One Bowl Banana Bread

I grew up with my mom making this exact banana bread recipe at least once a month (probably more).

I don't know where the recipe originated from because it's been passed through our family for years. My grandmother made it. My mom made it. I make it. My kids even make it.

It's one of those super easy recipes that contains ingredients I always have around the house, and makes me feel all nostalgically warm and fuzzy even on the dreariest days.

This recipe is also the first thing I suggest to new bakers. (Or self-proclaimed terrible bakers - because the only way to mess this bread up is to accidentally leave out ingredients. Or, forget about it and leave the house for a few hours. That'd do it.)

But, seriously. This banana bread is pretty hard to mess up.

Here's what you do. Ready?

1. Put all the ingredients in a bowl.
2. Mix.
3. Pour the batter into a loaf pan.
4. Bake.

Double the recipe and put one loaf in the freezer because you're the kind of person who always has homemade baked goods on hand.

Oh, you're not that person? Well, you are now. Because baking two loaves of banana bread takes the exact same amount of time and effort as baking one. Eat one loaf today (duh), wrap the second loaf in a few layers of plastic wrap, and pop it in the freezer. OR - even better - wrap up individual slices so you can pull out what you want when you want it.

Having homemade banana bread in the freezer is awesome for...

• Busy weekday morning grab-and-go breakfasts. (aka, I-can't-believe-these-kids-insist-on-eating-every-single-day kind of mornings.)
• Leisurely weekend breakfasts when you want to eat something baked, but don't want to actually bake anything. 
• 4pm and 2am snack emergencies. The struggle is real.
• Domestic god/goddess rights. Having some homemade banana bread in the freezer is awesome for those I-forgot-about-your-birthday/anniversary/promotion/teacher appreciation day-but-want-you-to-think-I-remembered-in-time-to-bake-you-something kind of situations. Not that you've ever been there. Me either. 🙄

Additions and substitutions

If you want to get all wild and crazy, here are a few banana bread additions and substitutions:

1. Swap all or part of the granulated sugar for brown sugar.
2. Use ⅓ cup sugar and ⅓ cup sugar substitute (like stevia), or replace all the sugar with XyloSweet, which works pretty well.
3. Substitute half the butter with applesauce.
4. Add a teaspoon or so of vanilla and/ or almond extract. 
5. Throw in a handful of toasted nuts or chocolate chips. (Mini chocolate chips work best, I think.)
6. Make chocolate banana bread by melting ½ cup chocolate chips and beating the melted chocolate into the batter after you've mixed the other ingredients.
7. Spice it up by adding some cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, or any combination of the three. 

More banana recipes:

More homemade bread recipes:

Banana Bread is a Building Block Recipe

Building block recipes are tried-and-true recipes that I consider foundational to great home baking. They are the kind of recipes I come back to over and over again, sometimes baking them as is, but often using them as a jumping off point to create something new. > Scroll through all Building Block recipes.