Easy Banana Bread

Do you ever have some overripe bananas that are too far gone to eat but you don’t want to throw out? This is something that often happens to me now that I have children.

I can never seem to get the balance quite right. One week they are eating bananas like they are going out of fashion and the next they refuse to eat them. If this sounds familiar to you then this banana bread recipe is perfect to use up those overripe bananas!

Banana Bread for the Whole Family to get Involved with

Though it contains the word bread this culinary treat is actually a cake and is incredibly easy to make.

I have fond memories of baking this recipe when I was growing up. Banana bread was often something that I would make with my step mother when I stayed at my dads house.

It was always an easy and fun activity to do as a child and often something I now do with my toddler. Nothing is better than allowing your children to have some messy play, while also being productive. My favourite part was always mashing up the bananas. Yes, it could have been done with a fork, but where is the fun in that? Why not use your hands instead!

There was nothing better than feeling the ripe bananas squishing between my fingers and mashing it into a purée. This was always the best way to guarantee that there were no lumps. We always hate the lumps in the finished product, but if you like to have little chunks of bananas then that’s fine too.

As previously mentioned this is the perfect activity to do for all ages!

This recipe in my opinion is a classic here in the UK, especially where I am in South Wales. It can easily be adapted and is perfect for any season. I personally love it with a cup of tea in the garden. If I’m feeling extra sweet I may add some chocolate spread to make it extra luxurious.

Why you will love this recipe:

Simple: no complicated steps. Perfect to make in any season, no matter the weather

Delicious: light and fluffy with the sweet taste of banana. Perfect for everyone

No fancy equipment: all you need is bowl, spoon, loaf tin and a weighing scales. And don’t forget the overripe bananas!

Tips:

• Make sure that your bananas are nice and ripe. The riper the better! They may not look edible with the skins gone from their vibrant yellow to spotty black or even completely black; but trust me, this means that they will be lovely and sweet, with natural sugars and so much easier to mash.
• If you would like to make this recipe but your bananas aren’t quite ripe enough my top tip to make them ripen quicker is to pop them in a warm place. This can be next to a heater or on top of the fridge. My personal favourite spot is next to the microwave. With two young children I often reheat a lot of cups of tea and coffee. You can also put them in the oven at a really low temperature. I have a bread proving setting on my oven and this works great!
• As previously mentioned unless you want lumps of banana in your loaf cake, take the time to mash out all of those big lumps so that you have a nice smooth consistency throughout your finished product.
• If you don’t fancy making a loaf style cake one of my favourite things to do is to put this same recipe into cupcake cases. This makes yummy little muffins which are great breakfasts and snacks. You can also freeze them for later.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here

Tools you will need:

Preferably a large mixing bowl, however if you don’t have one of these to hand any type of bowl will do. I’ve mixed this recipe in a large pasta bowl in the past. When the kids want to bake with you, you don’t have time to be fussy in my house.

Loaf tin (I use a 20×11 loaf tin but any standard loaf tin works)

Measuring spoons

Ingredients

Bananas– As previously stated the riper the better for that sweet banana taste

Eggs– I tend to use medium eggs but large eggs work well too. Remember if you are in the UK to buy certified eggs (all supermarket eggs) especially if you are feeding young children at weaning age.

Vanilla extract– good quality is always recommended but supermarket own brands works just as well. This is also optional but provides a delicious flavour.

Butter– it doesn’t matter if you use baking spread, butter, or a margarine they all work for this recipe. You will be melting the butter (I do so in the microwave) before adding so it doesn’t matter if it’s room temperature or straight from the fridge.

Caster sugar

Salt– I add this in to add depth of flavour but it can be left out if you prefer

Baking powder– This recipe doesn’t rise that much, so the rising agent is necessary to give it that little bit of help to make sure it isn’t too compact and dense. Light and soft is the key.

Self raising flour

Change it up!

Fancy taking your banana bread to the next level? Here are some extras that we love!

Chocolate chips– I tend to add the UK standard 100g bag and this works a treat for that extra sweet kick. Depending on the level of sweetness that you want you can use milk, dark or white chocolate

Walnuts– around 60g of diced walnuts provides a lovely texture

Banana– hear me out! if you want a fancy bit of decoration why not cut a banana in half length ways (for this part preferably use a ripe banana instead of overripe) and then place them on top of the loaf inside facing up before you pop it in the oven.

Cupcakes– If you don’t want to make a loaf or want something snack sized then why not use a muffin tin to make them into cupcakes. A perfect banana bread snack for the whole family. (cook at the same temperature around around 10-12 minutes)

How to make this Easy Banana Bread

Preheat the oven to 175°C (347°F), grease up your loaf tin. I grease with butter and the add a piece of baking parchment width ways slightly higher than the tin for easy lift.

Thoroughly mash up your bananas in a bowl, then add the eggs, vanilla extract, melted butter and sugar. Stir till combined

Then add the rest of your dry ingredients. The flour, salt, baking powder. Combine until you have a batter.

Pour the mixture into the load tin and try to even out the top as much as possible.

Bake in the oven for between 60-75 minutes. Test the mixture with a skewer. If it comes out clean it’s done, if it’s wet put it back in the oven for a few more minutes. If you think that the top of the banana bread is browning too much gently place a bit of foil on it after about 30 minutes to prevent the top burning.

Leave in the loaf tin for 10-15 minutes and then transfer the loaf to a wire rack.

Wait for the banana bread to fully cool before cutting.

Enjoy!

Storing your Banana Bread:

Store in an airtight container and enjoy for the next 3-5 days. You can also slice and store in the freezer for 3+ months.

Pin For Later