It's impossible to say no to a slice of fresh banana bread. Moist, dense and absolutely delicious... how could anyone resist?
This is my long-time favourite banana bread recipe. It's incredibly simple, easy, and always has amazing results.

All you need is one bowl, a mixing spoon, and 20 minutes of preparation time. It really is that easy!

Banana Bread
Yield:
1 Loaf (Serves 8)
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
50 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour 10 minutes
This banana bread is perfectly moist and dense. It uses simple ingredients and takes less than 20 minutes to put together! It's impossible to pass up a slice of this heart-warming loaf.
Ingredients
- 2 overripe bananas
- ½ cup canola oil
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup caster sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 ½ cups plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C / 320°F (fan/convection) or 180°C / 355°F (standard). Grease and line a 23 x 13 cm (9 x 5 inch) loaf tin with baking paper, ensuring there's at least 3 cm (1 inch) overhang for easy removal of the banana bread.
- In a large mixing bowl, mash the overripe bananas well. Add oil, milk, sugars, eggs and vanilla essence. Stir until well combined.
- Sift over flour, baking powder and salt. Stir until just combined (a few lumps are fine).
- Pour into the prepared tin. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre of the banana bread comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Storage
- You can keep the banana bread un-refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- To freeze the cooked banana bread, allow to cool completely then wrap tightly in clingwrap and place in a zip-loc or freezer bag. Keep frozen for up to 6 months. Allow to defrost for 6 hours or overnight then serve as normal. You can also freeze the banana bread in individually wrapped slices for an easy lunchbox treat.
Substitutions & Tips:
- Oil: you can use any type of vegetable oil. Note that if you are using a rich olive oil it may change the flavour of the banana bread.
- Sugar: you can use all caster sugar or all brown sugar, if necessary. Using all caster sugar will give the banana bread a cakier texture, while using all brown sugar will make it richer and denser.
- Flour: you can substitute both 1 ½ cups of plain flour and 2 tsp of baking powder for 1 ½ cups of self-raising flour.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1/8th of LoafAmount Per Serving: Calories: 358Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 1.6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 46.3mgSodium: 143.7mgCarbohydrates: 50.7gFiber: 1.6gSugar: 30.4gProtein: 4.6g
Merrill says
First time trying out the banana bread and it came out great. I always come back to your easy recipes...already made the carrot cake 3 TIMES!
Chloe says
That makes me so so happy to hear! Thank you so much Merrill for your lovely feedback 🙂 This carrot cake gets made a LOT in our house as well!