Easy Banana Bread
Perfect for Using Up Ripe Bananas
Jump to RecipeDo you have some bananas lying around that are too ripe to eat? Then this banana bread recipe is the perfect way to use them.
I’m not the biggest fan of bananas in general, but sometimes I feel like eating them and end up buying some. However, I only like them when they’re a very particular shade of light yellow, and as soon as they get soft, I don’t want to eat them anymore. Instead of throwing them out, it’s the perfect opportunity to let them ripen as much as possible and bake with them – like in this banana bread. The riper the bananas, the better, as they become sweeter and easier to mash. But you can also use yellow bananas, as long as they’re a little soft.
The nice thing about this recipe is that you can personalize it to your taste and based on what you have available. As long as you follow the basic recipe, you can add or omit the optional ingredients, and it should still come out fluffy and moist. For this particular banana bread, I added some salted caramel that I had in the fridge and needed to use. I simply mixed it into the batter before baking, and it added a nice depth of flavor to the cake.
I also wanted to increase the protein content to make it more filling, so I added skyr and about 30g of protein powder. Personally, I prefer to use neutral protein powder since I’m not a fan of artificial flavors, but you can use any kind you like – just keep in mind that it will affect the taste. Since it’s autumn, I also added some cinnamon, and I can imagine that cardamom or nutmeg would also taste great. Or maybe some pumpkin spice if you’re in the US. Chocolate, cocoa powder, or any kind of nuts would also work well to add some texture.
Since I didn’t add anything for crunch, I decided to sprinkle some sugar on the greased loaf tin and on top of the batter before baking. The sugar caramelizes in the oven and gives the outside a nice crunch, which contrasts beautifully with the soft and fluffy interior. And food is always better with different textures!
Whatever combination you choose, I hope you try this banana bread recipe. It’s really easy to make, doesn’t take much time to prepare, and tastes amazing. Let me know what variations you come up with!
Easy Banana Bread
Course: Dessert, Cake, Sweet10
servings50
minutes175
CelsiusThis easy banana bread recipe is perfect for using up ripe bananas. Soft, moist, and full of flavor, it’s a great base to customize with your favorite add-ins like chocolate, nuts, or spices. Enjoy it as is or make it your own!
Ingredients
- For the cake:
3 large bananas (very ripe)
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
120g butter (soft)
30g caster sugar + 15g for the top
80g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla sugar or whatever vanilla you have available
1 large egg
250g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
50g skyr or greek yogurt
100g chopped chocolate and/or nuts (optional)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 175 C (fan).
- Mash 2 of the bananas in a small bowl together with cinnamon. Keep 1 banana as a topping for later or mash it with the rest. That’s totally up to you.
- In a bigger bowl, whisk together butter, the sugars and vanilla. Make sure the butter is soft enough or melted.
- Add flour, protein powder (optional), baking powder and salt. Carefully fold it in to not overmix.
- Add bananas and skyr and fold these in as well. If you want to add chocolate or nuts, you can do this now as well.
- Grease a loaf tin with butter and sprinkle some sugar inside to coat the tin.
- Pour the batter into the greased tin. Cut the remaining banana lengthwise into half and top the batter with it. Sprinkle on some more sugar. This will create a nice crunch on the outside.
- Bake for about 50 minutes at 175 C until it’s golden brown and a stick comes out clear in the middle.
Notes
- You can easily swap the butter with vegan or lactose free butter.
- If you want the cake to be less sweet, you can just use less sugar. This is usually possible in cakes and doesn’t affect the structure too much.
- I also added 30g of neutral protein powder to increase the protein. Just add it to the flour. I don’t think it changes the texture or flavor, but it’s of course totally optional.
- In the version pictured, I added about 2 tbsp salted caramel I had leftover. You can experiment with the add-ins here. Dark chocolate and/or nuts work great as well. Or some spices like nutmeg. Or you just keep it simple and enjoy as is.
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