Classic Banana Bread

Tried this recipe as I had 3 bananas. This was probably my fault, but here’s what happened. I used all the correct ingredients, set the right temp for the oven, put it in for the specified amount of time only to smell something burning 20 minutes in. The top was burnt, the sides were perfectly cooked, but the middle was completely raw. I thought about trying to salvage it, but I didn’t know how I was gonna do that without overcooking the sides as well. I’m sure I used the right pan, so I am not sure what I did wrong. Oven might’ve been too hot.

The bread is great. What happened to the recipe? Thankfully I’ve made it enough to remember but when others ask for the recipe I have nothing to share with them. Let’s get it back together here, I’m not watching 30 mins of video and ads to get a recipe. I’ll go elsewhere

What happened? Thank you so much Anonymous for adding the instructions. I make this ALL the time. I will now save !

Thank heavens I'd already saved this recipe to my hard drive years ago. Here are the missing instructions:

Step 1 Preheat oven to 350°.

Step 2 Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Step 3 Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Spoon batter into an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.

Step 4 Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan.

Where is the recipe?

What happened to the Recipe???? I use this all the time now it's gone.

Don't rely on just the time given. Use a cake tester. Ovens vary greatly in temperature, so yours could be slightly cooler and thus take longer to bake. Banana bread loaves normally take about an hour to bake, but once or twice it's taken me about an hour and 15 minutes.

I had to make it ahead for a meeting and freeze it.  It thawed beautifully overnight and tasted great.  I did add some cinnamon and sugar topping before baking.  Bake time for my oven needed 10 more minutes.

I looked and looked and tried many Banana Bread recipes. This is definitely the BEST ever. I'll never try another!!

Does anyone think it will work in the bread machine???

I absolutely LOVE this recipe just the way that it is. The yogurt makes it super moist. The nuts are a great addition. Does anyone know how to convert this to a GLUTEN FREE recipe?

I was on the hunt for a simple delicious recipe for banana bread and this is it!  My kids loooove banana bread, especially my 4 year old, and according to them, this is the bomb!  It is so moist & flavorful!  I added walnuts to it which gave it that extra kick.  Delicious!

I made this recently, used Pina Colada yogurt.. turned out so good. Highly recommend this one.

Hello did you try to bake this is in the bread making machine ?..robert

Made it as written and it's delicious and moist. Very buttery tasting as well. Cinnamon and walnuts would be great additions.

We love this recipe. I have been making it for years. With super ripe bananas you can cut the sugar down to 3/4. I used whole wheat pastry flour. This time I added 1 1/2 cups of fresh blueberries and made muffins. Amazing blueberry muffins so extremely moist. -- Oh, I sub greek yogurt too and add cinnamon.

The mini chocolate chips (organic) for one loaf, my son who is a recovering Addict, loved (replace drugs with sweet).  I've made this recipe for many years, since I first saw it.  It's the only one I use and I had lost it, now found again thank God!

Did not know low-fat dary was unhealthy....why is it unhealthy??? Perhaps more sugar or salt to replace fat???

Terrific recipe!

Loved it.

We love this banana bread. I cut the sugar in half as the bananas are plenty sweet, and it was just perfect. Next time I will try adding some nuts and bake in a muffin pan. My new favorite banana bread and oh so easy!

Added a heap of cinnamon and cooked into muffin tins for 25mins at 175 degrees and turned out perfect!!! Delicious.

Best banana bread ever. I wasn't sure I wanted to make a healthy banana bread that my kids wouldn't eat. This bread got rave reviews and no one noticed the lower fat and calories. I'll be making this one again.

Followed the advice of others and added 1 tsp of cinnamon, and 1/2 brown sugar 1/2 reg sugar. Oh...also added walnuts. Excellent!

I love banana bread!

Great! Very easy to make. Very moist.

Haven't tried this yet...just wondering if anyone has tried this in a bread machine? It really sounds good.

