Banana Bread is one of our absolute favorite treats. My girls love it and honestly I do too. There is something so comforting about warm banana bread, it just makes a perfect after school snack or homemade gift.
Whenever I pop over to a Starbucks I can usually count on the girls starting to ask for the Banana Bread. They just love it.
I have been playing with various recipes for banana bread for awhile now and finally stumbled across one that we really like and that is very, very close to what we usually get at Starbucks stores.
This one is simple to make, packed with banana and is delicious plain, with nuts or add some chocolate chips for a real treat.
This recipe is actually from Starbucks directly so hopefully you like it as much as we do!
For this recipe you can totally omit the walnuts but they really do add so much flavor. You can always substitute chocolate chips for the walnuts which would be delicious.
*****NOTE: I use a large loaf pan (10 3/4″ long, 5″ wide, 3 1/2″ tall)- if you have a smaller loaf pan, you might divide this into 2 batches or fill your pan 2/3 high and use the remaining batter in a muffin pan. Another option is to bake in a 9×9 dish.
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1⅛ cup sugar
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk or milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 3 bananas mashed very well
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Add flour, baking soda and salt to a small bowl and set aside.
- Mix egg, sugar and oil and stir until well combined
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir well. The mixture will be thick and dry.
- Next add milk, vanilla and bananas and stir until incorporated.
- Mix in walnuts and pour into a loaf pan.
- Cook 50-75 minutes, checking regularly until a knife comes out clean.
Note the success of banana bread depends on bananas. You really want super ripe or slightly brown bananas for the best flavor.
If your bananas are fresh you can place them in a brown paper bag closed tightly for a day or two to help them brown, keep them attached at the stem for faster ripening or if you need them brown right away, place them in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes and then let cool for 30 minutes. For delicious meals and desserts like these; check out Publix recipes. Be sure to place foil or parchment under the bananas before popping them in the oven as they may leak a tiny bit.
If you want an authentic Starbucks experience, add nuts to the dough and sprinkle on top as well.
So give this recipe and shot and come back and let me know what you think! If you want to freeze this bread, it freezes beautifully. Just let it completely cool, tightly wrap in saran wrap and then pop into a freezer bag.
When you are ready to have the bread, simply pull out of the freezer and let it defrost.
This recipe is slightly adapted from Food.com, based off a recipe released by Starbucks directly at a media event.
And here are a few other recipes you might enjoy:
Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls – perfect for Christmas morning!
Christina says
I have been using this recipe for a year now and it is so delicious! I will never use another. I even reduce the amount of sugar by about half and it’s still fantastic!
Charlene says
Really Christina? So happy to hear that!
Jill says
This turned out great. The batter seemed very dry so I added 2 more tablespoons of milk. Used 4 bananas. Will definitely make again!
Charlene says
Hi Jill,
It is a little dry as you are mixing it up but don’t worry. The bread is super moist when it bakes 🙂
Jennifer says
Delicious and moist banana bread! I made this last week for the first time. It will definitely be my go to banana bread recipe from now on!
Charlene says
Yeah! Happy to hear that Jennifer 🙂
Bee says
What size pan is used?
Charlene says
Hi Bee,
I use a 12″ x 5″ x 3 1/2″ loaf pan. I have also used a 9×9 baking dish and that works well too. If you have small loaf pans, you might consider splitting the recipe into two loaves.
-Charlene
Juls says
Can i sub all purpose flour with cake flour?
Charlene says
Hi Juls- I haven’t tried using cake flour in this recipe. I always use AP for breads but here is a recommendation from The Joy of Baking:
To substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour.
Here is the article: https://www.joyofbaking.com/flour.html
I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!
Mark says
I have made this twice now and each time it came out delicious….Thank you. This was the first time ever making banana bread.
Charlene says
So happy to hear that Mark! Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Ulrike Reichert says
Thanks for this recipe — the U14 girls soccer team LOVED it!
Charlene says
Oh so happy to hear that 🙂 We have girls U10 and U12 soccer players at home.
Judy S. says
This turned out great! I have been looking for a really good banana bread recipe and this will now be the one I use!
Mb says
Wayyyy to dry of a mixture had to add a lot of milk. I’d recommend adding way more milk. The batter came out looking like sticky thick dough
Charlene says
Hi MB- yes it is sticky but don’t worry just go ahead and bake it!
Charlene says
So glad to hear it Judy!
Jama youngdale says
Do you have to grease the pan?
Charlene says
Hi Jama- I literally made this last night and I do not grease the pan. You can certainly do that if you like though.
Heather says
I like this recipe! Thank you. Our family likes a little more spice so I added 1 tsp cinnamon and 1/2 tsp nutmeg. Turned out great.
