Yield:

1 loaf

Martha's best banana bread recipe was featured in her first book, Entertaining, and has been her go-to ever since. In fact, Martha says your family will "go bananas" for this classic quick bread.

The batter for this easy-to-make favorite is enriched with sour cream, which gives it a subtle tang and super-moist yet dense texture that slices well. Martha always adds pecans, but chopped walnuts (or no nuts) also works.

The hardest part about making our best banana bread recipe is waiting for the loaf to bake—but we guarantee it will be worth it!

Be sure to use very ripe (but not bruised) bananas for this recipe.

Key Ingredients

Bananas: Everyone’s favorite quick bread is all about the bananas. They are the defining ingredient in the loaf, adding sweetness and keeping it moist. Our banana bread recipe calls for very ripe bananas—they add maximum sweetness to the bread. If you make banana bread with just ripe bananas, you’ll notice a difference.
Sour cream: Using sour cream is what sets this recipe apart. Many banana breads use milk, some call for buttermilk. Sour cream is a much richer and fatter dairy product, which moistness and richness to tender layer cakes. When added to banana bread, it adds a subtle tang that balances the sweetness of the bananas and sugar. If you don’t have sour cream, you could substitute plain yogurt, preferably Greek yogurt, which has a texture more like that of sour cream and offers even tangier results.
Nuts: Our recipe calls for 1/2 cup of walnuts or pecans but you can make banana bread without nuts if you prefer. We like the nuts for texture and nutrition, but the loaf is delicious without them.

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
½ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

Best Banana Bread ingredients — Grant Webster

Preheat oven, prepare pan, and cream butter and sugar:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Grant Webster
Add eggs:

Add eggs and beat to incorporate.

Grant Webster
Whisk dry ingredients and add to butter mixture:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix until just combined.

Grant Webster
Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla:

Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine.

Grant Webster
Add nuts and transfer to prepared pan:

Stir in nuts and pour into prepared pan.

Grant Webster

Grant Webster
Bake:

Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes.

Grant Webster
Cool:

Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Grant Webster

Cool the banana bread completely before slicing, wrapping, or transferring to an airtight container. If it is not totally cooled, it will tear when sliced and will create condensation if stored, which would make the loaf gummy.

How to Store Banana Bread

Banana bread keeps well. Make sure the loaf has cooled completely before wrapping it in plastic wrap, parchment, or wax paper and placing in an airtight container for up to four days. If your kitchen is hot and humid, you may want to store the loaf in your refrigerator, but allow time for it to come back to room temperature before eating.

How to Freeze Banana Bread

Banana bread also freezes well. We like to bake an extra loaf to keep in the freezer for when we don’t have time to bake. The loaf should be completely cool before you wrap and freeze it. Wrap it in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag. Freeze the whole loaf, or give yourself more flexibility by slicing it and freezing the slices—that way you can defrost just a couple of pieces when desired. Banana bread will last up to three months in the freezer.

Variations

Banana Bread With Cream Cheese Frosting

Top the banana bread with this easy cream cheese frosting if you want to get fancy:

Combine 6 ounces cream cheese, 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
Beat until frosting is smooth.
Use an offset spatula to frost top of cooled banana bread.

Cream Cheese Frosting-Filled Banana Bread

Martha made this variation on The Martha Stewart Show. Once the banana bread is baked and cooled:

Halve loaf horizontally.
Using an offset spatula, spread frosting evenly over bottom half.
Top with remaining half; slice and serve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my bananas be too ripe for banana bread?

Short answer: No! The riper the better, an overripe banana is a much better choice for banana bread than an underripe one. Ripe bananas add sweetness to your banana bread, unripe ones do not.

Peel overripe bananas and stash them in a freezer bag to have a supply available anytime you want to make banana bread.

Why is my banana bread not moist?

There are a couple of reasons your banana bread might be dry. It might be the result of using too much flour. This may happen if you didn’t measure the flour carefully. Another reason is overmixing—our recipe calls for mixing the dry and wet ingredients “just until combined.” Overmixing can produce a dry, rubbery loaf.

Should I wrap banana bread in foil or plastic wrap?

We prefer plastic wrap to aluminum foil for wrapping banana bread. For countertop storage, we often store banana bread in an airtight container rather than wrapping it in plastic or foil. And if we’re gifting a loaf, we’ll wrap it in parchment paper or wax paper for a pretty but practical presentation.