Perfect Banana Bread (How to make this easy recipe)
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Do you have brown bananas sitting on the counter? Good news! I consider myself a great banana bread expert. Banana Bread recipes have been my testing hobby for years! A loaf of delicious banana bread is the most popular choice for overripe bananas. I love banana bread and I am very very particular about how I like quick bread. It can't be too dense, not dry, not cake-like, with a nice fluff, a golden brown and crisp crust, and no darkened bottom or edges. I love this bread so much that I actually buy extra bananas every week at the grocery store to set in hiding just to get overripe. This now (over a period of 3 years) has proudly become what I call my go-to recipe aka The Perfect Banana Bread Recipe.
This is made all in one bowl (including mashing the bananas) and it mixes up quickly with only a handful of pantry ingredients. This is such an easy banana bread recipe and a good way to keep snacks on hand for sports and after-school "hungries" and any guest that stops by. This recipe is loaded with banana flavor and is not dry. I cannot imagine a recipe to have in your arsenal better than a moist banana bread recipe.
If you want to make this even more decadent, add in some mini chocolate chips. Don't try adding full size chips, it makes the bread bake wonky and the size isn't just right for the texture of the bread (told you I am particular).
Note: If you don't have overripe bananas already, you can put unpeeled bananas in the oven at 300 degrees for about 15 minutes to speed up the ripening process. The banana peels will turn black and once they cool a bit, you can easily scoop out the soft banana.
If you have bananas with plenty of brown spots and you are not yet ready to make this recipe, do not throw them away! Peel and place bananas in a freezer bag to use later. Just thaw the bananas, drain the liquid, and use them in the recipe.
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Perfect Banana Bread (How to make this easy recipe)
I love banana bread so much that I actually buy extra bananas every week to set in hiding just to get over ripe. This is made all in one bowl (including mashing the bananas) and it mixes up quickly. This recipe truly is The PERFECT Banana Bread.
Ingredients
4 over ripe bananas
1 egg
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 ½ cup flour
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp cinnamon
⅛ tsp salt
*optional 1 cup mini chocolate chips*
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325* and spray a 9X5 glass loaf pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, use your whisk attachment to mash the bananas until they are almost liquid.
Add in the egg, sugar, vanilla, and vegetable oil and mix well until all combined.
Add in your dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix on low speed until completely mixed with very few lumps.
If you are using the mini chocolate chips, fold them in at the end just before pouring the batter into the pan.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and place in oven. Bake for 60 minutes. Your bake time may vary depending on the humidity in your area. The best way to test the center of the loaf is with a butter knife to make sure it comes out clean. There may be a raised crack in the center of the bread and that is just fine.
Cool bread in the pan on a wire rack.
Keep your bread in an airtight container or freezer bag and it will keep well at room temperature for a few days.
Enjoy!
To store in the freezer, wrap in plastic wrap and then again in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
You can also easily use a hand mixer for this. I like to use a large mixing bowl and use the same instructions of mixing the wet ingredients first, followed by the dry ingredients.
This is the loaf pan that I use. You can find it on Amazon HERE
I also have a fabulous recipe for Banana Muffins
Officially craving some banana bread now!!!