Moist Banana Bread Recipe - Olga in the Kitchen (2024)

This easy and moist Banana Bread Recipeis loaded with bananas, pecans and incredibly soft crumb. It is simple to make and a great way to use those overripe bananas. This moist and delicious banana nut bread is so easy and makes a great breakfast on-the-go.

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Moist Banana Nut Bread Recipe:

This is a super easy recipe for banana bread that is on constant repeat in our house. The batter takes about 10 minutes to throw together and the bake time is about an hour. The bread stays moist for days and nothing beats the smell of freshly baked banana bread.

It is simple to make and a great way to use those overripe bananas. We like to enjoy it for breakfast quite often.

Make sure your bananas are extra ripe for best results. If you wish, you can leave the nuts out to make it nut-free and replace for dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips. We love the combo of banana and nuts (pecans to be exact) so no banana bread is made without nuts.

Banana Bread Ingredients:

• Butter – use softened butter for a soft texture and mouthwatering butter flavor.
• Brown sugar and granulated sugar – I like to use a bit of both for extra moist bread. Ripe bananas are sweet and adding too much sugar makes bread too sweet and not as enjoyable. For healthier bread, swap sugar for honey.
• Overripe bananas – add sweetness and moisture to the bread. The riper the bananas, the sweeter it is and the more moisture it will impart.
• Eggs – provide structure and stability, as well as a tender texture. You will need 2 large room temperature eggs for this banana bread recipe.
• All-purpose flour – you can use a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. Just keep in mind that changing the flour will slightly affect the texture of the muffins.
• Baking soda – will make the bread rise up nicely. I prefer baking soda over baking powder as this bread is moist and baking soda does better job at rising it.
• Fine salt and vanilla extract – add flavor and make bread taste amazing.
• Pecans – we love the combination of banana and pecans. You can use walnuts as well or dry fruits for a twist. Because we love pecans so much, we add even more on the top of the bread before it goes into the oven.

How to Make Banana Bread Moist?

Here are few tips for achieving moist and tender banana nut bread.

• Use very ripe or overripe bananas. Overripe bananas are extra sweet, moist and make bread rich in flavor. Underripe bananas will be difficult to mash and make bread flavorless.
• Use room temperature ingredients. Eggs and butter must be room temperature and butter must be softened for easy mix.
• Avoid over-mixing the batter. Once dry ingredients are added, mix just until combined. Stir pecans just until combined. A light and fluffy batter makes airy and moist bread.
• Avoid overbaking. Test for doneness by inserting a wooden toothpick into the center of the bread at 50 minutes. Overbaking will lead to dry bread and it will not be as moist the next day.

How to Make Banana Bread:

This is the easiest banana bread recipe that takes less than 10 minutes to throw together. I like to use a hand mixer, but you can mix it in stand mixer or even by hand whisk.

1. Preheat the oven to a 350°F.Grease a 9×5-inch bread loaf pan or line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the sides to lift the baked bread out.

2. Mash bananas. Slice or break bananas into large pieces. Mash with potato masher or a fork until chunky applesauce consistency. You can also use mixer to mash the bananas.

3. Mix dry ingredients. In a medium mixing bowl, combine and whisk all-purpose flour and baking soda.

4. Cream butter, sugar and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together unsalted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and fine salt until smooth.

5. Add wet ingredients. To the batter, add in large eggs, mashed bananas and vanilla extract. Beat on low just until combined.

6. Combine dry and wet ingredients. Add dry ingredients into the bowl with wet ingredients and beat on low or stir in with a spatula just until combined. Over-mixing will yield heavy and flat loaf.

7. Fold in pecans. Gently fold in coarsely chopped pecans into the batter using spatula.

8. Bake it. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan. To give the banana bread crunchy top, sprinkle coarsely chopped pecans over the top of the bread before it goes into the oven. Bake until the bread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into center of the bread, comes out clean (about 50-60 minutes).

9. Cool bread before slicing. Let the bread cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Run thin spatula around edges to loosen the bread. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

How to Store Banana Bread?

Sometimes eating a whole loaf of banana bread in a day makes it impossible. Here are some tips for storing banana bread.

• Store at room temperature. Wrap cooled banana bread in a plastic food wrap and store on the counter for up to 3 days. Longer than that, the bread gets too moist.
• Store in refrigerator. Cool baked banana bread to room temperature. Slice it and transfer to a gallon-sized zip top bag and store in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Microwave for 15 seconds to make it taste just like freshly baked.
• Freeze banana bread for up to 3 months. Banana bread freezes beautifully. Cool it, wrap in few layers (whole loaf or sliced), date and freeze.

Can you Freeze Banana Bread?

I always have baked banana nut bread in my freezer and it happens to be one of our favorite breakfast treats. You can freeze banana bread using these instructions to preserve its fresh flavor and texture for up to 3 months! I prefer to freeze banana bread in slices because the slices thaw quicker and there’s never a waste of leftover whole bread.

1. Cool baked banana bread completely.
2. Tightly wrap slices (or loaf if preferred) in 2-3 layers of plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
3. Place wrapped banana nut bread in a large freezer-friendly reusable container or storage bag.
4. Date the container or bag for up to 3 months. Thaw wrapped or unwrapped bread in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Tips and Substitutions for Banana Bread Recipe:

• Use parchment paperfor easier takeout of baked bread. If your oven usually bakes longer than recipes instruct, applying grease and flour to loaf pan and baking for prolonged time will brown the bread too much and bread crust will turn out dry and slightly burned.
• Loosely cover the bread with aluminum foil after 30 minutes to help prevent the top and sides from getting too brown.
• For healthier banana bread, replace sugar for honey and/or all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour.
• Swap the pecans for any nut you like or omit them entirely. Raisins, dried cranberries and chocolate chips are other delicious variations for banana bread.
• Use extra ripe bananas for best results. They should be very soft and have dark brown spots.
• Avoid over-mixing the batter to avoid tough or gummy results.
• Let bread cool completely before slicing for clean and beautiful slices.
• You can turn this bread into banana muffins by baking the batter in muffin tins. Bake standard muffins for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and check for doneness with a wooden toothpick.

How to Freeze Overripe Bananas?

If you have overripe bananas and are not ready to use them, do not throw them away. Freeze bananas for later use in bread, smoothies or any baked desserts.

• Freeze peeled bananas. Peel and slice bananas into 1/2-inch pieces. Place them onto baking sheet and freeze for 2 hours. Transfer frozen bananas to a freezer container or zip lock bag.
• Freeze bananas in peels. Place them un-peeled in a freezer bag (remove any excess air) and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw bananas in peels completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator overnight before using. Frozen bananas tend to release more moisture so once peeled, lightly pat dry with paper towel to remove excess liquid.
• Freeze mashed bananas. Mash 1 or 2 bananas (depends on what recipe you’ll be using it for later) and place it into zip top bag. Label the bag with 1 or 2 bananas and then zip removing all the air. When ready to use, simply allow to thaw or run under warm water.

Love Sweet Breads? Try these Popular Bread Recipes:

We love sweet breads because they are easy to make and are such a treat for breakfast, snack or dessert. Don’t miss these reader favorites:

• Apple Blueberry Honey Bread – moist and loaded with goodness
• Banana Berries Bread – loaded with summer berries with incredibly moist texture
• Ukrainian Pumpkin Bread – so easy, fluffy and we love it year-round
• Cranberry Banana Bread – loaded with sweet tangy cranberries
• Raspberry Pecan Honey Bread – with delicious streusel topping