| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 50 min |
| Prep: | 25 min |
| Inactive: | 1 hr 10 min |
| Cook: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Yield: | 1 loaf |
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 overripe bananas
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
- Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture. With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together for a good 3 minutes; you want a light and fluffy banana cream. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla; beat well and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated; no need to overly blend. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Give the pan a good rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.
- Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Don’t get nervous if the banana bread develops a crack down the center of the loaf; that’s no mistake, it’s typical. Rotate the pan periodically to ensure even browning.
- Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes or so, and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Toast the slices of banana bread, dust with confectioners’ sugar, and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 14 servings |
| Calories | 277 |
| Total Fat | 13 g |
| Saturated Fat | 7 g |
| Carbohydrates | 37 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 20 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 53 mg |
| Sodium | 209 mg |
Reviews
I have been making banana bread for 50 years. I found this recipe about 8 years ago and haven’t changed yet. It is moist with nice crispy edge and very tasty. This is the last recipe I will ever use.
Done in 65 minutes, probably done at 60. My oven is new and I used an oven thermometer, so it’s not my oven. I don’t live at I high elevation either. Bread was tasty, but very brown with crispy edges. Maybe because of the excessive amount of butter?
Question. I’m making this for a Mother’s Day brunch for a crowd. Will it still be as good without toasting individual slices?
Simple easy fast and the best recipe for this bread. Make it every other week.
My recipe card for this recipe has a date of March 2004. So, being it’s 20-year anniversary in my kitchen I decided to check the reviews online to see what others say about this great recipe! Wow! Over 1100 reviews! I read through quite a few and everyone agrees this recipe is great just the way it is. I have discussed it at length with my sister and mother and we believe it is such a great recipe because of the flavor and the reliability. This banana bread cooks all the way through. 2 things that help are the very little amount of flour compared to other recipes, and the nuts. Both of these ingredients help with cooking it all the way though and providing the best flavor. Pecans are essential. If you do not like them, choose another recipe. Down here in the South (Texas) we grow them, so the plump, meaty pecan halves get toasted for 12 minutes at 350 before they ever see a banana. I use 4 very large bananas, so the banana flavor is perfect. I am eating banana bread, so I want to taste the banana. Best of all, no gummy bread. Toasting it the next day is what really sets it over the top. The rich, darkly roasted pecans balance so wonderfully against the sweet banana in this insanely good bread! After having made this so long, I like to split the loaves among 2 metal loaf pans and bake for 1 hour at 350. One loaf to eat now, and one to save and toast later. So delicious. Thanks Tyler.
its in the oven now and I cant wait!! The directions say to cool, then slice and toast? Does it really need to be toasted?
Delicious!!!!!! I have tried many banana bread recipes, but this is the best. To keep the sugars low I used 1/2 c sugar an 1/2 cup Splenda. I also put into 2= 3 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. pans and baked for 1 hr. One to eat and one to gift.
I have been making this recipe for years and it’s always delicious.
I was in a hurry so while I got the ingredients and quantities right, my method was all wrong. Mashed the bananas with a potato masher. Added the butter, eggs and vanilla. Sugar I had already mixed with the dry ingredients. Added the dry to the wet and mixed with a serving fork. Turned out delicious!
Love that this recipe uses four bananas in one 9×5 loaf. very yummy