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–+ servings
A golden brown, moist banana bread recipe loaf, partially sliced on a white plate.

Best Moist Banana Bread Recipe

This recipe yields a very moist banana bread using a combination of brown sugar, granulated sugar, and sour cream.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cooling Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 1 loaf
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Main Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 stick
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 cup mashed ripe banana about 9 ounces or 2 and 1/2 medium bananas
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
Dry Ingredients
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • 1/2 cup old fashioned oats blended into a powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon optional
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg optional
  • 1/8 teaspoon cloves optional
  • 1/2 cup toasted pecans or walnuts optional, use 1/2 to 3/4 cup total

Equipment

  • 9x5 inch loaf pan
  • Large bowl or stand mixer
  • Blender or food processor
  • Baking sheet
  • Cooling rack

Method
 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x5 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray, or line with parchment paper. Using parchment paper allows you to lift the bread out for easy slicing.
  2. If you plan to add nuts, toast them now. Add 1/2 or 3/4 cup chopped nuts to a dry baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes, until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
  3. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl. Add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar and cream together for about 2 minutes until fluffy, scraping the sides and bottom.
  4. Add 2 eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat well until incorporated, scraping the sides.
  5. In a small bowl, mash about 2 and 1/2 very ripe bananas with a fork or potato masher until you have about 1 cup of mashed banana. Add the mashed banana to the butter mixture and stir until incorporated.
  6. Add 1 cup flour to the bowl, but do not stir yet. Blend 1/2 cup old fashioned oats in a blender or food processor until the mixture becomes a powder. Add the oat flour to the bowl but do not stir.
  7. Use a small spoon to stir 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, and 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt into the flour mixture. At this point, you can also add 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/8 teaspoon each cloves and nutmeg, if using.
  8. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until incorporated, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl.
  9. Fold in the 1/2 cup sour cream. If you are adding nuts, fold them into the batter now.
  10. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top.
  11. Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 to 65 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick deep into the center of the bread. The toothpick should come out with no wet batter; very moist crumbs are acceptable. The bread should look brown on top and start pulling away from the sides of the pan.
  12. Let the bread cool on a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
  13. Store covered on the counter for up to 2 days. For longer storage, wrap the loaf or slices in foil and then a ziplock bag and freeze. Thaw on the counter in the sealed container. You can toss thawed slices in the toaster for a minute to remove extra moisture.

Notes

More banana results in a denser bread. Less banana does not make the bread less moist. One cup of banana is the target amount for this recipe.

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