You may be noticing a theme in my baking… a love of the word easy!
I’m sure I’m not alone in having very little spare time on my hands, and baking (like most things) is more likely to happen when it’s quick and easy.
The boys are loving having some homemade baking in their lunch boxes, so I’m slowly expanding my repertoire. Apple cake has been joined by pumpkin bread (admittedly from a packet for the moment, but the Trader Joe’s pumpkin bread mix is really good!) and now banana bread.
Due to allergy requirements, nothing I send to pre-school can have nuts (not just in it, but anywhere near it!) and for school, snacks that will be eaten in the classroom also need to be nut free.
So, I wanted to make a simple, banana only, bread. Again, google was my friend and I found several very similar recipes. I’ve tried various combinations and amounts of banana and sugar and this is the recipe I’ve settled on for the moment.
It’s my new favourite!
You will need:
4 ripe medium bananas, mashed
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 and a 1/2 cups all purpose (plain) flour
Preheat oven to 350F/175C.
Mash the bananas in a large bowl, add the melted butter and beaten egg and mix well. Add the vanilla essence and the sugar and mix. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir through. Add the flour last, mixing well, before pouring the mixture into a greased loaf tin.
Bake for approximately 55-60 minutes. It’s ready when a skewer popped into the centre comes out clean.
I often have bananas that are past their best, this is a great way to use them up. Or, you can freeze them and replace one or two of the fresh bananas in the recipe with frozen ones.
If you fancy something a bit different, you can add chocolate chips or raisins (I generally add about a cup) to the recipe.
This is a lovely, moist bread, that has passed the thumbs up test from the boys. Although, I have discovered (after 13 years!) that my husband doesn’t like bananas (unless still slightly green, and definitely not cooked)! You learn something new everyday :)
simple , easy recipes which taste good and look as yummy as yours does are good in my book! that loaf looks like it could have been shop bought – it really looks good. xx
Oh, thank you, that’s a lovely thing to say! It is very yummy :)
Utterly dreamy and one of my all time favourites! Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
Thank you! Thanks for hosting x
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Looks really tasty
Thanks :)
I love doughy cakes/breads… and agree more chance of actually baking when relatively straight forward….will try this with the left over bananas when they ripen.
It really is super easy :) And a great way to use up bananas!
My kids love love love banana bread. This looks similar to my trusted recipe (in storage in UK!) so I must try it out as looks delicious! This is also perfect for their lunch boxes.
It takes about five minutes to make – it’s great! Let me know what you think :)