This is the only banana bread recipe you need in your life! It’s super soft, packed with banana flavor, studded with toasty pecans, and truly the perfect banana bread. Enjoy slices warm slathered with lots of butter!
Most things in life don’t need to be perfect, but it’s my humble opinion that you should never settle for a less than perfect banana bread.
Enter, the most dreamy and absolute keeper loaf you will ever bake. It’s nothing crazy wild, but man if this recipe doesn’t hit that banana bread craving SO well.
I’m talking ridiculously-moist texture from a whopping 4 bananas, a little brown sugary + cinnamon flavor in every bite, and just a little bit of added texture goodness from toasted pecans.
No fancy ingredients or techniques today! This loaf is nice and simple like God intended banana bread to be and comes together in mere minutes with only a handful of ingredients.
Soooo…what are you waiting for?? Those brown bananas on your countertop are calling your name.
This Banana Bread features…
- A picture-perfect soft and moist texture
- Tons of banana flavor laced with sweet brown sugar and a touch of cinnamon
- Crunchy chopped pecans in every bite
- A quick batter that comes together in minutes
Making the Banana Bread
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Bananas
- Vegetable oil
- Egg
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- Pecans
Choosing Your Bananas
You will need about 4 medium bananas for this bread to equal about 2 cups once mashed. For best results, I recommend going with very ripe, spotty bananas so you get that signature intense banana flavor that all good banana bread has.
Can I use frozen banana? Yes, you sure can! Just make sure the banana is thawed prior to mashing and mixing into the other ingredients.
Tips for Perfect Banana Bread
- Mash bananas well – use a potato masher or a fork to finely mash bananas until only a few very small chunks remain.
- Spoon and level flour – I use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
- Gently fold batter – overmixing will lead to a dry bread so use a gentle hand when folding batter.
- Toast nuts – toss the pecans around in a nonstick pan set over medium heat until fragrant. This will help the pecans maintain their crunch and fragrance in the bread.
- Use a toothpick to test bread – insert a toothpick in the center of bread. The bread is done when toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool bread completely before cutting – don’t be tempted to cut into the bread while it’s still warm. Allowing the bread to cool will strengthen its structure and make for neat slices.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this banana bread.
- Add chocolate – fold in 3/4 cup semisweet, milk, or dark chocolate chips.
- Try a different nut – try walnuts or omit the nuts entirely.
- Add fruit – try adding 3/4 cup blueberries, diced strawberries, or raspberries.
- Top with a glaze – try a simple powdered sugar glaze, melted chocolate, or caramel.
Storing and Freezing Banana Bread
Allow bread to cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days. For best results, I recommend reheating individual slices before serving.
To freeze bread, allow to cool completely, then wrap well and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw bread completely at room temperature and store up to 4 days.
Each lovely bite of this banana bread is rich, melt-in-your-mouth soft, and screams BANANAS. The smell of it baking alone is intoxicating and you’ll be counting down the minutes until it’s done.
This is how you do banana bread, folks! Your search for the perfect loaf has officially come to an end.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
Try these other banger quick breads next!
Perfect Banana Bread
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Ingredients
- 4 medium ripe bananas, mashed (about 2 cups mashed)
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans, toasted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk mashed bananas, oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. In a separate medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
- Add flour mixture and pecans to liquid mixture, gently folding until batter is just combined.
- Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake banana bread at 350F 55-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool banana bread completely on a wire cooling rack. Remove bread from pan and cut into slices for serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 2/6/25.
Marlene says
I made this last month and am still amazed at how good it is. I too have a banana stash in my freezer. So…tomorrow I am going to be making this wonderful bread again. Now I have an overload of apples. I am going to search your site and see what you have to offer. My freezers are full of applesauce. I got so tired of canning it that I put it in freezer bags and froze it. Thanks for your recipes. It is nice to be able to trust that recipes will turn out as good as they look.
Sarah says
I’m so happy to hear that the banana bread turned out good for you, Marlene! Thanks for the super-sweet comment and good luck with your apple baking! Here’s a few of my personal favs. 😉