Ingredients
Preparation
35 minutes 95 minutes A note about mix-ins: We like banana bread with walnuts, which add a warm, toasty, crunchy textural contrast. If you’re a nut-free household, leave them out. Or, if you prefer pecans, add those to your mixing bowl instead. Into chocolate chip banana bread? Our testers were divided, but ultimately determined that chocolate masked the delicate banana flavor more than we liked. If you swing the other way, add ½ cup chopped semisweet chocolate (or chips) along with or instead of the nuts. Interested in peanut butter banana bread? A pumpkin bread modification? Or recipes made with cream cheese or whole wheat flour? You’ll find those and more in the variations section of this other recipe. To ensure your homemade banana bread easily pops out of the pan, line the pan with parchment paper: Brush melted butter (or use cooking spray) on the pan to anchor the parchment, secure it with binder clips, then grease and flour the pan as indicated below. Editor’s note: This recipe was originally published March 24, 2015, as Our Favorite Banana Bread Recipe.
Step 2
Combine mashed banana, sour cream, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Step 3
Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar on medium speed in another large bowl until light and fluffy, about 3½ minutes. Add eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed until fully combined, about 1 minute each. Add banana mixture and beat until just combined, about 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients in 2 batches, beating on low after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl if necessary, until fully incorporated, about 20 seconds per batch. Fold in walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared loaf pan and smooth top with a spatula.
Step 4
Bake, rotating halfway through, until batter is set, top is dark golden brown and starting to crack, sides are starting to pull away from pan, and a tester inserted into center of bread comes out clean, 60–65 minutes. Cool in pan on a wire rack at least 15 minutes. Run a butter knife around perimeter of pan to loosen loaf, then tap pan gently on its side until loaf releases. Transfer to a cutting board or plate and let cool completely before slicing. DO AHEAD: Banana bread can be baked, cooled, then wrapped in plastic and left at room temperature up to 3 days, or frozen up to 3 months.
