The Ultimate Moist Banana Bread

The ultimate moist, super soft and flavorful banana bread recipe ever! 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!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Keyword banana, banana bread, moist banana bread

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings slices (1 loaf)

Calories 335kcal

Author Melissa Rose

Ingredients

1 ½ cups ripe bananas about 3 large bananas
½ cup unsalted butter melted
½ cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup sour cream or plain greek yogurt
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled

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 ripe bananas (1½ cups, i.e. about 3 large bananas) 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 butter (½ cup, i.e. 1 stick), light brown sugar (½ cup), and granulated sugar (½ cup), 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 eggs (2 large), sour cream (½ cup), and vanilla extract (2 teaspoons) then stir until just combined. Once mixed, add in the baking soda (1 teaspoon), baking powder (½ teaspoon), and cinnamon (½ teaspoon) then mix again.
Lastly, mix in salt (½ teaspoon), cornstarch (1 tablespoon), 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. 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.

Video

Notes

Can I substitute sour cream with something else? If you don’t have sour cream you can substitute in plain greek yogurt. Just be sure to mix your yogurt well before measuring to prevent all the liquid juices from being too much in the batter.

Can you make these into muffins? Yes! Fill greased muffin tips with about 4.5 tablespoons batter and bake for 18-20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. This will yield you about 12 muffins.

Pan Size Tips: 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.

Oven Placement Tip: You do not want it too close to the top or the top will brown faster than the inside can cook.

Storage Tips: If warm: wrap in foil until cooled and let sit on counter. If completely cooled: wrap in plastic wrap or place in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Storing it in plastic will ultimately make it stay moist longer.

Freezing Tips: 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).

Better on Day 2! I will 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.

Ripen Bananas 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 black and all the gooey insides will caramelize. Hooray for quick ripe bananas!

Nutrition