Here is an easy banana bread recipe that has been in our family for generations! This is the BEST banana bread recipe!! It is super quick and easy to make and makes delicious and moist banana bread. It’s great in lunches and makes a great snack for when the kids get home from school!
Easy Banana Bread Recipe
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup sour milk
2 cups flour
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup bananas, (2 medium) mashed
1/2-1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)
Mix all the ingredients until smooth. Pour into a greased and floured loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 1 loaf of banana bread.
Banana Bread Variations
For these variations to the banana bread recipe, add the following to the batter before pouring into the loaf pan and mix.
- For banana nut bread, add 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans.
- To make chocolate chip banana bread, add 1 cup chocolate chips.
- To make blueberry banana bread, add 1 cup blueberries to the batter.
- For banana bread muffins, pour into muffins cups and bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You might also check out our banana bread cupcakes recipe here.
- Gluten free banana bread: Use your favorite gluten free flour. I usually use Pamela’s gluten free flour.
This easy banana bread recipe is from our cookbook:
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I love banana bread! I haven’t tried your recipe yet, but I will soon as I make a lot of banana bread for the holidays and to give as gifts. I put golden raisins with pecans in my recipe and use banana extract instead of vanilla. It really makes a very good banana bread.
I’ve also found that I like baking my banana bread recipe in a Bundt pan. The recipe I’ve been using makes 2 loaves and baking the full recipe in the Bundt pan is perfect for awesome banana bread. I’ve also found the bread cooks better than using 2 loaf pans. I cook it for one hour, take it out and cool it on a rack, in the pan, for an hour. Then I turn it out onto the rack to finish cooling.
If you try using a Bundt, be sure to grease and flour it well or spray it with a good flour baking spray…no sticking, comes right out of the pan. (I’m lazy, I use the spray most of the time. I think you also want to be sure your recipe makes 2 loaves so that you have enough batter in the pan.
A helpful tip people may or may not know…if you can’t find overly ripe/black bananas, buy what’s available. When you get home, lay them out in rows on a baking sheet and put them into a 300 degree F oven. Bake until dark brown/black on one side, then turn them over and do the other side. It takes about 15 minutes total in my oven. Baking the bananas releases the sugars and banana liquor and this really makes your banana bread taste awesome. I’ve tried this in the microwave, but it doesn’t taste the same and I didn’t get nearly as much flavor and banana liquor as I did when I baked them in the oven.
Before putting the bananas in your bowl and mashing, let them cool for a few minutes. I then cut off the flower end and squeeze the banana out like a push pop. Don’t try to peal the banana, they are very hot and soft. You can also cut them in half to squeeze them out. I will some times take a knife and split the bananas long-wise and dump the fruit into my bowl.
Karen, What a great idea when you can’t find ripe bananas! Thank you for passing that trick along.
I just recently had some regular yellow bananas (not green) and they weren’t overly ripe at all and used them in my banana bread and they did great. I could tell no difference. I don’t think there is any difference in taste at all. I am now wondering if all of these years ago people started using ripe bananas in their bread only as to not waste the bananas but that you could really use regular ones and we just assumed you couldn’t use regular ones.
You’re welcome New England Flybaby. I do notice a difference in the taste of my banana bread. I think there is a sweeter and more pronounced banana flavor when I bake the bananas as opposed to buying black bananas.
Sugar isn’t necessary in banana bread. Substitute a 1/4 c. honey instead and use 3 medium size ripe bananas.
You can use honey in wheat bread and banana bread but you need to keep in mind some things. Substituting anything in recipes will change them especially in baking. The texture is often change, you need to add less honey that sugar, less liquid or add more liquid if there is none in the recipe, and be careful in too because anything that needs to bake over 350 degrees can burn easily.
The thing I ask people always is to make the original recipe as is the first time because often it doesn’t turn out the same as it is suppose to if you start substituting. It really isn’t the same recipe any more and you can have something to compare it to then when you start changing it. Yes you can substitute but it will not be exactly the same.
Just made this according to the recipe, except I doubled it. Excellent results! My new favorite.
Glad you liked it. I love making this into cupcakes too. I just add vanilla frosting to it and everyone loves them that way too.
Question: Would the texture change if I substituted (softened) butter? I don’t have shortening on hand.
For this recipe Priscilla the softened butter should be fine.
yummy-if making mini loaves(i have 3 1/2by4 1/2 and 3×5 and 4×6) how long for bake time ? how many mini loaves will this recipe make ? thanks !
About 3 pans – depending on how full you fill them and bake them for about 30-35 mins. – I would at about 25 mins stick a toothpick in them and see how they are doing to start.
I was just about to ask the same question! Thanks for the answer Jill! ❤️
Just the banana bread recipe I was looking for! I like using shortening for baking, though it’s not quite fashionable any more—-butter and margarine simply don’t give me the results I am looking for. Thank you! This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Yes Joanie me too. I use almost all shortening in my recipes for baking. I have noticed the texture of people’s baking has changed quite a bit over the years and many things are heavier and just not quite as good as when “grandma” made the same recipe.
What is sour milk?
It can be just regular milk you have had too long in the fridge and goes sour. You can smell it and it will smell sour. If you don’t have any sour milk to use just add 1-2 tsp. of vinegar or lemon juice to each cup of milk you need and it will do the same thing.