Easy Banana Bread
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This is a delicious and simple recipe for one of our favorite bakery items: banana bread. It’s also a great way to use up those bananas that become too ripe to eat.
We borrowed this recipe straight from SimplyRecipes.com but with a couple of differences. First we doubled everything because we always want more than just one loaf of banana bread. Next, we used 5.75” x 3” loaf pans so that we could make 4 mini loaves instead of 2 large ones. This reduces the baking time and gives each one of us in the family our own loaf that we can stake claim to. It might seem extreme, but you haven’t been in our house when someone eats the last of the banana bread!
Interested in these loaf pans? You can get them here.
INGREDIENTS
4 very ripe bananas
2/3 cup butter unsalted or salted, melted
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all purpose flour
Preheat the oven to 350°F and butter four mini loaf pans (3” x 5.75”) or two standard loaf pans (4” x 8”).
In a large bowl, use a fork to mash the ripe bananas until completely smooth.
Melt the butter either in a small pan over low heat or in the microwave for about 1 minute (be sure to cover the bowl in the microwave as butter has a tendency to pop and splatter!). Stir the melted butter into the mashed bananas with a wooden spoon.
Add the two beaten eggs and the vanilla.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture and stir until combined.
Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pans. Bake for about 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350°F, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. We rotated ours after 20 minutes, then tested with a toothpick after 40, adding more time as needed.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the pan and let cool completely before serving.
