easy banana bread

Easy banana bread, a super simple bake and a great way of using up those bananas that are looking a little past their best. A great bake for kids.

Our easy banana bread is one of those recipes that we have meant to put on the blog for a long time. Michelle has made this recipe for years, it’s a simple bake. A great cake for beginners, which uses ingredients that most of us have in our store cupboards.

However, when making this bread we recommend not using fresh green or yellow bananas. In fact banana bread is one of the best ways of making use of overripe bananas. The more ripe and blacker the banana the sweeter the bread. I have been know to allow bananas to completely blacken, with the sole purpose of making banana bread. Also worth mentioning, bananas can be frozen. Once past their best, just pop them whole, with the skin on, into the freezer. Take out of the freezer and defrost in a bowl when you are ready to bake.

How to bake easy banana bread:

Varying the recipe:

This is a basic recipe, however, one that you can easily adapt. If you like nuts then some chopped walnuts add a lovely crunch to this bread, simply stir through the cake batter before popping it in the loaf tin. Likewise, you can add some milk or dark chocolate chips for a banana and chocolate bread.

Storing banana bread:

To keep this bread moist, wrap it in foil and place it in an airtight container. Otherwise the bread will dry out really quickly.

How do I know the banana loaf is cooked?

The simplest method of checking that any loaf or cake is cooked is to use the toothpick method. When the cook time is up, simply insert a toothpick or skewer into the centre of the cake, if it comes out clean it is cooked through and can be removed from the oven. If there is still some cake batter on the toothpick, return the banana loaf to the oven for a little longer.

Can you freeze banana bread?

This simple fruit bread can be easily frozen. Once baked, simply allow to cool thoroughly, before wrapping in grease-proof paper, placing it in a suitable container and popping it in the freezer.

Pin the recipe for later:

Additional recipe suggestions:

If you like this simple bake then try our Orange Sponge Cake, or our Victoria Sponge.

For more baking inspiration, particularly when baking with Children, then have a read of our Ultimate Guide to Baking with Kids, or our Best Cake Recipes post, where you will find a wealth of recipes and ideas.

This recipe has been shared to CookBlogShare where you will find other recipes by fellow food bloggers.