Wonderfully light in texture, but big on banana flavour, this 2-banana banana bread is the perfect use for your over-ripe bananas.
I seem to have a never ending supply of over-ripe bananas, but somehow, I always end up with just two stragglers. I was highly motivated to find a great banana bread recipe that needed only 2 bananas and this is the one that has served me well for years.
While this 2-Banana Banana Bread is light in colour and texture, it is big on banana flavour, even with just 2 bananas. It needs only regular pantry items, too. And best of all, it will fill your house with all the wonderful baking smells! You will have a hard time waiting for this one to cool before grabbing a slice. (It has the loveliest crust, too - lightly crisp and perfect for slicing.)
This banana bread will keep well for several days, wrapped and stored on the counter or freeze extras for later. I think you'll also love that this banana bread is fairly light in fat and sugar, too!
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you will need ...
Bananas: Obviously, the more ripe the bananas, the bigger the banana flavour. That said, I have made this bread with bananas that are just starting to form brown spots with success. Unless you have super small bananas, you will only need 2 bananas here. If you have a little less or a little more than 1 cup of mashed bananas, no worries. Just use it all.
Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter here. I like unsalted myself, if I have it on hand. If using salted butter, reduce the added salt in the flour mixture slightly.
White Sugar: I haven't tested this recipe with less sugar, but if you are needing to reduce added sugar, you could probably reduce to 1/2 cup. It will, of course, affect the sweetness of the finished loaf, but also possibly reduce the banana flavour, as the sugar works to enhance the banana flavour, as well.
Eggs: Have your eggs at room temperature before baking, for best results. Removing from the fridge 20-30 minutes ahead should do it. I used free-range eggs here, which are quite a bright yellow. Yours batter may be paler in colour.
All-purpose flour: I am a bread baker, so I always have unbleached flour on hand, so that's what I used here. I don't think a bleached all-purpose will change the results at all. I haven't tested this recipe with alternate flours.
Baking powder, baking soda and salt
Instructions
1. Be sure your butter is just at room temperature, then add to the mixing bowl, together with the white sugar.
2. Beat the butter/sugar mixture for 2-3 minutes, until it is light in colour. Don't skimp on time here, as this process is important to the finished texture of your loaf.
3. Add the eggs, one a a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl well, to catch any bits of butter that haven't incorporated into the mixture.
5. How your batter will look after both eggs have been added and mixed well.
6. Add the flour mixture (whisked together with the baking soda, baking powder and salt) to the batter, alternating with the mashed banana. That means adding 1/3 of the flour, then 1/2 of the bananas, then the second 1/3 of flour, the remaining bananas and finally the remaining flour. Mix until well combined.
7. Grab your loaf pan, prepared with a sheet of parchment paper that covers the bottom and long sides of the pan. I find spraying the loaf pan first helps the parchment to stick to the sides and not fall into the pan when adding the batter. I don't feel you generally need to line the ends of the pans, unless the loaf is super sticky.
8. Add the batter to your prepared loaf pan and level the top.
Be sure your oven is preheated and bake. Every time I bake this loaf it takes a different amount of time, anywhere from 45 minutes to 55 minutes. Start looking at the loaf at about the 40 minute mark. If the loaf is still pale, let it bake longer, before opening the oven and testing. The loaf is approaching done when the top is turning quite golden and cracked. When it starts to look like that, use a tester to test it. The loaf is done when a tester comes out clean when inserted in the centre of the loaf.
Recipe Video
FAQ
How do I store the baked banana bread: Once cooled completely, store this bread at room temperature, well-wrapped.
Can you freeze banana bread? Yes! This bread will freeze well, tightly wrapped, up to 2 months.
Can I use a different size loaf pan? An 8x4-inch loaf pan is recommended, for best results. While it seems it should be possible to use the larger 9x5-loaf pan and make a shorter/wider loaf, some people have had issues with the loaf not baking all the way through when using the larger pan size. I haven't tested this, so I can't say if it always happens or not. You may be able to manage it by covering the top loosely with aluminum foil to stop it from over-browning, while continuing to let it cook longer so it will cook through completely.
Recipe
2 Banana Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt, reduce slightly if using salted butter
- 1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup bananas, mashed, about 2 medium, very-ripe bananas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (not fan-assisted/convection) with rack in centre of oven. *Reduce oven temperature by 25F for glass pans.
- Prepare an 8x4-inch loaf pan by spraying with cooking spray, then lining the bottom and sides with a sheet of parchment paper that extends about 1-inch over the sides, to use as handles to remove the loaf after baking. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together well the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the room temperature butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- With mixer on low, add the flour mixture, alternately with the mashed bananas (add 1/3 flour mixture, then 1/2 the bananas, then more flour, then remaining banana, ending with the remaining flour). Mix until well combined, then give it a quick, 15-second beat.
- Pour batter into prepared 8x4-inch loaf pan and level top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. *Start checking the loaf at about 40 minutes. If the top is still quite pale, no need to test. Start testing when the top is cracked and turning golden.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the baking pan, gently remove the parchment paper and allow to cool further or completely on a baking rack.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided for general guidance only and should not be relied upon to make personal health decisions.
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Kaley says
Wanting to try this but don't have a loaf pan. How long would you bake using a standard size muffin pan? Thanks!
