I always buy a big bunch of bananas with the best intentions of eating all of them. But I always forget that I like bananas best when they’re bright yellow with a slight twinge of green. And by day 7, whatever bananas I have left are slightly brown and spotted. While these are not my ideal bananas to eat individually, these bananas are prime for banana bread.
So, after years of buying big bunches of bananas with the best intentions, I always inevitably end up with at least 2 bananas left to make a loaf banana bread.
Banana bread is such a delicious, easy way to use up ripe bananas before they go bad. Plus, you've just made an extra-special breakfast for the week!
What you’ll need (for 1 loaf):
2 very ripe bananas – the browner and more spotted, the better
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar or Splenda (I actually use Splenda for a healthier twist)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
See those spotty bananas? Those are perfect banana bread bananas.
What you’ll need to do:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a large bowl, cream together your eggs and sugar (meaning, beat those eggs and sugar on high for a couple minutes with an electric beater; or if you don’t have an electric beater then use a whisk to whip them together until thoroughly combined). Stir in mashed bananas (or, you could add them in and mash them as you go), vanilla, vegetable oil, and cinnamon. I like to leave my bananas a little chunky in the wet mixture because it gives you a little pop of pure, yummy banana flavor when you bite into the bread.
Those chunks of bananas are what make your banana bread extra special!
Slowly stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture, adding 1/3 of the dry mixture at a time. Combine the two mixtures until just combined – don’t over-mix, you want to leave some chunks of banana! Lastly, stir in your chopped walnuts.
Pour into a loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes. Then, use the toothpick trick to check if your bread is done (if the toothpick comes out smoothly, it’s done; if it comes out wet, stick your loaf back in the oven for a few minutes and then re-test).
The dough is ready to go in the pan. You can see little chunks of banana, chopped walnuts, and speckled with cinnamon. It's definitely a long 45 minute wait!
After the bread is finished, I cut it up in slices, cover the pieces with plastic wrap, and then enjoy all week for an easy breakfast on the go!
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