This is a very good recipe. Love the texture. I love nuts but didn't want that to sway me so I didn't add them, but am sure it would be fantastic. It was good anyway. :) I did use vanilla yogurt as that is what I have on hand. I also added 2 tsp cinnamon and did 1/2 brown sugar 1/2 granulated. I like that blend on sweet breads like these. It was outstanding and I promptly added it to my recipe book. I did put some foil over the top at the last 15 minutes to keep it from browning more- but that may be to the stone bake ware I use. This is an easy one as well. I will be making this one when I make any for a function. :)

Excellent banana bread. I doubled recipe and made 18 large muffins and 2 mini loaves. Six muffins plain, 6 with mini chocolate chips, 6 with chopped pecans, 1 mini loaf plain and one mini loaf marbled chocolate by melting some chocolate and a bit of butter in the microwave, put on top of batter in loaf pan and swirl through with a knife before baking. All turned out Excellent and hubby thought so too. I will be making this recipe again.

This is the only recipe I have used for banana bread for years. It has great flavor and my family loves it. Bluesfanmyr- It's 'gall', and this recipe is not tagged 'healthy'. Not wanting to use the specific items listed doesn't need to stop you from making this again though with substitutions. You could use coconut sugar and wheat flour in place of part or all of the white, or try coconut or blanched almond flour. I personally don't use low-fat dairy because I believe it unhealthy, so I use full-fat vanilla yogurt. I've added organic, fair trade bitter-sweet chocolate chips before- my kids love that. A time or two when I was running low on butter I replaced it with organic extra virgin coconut oil which was also good.

Love, love, love this recipe! I make it fairly regularly and it's always a hit. The yogurt really does the trick and makes it super moist. Lots of pure banana flavor. I love it!

This is a hit. Everyone I share it with loves it. Even the pickiest kids in my extended family love this stuff. As a treat I sometimes throw in a handful of chocolate chips! Outstanding.

Wow, this is delicious! I used nonfat yogurt since I couldn't find lowfat at the grocery store, and it came out great. This recipe replaces my very fattening one that uses shortening. This is definitely a keeper.

I dont know where they got the Gull to put a HEALTHY tag on this recipe lolll 1 cup sugar, white flour; 2 poisons for the price of 1 lololl

I will never make another Banana Bread other than this. I made it exactly as per the recipe and it is outstanding.

Turned out great. I used nonfat lemon greek yogurt because it was what I had on hand. Reduced the sugar because the yogurt was sweetened. Also replaced one TBS of the butter with canola oil.

This is my go-to banana bread, I make it probably once a month! I have used buttermilk, and usually use reduced fat sour cream instead of the yogurt, and it always turns out great. I've also used vanilla yogurt and it's been good. I usually reduce the sugar to 3/4 cup and don't miss the extra, and add in a little cinnamon. Sometimes I add 1/4 cup pecans or walnuts. Today I used 2/3 cup egg white-egg beaters since I had some I wanted to use up, and it worked out well, too! I usually make 12-15 muffins and bake them for 23 minutes.

Delicious! I used 4 very ripe bananas - YUM!

Delicious! I cut the sugar back to 3/4C and the bread was still quite sweet - my bananas were very ripe, so added a lot of sweetness. I added chopped pecans, about a half cup and baked in two loafs. It didn't take an hour to bake, maybe 45 minutes. The dough is dense so it does take a while to cook. I checked it often starting at 30 minutes. I could not taste the rum at all so either I would use rum to make the glaze or I would just omit it all together. I had last minute guests and nothing to offer, so I liked how this came together pretty quickly, and we ate it warm and fresh from the oven - yum!

I reduced sugar by half, subbed buttermilk for yogurt and added mini chocolate chips. I also replaced half the butter with canola oil and half the white flour with oat flour. All in all, it came out very well.

This is the best recipe yet that I've make. Delicious!

Very nice. I used low fat sour cream and 1 cup of King Arthur light whole wheat flour as subs for original ingredients. I also added 1/2 cup toasted walnuts (chopped). All in all a very tasty banana bread. We prefer the texture change that comes with cooling the loaf, wrapping it in foil and leaving in the refrigerator overnight. It almost seems to have been steamed -- back in the day I made a crock pot banana bread that resulted in this texture. Definitely a good choice for everyday banana bread that is as good for dessert as it is for breakfast!

