Three spotty bananas going soft in the fruit bowl are all the excuse you need. This is a proper, moist banana bread made in one bowl, in grams and °C for UK tins and ovens. No mixer, no fuss, and it is forgiving enough for a first bake with the kids.

Which bananas make the best banana bread?

The blacker, the better. Bananas get sweeter and softer as they ripen, and that is exactly what gives banana bread its flavour and moisture. Firm yellow ones look nicer in the bowl but make a bland, cakey loaf. If yours are not ready and you cannot wait, roast them (skin on) at 180 °C for about 15 minutes until the skins blacken, then let them cool before mashing.

How do I keep banana bread moist?

Two things. First, do not overmix. Once the flour goes in, fold it just until it disappears and no further. A lumpy batter bakes into a tender crumb; a smooth, over-beaten one turns rubbery. Second, do not overbake it. Banana bread carries on cooking as it cools, so pull it out when a skewer comes away with a few moist crumbs rather than bone dry. A spoonful of natural yoghurt in the mix helps too.

Easy ways to change it up

Fold in 75 g of chopped walnuts for crunch, or dark chocolate chips if the kids are helping. A teaspoon of cinnamon is lovely in autumn. For a richer loaf, swap the plain flour for wholemeal and add an extra spoon of yoghurt to keep it soft.

If you like this kind of easy, waste-not baking, have a browse through the rest of our bread and baking guides, or start with a simple everyday loaf if you fancy something savoury next. Keen bakers with a starter on the go will want our sourdough loaf too.

How do I store and freeze banana bread?

Kept wrapped or in an airtight tin, it stays good for three to four days at room temperature, and the flavour actually deepens overnight. It freezes beautifully for up to three months. Slice the loaf first and freeze the slices with a scrap of baking paper between them, so you can pull out a piece at a time and toast it straight from frozen.

Easy banana bread

Makes 1 loaf (about 10 slices)

Prep

15 min

Cook

55 min

Total

1 hr 10 min

Makes

1 loaf (about 10 slices)

Ingredients

Method

  1. 1

    Heat the oven to 170 °C / 150 °C fan / gas 3. Butter a 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin and line it with a long strip of baking paper up the two long sides, so you can lift the loaf out later.

  2. 2

    Mash the bananas in a large bowl until fairly smooth. A few small lumps are fine and melt into the crumb as it bakes.

  3. 3

    Stir in the melted butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla until well combined.

  4. 4

    Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and salt. Fold it through gently with a spoon, stopping the moment the last streak of flour disappears. Overmixing is what turns banana bread tough and rubbery, so a slightly lumpy batter is exactly what you want. Fold in the walnuts or chocolate now, if using.

  5. 5

    Scrape the batter into the tin and level the top. For that bakery-style split down the middle, run a knife or a thin line of soft butter along the centre.

  6. 6

    Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until it is deep golden and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs. If the top is browning too fast, lay a piece of foil loosely over it for the last 15 minutes.

  7. 7

    Let it cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift it out onto a wire rack. It slices best once completely cool, and it is honestly even better the next day once the flavour has settled.

Cook’s notes

  • The riper the bananas, the better. Black, almost squishy ones are perfect and taste far sweeter. Firm yellow bananas make a bland, cakey loaf, so save those for breakfast.
  • No loaf tin? A deep 20 cm round or square cake tin works too. Start checking it about 10 minutes early.

What you’ll need

  • 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin, roughly 21 x 11 cm across the top
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Digital scales, banana sizes vary a lot, so weigh the peeled fruit
  • A skewer or thin knife, for testing the middle

Troubleshooting

It is raw in the middle but dark on top

The oven is running too hot, or the tin is a little small, so the crust sets before the centre cooks. Drop to 150 °C fan, cover the top with foil once it is golden, and give it the full time. Always judge it by a skewer in the centre, not by the colour.

It came out dense and heavy

Almost always overmixing, or bananas that were not ripe enough. Fold the flour in just until it vanishes, and use soft, spotty fruit. Bicarbonate of soda that is past its best will leave it flat too, so check the date.

It sank in the middle

Usually too much banana, or the oven door opened too early. Stick to about 300 g of peeled banana, and leave the door shut for at least the first 40 minutes.

It is a bit dry

It probably had five minutes too many. Banana bread keeps cooking as it cools, so take it out when the skewer has a few moist crumbs on it, not bone dry. A spoonful of natural yoghurt in the batter keeps it lovely and moist.

The top did not split like a bakery loaf

Draw a knife or a thin line of soft butter down the centre before it bakes. As the crust sets, the middle carries on rising and breaks neatly along that line.

Frequently asked questions

Written by

UK Homesteading Team

Editorial team

The UK Homesteading editorial team, offering UK-specific, evidence-led guidance on growing, keeping, preserving and the law.