Nana’s Ultimate Moist Banana Bread
This ultimate moist banana bread is one of my favorite recipes from my mom. I can’t wait for my girls to see Nana’s banana bread on the counter when they get home from college.
You may have read here that my mom recently passed. As I was spring cleaning, I found a folder of recipes including this one. This ultimate moist banana bread was a recipe my mom made a lot.
We enjoyed this banana bread with a cup of coffee in the morning for breakfast, with a cup of tea in the afternoon, or with a glass of cold milk as a bedtime snack. It never lasted long in our home, and I’m betting it will be gone pretty quickly in yours, too.
What You Need for Ultimate Moist Banana Bread
This recipe is pretty simple. You’ll need shortening or butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda, salt, vanilla, bananas, and walnuts. Mom always added nuts, but for those with nut allergies, you can omit them.
If you can find black walnuts, they are delicious and have great health benefits like antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. Walnuts are also a fantastic source of tryptophan, so this banana bread is a perfect bedtime snack.
Ultimate Moist Banana Bread Recipe
Scroll down for exact ingredients and a printable recipe.
Begin with room temperature butter. If your butter is cold, cut it up into small pieces and either leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes or put it in the microwave for 10 seconds. You don’t want it to melt, so 10 seconds should do the trick.
Preheat oven to 350º.
Cream together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer. This should be really creamy, not crumbly.
Just making this banana bread recipe brings tears to my eyes. I don’t know why I’ve never shared it before.
Add in eggs and continue to mix. Set aside.
Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients and mix well.
Break up very ripe bananas and add to the batter along with vanilla. Mix lightly until just combined.
Add walnut pieces.
Add batter to a loaf pan prepared with non stick spray.
Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set for 50 minutes and keep checking until done.
This recipe serves 12 if you cut normal slices, unlike my husband who eats two pieces each time!
What Can I Add to this Banana Bread recipe?
You can add so much to this recipe. My favorites are chocolate chips and dried cranberries- not together – hmm. Maybe together now that I think about it! I made banana chocolate chip bread years ago and added pumpkin, though this wasn’t made using my mom’s recipe. It was really good and the pumpkin adds more nutrition.
Try switching up the nuts with cashews or almonds. Any dried fruits would be good, as well. I’d try apricots, mango, or raisins. I also added fresh pineapple to this easy muffin recipe and it was delicious! Get creative and let me know what you come up with.
Enjoy this ultimate moist banana bread with a cup of coffee in the morning. It’s great for on the go breakfasts, too!
Can I Use Frozen Bananas?
Absolutely! I use frozen bananas a lot! Just stick them in a freezer bag and toss them in the freezer. I don’t thaw them before using them as they will get really mushy. It’s easier to run them under slightly warm water to remove the peel. Then chop them up and add them to the batter. SO easy!
Can I Make Banana Bread Muffins?
Can I make banana bread muffins?
You can absolutely make this in a muffin pan. It should make about one dozen large muffins or about 36 mini muffins.
How Long Does Banana Bread Keep?
Banana bread keeps for about five days if refrigerated, but it never lasts that long in my house. You can freeze the bread, as well. I would eat it within a few months if frozen. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Nana’s Ultimate Moist Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3/4 C butter
- 1 1/2 C sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 C flour all-purpose
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 4 ripe bananas
- 1 C walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º.
- Begin with room temperature butter or shortening. I used butter this time.
- Cream together the butter and sugar. This should be really creamy, not crumbly.
- Add in eggs and continue to mix. Set aside.
- Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients and mix well.
- Break up very ripe bananas and add to the batter along with vanilla. Mix lightly until just combined.
- Add walnut pieces.
- Prepare a loaf pan with non-stick spray.
- Add batter to pan.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set for 50 minutes and keep checking until done.
- Let cool.
- Serve warm or room temperature.
Nutrition
Other Delicious Bread Recipes You’ll Love
Monkey bread is always a big hit with kids in the house, and it’s so easy to make. This chocolate chip cookie dough monkey bread is a family favorite. Oreo Monkey bread is another popular recipe with the kids and kids at heart (ie; husbands!) And don’t forget peanut butter and jelly monkey bread!
For more recipes, look around in the recipe section or search a particular dish. Let me know if you can’t find something and maybe I’ll make it! Thanks for visiting, and please share this site with your friends and family. There is no better compliment!
