Easy Banana Bread

Yield: 10 slices · Breakfast · American

This is the banana bread that turns sad, spotty bananas into something magical. It's incredibly moist, warmly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and sweetened with brown sugar for a caramel-like depth. Best of all, you only need one bowl and a fork — no mixer required.

Ingredients

• 3 large overripe bananas (about 1 1/4 cups mashed — the browner, the better)
• 1/3 cup (75g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 3/4 cup (165g) packed light brown sugar
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan or line the bottom and sides with parchment paper for easy removal.
2. Mash the bananas. In a large bowl, mash the bananas with a fork until mostly smooth. A few small lumps are fine and will create pockets of banana flavor in the finished bread.
3. Add the wet ingredients. Stir in the melted butter, brown sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract until everything is well combined and smooth.
4. Add the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg over the wet mixture. Stir gently with a spatula until just combined — stop as soon as you no longer see dry flour. Overmixing develops gluten and makes the bread tough.
5. Pour and smooth. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Use the spatula to smooth the top into an even layer.
6. Bake. Bake for 50–55 minutes, until the top is deeply golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached. If the top is browning too quickly, tent with foil for the last 10 minutes.
7. Cool. Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges, turn it out, and let it cool completely before slicing — if you can wait that long.

Pro Tips

Variations

• Chocolate Chip Banana Bread: Fold 3/4 cup of chocolate chips into the batter for a decadent twist. Semi-sweet or dark chocolate both work wonderfully.
• Walnut Banana Bread: Add 3/4 cup of toasted chopped walnuts to the batter. Toast them in a dry skillet for 3–4 minutes first to bring out their flavor.
• Peanut Butter Banana Bread: Swirl 1/4 cup of creamy peanut butter into the top of the batter with a knife before baking for a marbled effect.

Nutrition Facts