How to Make Banana Bread and Fun Variations
You'll Love It!
Although I normally write about law and politics, I thought that today I would share something fun and easy. Friends always ask me for the recipe to my banana bread. They love it. Here is a newsflash: not all banana bread recipes are the same.
The trick is getting the bananas into the mix at the right time: the riper the banana, the richer and sweeter tasting the bread. The more bananas you use, the more flavor the banana bread will have. Banana bread is perfect for anytime of the day. I love it in the morning with a great cup of joe for breakfast.
So wait until those bananas are super ripe. Then mash those babies into the best banana bread you have ever tasted!
Ripe bananas
Tips to Get the Perfectly Ripe Banana
- To slow ripening, bananas should be refrigerated. If your bananas are super ripe but you are not ready to make banana bread with them, keep them in the freezer! The outer peel of the banana will darken but the banana itself will stay intact longer.
- To encourage faster ripening, place the banana in a brown paper bag at room temperature.
"The perfect fruit": 1 banana contains a variety of vitamins!
- Vitamin B6 - .5 mg
- Manganese - .3 mg
- Vitamin C - 9 mg
- Potassium - 450 mg
- Dietary Fiber - 3g
- Protein - 1 g
- Magnesium - 34 mg
- Folate - 25.0 mcg
- Riboflavin - .1 mg
- Niacin - .8 mg
- Vitamin A - 81 IU
- Iron - .3 mg
Cook Time
Ingredients
- 3 - 4 bananas, peeled and mashed
- 1/3 cup real butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 1/2 Tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 Tsp baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1 1/2 cups flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease loaf pan with butter and lightly dust with flour.
- Mash bananas in a bowl until almost smooth.
- Add sugar, egg, butter, and vanilla. Mix well with a fork. Tip: Do not pour hot butter over the egg as it may cook the egg slightly.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Pour flour mixture into banana mixture a bit at a time and mixing as you go. Make sure all is mixed together well before pouring into loaf pan.
- Pour contents into loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.
- Check middle of bread with small knife or toothpick to make sure the center is done (knife comes out clean).
Try these fun variations of banana bread!
Ingredient
| How to use it
|
|---|---|
sliced strawberries
| place on top of loaf prior to baking
|
pecans or walnuts
| stirred into the mix
|
chocolate chips
| stirred into the mix
|
confectioner's sugar
| dusted on top of baked bread
|
Rate this recipe!
Banana Bread
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving size: 1 | |
| Calories | 266 |
| Calories from Fat | 81 |
| % Daily Value * | |
| Fat 9 g | 14% |
| Carbohydrates 44 g | 15% |
| Sugar 15 g | |
| Protein 5 g | 10% |
| Sodium 84 mg | 4% |
| * The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA. | |
By Liza Lugo, J.D.
© 2012, Revised 2014. All Rights Reserved.
Ms. Lugo retains exclusive copyright and publishing rights to all of her articles and photos by her located on Hub Pages. Portions of articles or entire content of any of these articles may not be used without the author's express written consent. Persons plagiarizing or using content without authorization may be subject to legal action.
Permission requests may be submitted to liza@lizalugojd.com
Comments
- AUTHOR
A photo of my banana bread has been added. If you haven't tried this recipe, you're missing out on something special. It's so easy and delicious.
- AUTHOR
teachertalking1, thank you so much for taking the time to read my Hub and for your comments. It is very easy :-) I try to avoid complicated recipes! Hope you enjoy the banana bread.
- AUTHOR
Hi Everyone! I need your vote!!
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Thanks for the great, easy recipe! I've never made banana bread because I thought it was really complicated! Looking forward to giving it a try!
- AUTHOR
Thanks for your comment, Geminitrudy. I appreciate your endorsement on the recipe. :-)
Let me tell you from personal experience - this banana bread is DELICIOUS! Thanks for sharing the recipe ma'am!
- AUTHOR
Fiddleman,
Thank you for taking the time to read this hub and for your comment. I hope you enjoy this recipe. Let me know if you like it :-)
- AUTHOR
Justateacher,
Thanks for taking the time to read this hub and for your comments. I hate nuts in my banana bread (hahaha). I like them, just not in my banana bread. I hope you enjoy this recipe.
I really like banana bread and thanks for this great recipe.
Can't wait to try this recipe! I love banana bread and when I buy it, it is ruined with nuts!!! (Can't eat them!) I am glad that you did not add that ingredient. (I know it is easy to just not add the nuts....lol)
- AUTHOR
Thanks for your comment, Kristen. I absolutely love this recipe. Glad you're going to try it. Let me know how you like it.
Yumm, this sounds amazing! I would have never thought to add the vanilla extract! I'm going to buy some bananas today, and I'll try this recipe as soon as they're ripe enough. Thank you for sharing!
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