If there’s ever a recipe to make with overripe bananas it’s this moist and fluffy, yet dense banana bread. I’m sure this happens to everyone; you see the bananas at the supermarket for like .49 cents a pound and you can’t help yourself. You get a few pounds and place them on the counter, but within a few days the bananas a super ripe and you feel like you’ve left them to long. So you toss them out. It’s very heartbreaking because they go bad so fast!
Fortunately, I can honestly say I haven’t thrown out a batch of bananas in about 3 years. Ever since I learned how easy and simple it is to make banana breads, muffins, bars, and desserts with overripe bananas, I’ve never looked back. In fact, overripe bananas are extremely delicious in baked goods and give your breads extra flavor, moisture and sweetness.
The bananas I used for this bread were soooo ripe I was close to giving up on them but I took the rise and threw up in my batter and boy, I’m sure glad I did!
Now this banana bread recipe is one I’ve used for years and I use it for my muffins and bars as well. It’s super adaptable and literally fail proof. You can add just about anything into your batter and it will always come out delicious and moist. Today I threw in some chopped walnuts, dry cranberries and raisins. That was pretty much what I had lying around so I went for it and they turned out perfectly delicious.
There are a ton of things you can add to your banana bread each time to give it a new flavor. Some things I like to add are chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, dried fruit, Nutella, oats, berries, or keep the banana batter plain and enjoy the simple classic!
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup salted butter softened
- 2 medium mashed overripe bananas
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sour milk or buttermilk or 1 teaspoon white vinegar + 5 tablespoons milk
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts chocolate chips, or dried fruit optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5x3” loaf pan with butter and coat it with a sprinkle of sugar and a sprinkle of flour; set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended, add milk. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. The crust should be dark brown and crunchy. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
