A healthy dose of buttermilk makes this Buttermilk Banana Bread extra moist, and gives it a very mild tang. If you’ve never tried banana bread made with buttermilk before, you are in for a treat!
It only takes about 15 minutes to whip up this bread, and the hardest part is just waiting for it to bake. Buttery, soft, and fluffy, it practically melts in your mouth!
We love banana bread in all of its forms at our house, so I’m fine with another excuse to bake up some banana bread! Who doesn’t love a slice fresh and warm from the oven? So yummy for breakfast, or brunch, or lunch, or an afternoon snack. . .
How do you make banana bread?
- PREP WORK: Spray 6 mini loaf pans or 2 large loaf pans with Baker’s Joy (or non stick cooking spray). Melt the butter. Mash the bananas. Preheat oven to 350°.
- DRY INGREDIENTS: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- WET INGREDIENTS: In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, butter, buttermilk, and bananas. Gently stir in the dry ingredients just till mixture is barely combined. Overmixing leads to tough banana bread.
- BAKE: Pour batter into prepared pans.
HOW LONG TO BAKE BANANA BREAD?
If you are using 6 mini loaf pans (mine are 5 3/4″ x 3 1/4″), you will need to bake the loaves for about 30- 35 minutes. They will have light golden brown crust. Mine were barely done, it’s fine if they are more brown.
Large loaf pans (8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″), will need to bake for 50-60 minutes. Larger loaves will have darker crust, because it takes longer for the center to fully cook.
Ovens vary, and different types of bread pans bake differently, so use a toothpick to see of your bread is done. If you insert it in the middle of the loaf, it should come out clean.
Let loaves cool in the pan for 5- 10 minutes, then remove from pans and place on wire cooling racks to cool completely.
HOW TO MAKE BANANA BREAD MOIST:
- Make sure you are using plenty of bananas. You want at least one large banana for every cup of flour, but more is better. This recipe has 4 bananas to the 3 cups of flour. And of course you want your bananas to be very ripe; firm bananas will give you a dry bread that isn’t as sweet.
- Fat makes baked goods nice and moist. Butter adds better flavor, but breads with oil are usually more moist because oil is liquid at room temperature. This recipe uses butter, but trust me, the bread is very moist.
- Use buttermilk. Buttermilk, sour cream, and yogurt are great ways to keep banana bread (and other baked goods) from drying out.
- Don’t overbake! No matter what ingredients you add, if you over bake your bread, it will be dry. I like using mini loaf pans because the middle can finish baking before the edges are dark.
VARIATIONS:
- We also love this bread with nuts. Add a cup of chopped pecans, walnuts, or your favorite nuts. For best flavor, toast the nuts first.
- Stir in a cup or two of chocolate chips with the dry ingredients. (This is my kids’ favorite option!)
- Add any type of dried fruit. I think craisins, dried pineapple, or coconut would be especially tasty.
RECIPES WITH BANANAS:
MORE QUICK BREAD RECIPES:
- Apple Cinnamon Bread
- Lemon Zucchini Bread
- Pumpkin Coconut Bread
- Zucchini Pear Bread
- Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Bread
- Sweet Cornbread
- Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
- Pina Colada Zucchini Bread
- Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese
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Easy Buttermilk Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup butter melted
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 4 very ripe bananas mashed
Instructions
- Whisk together flour, sugar, soda, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs, butter, buttermilk, and bananas. Stir in dry ingredients till just moistened.
- Pour into 6 or 7 *small loaf pans that have been sprayed with Baker’s Joy or spread with shortening and dusted with flour.
- Bake at 350° for about 30-35 minutes. Let cool in pans 5-8 minutes before removing to cooling racks.
Notes
Nutrition
This super moist banana bread is sure to become a family favorite! It takes less than 15 minutes to whip up, and has unbeatable texture and flavor.
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Could I use whole milk soured with lemon juice or vinegar in place of the buttermilk? Or could I even use sour cream instead?
