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 8×4-inch loaf pan is recommended, for best results. While it seems it should be possible to use the larger 9×5-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.
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Get the Recipe: 2 Banana Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups (220 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, reduce slightly if using salted butter
- 1/3 cup (75 g) butter, at room temperature
- 2/3 cup (130 g) white sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (227 ml) bananas, mashed, about 2 medium, very-ripe bananas
Equipment
- Electric or stand mixer
- 8x4-inch glass or metal loaf pan
- Parchment paper (optional, for easy removal)
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 8.5 x4.5-inch metal loaf pan (at least 2 1/2 inches deep) 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
More banana recipes you might like …
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I just made this with my 20 month old and we both had a blast making it. We followed the recipe to a T except I let her mix the dry ingredients and we lost a bit of flour along the way. The bread came out soft and delicious! We’ve both already enjoyed. Thank you for posting!
So glad you both enjoyed it, Jess :) A great bake to make with kids and a little lost flour is part of the fun! Thanks.
Thanks for this recipe – we had two overripe bananas, and I searched high and low for a recipe to use them! The batter seemed small but rose up nice and high to make a tender loaf. I added 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla, and topped it with a sprinkle of walnuts which toasted while it baked.
So glad you enjoyed it, Kara! Thanks so much :)
Yummm
I had only one banana. So I made this with 1 banana and 1 apple.
I also put some honey and cinnamon. It is a tip. Omg it was sooooo good. Wow I’m obsessed.
So glad it worked for you! Thanks :)
Made this today and it was great! My husband buys bananas weekly and I end up tossing them because he doesn’t eat them all. 🤷♀️ Now I have a new plan for his bananas.
Glad to hear, Angela! Thanks so much :)
Great recipe! I am enjoying it as I type! I do find it a tad dry in the texture from other recipes I have though. Any suggestions on how to obtain a bit more moisture? Thanks for a great easy 2-banana recipe!
Hi Greg, this particular recipe is a drier type of banana bread. I generally add moisture with a smear of butter :) That said, be sure not to over-bake and maybe add a bit more banana to the mix.
I dubbled the recipe to 24 slices, but when I started measuring I saw that only the cups changed on the print, not the grams of the cups.Lucky me I am so intelligent lol.In oven .
Sorry about that. I have fixed it so the grams will double, as well. Thanks for letting me know and enjoy the bread!
delicious!i made as described even creamed it as you described. feel accomplished as I used my leftover eggs and bananas– thank you it is so yummy!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks :)
This recipe was a great use for two ripe bananas that were left in my fruit basket this week–most other recipes call for 4 bananas. I was worried mine wouldn’t last a day longer and had to do something with them.
I actually added chocolate chips into my banana bread (I know, I’m a heathen, who does that), and put in less sugar (~ 1/2 a cup). Accidentally, I melted the butter instead of having it at room temperature which thankfully didn’t ruin the bread. I was overall happy with the turnout even though I made some changes.
So glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks!
I have made this banana bread twice now, and both times, it came out light and delicious.
My only change – adding 1 teaspoon of vanilla after the eggs are beaten. Having made lots of banana bread in the past that were too oily, too sweet, too dense or the worst – with that gummy streak on the bottom of the loaf – I can declare that this one is about as close to what I always imagined the perfect banana bread loaf to be.
Thanks for this easy recipe!
So glad you enjoyed them, Benita :) Thanks!
Hello – do you have to sift the flour? Or spoon and level it?
Hi Miki, I rarely sift :) I always just do the Stir. Spoon. Level method.
Thank you! Made it last night and it turned out great!
So glad to hear :) Thanks!
I haven’t baked anything in years because I have two sisters that are great bakers in the family. Practicing safe distancing by staying in the house the last several months has me doing new things. This recipe is easy and the bread is delicious!! I had three very ripe medium bananas and it worked perfectly!! Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks!
I’ve used many BB recipes that I’ve found online over the years, including one from America’s Test Kitchen, and this is by far the best one! The bread comes out super light and moist. I cut the sugar to 1/2 cup to try, and it came out perfectly sweet. You can always add vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. But if you want a light and perfect recipe, this is it. Thanks so much! I never thought I would find the perfect BB recipe!
So glad to hear, Maya :) Thanks so much!
Great recipe! I tried it today with 2 bananas that were quite brown/black. Added a dash of cinammon and a splash of vanilla extract. Delicious! Whats nice about the recipe is the sugar amount..not too bad at 2/3 cp. Not too much guilt having a second slice :)
So glad you enjoyed it and yes, I like the sugar amount in this one, too :) Thanks!
Simply the best. Straight forward and ingredients quantity very exact yielding the perfect banana bread than other recipes I’ve tried.
So glad to hear! Thanks so much :)
Can we use Brown sugar instead of white? If yes would that be the same amount?
Hi, I haven’t tried brown sugar in this one. I suspect you could, in the same amount. It would certainly change the colour and possibly the texture somewhat.
Great recipe Jennifer, thanks so much for sharing it! I was feeling restless at 11pm in the night and wanted to bake something for Sunday breakfast! Your instructions in the recipe is easy to follow and rightly so, I could find all the ingredients in my pantry 😊. I added a teaspoon of vanilla essence, a tablespoon of coconut oil and a dash of cinnamon! My kitchen smelled heavenly last night we we went to bed with wists of the sweet banana bread! Thanks again!
So glad you enjoyed it, Jean :) Thanks so much!