Banana Bread

I love banana bread. Like, love love banana bread. It’s one of the simplest desserts that you can make and it makes a use out of over ripe bananas. It’s soft, well baked, and topped with a crust that’s to die for.

It doesn’t get easier: you combine all the ingredients in a bowl, pour it into a greased loaf tin, top it with some sugar, and bake. It’s so delicious!

The most important part of this recipe is the bananas. The bananas that lead to the most delicious are the spotted and brown ones. The ones that are soft and mushy, the most ripe. The reason you’d use these for the bananas is because, as bananas ripen, they develop more natural sugar. The riper the banana, the sweeter the bread.

If you only have unripened bananas, don’t worry. You can speed up the ripening process in just ten minutes. Basically, you put the whole bananas, peel and all, onto a baking sheet and throw it into a 350ºF oven for 10 minutes. The banana bells should go dark brown, and you’ll notice the bananas are a lot softer. With this step, the only important part is to allow them to cool for at least 10 minutes before you proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Everything else is super straightforward! Even better, this recipe can be customized with the addition of chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup), blueberries (1/2 cup), peanut butter (1/4 cup drizzled on top), or even oats (about 2 tbsp sprinkled on top with the brown sugar). Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 3 ripened bananas
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9″x5″ or 8″x4″ loaf pan with butter, oil, or nonstick spray.
2. In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until mostly smooth. I typically like to leave small lumps because I like the texture in the finished loaf and I honestly don’t have the patience to stand and mash bananas for an extended period of time.
3. Add the melted butter and mix. Then, add the baking soda, salt, and egg, mixing to make sure you break the yolk.
4. Add the white sugar, optional cinnamon, and vanilla. Add the flour, mixing just until no lumps of flour are left. If you wanted to add anything additional, like chocolate chips or blueberries, you would add them now. For ideas and recommendations, see the description above.
5. Sprinkle about half of the brown sugar into the bottom of the loaf pan. Pour in the banana bread mixture, then sprinkle on the rest of the brown sugar.
6. For an 8″x4″ loaf pan, bake for 50-60 mins. For a 9″x5″ loaf pan, bake for 45-50 minutes. Bake until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Let it cool down completely at room temperature, then slice and serve! It goes great with chocolate icecream. Enjoy!

Banana Bread

This banana bread is absolutely delicious and super simple! It comes together super quickly and is a combination of some great and fundamental ingredients you probably already have around the house. The best thing, if not the actual eating of the dessert, is the smell it fills the house with when its baking. Yum!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Bread, Breakfast, Dessert

Servings 12

Calories 167 kcal

Equipment

• Loaf pan, either 9"x5" or 8"x4"

Ingredients

  

• 3 bananas ripe
• 1/3 cup butter melted
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon optional
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease your loaf pan.
• In a large bowl, mash the bananas in a bowl until they are mostly smooth. Add the melted butter and mix.
• Add the baking soda, salt, and egg. Mix, making sure to break the yolk.
• Add the white sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon (optional). Add the flour and combine until no lumps of flour are left.
• Here is where you would add optional add-ins, like blueberries or chocolate chips.
• In the greased loaf pan, sprinkle half the brown sugar.
• Add the batter, then sprinkle over the remaining brown sugar.
• For an 8"x4" loaf pan, bake for 50-60 minutes. For an 9"x5" loaf pan, bake for 45-50 minutes. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Let it cool to room temperature, then slice and serve! Enjoy!

Notes

• Macros: 27.2 g carbohydrates, 5.6 g fat, 2.4 g protein
• See the recipe for more details about ripe bananas, optional additions, and specific instructions. 

Keyword banana, banana bread, delicious, dessert, easy, sweet