Classic Banana Bread

Bananas. They’re sweet and tasty sources of potassium and carbohydrates. They’ve got plenty of vitamin C, vitamin A, and even calcium to help you keep your bones strong. What’s not to love?

Did we mention that they’re the main ingredient in one of the most iconic American desserts (or breakfast options)? That’s right: banana bread.

Where Did Banana Bread Come From?

Believe it or not, banana-based desserts like banana bread weren’t a thing in America until just before the turn of the 20th century. The idea of combining a banana mixture with a classic sweet loaf of bread didn’t really click with people until the 1870s. However, when home bakers tried making banana bread for the first time, it stuck and quickly became a go-to recipe for what is now an iconic American dessert.

Back in the day, baking soda and powder were nowhere near as popular as they are now. It wasn’t until the 1930s — around the time of the Great Depression — that baking powder started appearing on grocery store shelves. Once this key ingredient became a pantry staple, American cookbooks started to include recipes for the best banana bread.

In a weird way, we can thank the Great Depression for banana bread! During this time, people started feeling hesitant to throw away overripe bananas and instead wanted to make a quick bread with them to avoid wasting food.

Banana Bread Makes a Comeback

It’s worth mentioning that the pandemic of the 2020s brought a resurgence of popularity in easy banana bread recipes with it. With everybody stuck at home and making minimal trips to the grocery store, making a quick and easy dessert with that familiar banana flavor was a legit form of self-care — and we love to see it!

Why We Love This Banana Bread Recipe

The banana bread recipe we’re sharing with you today is simple, delicious, and made from ingredients you probably already have in your fridge and pantry. That’s why we love banana bread so much.

It’s too easy to go throughout the week and forget to snack on those bananas you bought on Monday. You might be tempted to throw them out as they start to turn brown and get squishy. Instead, why not use them to make the best banana bread recipe the internet has to offer?

However, this easy recipe is more than just a way to use up old bananas. It also makes a quick and easy breakfast or snack that you can keep coming back to throughout the week. 

We know how crazy things can get and that breakfast sometimes gets skipped, so having banana bread on speed dial can be super helpful whenever you need a quick bite.

Another reason why we love this banana bread recipe is its yield. You can easily cut the super moist banana bread into 10 servings to share — or have it all by yourself; we won’t judge. Taking just over an hour to make, it’s an easy way to get a lot of hearty snacks and breakfasts in a small amount of time.

How To Mash Bananas

It goes without saying that to make banana bread, you need ripe bananas, which need to be mashed. There are several reliable ways to mash bananas and mix in that mashed goodness, and we’ll cover them below.

• First off, you can always use a potato masher to mash bananas. Look for the type of masher with a “wavy” design rather than a masher used to make hash browns or grated potatoes. For this method, simply peel the bananas, put them into a large bowl, and squish them until you get a mushy consistency.
  
  
• You can also use a food processor to mash bananas. We know this isn’t a gadget that everyone has in the kitchen, but it can be especially useful if you do a lot of DIY baking. The food processor method also helps if your bananas aren’t particularly ripe yet. Peel the bananas first and cut them into thirds. Then, use the pulse function on the food processor until you get the consistency you want.
  
  
• Finally, you can definitely use a fork to mash bananas if you want to keep things simple. The fork method takes some extra time and effort but can get you mashed bananas within just a few minutes.

Can You Use Frozen Bananas in Banana Bread?

This might bum you out, but we don’t recommend using frozen bananas to make banana bread. We can almost guarantee that your favorite childhood banana bread was made with ripe, fresh bananas that were never frozen. 

We say to steer clear of mashing your frozen bananas because it’s difficult to get the ideal consistency when the bananas have been sitting in the freezer for weeks.

What Ingredients Do You Need To Make Banana Bread?

We use all of the following ingredients in our banana bread recipe:

• Ripe bananas
• Unsalted butter
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Vanilla Extract
• One Large Egg
• All-Purpose Flour (you can substitute whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour if necessary)
• Walnuts or Pecans

We know some banana bread recipes throw in the chocolate chips or cream cheese. We know some swap out the white sugar for brown sugar or even use applesauce as an alternative sweetener. 

While those can all be techniques to make tasty banana bread, we like to keep things nice and simple.

What Tools Do You Need To Make Banana Bread?

Here’s what you need to make this favorite family dessert:

• A mixing bowl for wet ingredients and one for dry ingredients
• A 4x8-inch loaf pan
• A whisk
• A small spatula
• A toothpick
• Plastic wrap or an airtight container for storage

How Do You Prepare a Loaf Pan?

You’ll need to start with a generous amount of melted butter to get a prepared loaf pan. Spread this butter evenly along the bottom and sides of the pan until it looks like it’s been distributed fully.

You can use cooking oil or shortening instead of butter if you want, but we’re fans of good old-fashioned butter instead of these alternatives.

How Do You Keep Banana Bread Moist?

Some recipes recommend adding certain ingredients to keep your banana bread moist, but this can increase your prep time and complicate things. Instead of adding to the recipe to keep the loaf moist and delish, we recommend wrapping it in plastic wrap as soon as it reaches room temperature. Follow up the plastic wrap with a layer of aluminum foil.

These two layers help the banana bread maintain its moisture, even if it stays in the fridge or freezer for a while. If you wrap it properly, you can store frozen banana bread for up to three months. If you start to notice freezer burn, it might mean that your aluminum and plastic wrap isn’t airtight.

How Long Does Banana Bread Last in the Fridge?

Banana bread should be refrigerated if you don’t expect it to all get eaten in one sitting (again, no judgment!). This is because banana bread (and other similar types of bread) can get moldy after four or five days when stored at room temperature.

You can keep banana bread in the fridge for seven to 10 days without worrying about it losing its flavor or going bad. However, if you really want to make it last, the freezer is the way to go.