This Is a good basic quick and easy recipe. I used light sour cream instead of yogurt bc I was out of yogurt and added some chocolate chips. It turned out great.

Excellent! I hadn't heard of using yogurt in the recipe before, and it made it very moist.

I had been looking for a moist banana bread recipe and this recipe is perfect! I made it for my son's football team and I had boys telling me that it was the best banana bread that they had ever had! I'm making it again for them next week!

This recipe is great. I do make changes but have made it the way it is and it rocks the original way. My way: Cut sugar in half ( ripe bananas have plenty of sweetness), 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup wheat flour, 1/2 cup walnuts, double the vanilla (I love vanilla), 2t cinnamon, I like to use 1/2c yogurt (keeps it really moist). I only have to bake it for 45 minutes. Simply delicious and great for you. Better on 2nd, 3rd and 4th day. :)

Added a cup of pineapple chunks and was delicious!!

Excellent go-to recipe! I need to remember to lower the oven temperature as I have dark loaf pans and the bread gets very dark at 350, but still tastes delicious! I make it as shown since my husband and grandkids would not appreciate the addition of nuts. I did substitute low fat sour cream for the yogurt once and that worked fine too.

so moist! added chopped walnuts and it was fabulous

Super simple. I used buttermilk one time, and vanilla yogurt the other. Both worked great.

My husband used this recipe for the base and added 1/4 cup walnuts, 1/2 cup chocolate chips and 2 tblsp. of chunky peanut butter. This is a keeper.

Love this recipe, added 1/2tsp of cinnamon and baking powder. Plus sprinkled about 1Tbsp light brown auger on top before baking. Made several loaves and gave some away to friends.....everyone absolutely loved it. Replaced the recipe I had been making for over 15 years with this one......has half the fat and calories of my old one....and better flavor...will be making this for years to come.

I knew there had to be a banana recipe out there that didn't call for a stick of butter! This was SO good. I made 2 loaves - 1 with all white flour and 1 with half wheat flour. I actually prefer the half wheat! Dense yet moist and the perfect banana flavor. I will reduce sugar by 1/4c next time, but make as is the first time you try. Perfect for breakfast on the go or with a cup of coffee!

Very good basic recipe, the kind you think about having as a kid.

Delicious! I have played with recipe a few times, adding an extra banana, wheat flour, cinnamon, raisins and nuts. Wonderful every time!

This is a good recipe - very simple and ingredients are basic items you would have in your pantry. The bread is more cake-like than dense. When making banana bread, I always use very ripe bananas as these always make a sweeter bread. The texture of the bread is nice and light!

The best banana bread recipe I've ever found!! I've made it several times now and played with the ingredients, but I think my latest version is the yummiest. I used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all purpose. For the sugar I used 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup Splenda. I used plain non-fat greek yogurt. I diced an apple into tiny pieces and added that and dark chocolate chips to the batter just before baking. It took a little over an hour to bake. I'd like to try to get rid of the butter too so next time I think I might try alternatives for that.

Really good! and very simple!

Easy to make and it was delicious! I didnt have plain non fat yogurt on hand so I used yopliat simplait vanilla and I added a bit of cinnanmon. The hubby loved it, I will be making this again :)

I thought it was good.

the bread turned out great

We love this recipe and use it all the time. Minor adjustments that I made are to use 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/4 cup unbleached white flour. Also, based on other reviews I've lowered the sugar and use 1/3 cup white sugar and 1/3 cup dark brown sugar. We also add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips for the kids. It's a great recipe.

I followed the advice from busymomtina....2C whole wheat flour, 1t baking soda and 1/2t baking powder and this was YUMMY!!! Oh...and I used plain non-fat Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt. I was really skeptical since this has NO spices but figured based on the amazing reviews, I had to give this a try.and I'm glad I did. The texture is incredible...even with all whole wheat (again like busymomtina I used King Arthur) it is virtually as light and airy as a quick bread made with white flour. The *only* reason I'm not giving five stars is that I'm still not convinced a bit of...cinnamon? cloves? wouldn't make this even better...then again - my kids both said this was AMAZING! This will be my definite go-to when I have overripe bananas!

