This is one moist and flavorful banana bread recipe–which is why we’re confident to call this the BEST banana bread recipe–with the oats adding in killer texture. The oats yield an excellent bite by soaking up the banana, yielding a moist yet tender crumb. If you like your banana bread extra moist and bursting with banana flavor, add in 3 large ripe bananas or 4 medium ones. While if you like it more airy and dry, add in just 3 medium bananas.

Keep in mind that you do want your bananas to be overripe when making banana bread. Nearly fully browned bananas work best in any recipe, but as long as they are spotted all over they will work. In essence, you want to give your bananas enough time to produce their own natural sugars, which is truly what makes or breaks a banana bread.

What is great about this banana bread recipe, is that you can play around a bit with various ingredients. For a lighter and vegan bread, make it with coconut oil, a chia egg, and a nut milk. For a tangy note, you can substitute the 1/4 cup of milk for Greek yogurt or buttermilk. Finally, feel free to add in walnuts or chocolate chips if you so shall please. Or even add in one or two diced bananas for that extra ‘banana bread’ flavor. An important thing to note for this banana bread recipe to work well: bring each ingredient to room temperature prior to baking.

photographed by Paola van der Hulst

Also, depending on your sweet tooth, you can adjust the sugar accordingly in this banana bread recipe. If you prefer your bread on the lighter side, add 2/3 cup sugar (or even go as low as 1/2 cup), and if you’ve got your sweet tooth on go up to 3/4 cup. You can also substitute half the sugar for agave nectar or honey in this recipe, reducing the milk added by the same amount to keep the batter the same consistency.

Feel free to make this banana bread as muffins, and you can even make half the batter for a smaller treat. Just bake the muffins for 15-20 minutes, checking for doneness in several places in case you hit a banana bit and mistake it for rawness (same applies for the full banana bread recipe).

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To bake to perfection, make sure you cover your bread after 15-20 minutes of baking in order to avoid over-browning. Additionally, begin to check your bread for doneness after minute 55, as times vary quite a bit from oven to oven. The average baking time for this recipe is 1 hour 5 minutes, with the oven rack placed in the lower third position.

Finally, this banana bread will keep great for up to 3 days tightly wrapped in cling film or stored in an airtight container. But its highly probable, that it will be gone long before then. ?

photographed by Paola van der Hulst

Number of Servings: 8

Ready in Time: 1 hour 25 minutes (20 minutes active)

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients:

1 large egg

2/3-3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled

3 very ripe bananas, mashed

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup milk or almond milk (as needed)

1/2-3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)

a halved banana to top the loaf (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 5×9” loaf pan with butter or oil, and lightly flour it.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk thoroughly the unbleached flour, quick cooking oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside
3. In a large bowl, add the eggs and the sugar. Beat together over medium speed until pale and fluffy (2-4 minutes). Mix in the vanilla extract, followed by the coconut oil and the bananas.
4. Incorporate half of the flour mixture slowly, mixing until just incorporated. Add the second half of the flour, adding the milk a little at a time if needed. Your batter should be thick, but still pourable. Fold in the walnuts (optional)
5. Pour the batter into prepared mold and bake for 55-70 minutes, making sure you cover the loaf with tin foil after 15-20 minutes to avoid excessive browning. Your banana bread will be ready once a toothpick inserted comes out clean, though it will be slightly sticky from the banana. Remove your banana bread from the loaf pan after ten minutes, and allow it to cool completely before cutting (as your loaf will continue to cook while cooling).
6. Keeps well for 3 days in an airtight container. And try it toasted for a warm treat.

Tip: To make this banana bread recipe vegan, use coconut oil, almond milk, and two chia eggs.

Bon appetit!

Photographed by Paola van der Hulst

Recipe By: Paola van der Hulst, gnom-gnom.com