This is the Ultimate Banana Bread made in one bowl with no mixer required. With a tender crumb and a sugary crispy top, there’s really nothing else to say because the title says it all.

Banana bread with two slices on a cutting board.

This banana bread is incredibly delicious and flavorful. There’s a difference between moist (I know you all hate that word) and gummy. This has a tender moist crumb and no sour cream was needed for creating the perfect texture. No mixer is needed which is even better. There's also no creaming or alternating the dry with the wet ingredients. This is a quick bread, so shouldn’t it be quick?

The best bananas to use are the brown ones. Those are soft, sweet and perfect for mashing. I prefer the bananas mashed completely rather than leaving it chunky for several reasons. First, the chunks of bananas get mushy and turn brown. Second, for all those beautiful banana bread pictures with two halves of bananas placed on top before baking, if you don’t eat that banana bread soon, those bananas won’t look pretty for long. They’ll curl and turn darker than they already are, making the banana less appealing to eat. Just because it’s a pretty picture doesn’t mean it tastes good. That’s a tip you can take through life.

Oil is used instead of butter because it will keep the bread moist. You really don’t taste the butter anyways. Save the butter for spreading.

The solution for turning a ho hum banana bread into a phenomenal one is adding in a little bit of buttermilk, as it makes it lighter and less dense. Don’t have buttermilk? Don’t worry, I included how to make your own in the recipe below.

As with a lot of my other baked goods, I use bourbon instead of vanilla because the price of vanilla is ridiculous. If you have vanilla on hand, use it. If you don’t, bourbon is the next best thing.

A loaf of banana bread on a cutting board.

I like to sprinkle sugar in the greased pan before I pour in the batter. This gives a nice sweet exterior to the banana bread. After the batter is poured in, a little more sugar is sprinkled evenly over the top. This creates a delicious crisp sugary topping that everyone fights over.

Tools you’ll need to make banana bread:

This batter comes together quickly, so make sure you have all your ingredients ready. Also, it’s important that your oven is already preheated so that the batter doesn't sit since it has baking soda which reacts quickly; kind of like me and my temper.

Have you seen these?

Banana Bread

PRINT PIN SAVE

This is the Ultimate Banana Bread made in one bowl with no mixer required. With a tender crumb and a sugary crispy top, there’s really nothing else to say because the title says it all.

Makes 1 loaf.

Author: Natalie Gregory

Ingredients

3 medium ripe bananas the darker, the better, about 1 ½ cups
½ cup vegetable oil or neutral oil
1 cup white sugar plus 2 tablespoons for pan and topping
2 large eggs beaten
¼ cup buttermilk*
2 teaspoons bourbon or vanilla**
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine salt
2 cups flour

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325°.
Spray or butter a 9 x 5 loaf pan then sprinkle evenly with a tablespoon of sugar. This creates a delicious outer coating. Set aside.
In a large bowl mash the bananas with a fork. I use a fork to do this. It should measure roughly 1 ½ cups.
Stir in the oil.
Stir in 1 cup of sugar, eggs, buttermilk, and bourbon into the bowl. Mix until it’s all combined.
Sprinkle in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt and stir. Mix in the flour until the flour is just incorporated then stir for 50 strokes.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle remaining 1 tablespoon sugar evenly over the top.
Place the pan onto a baking sheet (for easy removal and bake for 60 - 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You can start checking at 60 minutes because ovens do vary, but make sure the top is golden brown. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes then carefully turn out the banana bread onto a wire rack to cool.

Notes

*Don’t have buttermilk? Make it yourself. For this recipe add scant ½ teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar to the milk and let it sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

**Due to the incredible high price of vanilla lately, I have been using bourbon as a substitute.

Nutritional Information

I don't post the nutritional value because I don't trust the accuracy of the nutritional apps. I’m not a nutritionist and don't want to post misinformation.

Did you make this recipe? Tag @thegeneticchef and use #thegeneticchef and tell me all about it!