The best banana bread is soft and tender, with plenty of banana flavor and a delicate crunch from toasted walnuts. It should be soft and not overly heavy. There’s no better way to use overripe bananas! This banana bread recipe hits all the right notes.
If you’re new to bread baking, quick breads are a great place to start. Many people probably think of banana bread as more of a cake, and it can certainly fall into that category due to the sweetness of the bananas. However, technically it’s what’s known as a quick bread.
Other examples of quick breads include buttermilk biscuits, cornbread, and beer bread. As with other quick breads, banana bread is incredibly easy. There’s no yeast, kneading, or rising involved. You just mix and bake.
Which bananas To Use?
You want to use older, darkly speckled bananas. These will be the sweetest, and they’ll add the most moisture to the bread. Sure, you can get away with mashing less ripe bananas, but you’ll be able to taste the difference in the final product.
Can sour cream, buttermilk or milk be substituted for the yogurt?
Yes, any of these can be substituted, but yogurt will give the best results according to Cook’s Illustrated, who tested all of these ingredients in banana bread. According to them:
- Sour cream adds richness, but makes the bread too heavy.
- Milk does nothing to enhance the flavor and creates an oddly slick crust.
- Buttermilk adds a nice tang, but it takes away from the banana flavor more than yogurt does.
So you can use them in this recipe, but I recommend sticking with yogurt.
Try Banana Bread Muffins!
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my banana bread muffins! I also have a version using brown butter for a bit of extra richness.
Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups walnuts (150g)
- 10 ounces all-purpose flour (285g, approximately 2 1/4 cups)
- 5 1/4 ounces granulated sugar (150g, 3/4 cup)
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups very ripe bananas, mashed (about 3 medium)
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup part-skim or full fat plain yogurt (2oz, 58g)
- 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Place an oven rack in the lower middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with baking spray or butter and flour (tapping out the excess flour).
- Spread the walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet, and toast, stirring once or twice, until the nuts are fragrant and have slightly darkened in color, 7-10 minutes. Allow to cool and then chop finely.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, kosher salt and chopped walnuts. In a separate medium or large bowl, use a spatula to combine the bananas, eggs, yogurt, butter and vanilla extract.
- Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined and no flour patches remain. The batter will look chunky because of the bananas. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean from the center and the top is a deep, golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature.
- Leftovers can be stored at room temperature, covered, for 3-4 days.
Notes
Variations:
- Banana-Chocolate Bread: reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons, and add 2 1/2 ounces grated bittersweet chocolate to the dry ingredients (approximately 1/2 cup).
- Banana Bread with Sour Cream: swap the 1/4 cup yogurt with 1/4 cup sour cream
- Banana Bread with Chocolate Chips: add 1 cup bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips to the dry ingredients
Adapted from The New Best Recipe, by Cook's Illustrated Magazine
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
Recipe Troubleshooting
For immediate help troubleshooting a recipe, please email me using the form on my contact page. I’ll try to respond to urgent questions as quickly as possible! For all general questions, please leave a comment here :)
Now I know what to do with my overripe bananas!
Such a great recipe for the cooler weekends of fall.
This bread will put in the mood for the holidays and make your house smell amazing!
Love the tips about yogurt vs buttermilk and all the other ingredients!
This is so lovely, the simplest recipes are so often the best, love it!
Great tips, and a perfect banana bread recipe!
This looks nice and thanks for the quantities in grams!
K
I made this over a week ago. Amazing!! So glad I’ve found the recipe. Definitely my go to. Thank you so much