Moist Buttermilk Banana Bread

How to make the best Banana bread recipe with a soft, tender and incredibly moist texture! This buttermilk banana bread is delicious and very easy to make at home, but most importantly it's perfect for using up those very ripe bananas.

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Best Banana bread recipe

If you love bananas then you must have this buttermilk banana bread recipe in your favorites. This classic banana bread recipe is very popular in the world not only because it is an ingenious recipe, but also for its absolutely delicious taste and flavor. 

The mashed banana added to the other ingredients provides moist crumbs as well as natural sweetness and of course its delicious taste and flavor.

Whenever we have overripe bananas at home, it's always a good opportunity to make tasty banana bread, like in my chocolate chip banana bread recipe or the double chocolate banana bread version which are among my favorite banana breads recipes.

>> See all the bread and cake recipes of the blog

Why use bananas in cakes

Banana bread is an ingenious and waste-free recipe because it allows you to recover the overripe bananas that no one wants to eat at home.

And banana is really one of the fruits that ripen very quickly even if we try to preserve it well but it's never bad news when we know that we can use it to make moist banana bread.

Buttermilk banana bread is very easy to make at home even if your bananas are not very ripe, it is perfect to treat the whole family for breakfast or for a snack.

Don't forget to spread a bit of peanut butter or chocolate spread on your buttermilk banana bread slices along with some banana pieces and nuts.

Ingredients and substitutions

• Butter: Use unsalted butter, softened or melted and cooled.
• Sugars: A mixture of white granulated sugar and flavored sugar such as brown sugar or cane sugar
• Eggs: At room temperature.
• Milk: Use fermented milk if possible, which you can replace with plain yogurt, semi-skimmed milk or cottage cheese.
• Banana: Ripe bananas if possible, but if your bananas are not ripe you can still follow this recipe.
• Flour: All-purpose wheat flour, which can be replaced by wholemeal or gluten-free flour. 
• Baking soda: 1 teaspoon of baking soda or 1 packet of baking powder.
• Salt and vanilla: to flavour and bring out all the flavours. (you can replace the liquid vanilla with a packet of vanilla sugar)

Optional:

• Nuts: a mix of chopped pecans, chopped walnuts, almonds for a crunchy nut version. 
• Spices: Ground cinnamon, pumpkin spice or gingerbread spices.
• Dried fruits: raisins, dried cranberries. 
• Chocolate: add mini chocolate chips or small pieces of dark chocolate.
• Lemon : a small amount of fresh lemon juice for preservation.

You will find all quantities and complete instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this page

Materials: You can use a hand whisk, an electric mixer or a stand mixer to make this banana bread recipe and for baking a 10 inch / 25 cm loaf pan or mini loaf pans to make mini loaves.

How to Rippen bananas 

Banana breads and other recipes made with mashed bananas work best when the banana is very ripe.

It has a much softer texture, it is easier to mash and it is much sweeter in taste so we always advise to use ripe bananas when they already have a black skin.

But if you don't have ripe bananas at home and you still have a craving for banana bread, there are 2 methods to help ripen bananas faster.

1 - In the oven: Heat your bananas in the oven at 248°F / 120°C for about 20 minutes. 

2 - In a bag: If you usually keep your bananas in the fridge, then take them out and place them in a plastic bag after a day they will ripen faster. 

How to make buttermilk banana bread 

1 - Mash the bananas

1. Place in a medium bowl or a large plate the bananas cut in pieces.
2. Crush them into a puree with a fork or a potato press until you get a mixture with some chunks left.

Tip: If your bananas are not very ripe, you can warm them up slightly in the microwave to soften them a bit.

2 - Cream butter and sugars

1. In a separate bowl, place softened butter cut into pieces with granulated sugar and brown sugar.
2. Using an electric mixer, mix on medium speed for at least 2 minutes until creamy and smooth.

3 - Add eggs, bananas and buttermilk

1. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix again with an electric mixer to incorporate them.
2. Add buttermilk and mashed bananas and mix until well blended.

4- Add dry ingredients

1. Add flour, baking soda and salt and ground cinnamon (optional).
2. And mix this time with a soft saptula to incorporate them and just enough to have a homogeneous cake mixture.

Option: This is the point where you can add your extras like chocolate chips, dried fruits or chopped nuts to make a banana nut bread.

5 - Baking

1. Preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C and line a 10 inch/ 25 cm long loaf pan with parchment paper or grease with butter or a cooking spray.
2. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the surface with the back of a tablespoon or an angled spatula.
3. Bake for 45 - 55 minutes until golden brown on top.
4. Remove from the oven and let the buttermilk banana bread cool in the loaf pan before carefully removing it from the pan and letting it cool completely on a cooling rack.
5. Cut your cake into 10 pieces and enjoy cold or a little warm.

Tip: After the baking time, check the banana bread with a toothpick inserted into the center, it should come out clean or with some crumbs.

How to eat your banana cake

The buttermilk banana bread is delicious eaten on its own as its texture is melting in the mouth but you can add a topping for more deliciousness:

• Nutella
• Peanut butter
• Salted butter caramel
• Banana slices
• Almond butter
• Speculoos paste
• Fruit jam, raspberry, strawberry, red fruit

Storage and freezing

At room temperature: You can store banana bread at room temperature for about 4-5 days in a storage box or covered with plastic wrap. Since it is very moist it should be kept in a cool place, you can also keep it up to 1 week in your refrigerator.

In the freezer: Cut your cake into slices and put them in a storage box. You can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Defrosting: Let your buttermilk banana bread come back to room temperature or use the defrost function of your microwave to go faster.

Frequently Asked Questions

More banana bread recipes

• Banana oatmeal muffins
• Double chocolate banana muffins
• Banana bread cookies
• Banana bread muffins
• Banana walnut bread

More bread and cakes recipes

• Lemon pound cake with sugar glaze
• Chocolate chip bundt cake with chocolate sauce
• Lemon Bundt cake
• Lemon poppy seed pound cake
• Pumpkin bread with streusel topping
• Carrot bread with cream cheese icing

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