Jennifer says
Hi Kaley, muffins generally cook around 20 minutes, but could take 25-30, depending on the size of the muffin tin. You'll want to cook them until they are golden and test clean when tested with a skewer.
Madison says
Easy recipe! Love that it used 2 bananas. Tastes great and wasn’t too difficult to make, even without a mixer. Didn't add or substitute anything and loved it. Thanks!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Madison :) Thanks so much!
Maria says
Just made a loaf of this to use 2 overripe bananas so I wouldn't have to toss them. Best decision I ever made!! Absolutely delicious! Only thing I changed was that I used 1/3 cup white sugar and 1/3 cup brown sugar and added a dash of Good vanilla! Thank you for a keeper of a recipe!!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Maria :) Thanks so much!
DeDe Maddox says
Excellent recipe! I added walnuts and a dash of vanilla. We really enjoyed it. Thank you.
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, DeDe :) Thanks so much!
Annie says
Excellent! Was a big hit with my family and super easy to make, also not at all greasy. I substituted brown sugar because I had it, and added 1/2 cup each blueberries and chopped pecans because they needed to be used up. It came out perfectly done in 50 minutes. Will definitely make it again!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Annie :) Thanks so much!
Jody Lange says
I used to have the same problem as Lizzy. I just went down to smaller size pans. Came out perfect every time. By the way this is an excellent recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Jennifer says
So glad you are enjoying it, Jody and thanks for the note about the pan size! I'm never sure when people have issues that I've never had :)
Retsuko says
This was so yummy! I made it into mini loaves. Next time I’ll add some pecans or walnuts.
Jennifer says
So glad to hear :) Thanks so much!
Gina says
This was delicious and easy to make! Made a huge loaf not doubling. Probably could have made two small loaves. Soft, moist, not dry at all. Sprinkled some milk chocolate chips on top of a 1/3 of it for a treat. Will definitely make again!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Gina :) Thanks so much!
lynne says
I have been chicken sitting, so I made this tonight with fresh eggs.
I should preface this by saying that it’s a small miracle I have survived this long as a functioning adult owning a home. I cannot cook and have legit started a couple fires in the kitchen (like, more than one).
So when I tell you this bread is easy to make, you can trust me that it is easy to make.
It is the best banana bread I have ever had, and I’m so excited I get to have this the rest of the week.
Thanks so much for sharing it.
Jennifer says
Loving the sound of fresh eggs in anything :) So glad you enjoyed it, Lynne. Thanks so much!
Lizzy says
This is soooo yummy! I added chocolate chips to it and it was so so soo good. It was moist and really easy to make! After about 45 minutes, the edges were golden brown and cracked but the middle was still really wet. Then I put some foil around it and did like 5 minutes more. It was still pretty wet, so we just ate around it. Any tips to get it fully cooked?!? But it is really yummy! 💖
Jennifer says
Hi Lizzy and so glad you enjoyed it. I've never had an issue with the inside not cooking through. Tell me a bit about what type and size of pan you used to bake it in. Was it baked on the centre rack in the oven? Did you cut it while it was hot or warm? Did you use over-ripe bananas? Did you make any ingredient substitutions? How many chocolate chips did you add? Where they full size or mini?
Lizzy says
Hi! So I baked it on the center rake. I used loaf pan to bake my bread. So when I pulled it out of the oven, I put a tooth pick in an it was really wet. I then cut the bread about 30 minutes after pulling it out.
Jennifer says
So it was still testing wet when you took it out of the oven?
Lizzy says
Yes ma’am, it was still wet when I tested it.
Jennifer says
Ok :) So I'm assuming that you felt you couldn't leave it in longer as it would have over-browned. So ... if the loaf was over-cooked on the outside and under-cooked on the inside, then it is most likely related to 1) it was baked in a glass loaf pan or used the Convection (fan-assisted) setting without reducing the oven temperature or 2) it was baked in a larger pan (9x5) or 3) your oven runs hot and you would need to adjust it downward to compensate. Does any of that sound possible?
Ingrid says
Delicious banana bread! Really soft and moist.
Jennifer says
Glad you enjoyed it, Ingrid :) Thanks!
Katie says
My family and I LOVED this recipe, thanks so much for sharing. I added 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar along with a small amount of ground cinnamon to the batter. And, I sprinkled mini chocolate chips on top just before putting in the oven. I honestly don't feel the changes I made would have altered the recipe enough to make a change in how great it tasted. The bread was done at exactly 1 hour and was a beautiful raised top to a golden brown. This recipe is a keeper.
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Katie :) Thanks so much!
Sally says
Thank you so much for this super yummy recipe! I needed one for just two bananas and fancied mixing in some ground almonds (I replaced 60g of flour for almonds) and it turned out great. I often had the problem of my banana loaves collapsing once they were out of the oven but this one still looks (and tastes) fantastic, even after it has completely cooled. Big thumbs up!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Sally :) Thanks so much!
Stephanie says
This banana bread was wonderful, thank you so much for sharing. I really loved how it did not have a heavy banana flavor, and was more like a bread than a cake, with a slightly crunchy outside (rather than greasy/soft like some other recipes with oil). I made it exactly how you wrote it, and added blueberries and cut up strawberries. Everyone loved it!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it, Stephanie :) Thanks so much!