Old Fashioned Banana Bread (2024)

Jan 28, 2024 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · Last modified: Feb 7, 2024 · 52 Comments

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4.50 from 114 votes

This Old Fashioned Banana Bread recipe is adapted from the 1972 Betty Crocker cookbook. It is a super moist and easy classic banana bread recipe with only two bananas and common pantry ingredients. Add some nuts to make the best banana nut bread like Grandma would make.

🍌Ingredients

Bananas—overripe
Milk
Egg
Pantry ingredients—all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, vegetable oil, salt
Nuts—(optional) chopped walnuts or pecans -

TABLE OF CONTENTS

🍌Ingredients
👨‍🍳How to Make Banana Bread—Step-by-Step
⏲️How long to bake banana bread?
Options and variations
✔️Tips to make it right every time
Banana and Dessert Recipes
⬇️How to make this a "for two" friendly banana bread
How to store banana bread?
❓FAQs
📖 Recipe

Featured Comment from Barbara: "5 stars, I love this recipe. So easy to make and delicious to eat."

Life doesn't get much better than a house filled with an enticing aroma of banana bread and a fresh slice coated with butter in your hand for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.

For decades, this has been our family's favorite recipe for making the best banana nut bread. It's easy, based on the cookbook Grandma would use—follow the simple step-by-step photo instructions.

👨‍🍳How to Make Banana Bread—Step-by-Step

1. Preheat the oven to 350°, not convection.

2. Grease and flour a loaf pan with a tablespoon of butter and a little flour. If you want thin loaves, use two loaf pans.

3. Mash 2-3 overripe bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour to the mashed bananas, 1 cup sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons oil, ¾ cup milk, 1 egg, and 1 cup chopped walnuts.

4. Stir to mix or beat at medium speed with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes, occasionally stopping to scrape sides to be sure to incorporate all the ingredients, but do not over-mix.

5. Pour the mixture into the floured pan and smooth with a rubber spatula.

6. Bake for about one hour until a toothpick comes out clean or an internal temperature of 200° to 205°. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

For more details, keep reading. See theRecipe Cardbelow for complete printable instructions.

⏲️How long to bake banana bread?

About 1 hour, give or take a little, for a large single loaf in a "standard" loaf pan size (8½ x 4½ x 2½ inches) or bigger.

For two shorter loaves, divide the batter and use standard or a bit smaller loaf pans. The cooking time will decrease by 15-20 minutes, but check early.

The old-fashioned toothpick test involves inserting a toothpick in the center and checking whether it comes out clean when it's done. But if you have no toothpick or don't entirely trust that, cook to an internal temperature of 200° to 205° in the thickest center of the loaf.

Options and variations

The most common variation is using half a cup of chocolate chips to replace half the nuts.

Some people like cinnamon or nutmeg (about ½ teaspoon) or vanilla extract (1 teaspoon), but these are not flavors I associate with banana bread. If you do, by all means, add them.

✔️Tips to make it right every time

Use ripe bananas—as they ripen, they become sweeter as starch breaks down and flavors intensify.
You can use 2 large to 3 medium bananas. You can increase the amount of bananas slightly and decrease the milk if you wish.
Nuts are optional, but chopped walnuts are traditional. Some people prefer pecans. You can skip the nuts if you want.
Please only buy aluminum-free baking powder. The cost and performance are the same, and aluminum has an unpleasant aftertaste for many people.
This version does not contain baking soda, which is slightly sour. The baking powder will give it a little more golden brown crust and a lighter texture.
Using buttermilk (or substitute) will give more rise from the baking powder and a softer result.
Do not try to make this a healthy recipe—it is not. It is already relatively light in oil, and any decrease will make it less moist and tender.

Banana and Dessert Recipes

Check out these other banana recipes, like Banana Pancakes, Banana Nut Muffins, Banana Cookies, and Banana Cake. And don't miss these other sweet dessert recipes, like Apple Crisp, Apple Pie Bread, and Pumpkin Bread.

⬇️How to make this a "for two" friendly banana bread

This is an easy recipe to cut in half. The full recipe makes make one large loaf or two smaller loaves. To make banana bread more "for two" friendly, you can make one smaller loaf in a "standard" loaf pan size (8½ x 4½ x 2½ inches) or smaller.

Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to half.
Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
Cooking time will decrease by 15-20 minutes, but check earlier than that several times and watch for the endpoints.

