There is something so simple, delicious and comforting about a warm piece of banana bread. Which is exactly why I made a loaf of it last week.
Last week my daughter went to Catalina Island on her first big out of state school field trip to the Catalina Island Marine Institute. We were really fortunate that my husband was chosen as a chaperone for the trip and was able to go along, but even with him accompanying her, I’m a worrier by nature. When one of my girls is away from me, I worry.
So with both her and my husband out on an island, and buses and boats and sea creatures (and buffalo, there are buffalo on that island) involved, I spent most of their time away being super excited for them, and their amazing adventure, and the other half the time worrying about all of the what if’s that could go wrong. Hence my need for some comfort food. And that’s where we get banana bread.
It probably didn’t help my worrying that I stayed up half the nights that they were gone, following, as my daughter would say, “hashtag ebola”, on Twitter. And hashtag enterovirus. So yeah. Though in my defense if you will, I don’t actually use Twitter as a news source. It just gives me a jumping point to go scour the internet looking for facts in peer reviewed medical journals. I didn’t spend all those years in grad school writing and reading research papers for nothing you know. Clearly I use those skills to try and decide if I should become a doomsday prepper.
I’ve always been pretty germ phobic. It doesn’t take the threat of some global pandemic to get me there. Sorry, but I’m that person who will walk off the elevator is someone is coughing and sneezing in it. I’m big on hand washing and sanitizers and wipes and “stop touching your face!” (which is a dismal failure with my four year old). I grew up with asthma that made the common cold turn into a trip to the hospital, and a brother who had a weakened immune system and was *always* pretty darn sick (he’s an Ironman triathlete these days, so he’s fine).
There are so many things out of our control, that I may go a bit overboard trying to convince myself that I can control something (hey, at least I openly admit to my crazy making). I admittedly get a bit extreme in your average cold and flu season. But this year? While my mind has a nice rational side, it also has a side that is like this is really some scary stuff, and it’s just getting started. Exhibit A, my Amazon orders for the week…
So now that we’ve covered that fact that I’m a lee-tle crazy, and probably have clean and very dry hands, let’s move on to bread. Nice comforting banana bread.
This is just a good old fashioned banana bread recipe. Simple, delicious, classic. I loaded mine up with walnuts, which, in my opinion, is the best way to eat banana bread. If a slice of this warm, with a little butter… perfection. The only plus to my daughter being out of town is that I can actually put nuts in my bread.
If nuts aren’t your thing, you can leave them out, or even throw in some chocolate chips. Think of the recipe as a base, that you personalize and make your own. I one made it and threw in some macadamia nuts and coconut, that was delicious. Don’t be afraid to get creative like that.
Also, if muffins are more your speed, make sure to check out my Banana Bread Muffins recipe as well!
MORE DELICIOUS BANANA RECIPES TO TRY:
- Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Vanilla Banana Muffins
- Butterscotch Banana Muffins
- Pumpkin Banana Muffins
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Banana Bread Muffins
- Simple Banana Bread
- See all of my Banana Bread Recipes
Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 3 to 4 very ripe bananas (peeled (about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups mashed))
- 1/3 cup melted butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Grease a 4×8-inch bread loaf pan. Make sure to verify that your pan sizing is correct.
- In a medium to large size mixing bowl, mash the ripe bananas until smooth. Add melted butter into the mashed bananas and stir to combine.
- Stir in the sugar, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Add in the flour, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined but take care not to over-mix.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 50 minutes to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. If you are worried about bread over browning towards the end, you can loosely place a piece of aluminum foil over the bread.
- Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for approximately ten minutes. Then remove the banana bread from the pan and let cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Nutrition
The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.
So if you are looking for a delicious breakfast, or some yummy comfort food, even if you aren’t sitting around worrying about germs like I am, give this recipe a go. It’s just a good, simple, perfect banana bread.
Want some other great bread and muffin recipes?
Meet Christi, Love From The Oven
I’m Christi I love sharing easy & delicious recipes that your family & friends will love. I’m a mom, baker, cookbook author and lover of sprinkles.
Is vanilla and vanilla extract same thing?
Yes, sometimes I just leave off extract. Sorry!
I made some plain old banana bread last weekend and everyone enjoyed it so much. Gone in just one day. Classics never get old.
Oh my gosh, 1. I love this bread. 2. OUT OF STATE??? Mine goes to the foothills and I’m already nervous. 3. Ebola scares the crap out of me.