Classic banana bread is a recipe that should be in every cook’s arsenal. This is our favorite recipe, as it boasts just the right amount of sweetness without being overly saturated with sugar and a perfect texture that highlights the natural flavor of the banana. It calls for a small amount of yogurt or sour cream, which makes it incredibly tender and soft. Over the years when we’ve been in a pinch we’ve subbed a variety of things for that ingredient, including applesauce, and even ricotta cheese! Try this recipe and you’ll agree you’ve finally found the best classic banana bread recipe! If you’d like mix it up a bit, we also love Chocolate-Swirled Banana Bread, Coconut-Lime Banana Bread, and Caramelized Banana Bread with Brown Butter Glaze.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Butter – Always use real butter if you can.
- Eggs
- Mashed ripe bananas
- Sour cream or plain yogurt – We’ve even subbed apple sauce here, and even ricotta cheese!
- Vanilla extract
- Brown sugar
Quick Tips Before You Start
- The Best Way to Bake Quick Breads: I always line my pans with parchment. You don’t need to line the entire interior, like you would with foil. Rather cut your parchment so it fits like a sling as show in the photo below. Spray your pan with cooking spray, then place the paper in over it and spray all sides of the pan again. This will make it super easy to lift your bread right out of the pan.
- Top Your Quick Breads: Here’s a little tip for basically ALL quick breads- sprinkle a little brown sugar over the top before baking. I don’t even measure, but about 2-3 tablespoons. It kind of melts in, but leaves a slightly light, crisp topping that enhances so many breads.
You can see both the parchment set up and the sugar topping in this photo- it bakes up beautifully! Let your bread cool until just warm before you pull it out of your pan. Run a knife around the edges that weren’t covered in parchment and then use the paper to just lift it right out.
How to Make Classic Banana Bread
- Prep your bread with parchment and set aside.
- After blending the soft butter and sugar, you’ll mix in bananas, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream or yogurt. I’ve included several notes about other things you can use in place of the sour cream or yogurt- this recipe is very flexible!
- A few basic dry ingredients are added and that’s it. This recipe is very quick and easy to mix up.
- After transferring the batter to the pan, you’ll top it with brown sugar and bake to perfection!
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled banana bread wrapped tightly or in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- Freeze finished loaves wrapped tightly in plastic and then foil for up to 3 months.
- Not quite ready to bake? Only have one super ripe banana and you want to save them up? You can toss them right in the freezer, peel and all (it’s best to put them in a zip-top bag so they don’t leak juices when thawing later). You can also peel and slice or mash and then freeze in a zip-top bag. Simply let them thaw in the fridge before use.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Walnuts or pecans would be great here. I prefer to chop and toast nuts before adding them to batter. If just sprinkling them on top, they should toast up just fine in the oven. Chocolate chips are also great. Toss them in a little flour before adding to help suspend them in the batter while baking. For add ins I would aim for 1/2 – 1 cup.
Very ripe! The peels should be heavily spotted or even mostly brown. The riper the bananas, the sweeter and more flavorful the bread!
Yes, a double recipe should fit just fine in the bowl of a standard kitchen mixer, just divide the batter between two loaf pans.
The Best Classic Banana Bread
Equipment
- 1 Loaf Pan 8.5 x 4/5 inch
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups mashed ripe banana about 3-4 ripe bananas
- ⅓ cup sour cream or plain yogurt see note
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Cut a piece of parchment paper so it fits like a sling into your loaf pan and overhangs over the longer sides of your pan. Spray your loaf pan with cooking spray and then place the parchment paper in so it sticks and then spray the top of the paper as well. (If you're not sure what this step should look like, see photos in blog post for reference.) If you don't have parchment you can simply spray your loaf pan, or butter and flour it. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Set aside.
- Place sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended.
- Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle brown sugar on top. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
Notes
- This recipe calls for plain yogurt or sour cream. Full fat sour cream is my go-to because it’s what I always have in my fridge, but we have used SO many things in its place. You can use full fat or low fat yogurt, plain or vanilla (we’ve even used fruit flavored yogurts in a pinch). I’ve also used apple sauce. For the photos in this post I was actually out of all of those things so I used ricotta cheese mixed with a couple tablespoons of milk so it was the texture of full fat sour cream and I think I liked it even better than the original! So it’s flexible. If you’re out of sour cream or plain yogurt, you can be creative.
- This recipe also makes great muffins and mini muffins. You’ll have to eyeball the baking time and cook until done- I think I usually start with about 15-20 minutes and then check them.
- Store cooled bread tightly wrapped or in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- You can also wrap the loaf tightly in plastic and then foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Questions & Reviews
I baked this banana bread today but …. the middle sunk. It smells great, tastes great but the middle is sunken. Why would this be? Do I need to add additional flour because I live in St George, Utah? Love all your recipes. This is my go-to recipe website.S
I’m really not sure- I’ve never had that problem! I wonder if it’s uneven heating in your oven? Or perhaps not baked enough?
Wow great baking using this ingredients.I love baking and i can’t wait to try this using this formula.
Do you think this would work with plain Greek yogurt?
Absolutely!!
really nice
thanks…
This looks so good, and I love that it’s a lighter recipe. Love the brown sugar topping idea, too!
Try sprinkling a little Penzey’s vanilla sugar on quick bread and muffins before baking. YUM!!
These are delicious! I did half whole wheat flour, and they are super yummy.
Yay! if I wanted to add chocolate chips to this, how much should I add?
I’d start with a cup or so (more might make too much batter for your pan.) If you toss the chips with a spoonful of flour before adding, they’ll be less likely to sink to the bottom of the loaf.
This is my go to recipe and I love it!! I always add choc chips. I think usually a cup with some flour. I do save some to add to the top because it looks pretty. A lot of times I even use 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 regular flour. It has an awesome nutty flavor and doesn’t dry it out at all.
Oh, thank you for this recipe. I’ve been looking for a replacement for my mom’s banana bread recipe for a while now. Yours are ALWAYS reliable!
How did you know? I’ve been looking for the perfect banana bread recipe and just have never found the right one. Plus, most are so fat-laden and full of sugar that I don’t love serving it to my family.
Thanks Sara! Can’t wait to try it. I’ll let you know 😉 lol. j/k, I’m sure it will be awesome.