How to store banana bread?

Like most quick bread, banana bread can be stored at room temperature and wrapped well with plastic wrap for 2-3 days. A tight layer of aluminum foil over the plastic wrap helps keep it airtight. The quality seems to deteriorate rapidly after 2 days.

Banana bread will store well in a freezer for 3 months. I suggest wrapping small amounts well and storing them in an airtight container.

❓FAQs

What pans to use?

This is not one of those little bricks of banana nut bread. As you can see in the pictures, it is a large loaf with a bit of a "muffin top," so use a standard to larger loaf pan.

If you want that thinner loaf, split the batter into two loaf pans and decrease the baking time.

"Standard" loaf pan size is 8½ x 4½ x 2½ inches. But the length varies between 8 to 9 inches, the width between 4-5 inches, and the height between 2½ to 3½. Some are even larger, and many that are much smaller.

I use a loaf pan that is 5 by 8½ for one loaf.

How to prepare the pans for cooking?

I'm old, and the traditional way to prep a pan for quick bread is to rub on a light coat of butter (I use a small zip-lock bag) followed by a dusting of flour (over the sink).

However, a good spray of PAM cooking spray will probably be enough.

How to be sure your banana bread is moist?

The two most important things are not to overcook and to store correctly. You can add an extra banana and decrease the milk by about the same volume. Do not decrease the oil.

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📖 Recipe

Old Fashioned Banana Bread

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

This Old Fashioned Banana Bread recipe is adapted from the 1972 Betty Crocker cookbook. It is a super moist and easy classic banana bread recipe with only two bananas and common pantry ingredients. Add some nuts to make the best banana nut bread like Grandma would make.

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4.50 from 114 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 12 slices

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Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

▢ 2-3 bananas - over ripe
▢ 2 ½ cup AP flour
▢ 1 cup sugar
▢ 4 teaspoons baking powder - aluminum-free
▢ 1 teaspoon salt
▢ 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
▢ ¾ cup milk
▢ 1 egg
▢ 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans - Optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°, not convection.
Grease and flour a loaf pan with a tablespoon of butter and a little flour. If you want thin loaves, use two loaf pans.
Mash 2-3 overripe bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour to the mashed bananas, 1 cup sugar, 4 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons oil, ¾ cup milk, 1 egg, and 1 cup chopped walnuts.
Stir to mix or beat at medium speed with a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes, occasionally stopping to scrape sides to be sure to incorporate all the ingredients, but do not over-mix.
Pour the mixture into the floured pan and smooth with a rubber spatula.
Bake for about one hour until a toothpick comes out clean or an internal temperature of 200° to 205°. Remove from the pan and cool on a wire rack.

Do you have a question?Leave a comment to ask or check the recipe post above for most common questions and variations.

Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print. Otherwise step-by-step photos are in the post.

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Recipe Notes

You need 2 large or 3 medium overripe bananas. You can vary that some with no change in the recipe, but if unsure, decrease the milk a bit.
"Standard" loaf pan size is 8½ x 4½ x 2½ inches. For the single loaf here, use the standard or slightly bigger. For two shorter loaves use standard or a bit smaller.
If you choose to make two shorter loaves, the cooking time will decrease by 15-20 minutes, so check early.
The old fashion toothpick test of inserting a toothpick in the center and when it comes out clean it is done. But if you have no toothpick or you don't quite trust that, cook to an internal temperature of 200° to 205° in the thickest center of the loaf.
Store at room temperature wrapped airtight for 2-3 days. On the fourth day, the quality will deteriorate.
You can freeze banana bread for 2-3 months. I suggest wrapping small amounts well and storing them in an airtight container.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories : 296 kcal (15%)Carbohydrates : 46 g (15%)Protein : 6 g (12%)Fat : 11 g (17%)Saturated Fat : 1 g (5%)Polyunsaturated Fat : 5 gMonounsaturated Fat : 4 gCholesterol : 18 mg (6%)Sodium : 384 mg (16%)Potassium : 209 mg (6%)Fiber : 2 g (8%)Sugar : 21 g (23%)Vitamin A : 100 IU (2%)Vitamin C : 4.1 mg (5%)Calcium : 140 mg (14%)Iron : 1.8 mg (10%)

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course : Dessert

Cuisine : American

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Originally published January 26, 2012. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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