I don’t think soured milk works quite as well in baked goods, but most people find it acceptable. If I don’t have buttermilk, I prefer to use half milk/half sour cream or plain yogurt. Hope that helps!
I made this recipe as directed. Came out absolutely moist. Thank you
So glad you tried and loved it. Thanks so much for stopping by Sandra! 🙂
What a pretty, golden color. And, you are right..the buttermilk adds a great tang & flavor. We added some chocolate chips, but it’s delicious by itself.
You can never go wrong by adding chocolate chips, can you? 🙂
I was wondering what size 6-7 small loaf pans are? I have a bread size bread pan, a loaf pan that is a little smaller, but with the quantity being 6-7 small, I wondered if these were the little loaves that are great for giving away. Of course any size of this yummy sounding bread would be good for giving away! Just checking so that I don’t end up with too much batter and not enough pans!
Debbie,
My pans are 5 3/4″ by 3 inches. I have found that three of my small pans hold about the same amount as my large loaf pan. Hope that helps!
Thanks Kara! I think I will use my 2 bigger pans which are 9 x 5 with the recipe. That will probably work out. Thanks for your quick response. Now…back to the kitchen! Have a good day!
Yummy these are so good my husband loves them!!!!!!! Definitely added the chocolate chips!!!!
I am going to have to add chocolate chips next time!
For those of you who mentioned not having ripe bananas, I keep a couple of jars of banana baby food and banana extract on hand for just such occasions! 1 jar = 1 banana, and I add a dash of extract to bump up the flavor.
Thanks for the great idea Linda!
Hi, so I always Pin Pin and Pin, and never actually make anything, but this I’ve got to make! One question, what kind of butter do you use, what brand? I’m new to all this, and there’s a lot of different butter out there…. Salted, un salted, in a tub…margarine? In sticks, I even saw some un salted sweet cream butter! Thanks!
I just use store brand salted butter that comes in the sticks. I usually buy a bunch at Costco or Sam’s Club and freeze it. Margarine sticks would work for this recipe too, but not the kind in the tub, it has too much water content for baked goods. Hope that helps!
Yes, Thanks!
Yum! I haven’t spent too much time with buttermilk, but I love the idea of adding that tang to simple banana bread. Great idea!
Mmm, love banana bread. I am happy that my kids are big enough now to help me eat it all since Jacob hates bananas. Your sour cream banana bread recipe is my favorite, although this one sounds pretty tempting!
They are both darn yummy, that’s for sure! Glad your kids didn’t inherit Jacob’s dislike of fruit! 🙂
Oh buttermilk makes everything so moist and delicious!! I can’t wait to try this recipe the next time I have a few overripe bananas on my kitchen counter. Thanks for sharing:)
Hope your family doesn’t eat them before they can get ripe! 😉
This looks so moist & delicious!
Thanks Amber! It really is. 🙂
That is so funny! I found this site from pinterest and I have so many ripe bananas today and buttermilk which is perfect and awesome! I had intended to make more smoothies than I did this week and apparently I got overzealous in the produce isle.
I can’t wait to make these today!
-Paige
Sounds like it was just meant to be! 🙂
It is so good! I couldn’t resist adding a cup of chocolate chips. Mmm 🙂
Paige
This bread looks to die for! The pictures are amazing. I pinned this post and I’ll be making it soon! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much Kendra! Sometimes I struggle getting good photos, so it just makes my day to hear you say the pictures are amazing. 🙂
This banana bread recipe looks so yummy!
Thanks Faye! It really is. 🙂
This looks fabulous Kara – so moist! So excited for National Banana Bread Day 😉
I work in an office full of guys and Im doing something new this year where I bake for each of their birthdays. I need something for tomorrow, this looks perfect…. Now to try and find some overripe bananas.
That is the hardest part at our house. My family always finishes off the bananas before they get ripe. Sometimes I have to hide them just so I can make banana bread. LOL!