Extra Moist Banana Bread
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Confession? I’ve fallen head over heels for this extra moist banana bread and you will too.
If you’re cringing over moist, I completely understand but there is no way getting around it. This recipe produces an incredibly moist, tender bakery style banana bread.
I’ve shared many banana bread variations over the years, including healthier banana bread and brown butter banana bread, but this is my favorite to date.
This is a zero frills banana bread recipe. It is all about the banana flavor (extra ripe bananas only, please!) and turbinado sugar topping, which adds the loveliest sweet crunch to every bite. Let’s get baking!
Why You’ll Love This Moist Banana Bread:
- this moist banana bread is all about the banana flavor. if you’re looking for a zero frills recipe that delivers big, this recipe will become a staple.
- the batter comes together quickly with pantry staples. no specialty ingredients or equipment. you’ll only need a standard 8 x 4-inch (20 x 10 cm) loaf pan.
- as the name suggests, this banana bread is ridiculously moist due to the use of oil, large quantities of extra ripe (see photo below – they should be nearly black!) banana, and additional sugar. it can hold up for days…if it lasts that long!
- after baking, the loaf is sprinkled with turbinado (raw) sugar. inspired by Sparrow Bakery in Bend, Oregon, this adds a lovely distinctive crunch to every bite and takes the banana bread to the next level!
How to Make Moist Banana Bread:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C) with a rack in the center position. Grease a 8 x 4 inch (20 x 10 cm) loaf pan with baking spray and line with a parchment paper sling overhang.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the oil, sugar, and vanilla extract to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the mashed bananas to the bowl and whisk mixture until smooth. Add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Using a stiff whisk, mix until no dry flour or bits are visible. Avoid over mixing.
- Transfer the batter (it is relatively thin!) to the greased loaf pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Immediately sprinkle the top with the turbinado sugar, distributing it evenly over the surface. It will mostly set on the bread as it cools.
- Set on a wire rack and allow the banana bread to cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Use the parchment paper to lift the bread from the pan, using a knife to loosen the edges if needed.
How to Store and Freeze Banana Bread:
- Once cool, set a paper towel on the top of the banana bread (this prevents the top from becoming gummy!). Place in a Ziplock bag and squeeze out any excess air. Store at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.
- Banana bread also freezes extremely well. Wrap the loaf (or individual slices) tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place in a Ziplock bag, squeeze out any excess air, and freeze for 3 months or longer. If freezing an entire loaf, allow to thaw at room temperature for 24 hours for before serving.
- Individual slices can thaw in less than 30 minutes on your countertop. You can also toast them in a toaster or toaster oven, if you prefer.
Moist Banana Bread
This moist banana bread is all about the banana flavor. If you're looking for a zero frills recipe that delivers big, this recipe will quickly become a staple! As the name suggests, this banana bread is insanely moist due to the use of oil as the primary fat and lots of extra ripe (they should be nearly black and almost syrup-y in texture) bananas. After baking, the loaf is sprinkled with turbinado (raw) sugar. This adds a lovely distinctive sugary crunch to each slice. This banana bread can hold for days, but will not last that long!
Ingredients
- 1⅓ cups (160g) unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- large pinch ground nutmeg
- 4 extra ripe large bananas (400g-415g finely mashed) *they should be almost entirely black
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup (120 mL) safflower, canola or avocado oil
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons (26g) turbinado (raw) sugar for topping *after* baking
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C) with a rack in the center position. Grease a 8 x 4 inch (20 x 10 cm) loaf pan with baking spray and line with a parchment paper sling overhang. This will allow you to easily lift the banana bread out of the pan after baking.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg. In a separate large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork or potato masher until smooth. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the oil, sugar, and vanilla extract to the bowl and whisk until smooth. Add the mashed bananas to the bowl and whisk mixture until smooth. Add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Using a stiff whisk, mix until no dry flour or bits are visible. Avoid over mixing.
- Transfer the batter (it is relatively thin!) to the greased loaf pan and bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Immediately sprinkle the top with the turbinado sugar, distributing it evenly over the surface. It will mostly set on the bread as it cools. Note: The goal here is for the turbinado to be visible and very distinctive in texture, which is why we are not sprinkling the batter with sugar before baking.
- Set on a wire rack and allow the banana bread to cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Grab the parchment paper overhang to lift the bread out of the pan, using a sharp knife to loosen the edges if necessary.
- Set on a rack to cool completely before serving. Storage: Set a paper towel on the top of the banana bread (this absorbs moisture and helps keep the top of the loaf from becoming gummy during storage) and place in a Ziplock bag, squeezing out any excess air. Store at room temperature for 4 to 5 days.
- If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a review and ⭐️ rating!
Freezing Instructions:
- This banana bread also freezes extremely well. Wrap the loaf (or individual slices) tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Place in a Ziplock bag, squeeze out any excess air, and freeze for 3 months or longer. If freezing an entire loaf, allow to thaw at room temperature for 24 hours for before serving.
- Individual slices can thaw in less than 30 minutes on your countertop. They can also be placed directly into a toaster or toaster oven, if you prefer.
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 376kcal, Carbohydrates: 61g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 33mg, Sodium: 240mg, Potassium: 217mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 32g, Vitamin A: 78IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 2mg
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10 Comments on “Extra Moist Banana Bread”
This tastes absolutely perfect. Thank you for making banana bread a delight. Susan
This is my second time making this recipe and it’s a hit! I’ve made countless banana bread recipes over the years but this one is by far my favorite. So moist and flavorsome!
Best banana bread I’ve ever made. It’s perfect and I’ve made a lot of recipes!
Yay! Thank you so much Lyndsay! So glad you enjoyed it, that’s high praise coming from you.
I’ve tried many different banana bread recipes over the years – especially in 2020…and several were really good – but I never found a recipe that made me crave banana bread…until now! This banana bread is amazing. It is bakery quality banana bread – so moist and a good banana flavor but the turbinado sugar on top – puts it over the top – that slight crunch is perfection. I really love this recipe and it will now be my go to banana bread recipe. Thanks for this recipe – delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it!! Thank you so much for the awesome review, Jen!
This recipe produces a very moist bread that still has a great texture. The flavor of the bananas is the star. The recipe as written is easy to follow and I really appreciated having the amounts listed as weights when appropriate. This one gets put in the bake again stack!
Thank you so much! So glad you enjoyed it ☺️
I have been making the same recipe for banana bread since the mid 70’s and every once in awhile I would try another recipe just to see if it could out shine mine. The answer was always no until now! I’d give this 10 stars if I could! I didn’t have the turbinado sugar but I had the sparkling and that gave me the crunch it needed. This I thought would be way too sweet but something happened when I took my first bite….that small amount of kosher salt came out of no where and my goodness was it good. Now for the second bite…same thing! How can this little bit of salt do such a magnificent job in every bite I took? Then u get that hint of nutmeg and moist???? Yes so moist. Its like I can somehow taste butter in this recipe yet I used none. Incredible! I ended up eating two hunks…yes hunks!
This was the best banana bread I’ve ever made! I loved the use of avocado oil and the-almost-black bananas, combined with the less than the usual amount of sugar.
The bread is bakery-quality and I’ve struggled with re-creating something like this at home. This is an easy to create recipe and one that will be made using up all those over-ripe bananas. 10/10. Thanks Laura!