My Favorite Banana Bread

With its super-moist and buttery texture, banana and brown sugar flavors, soft crumb, and 1,000+ reviews, this is a delicious AND undeniably popular banana bread recipe. You need 4 large ripe bananas. This recipe is also in my cookbook, Sally's Baking 101.

Recipe by Sally on January 22, 2023

Prep time: PT10M

Cook time: PT1H5M

Total time: PT3H

Rating

4.8 stars ( reviews)

Keywords

banana bread

Ingredients

2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup (80g) plain Greek yogurt or full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
1 and 1/2 cups (345g) mashed bananas (about 3–4 ripe bananas)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
optional: 3/4 cup (90g) chopped pecans or walnuts, or 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cuisine

American

Steps

Adjust the oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lowering the oven rack prevents the top of your bread from browning too much, too soon. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together. Set aside.
In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar together on medium-high speed until light and creamy, about 3 minutes. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) With the mixer running on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the yogurt, vanilla, and mashed bananas until combined.
Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat on low speed just until combined. Do not over-mix. Fold in the nuts/chocolate chips, if using. The batter should be thick.
Pour and spread the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 60–65 minutes, making sure to loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil halfway through, to prevent the top from getting too brown. The bread is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean with only a few small moist crumbs. Cool the bread in the pan set on a cooling rack for 1 hour. Remove the bread from the pan and cool it directly on the rack until ready to slice and serve.
Store wrapped tightly at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Reviews

Susan D on 2025-10-31 (5 stars):
I have to share this because a big mistake on my part turned into something delicious. First, I added an extra large banana. Secondly, I over filled my bread pan. Bad mistake. After 70 minutes I took it out of the oven, cooled It for a bit, turned it upside down and, as I suspected, it was not fully baked. I refrigerated it, took it out and sliced it this morning, heated up a small skillet and lightly fried the slices. Absolutely delicious with cream cheese spread on it. The flavor was amazing. Not so sweet which is how we like it. My adult son said I should under bake it all the time it turned out so good. I also added about a cup of finely chopped pecans and walnuts. Thanks for a great recipe. And, bakers, don't throw out your mistakes. Try and work with them.
Sandie on 2025-11-03 (5 stars):
OMGosh, Susan! I'm going to try frying some slices! That sounds delightfully tasty! I went ahead and tried this .. fried in butter and did the cream cheese thing~~`YUM! THANK YOU! PS...Sally, mine turned out wonderful ! I followed your recipe, using some of your updated notes. I know what consistency the batter should be so that's a plus on my side. Thank you for sharing !!!
Jennifer on 2025-11-03 (5 stars):
The yogurt is what makes this banana bread recipe awesome. I have been using your recipe for years, sharing it with the locals on the island of Madeira, Portugal. Bananas grow all over the island, they are smaller in size with a sweeter taste so I used less sugar. Your recipe was a great success! Thank you
clayonjj on 2025-11-05 (5 stars):
Perfect every time I do nuts and semi sweet chocolate chips. I also do a pepitas, sunflower seed and almond mix with the chocolate chips
Lori on 2025-11-06 (5 stars):
I love this banana bread! This time, I didn't have enough sour cream, so I added softened cream cheese to make up the difference, and it was still wonderful!