I love this recipe so much I’ve made it four times in the past month. Four times. And I’m not usually one for banana bread. (Zucchini bread holds the number one spot in my heart when it comes to quick bread.) The original recipe, which is from Cooking Light, is called Classic Banana Bread; I’ve taken the liberty of renaming it Best Banana Bread. Because it really is.
I kept the original recipe intact and only made a couple changes:
- Increased the vanilla from 1 teaspoon to 1 1/2 teaspoons, and also added 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste and 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract.
- Added 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon…not really enough to be able to pull out the flavor of cinnamon, but enough to add a little intrigue to the background.
This bread definitely has that classic banana bread taste and texture; it is softly scented of banana and vanilla, with a soft, moist crumb. I thought it was perfect in its simplicity, but if you’re in the mood to jazz up the flavor a bit, you could add walnuts and/or increase the amount of cinnamon.
For the past few months since I’ve discovered this recipe (ok, truthfully, it was last Easter), it has been my go-to whenever I find myself with over-ripe bananas…which is usually at least two or three times a month. And we still can’t get enough!
Do you have a favorite banana bread recipe?
Update (1/17/2013): Because of the large number of people who have emailed me asking for the full recipe, I updated the post to include it here…enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
- 1/3 cup plain low-fat yogurt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, stirring with a whisk.
- Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the banana, yogurt, vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste, and almond extract; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist.
- Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Bake for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
Recipe adapted slightly from Cooking Light's recipe for Classic Banana Bread.
Mini Loaves & Muffins: This recipe is really versatile. It also makes 3 mini loaves and they take between 38 to 42 minutes to cook at 350F; or it makes 12 muffins and they take between 25 to 30 minutes to cook at 350F.
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It looks amazing! A moist and tempting cake.
Cheers,
Rosa
I adore banana bread and muffins. I’ve been particularly addicted to a vegan recipe as of late (the website is under construction- will send you the recipe when its back up!!). I will definitely give this one a go
I eat one banana every day as part of my diet! I would love to substitute it with a piece of this bread!!!!
I can’t resist a good banana bread and if you crown it with the word best, I’m sure it’s wonderful! Wish I had some with my tea. :)
4x is a lot, especially for a food blogger. it must be amazing! i have to bookmark b/c banana bread is one of my favorites!
I have not made banana bread in for ever! Nice tweaks with extra vanilla and cinnamon. If you made it so many times it must be the best.
I love banana bread but yet I love any quick bread! We do have extra bananas so maybe I need to make this this week!
I love all the vanilla goodness you added to this bread – it certainly earns the title of “best”!
I can see why you renamed it to the Best Banana Bread. It looks so moist and I just love the changes you made. Can’t wait for the next batch of ripe bananas to give this a try;)
Haha, I get like that too. When I find a recipe that I love, my family is required to eat it multiple times in the weeks that follow :). This does look like a wonderfully moist and flavourful banana bread.
If you say so, I’m in! Looks lovely!
Four times in one month? Well, we don’t have to worry about you getting your share of potassium, do we? LOL Banana bread is pure comfort in loaf form. I can’t blame you for wanting a slice again and again.
Do you have a complete recipe of the one you use. Do I have to cut and paste the old recipe and then put in your changes?Thank you for your response.
Tammy, I just emailed you the recipe – hope you enjoy it!
and now i desperately want to make banana bread – this sounds soooooo good!
if i’m making banana bread, you’d better believe that cinnamon will be involved, and more than enough to provide a little intrigue. :)
I have a love/hate relationship with recipes I LOVE so much I make over and over again. We make banana bread all the time over here, and your version looks perfect! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! x
Love banana bread…your looks delicious. My favorite banana bread is a version I’m slightly modified from Martha Stewart. I’ll have to give your recipe a try!
Doncha love it when you find the BEST recipe? I’ve tried so many ones for banana bread (I went on a rampage and tried almost thirty recipes this year, no joke) and finally found a favorite but of course I have to try this one! I know that you do not say “best” lightly and I trust your judgement. Pinned!
I made this bread last week and it really was a GREAT recipe! A keeper for sure! Thanks for sharing.
It looks amazing! Can you send the complete recipe to me please?, i can’t wait to try it!
Noraly, I just emailed it – enjoy! :)
Wow, these look fabulous! I do have my go-to banana cake recipe, but have yet to find THE perfect banana bread recipe…definitely trying this one out! Thanks Faith!
Where is the recipe? I would love to try it!
Angela, I put the link to the original recipe is in the first paragraph of this post; here it is: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/classic-banana-bread-10000000549764/. In this post I just noted the couple of changes that I made to the original recipe. I hope you enjoy it if you give it a try – it is incredibly delicious!
Incredibly delicious!
Amazing recipe! Thank you for saving me from banana bread disaster after disaster! I blogged about my success and slight modifications I did here: http://theadventurebite.com/best-banana-bread-recipe-ever/
Thanks so much! p.s. your photo’s are amazing!!
Dani
this is the best banana bread ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just wanted to say thanks for publishing this recipe!! Added a dash of nutmeg and cloves and it tastes amazing! Makes a perfect loaf!