This ultimate moist banana bread is super soft and flavorful - truly the best banana bread recipe! This homemade banana bread is easy to whip up, can be mixed by hand using one bowl, and stays unbelievably moist for DAYS! Say hello to your new favorite loaf of love!
The Secret To The Ultimate Moist Banana Bread
- Sour Cream - sour cream gives the banana bread a moist, dense texture in the best way possible! It's also the secret ingredinets in The BEST Frosted Banana Bars. If you've never made banana bread with sour cream, now is the time!
- Cornstarch - the secret ingredient! I learned the trick of adding banana bread with cornstarch when I worked at the campus bakery in college when they would add potato starch to banana bread. It was the most moist banana bread and the added starch was why!
- Melted Butter - I love using melted butter in recipes because it doesn't require you having to soften the butter beforehand. And in this case, it doubles as ease and moisture!
- Ripe spotty bananas, of course! If your bananas aren't quite ripe, you can learn how to quickly ripen bananas in the oven.
These four things together turn a classic banana bread recipe into something out of this world. No dry banana bread up in here!
Easy Banana Bread Ingredients
- Mashed bananas (1½ cups = 3 large bananas)
- Unsalted Butter (not margarine)
- Brown & White Sugar
- Eggs
- Sour Cream
- Vanilla Extract
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder
- Cornstarch
- All-Purpose Flour
- Salt
- Cinnamon
PS. Making this as a gift? Check out my 5 Ways to Gift Banana Bread (+ free printables!).
How to Make The Best Banana Bread:
Before You Start: Preheat Oven (important!)
Before you start, preheat your oven! You want to give your oven at least 20 minutes to heat up even if it beeps and tells you it's preheated after 5 minutes (because trust me, 90% of ovens are liars and are not anywhere near preheated when they say they are!).
A properly heated oven is what will help your banana bread get this beautiful dome and bake through! If you want to know how to make the perfect banana bread, the oven is the first step!
Step 1: Mash Bananas
In a large mixing bowl, mash ripe bananas (1½ cups; about 3 large) with a fork until broken up. You want to make sure you break up any large pieces or you will have chunks of banana in your bread which can cause it to bake weird.
Step 2: Add Wet Ingredients
- Once bananas are mashed, add in melted butter (½ cup), light brown sugar (½ cup), and granulated sugar (½ cup), then stir until combined.
- Add in the eggs (2 large), sour cream (½ cup) and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) then stir until just combined. Once mixed, gently mix in baking soda (1 teaspoon), baking powder (½ teaspoon), and cinnamon (½ teaspoon).
IMPORTANT: To achieve the dense and moist texture we're going for you MUST mix by hand! Using an electric mixer will whip too much air into the bread and affect the texture.
Step 3: Add Dry Ingredients
Lastly, mix in cornstarch (1 tablespoon), salt (½ teaspoon), and all-purpose flour (1½ cups) and stir until just combined. You do not want to mix this for any longer than it takes for the flour to disappear or it will become dense and chewy. Warning: do not over-mix!
What happens if you over-mix banana bread batter? It will become crumbly and dry instead of moist. It's important to mix the ingredients together just long enough that they're all combined. This is why I HIGHLY recommend mixing this by hand (not with an electric mixer).
Step 4: Fill Pan
Grease a 9" metal loaf pan ⅔ full. Technically you can usually fill up heavy batters like this almost all the way, just being sure to leave about ½" at the top without having it rise over. This recipe doesn't rise as much as other quick bread recipes but you still need to leave room on the top for some expansion.
Pan Tips: Because there are varying sizes of "standard" loaf pans (some are wider than others and therefore fit more), you may end up with a little extra batter. You can scoop any extra into muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes.
Step 5: Bake & Let Cool
Bake at 350°F for 60 minutes on the bottom or middle rack of your oven. IMPORTANT: At the 45 minute mark while baking, gently cover the top of your loaf with foil to prevent the top from browning.
Test doneness by sliding a toothpick or skewer into the center while it's still in the oven. If it comes out clean (or just with a crumb or two) it's fully cooked and ready.
Oven Placement Tip: You do not want it too close to the top or the top of the loaf will brown faster than the inside can cook.
Step 6: Let Cool, Slice, and Enjoy!
Once cooled, use a large straight-edged knife to slice the banana bread. I like to cut it in thick pieces, as the moistness is even more apparent this way! Top with butter and enjoy with a glass of milk for breakfast!
Tip: For the best slices, you should ideally allow banana bread to cool in the pan for about an hour to allow it to set and cool. If not eating right away, cover with foil and let it cool.
I will also say that this banana bread is even better Day 2. I mean, warm banana bread with butter is good but trust me, it's even better the next day after all the banana flavor melds together. I'm biased but I might just say that this is the best banana bread recipe in the world on Day 2.
Storing, Freezing, and Gifting!
