I only make banana bread when I have bananas that are far too ripe. My secret to making banana bread is to use bananas that are black. Think bananas that are so ripe, the peels are black, and when you lift them up, they're so weak the banana peels itself. Trust me - they're fine. As long as they don't have mold, and the fruit inside isn't black (but, if the bananas smell rotten and the insides are black, THROW THEM AWAY). My kitchen is usually stocked with bananas, so when we don’t eat them before they get too ripe, we toss them in the freezer for the next batch of banana bread.

I ran out of flour at the end of 2023 and didn't bother to restock until earlier this year. One day in February, I was trying to put away groceries, but over half my freezer space was taken over by bananas! So, I bought a 5kg bag of flour dedicated to just banana bread, and decided I'll make loaf after loaf until my freezer was empty.

It took me 2 months to clear out my freezer. I was making banana bread every week - sometimes twice a week. And the weekly loaves wouldn't include the banana bread I'd give away: when I went to a friend's place, I'd bring them a banana loaf; if a friend or my siblings came over, I'd send them home with a banana loaf. Thank god my boyfriend and I didn't get tired of eating banana bread (okay, after the fourth loaf, my boyfriend's banana bread consumption did slow down). By the time I finished the last 4 bananas in my fridge, I was slightly disappointed the weekly banana bread would stop. To be honest, I started over-buying bananas so I can have a freezer full of bananas again haha.

In this blog, I'll be going through my favourite banana bread recipe, how to properly store your loaf, and the best banana bread toppings!

Easy Banana Bread Recipe

Recipe makes 1 loaf, or up to 10 servings. Prep time would take about 10 minutes - or as long as it takes for your oven to heat up - and your bake time should take at least an hour, depending on the the dimensions of your bread pan.

I use a 9 by 5 inch pan, but if you end up using something larger, your batter will spread out and bake faster. If you're using a pan larger than a 9 x 5, with the same measurements as below, I recommend checking in on your banana bread at the 20-30 minute mark. 

Ingredients

• 4 medium and very ripe bananas
• ⅓ cup of melted butter
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla
• ¼ cup of sugar (in my zine, I listed ½ a cup of sugar. I use a ¼ cup now because I've cut my sugar intake. If you like your baked goods sweet, you can use upwards of 1 cup of sugar, but I'd use ½ a cup to start. It's also important to note that ripe bananas - especially if they're black - are very sweet, so you're able to get away with using less sugar)
• 1½ cups of flour
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• Salt
• 1-2 tablespoons of cinnamon (optional)
• Your fav toppings

Left: Banana Bread baked at 325°F; Right: Banana Bread baked at 350°F

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325°F (in my zine, I had the bake temp at 350°F, but with the hour bake time, I found that it made the banana bread's crust slightly more darker than I'd like) 
2. As your oven heats up, mash your bananas with the back of a fork, then add to a mixing bowl. If you're using frozen bananas, you may want to defrost the bananas at least 2 hours at room temperature beforehand (or overnight in the fridge)
3. In your bowl, add in your wet ingredients with the bananas: the beaten egg, the melted butter, and vanilla. Stir well
4. Next, add in your dry ingredients: the sugar, the flour, the baking soda, some salt, and the cinnamon. Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet until it’s all combined. If you plan on adding chocolate chips into your banana bread, I’d skip adding the cinnamon
5. If you’re adding toppings to your banana bread, add some into your batter so that you have some of it in every bite!
6. Once your oven is heated, grease a loaf pan with butter, or line it with parchment paper, then pour your batter into the pan. Top it off with your fav toppings
7. Bake for about an hour. You’ll know your loaf is ready when you stick a toothpick into it, and the toothpick comes out clean. If the toothpick doesn’t come out clean, check in another 5-10 mins
8. When your bread is done, let cool before serving.

How to Store Banana Bread

I don't think it's hard to get through a whole loaf of banana bread. I'll have a generous slice in the morning to have with my coffee, I'll snack on it throughout the day, and I'll even have a slice for dessert at the end of the night. However, on the off chance you don't finish your banana bread within the day, it's good to know that it stores pretty well.

Once you've finished your freshly bake banana bread, and once it's cooled down, store it in an air-tight container or wrap in plastic wrap. Feel free to leave out in room temperature overnight.

I think after about the second or third day, the banana bread does tend to get stale. So, depending on how much you think you can finish the first and second day, towards the latter half of the second day, store your banana bread in the fridge. It should last about a week in the fridge. When warming up your banana bread, you can always use the microwave, or a toaster oven, or the air fryer, but, toasting it in a hot pan with butter just makes it into an entirely new dish!

Freezing Banana Bread 

Let's say you always want to keep banana bread on hand, or maybe you want to make a loaf a week before you're supposed to have it for something, it's good to know that banana bread holds up pretty well once it's been frozen. If you're keeping banana bread in the freezer, I recommend dividing your freshly baked loaf into slices before wrapping it in plastic wrap and foil/an air tight container, then storing it in the freezer. Banana bread should last about a year in the freezer. Reheat it in the oven or microwave and it's still nice and moist!

Best Banana Bread Toppings

Banana bread holds up great on its own but it's always fun to add toppings - especially if you've had it as often as I had. Here are some of the best toppings you can add into your next banana bread!

• Chocolate Chips: this is my all time favourite topping. I like to use dark chocolate chips. Since I don't add too much sugar in my banana bread, almost all the the sweetness comes from the natural sugars from the bananas and the sugars from the dark chocolate. It's a simple and classic topping.
• Bananas: Something about adding bananas on top of banana bread just looks so classy to me! My boyfriend would joke that I took the name too literally. Tip: don't use bananas that are as ripe as the one's you'd add to the batter, I would use bananas that are a little under ripe or dehydrated bananas. I'd also add about a tablespoon of cinnamon and nutmeg into the batter for a spiced banana bread. 
• Blueberries: I love blueberries in pastries! Because they're so rich in antioxidants, they make any pastry FEEL healthier. The tartness of the blueberries cut through the sweetness of the bread. If I'm topping of a banana bread with blueberries, I also sprinkle on some coarse sugar for crunch.
• Granola & White Chocolate: Love this combo! It's like trail mix on top of a banana bread. The granola adds crunch and the white chocolate chips adds some extra sweetness!
• Cinnamon Crumble: Also known as a streusel. It is a sweet and cinnamon flavoured topping made up of flour, brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and walnuts (optional). You combine these ingredients into a course crumble before topping your banana bread and it comes out beautiful. If I made every banana loaf into a streusel, I would always finish it in one sitting. 

Hope you all enjoy this recipe! 🍌