Quick & Easy Banana Bread

Truth time: I only like bananas in candy form (because Laffy Taffy counts as a banana, right?) or in banana bread.

There is something about the texture of a banana that is just a NO for me. Every couple years, I force myself to eat one, thinking, “I’m an adult, I need to like bananas, potassium is important, blahblahblah”. But I gag and dry heave the whole time and it’s an unpleasant experience for all involved.

Husband loves bananas and I am so jealous because they’ve gotta be the easiest fruit to eat and so cheap! Plus I’ve always wanted to chime in on conversations about what is the perfect ripeness (green? yellow? slightly speckled?). Oh, well. Guess I’ll just stick to my Runts. 

Oh yeah, and my BANANA BREAD.

All of the banana flavor I love, none of the gaggy mouthfeels.

I’ve made a lot of banana bread over the years, but am partial to this recipe because it uses melted butter! I just think that is the easiest and makes for a loaf with amazing texture and flavor. WIN. The outside of this also gets all browned and crisp and the inside is banana-y goodness.

Do we have strong feelings about chocolate chips in our banana bread? I am firmly in the ‘pro’ camp, although I’ve heard some people find chocolate chips make banana bread too much of a dessert item and not enough of a breakfast item, but I eat cake for breakfast anytime it’s available, so I really don’t trust myself to make that decision.

If you’re not into chocolate in your banana bread, you can use nuts. If you love all the things, definitely do BOTH. If you’re a purist, that’s okay too. Live your best banana bread life.

Quick & Easy Banana Bread

• Time: 15 minutes active, 1 hour inactive
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

An easy, adaptable recipe for the perfect banana loaf.

Ingredients

• 5-6 very ripe bananas, peeled
• 2/3 cup butter, melted, plus more for pan
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup add-ins (optional, see note below)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 4×8 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas until smooth. Stir in the melted butter. Add the baking soda, salt, and sugar and mix. Add the eggs, vanilla, and cinnamon and continue stirring. Once smooth, add the flour and continue mixing until combined. Stir in add-ins if using. Divide mixture evenly between the two prepared loaf pans. Bake 45 minutes – 1 hour, until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted into the top of the loaf comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife along the outside of the loaf, and invert pan to remove bread. 

Add-ins can be anything from chocolate chips, to butterscotch chips, to chopped nuts, to fresh or dried fruit. I like to sprinkle a little extra of whatever add-in I’m using over the top of my banana bread before it goes in the oven. That way it’s clear what’s inside the loaf, and because my go-to add-in is chocolate chips and can you ever have too many chocolate chips?

Adapted from Simply Recipes.