OMG! This is a super delicious banana bread recipe. I use a 1/2 cup less flour for an even more delicious and moister banana bread and I save a tablespoon of sugar to sprinkle on top for a nice glazed crust before popping into the oven. Yum!

I was a litter hesitant about using this recipe because I didn't have any yogurt on hand. Instead, I used a recommendation I read in another comment, and used Non-fat sour cream. The bread turned out fantastic. It is rich and moist, just the way I love my banana bread, and it tastes wonderful.

I changed some ingredients only to make it healthier but the end result was so moist and delicious! The best banana bread recipe I have had! I used flax as a substitute for the eggs to lower cholesterol, 1 1/2 cups bread flour and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 reg sugar and 1/2 Ideal sugar substitute, and 1/2 cup applesauce added to only 1 cup mashed banana since I didn't have enough.)

Great recipe, very moist. Added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, and it was the perfect amount. It did need 10 minutes longer baking time. Be sure to test before removing from oven.

I have made A TON of different banana bread recipes since my family LOVES it! This is THE ONE..... I have been using this recipe for a couple years now and it never disappoints. I do make a couple changes, I use King Arthur whole wheat all purpose flour which is like all whole wheat more dense so I up the baking soda to 1 tsp as recommended by King Arthur Co. and I add 1/2 tsp baking powder (also recommended by KA Co.) I also increase the bananas to 2 cups and puree them in a separate bowl with the hand mixer. You would never know they are whole wheat! I make muffins (bake for 20 min) and put em in the freezer in ziplock bags. It makes a great quick breakfast when on the go! .

My loaf turned out picture perfect, and tasted amazing! My go-to recipe for banana bread from now on.

As others here have attested, this is a great recipe for Banana Bread, and I have been making this recipe for the past couple of years. However, I, too, have made some changes to the original recipe. Instead of yogurt, I use low-fat sour cream. I also cut the sugar down from 1 cup to 3/4 cup, and I also add a 1/2 cup mini-chocolate chips, as well as a 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. Also, my oven must be on the fast side, because my loaves only take about 50 minutes to bake. Delicious!!!

this is the best recipe for banana bread that i've ever used, i made a few changes to suit me but it still came out nice & moist. i used white wheat flour, greek yogurt and a few dashes of cinnamon & nutmeg but that's it.

I added sunflower seeds. This banana bread got me laid.

I don't bake, but I had some dying bananas that I specifically used this recipe for. It was awesome. I really impressed my daughter and my girlfriend. I like the idea of no nuts in it too. Since I didn't have the correct sized loaf pan, I made muffins instead. I think we liked these even better, because we got more "crust" out them. They were amazing.

This is a "keeper" recipe. Delicious and healthier than traditional banana bread. I eliminated the 1/4 cup butter and substituted canola oil and another 1/4 cup of applesauce. I didn't mash up the bananas much but left them a bit chunky so they'd survive baking. May be the best batch of banana bread I have ever made (or tasted). FYI, when I did the nutritional analysis for my modification (which shouldn't vary much for the added 1/4 cup of apple sauce since butter and oil have the same calories), the actual calories per slice (12 per recipe) turned out to be 212. Still a very reasonable deal for this delicious slice of banana heaven!

great! moist and delicious, can't get enough!!

Excellent! Made as directed excect I baked four small loaves for 50 minutes (at 10,000 feet) instead. Turned out great. Will make again but might cut sugar to 3/4 cup or even 2/3. It's quite sweet.

You also have to look at what the calorie breakdown is from the comment a few posts before me. The banana and yogurt are healthy but they do have calories. Portion control should be used esp for treats.

Good recipe for banana bread. I substitute 2/3 cups of the sugar with no sugar added apple sauce and use whole wheat flour. I also add pecans and raisins. Great breakfast bread.

Delicious. second time making it.

This isn't Cooking Light by a long shot, seriously. 187 per slice? Have you tried to get 14 slices from a loaf of banana bread lately? Most likely each slice will be 220 - 280 calories. What's up with Cooking Light's nutrition parameters?

