see what you guys are making! Thank you so much for reading my blog.