Classic Banana Bread Recipe (Moist, Easy, One Bowl)

This is the banana bread recipe our readers ask for more than any other: moist, tender, deeply banana-flavoured, and made with ingredients you almost certainly already have. The secret is using bananas that are well past their prime — the blacker the skins, the sweeter and better the loaf. If your bananas could still be eaten with a spoon, wait another day or two. It is worth it.

Ingredients

• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, melted
• 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Optional: 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy lifting.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the mashed bananas with the melted butter until combined. Whisk in the brown sugar, egg and vanilla.
3. In a second bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
4. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a spatula until just combined — a few small lumps are fine. Overmixing is the number one cause of tough, gummy banana bread. Fold in the walnuts or chocolate chips if using.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
6. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out with only a few moist crumbs. If the top browns too quickly, cover loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then lift out and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing. Banana bread slices far more cleanly once it has rested.

Tips for the Best Banana Bread

Bananas: Freeze ripe bananas in their skins whenever you have extras. Thaw them in a bowl — they will look dreadful and bake beautifully, and the liquid they release adds extra moisture and flavour. Include the liquid.

Storage: Wrapped tightly, the loaf keeps at room temperature for 3 days, in the fridge for a week, and sliced and frozen for up to 3 months. A 10-second trip to the microwave makes a frozen slice taste fresh-baked.

Variations: Add a teaspoon of espresso powder to deepen the flavour, swirl two tablespoons of peanut butter over the top before baking, or sprinkle coarse sugar over the batter for a crackly crust.