How to Store Banana Bread
If you want to know how to keep banana bread moist, here's a trick! Place two pieces of paper towel around your loaf and then wrap banana bread in plastic wrap while it's still slightly warm (not hot). The plastic will trap the moisture inside, while the paper towel will help absorb moisture that would make it get mushy. Alternatively, you can store the loaf in a gallon-sized ziploc bag.
How to gift banana bread?
Check out my 5 Ways to Gift Banana Bread (+ free printables!).
Can you freeze banana bread?
Absolutely! To freeze, wrap loaf in several layers of plastic wrap then place in a freezer bag or container. This will keep the banana bread moist and can be frozen for up to 3 months.
When ready to eat, remove from freezer and allow to thaw at room temperature (still wrapped).
Ripe bananas are key!
How do you ripen banana for banana bread really quick?
Don't have bananas on hand or don't want to wait for to ripen? Did you know you can ripen bananas in the oven (and without a paper bag!). Simply place bananas (with their peel still on) on a rimmed baking sheet for 30-40 minutes at 300 degrees. The bananas will turn pure black and all the gooey insides will caramelize. Hooray for quick ripe bananas!
How ripe should bananas be for banana bread?
The ideal color for ripe bananas for use in banana bread is when they are spotted brown, mostly brown or even black. The grosser looking, the better! The bananas shown below are just good enough, although I personally like them even browner than this!
Tip: I love using organic bananas for the best moist banana bread. I find that organic bananas have a more pungent banana taste and create a more flavorful, award-winning banana bread recipe.
More Frequently Asked Questions...
If you don't have sour cream you can substitute in plain greek yogurt (you can also use fat free sour cream). Just be sure to mix the yogurt well before measuring to prevent all the liquid juices from being too much in the batter.
I have not tried this but would suspect it would change the texture and flavor of the bread. If you try it, be sure to report back! I've gotten lots of requests over the years for an easy banana bread without vegetable oil and this version with melted butter is truly the best!
No, corn flour and corn starch are two different ingredients. If you don't have access to corn starch simply omit it from the recipe. Your bread just may not be as moist.
I have made this recipe using Gluten Free All-Purpose 1-to-1 flour before and it turned out great. It's not as moist or "bendable" as the regular version, but it's a great gluten free or celiac option. Just be sure to check all of your ingredients to ensure compliance with your allergy.
Of course! You can turn this into a super moist banana nut bread recipe simply by adding ½ cup of toasted walnuts or raisans. Or make it chocolate chip banana bread by adding in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips!
Yes! You can easily turn this recipe into moist banana bread muffins. Simply fill greased muffin tips with about 4.5 tablespoons batter (¾ full) and bake for 18-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. This will yield you about 12 regular-sized muffins.
Melted butter, sour cream, and cornstarch are all secret ingredients to making the moistest banana bread!
The Ultimate Moist Banana Bread
Ingredients
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F - this is important! You want to give your oven at least 20 minutes to heat up EVEN if it beeps and tells you it's preheated after 5 minutes (ovens lie!).
- In a large mixing bowl, mash 1 ½ cups ripe bananas, i.e. about 3 large bananas[/adjustable] with a fork until broken up. You want to make sure you break up any large pieces or you will have large pieces of banana in your bread and it can cause it to bake weird.
- Mix in melted ½ cup unsalted butter, ½ cup light brown sugar, and ½ cup granulated sugar, then stir until combined. NOTE: To achieve the dense and moist texture we're going for you MUST mix by hand! Using an electric mixer will whip too much air into the bread and affect the texture.
- Add in the 2 large eggs, ½ cup sour cream, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract then stir until just combined. Once mixed, add in the 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, and ½ teaspoon cinnamon then mix again.
- Lastly, mix in ½ teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon cornstarch, and 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour and stir until just combined. You do not want to mix this for any longer than it takes for the flour to disappear or it will become dense and chewy. Do not overmix!
- Grease a 9" metal loaf pan ⅔ full (you can usually fill up heavy batters like this almost all the way, just being sure to leave about ½″ at the top without having it rise over). Note: Because there are varying size of "standard" loaf pans (some are wider than others and therefore fit more), you may end up with a little extra batter. You can scoop the rest into muffin tins and bake.
- (Read this step carefully!) Bake at 350°F for 60 minutes on the bottom or middle rack of your oven. After 45 minutes of it baking, gently cover the top of your loaf with foil to prevent the top from browning. When baking, place your loaf near the bottom/middle of oven. You do not want it too close to the top or the top will brown faster than the inside can cook.
- Test doneness by sliding a toothpick or skewer into the center while it's still in the oven. If it comes out clean (or just with a crumb or two) it's ready.Once baked, you should ideally allow banana bread to cool in the pan for about an hour to allow it to set and cool. If not eating right away, cover with foil and let it completely cool before putting in a ziploc bag. Wrapping it in plastic too soon will trap the steam and could make your bread mushy. See notes below for storage instructions.
Notes from Melissa
Video
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Best banana bread recipe!
Can I use potato starch instead of cornstarch?
I haven't tested this but it should work just fine!