I substituted white whole wheat flour and it was absolutely delicious! I'll be making this again and again.

FANTASTIC RECIPE! i work for a mental health assisted living facility and baked this for them for snack last week and they RAVED for three days! i am currently baking it for the second time so they can have it for snack tomorrow. i added chocolate chips upon their request. (:

What a fantastic recipe! I slightly changed the recipe by using 1/2 cup raising whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup white flour. I also decreased the sugar qty to 3/4 cup. The recipe gave me a good size bread plus 4 muffins which I decorated with low-fat buttercream. My two-years old daughter and little cousins love them! I will make it again

Best Banana Bread recipe ever. So moist and delicious. I've made it in both a loaf and muffins and it turns out great either way.

Great basic recipe, though too sweet for us. I cut sugar to 3/4 cup and might go even lower next time. Also added wheat germ, part whole wheat flour, dates, and walnuts. What I really like here is the texture--not heavy and oily, but light and fluffy, even with about 1/3 whole wheat flour.

the best ever

This was fabulous! Very moist and tasted wonderful. It did however take about 1 hour 15 minutes. Well worth the wait!

this was delicious and a keeper, but the next time i will add chopped walnuts.

I've never been able to make a decent banana bread-- mine always sinks in the middle or is mushy or charred around the edges. Never again! This banana bread recipe rocks. I made two batches-- one in muffins (they baked about 30 minutes) with chocolate chips and the other in a loaf I plan to gift to our hosts this New Year's Eve. I added cinnamon and walnuts to the loaf, so I'm excited to try it! The muffins were a huge hit and would work for breakfast, snacks, or even dessert. I even messed up the recipe by not creaming the sugar; I just added everything together and mixed. To say this recipe is dummy-proof is completely accurate; you can't mess it up!

This is a good recipe, however, I recommend using butter to grease the pan (which kind of defeats the purpose of using a "Cooking Light" recipe). I used a good amount of cooking spray but found that the loaf "burned" more around the edges. I also reduced the baking time to 50 minutes. It could be my oven, however, it is a new oven so I'm not sure if that is the culprit.

Moist & delicious. I added a cup of chopped pecans & the morning crowd raved!

This is a great banana bread recipe. All of these years I have been using the recipe in the BC Cookbook but not any more. Now that I have found this light wonderful recipe I will be using this recipe for my banana bread! It is fabulous and very moist and flavorful. I have made it multiple times and it always turns out great! I didnt change a thing with the recipe.

I've made a lot of banana bread in my life, but this is my favorite!! I added 1 tsp of cinnamon and it was absolute perfection!!!! No other modifications were made and I found an hour was the right amount of bake time.

Absolutely delicious. I made these exactly as the recipe states. Then I poured the batter into greased muffin tins and baked for 20 minutes. Perfection. I made some with walnuts and I'm in heaven!

Moistest banana bread I've ever made and keeps for a long time in the refrigerator.

Delicious! I made the following simple substititions: used 2 cups of white wheat flour in place of all purpose flour; replaced 1/2 cup of white sugar with 1/2 cup of brown sugar; and I used one egg and 1/4 cup egg substitute. Also, I reduced oven temp to 325 since I used a dark pan and I only cooked it for 50 minutes. Very easy to make with a wonderful result.

Delicious! We make this bread all the time and its so good! Very moist and full of flavor, also a great way to get rid of browning bananas. Not too much butter or oil which is great!

Baking time depends on the type of pan used and of course your oven...I made two separate batches-one batch was divided btwn two metal pans that were 8" L x 4" W x 2 1/2" D -baking time was 50 min. The second batch was in one ceramic bread pan measuring 10" L x 4 1/2" W x 3" D-baking time was 1 hr and 5 min. I also pull my breads out when the centers just slightly moist on the toothpick, otherwise the bread is too dry. I added vanilla yogurt and walnuts to the recipe and sprinkled sugar on top before baking.

Yummy!! This was easy, quick, and very tasty. I used whole wheat flour, and think that even worked out well. I would definitely make this again!