Charlene says
Yum! So happy to hear that Heather.
Marieke says
This is the best banana bread recipe Inkniw, People aleays ask me about this recipe whenever I bake the bread. Thanks so much!!
Charlene says
I just made it too Marieke 🙂 I am so happy you like it.
Allie fernandez says
Just made this it was amazing!!! I added 5 very ripe bananas and I didn’t need any milk it was super moist and delicious will make again so yummy!!
Charlene says
Ok awesome Allie- glad to hear more bananas worked fine in the recipe.
Vero says
Made this exactly as said but it’s still in the oven after 80 min.?
Charlene says
Hi Vero- oven temperatures and the size of your baking dish can impact the time it takes to bake. I am sure your bread will be fine- just bake until the center is completely cooked through.
Michelle A says
Hi there -I was wondering what your directions would be for baking in a 9×5 loaf pan? I made this banana bread for the first time yesterday and it was absolutely delicious! However, the top middle was still doughy while all other parts were fully cooked and edges were starting to brown. I tried to foil the sides at the end, but didn’t see much change after 5 minutes so I decided to just take it out at that point instead of risking drying out the rest of the bread. I probably cooked the bread for a total of 65 minutes on 325 degrees. All other parts of the bread were cooked perfectly though.
Alice S says
I also used a 9×5 pan. After about 75 minutes I decided to take mine out even though the knife was not coming out clean.
Laura says
Great recipe! I doubled the recipe for two loaves, and added an extra banana (my bananas were REALLY ripe). I used buttermilk, and added a tsp of cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg. It was delicious. I’m saving this one!
Charlene says
Happy to hear that Laura!
Shelley says
This was such an easy recipe. This was delicious and tastes just like the Starbucks version.
Charlene says
Yeah thanks Shelley! I just made it yesterday too and am about to go grab a slice. 😉
Kelsea says
Always the recipe I come back to! I’ve ran out of canola oil while making it before and had to substitute 1/2 coconut oil (melted). The flavour was so good! Personally I like coconut in my loaf anyway but even without the coconut flakes it gives it just a very slight coconut flavour. You wouldn’t notice unless you knew. The only tip with the coconut oil is melt and add it last, as it does cool and harden so it makes the batter quite hard to work with until you add the bananas. Fine by me, the second time I used the coconut I added it and then immediately stirred and added bananas and it was so good!
Carlie says
Made this recipe earlier this week and it was the best banana bread I’ve ever made. My husband raved about it saying it’s the best he has ever had! I’m in Idaho, I baked it for 60 minutes but it needed longer so I rented foil over it and checked it 10 minutes later and it needed a little longer so it took about an hour and 14 minutes after and it was the most PERFECT texture ever. Not all soggy, not dry, seriously perfect. Also. If you omit the bananas I’m convinced this would be a fantastic sugar cookie recipe if you added just a little more wetness! I’ll have to try it soon! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Heather says
Dough consistency was great, especially after adding the mashed bananas. Baked it at 325 for 90mins and had to turn the oven up to 350 for another 15mins. Turned out great nonetheless. I used 4 bananas. Nice and moist.
Charlene says
Glad to hear that Heather! Enjoy!
Charlene says
Oh interesting idea Carlie! I will have to try that too. So glad you liked it 🙂
Charlene says
I am sure I have done that same substitution Kelsea because I always have coconut oil too. So happy to hear it worked out for you!
Ingrid says
I was tired of my old tried and true recipe….so I was looking for a change….this is Excellent. I used a cup of sugar, 1/2 white, 1/2 brown. …this is a keeper.. Thank you!!
Charlene says
Thanks Ingrid! Brown Sugar sounds wonderful!
Kristen says
Hi, I made this as the bread and it was wonderful. Can I make mini banana muffins with this recipe? And if so, how long do you think I would cook them for?
Thank you!
Charlene says
I have done muffins before and they were great! I would try 350 for 20 min to start and see if they need more time. Here is another version of a banana muffin with Nutella you might also like:
http://myfrugaladventures.com/2014/04/nutella-swirl-banana-muffins/
Stella says
This recipe is wonderful! The tops are always nice and moist as well as the rest of it. I use a bit less sugar though, about a cup of it. I always make this for my greatgrandmother, and she loves it! She’s 96, and always gobbles it up. It makes me very happy to see her enjoy it, as well as the rest of my family. This is my go-to recipe!
Charlene says
Happy to hear that Stella! Glad the sugar reduction worked for you. I always try recipes with the least amount of sugar I can possibly use. This is the version my kids consistently loved 🙂
-Charlene
Makayla says
Love this recipe! It is great for a newbie baker like myself because it turns out perfectly every time! 🙂