This easy Banana Bread recipe is a no-fail favorite that comes out perfect every time!
With a handful of ingredients that you likely have on hand and only a few minutes of prep, you’re going to start buying extra bananas just for this recipe!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Quick This is so quick to prepare, you’ll probably have it ready to go before your oven even finishes preheating!
- Easy Ingredients The ingredients needed are things I always have on hand so I can make this at a moments notice.
- No-Fail This recipe turns out perfectly every time.
- Extra Moist The banana bread in this recipe is deliciously moist with a tender crumb, just as it should be.
Ingredients
Bananas You want your bananas to be ripe with many black spots, this means they’re soft and full of sugars. You can peel them and freeze them to bake with at a later date too.
To Ripen Bananas Quickly: Uhoh, you have beautiful yellow bananas, perfect for a smoothie or banana pudding but not so much for baking!
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- To ripen in 1-2 days: place them in a paper bag (with other ripe fruit if you have any) and seal.
- To ripen immediately, bake at 300°F for 15-20 minutes. Cool before using in this recipe.
Eggs & Oil Eggs and oil add moisture to quick breads like zucchini bread and of course this recipe too.
In this recipe, we replace some of the oil with mayonnaise (which is made of… eggs and oil)! While this may seem like a weird ingredient, as you can see from the reviews, it is the perfect addition!
How to Make Banana Bread
Banana Bread with Mayonnaise? I know it may sound a little bit strange, but mayo is made with oil and eggs which are basically staple ingredients in any quick bread.
Be sure not to overmix or it’ll be dense and chewy instead of soft and moist.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (per recipe below).
- Combine bananas (of course), mayonnaise and egg in a second bowl.
- Mix the two together just until moist (image below, your batter should be lumpy).
- Pour into a greased pan and bake.
I make a Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake which is to die for. If you have never had a bread or cake made with mayonnaise before, you MUST try it.
Tips for Success
Bananas add flavor and moisture to this loaf as does the mayonnaise. A few more favorite tips:
- The batter is thick, do not add extra liquid.
- Avoid adding extra bananas, this can make the bread too dense.
- As with all quick breads, do not overmix. Stir just until incorporated.
- Do not overcook. Ovens can vary so check your bread at least 10 minutes before the time is up.
- Seal well once cooled (a freezer bag works well too).
You can add in pecan or walnuts or chocolate chips to this banana bread recipe.
For easy removal, line the loaf pan with parchment paper leaving about 3 inches of paper folded over the top of the pan.
How to Store Banana Bread
Banana bread should last about 3 days tightly sealed on the counter.
To FREEZE: You can either freeze the loaf as a whole or slice it and freeze the slices. To defrost a slice just pop it in the microwave for a few seconds or even just add it to the lunch box frozen, it’ll defrost in plenty of time for lunch!
Options and Add-Ins
- Banana Nut Crunch Muffins – reader favorite
- Blueberries – Toss with a bit of flour before adding to the batter to keep evenly distributed
- Peacans, coconut, dried fruits
Easy Banana Bread Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 medium bananas mashed
- ½ cup mayonnaise or dressing
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350*F.
- In a bowl mix together mashed bananas, mayo and egg. In a separate bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and pecans
- Add flour mixture to wet mixture and stir just until combined. Note: The mixture will be very thick, do not over mix
- Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from pan and allow to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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I’m vegetarian can I used veganaise to replace the mayo…?
I haven’t tried it, but that should work just fine. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
Exactly!!! what the recipe said it would be..SUPER Easy!!
and sooo delicious. I did not add any nuts. just the bread itself… next time I will add walnuts.. try it you will love it❤❤
Omg never had banana bread rise this much and taste this good. I was like mayonnaise really but wow. I’m gonna make the chocolate mayo cake now.
I made this banana bread and it is absolutely wonderful. I’ve already made four loaves and the family just thinks it’s the greatest ever so thank you so much for this recipe.
I started making banana bread for my students who were throwing away over ripe bananas. I have been using this recipe for 6 weeks now. They absolutely love it and I have found a new passion baking! Thank you for making it easy.
This is so wonderful Erika, what a thoughtful thing to do. I am so happy to hear this recipe is a hit with you and your students!
regarding the banana bread recipe. it says tge mayonaise replaces some of the oil but I don’t see any additional oil in the recipe?
Hi Kathryn, the mayonnaise replaces the oil that may be in a typical banana bread recipe. Enjoy the banana bread!
Yum! It’s easy and delicious! I added cinnamon and some vanilla and used some brown sugar in place of all white! delicious
Is the loaf pan 4inches by 8 inches, or 5 inches by 9 inches, please?
Hi Sylvia, we use a standard 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pan for this recipe.
Almost let the mayo scare me off but so glad I didn’t! I definitely used this recipe as a starting point & tweaked it as I went along. Nevertheless, still a great recipe & saving it for future use & experimentation lol!
Only have avocado oil based mayo in my house but it turned out fine & does not taste mayo-y whatsoever. Used 1 cup of all-purpose & 1/2 cup of whole wheat. Used 1/2 cup of white sugar & 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Added a splash of vanilla, a dash of cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg, & a few tablespoons of hemp seed powder for an extra boost I guess. Did not have any nuts on hand so white chocolate & butterscotch chips were added.
Only had a glass loaf pan available so lowered temp to about 325 for first 45 min, raised to 350 & tented with foil to insure cooked center during last 20 min. Cooked for little over a hour with about 10 minute resting time. Just make sure toothpicks are coming out clean.
Variation from original recipe for sure, but I’d like to think not too crazy.
My three year old is a HUGE fan & husband loves it with no idea about the mayo & hemp, so definite win.
100% would recommend this recipe to any & everyone no matter the preferences & tweaks.
Thank you for sharing your tips Dee, your version sounds delicious! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
This came out so delicious and super moist. The only thing I would add is cinnamon and nutmeg with pecans. Best ever .
Easy and very tasty .. I don’t like pecans so I made with unsalted cashews!!
This really was the easiest banana bread! Turned out perfectly moist and so delicious.
OMG!!!! This recipe is the best EVER!!! Who would guess Mayo made a difference? Yum and Yum!!!!
OMG!!!! This recipe is the best EVER!!! Who would guess Mayo made a difference? Yum and Yum!!!!
My go to recipe. Always turns out beautifully. I like to heavily sprinkle raw sugar on top before baking to get a nice crunch on top.
Can you use miracle whip in place of the mayonnaise?
Miracle whip will work just fine in this recipe.
I made this just now. I hand mixed until ingredients were just incorporated. The taste is excellent, but my outside was brown and inside was not done. This is my first failure in making banana nut bread and I make it often. Do you have any suggestions? Yes, I use an oven thermometer and it shows my oven settings are exactly correct.
Did you use a non-stick pan? A non-stick pan can cause it to brown quicker on the outside.
This is the best banana bread! I add a dash or two of cinnamon, and a bit of vanilla extract. Delicious!
made this the first time 2 weeks ago hubby loved it!
it’s kinda rainy and cold made another one we like walnuts but want to try pecans because hubby loves the wedding cakes cookies!!
now i’m searching your list of others recipes with mayo! I’m interested in using apple sauce too
To ripen the bananas by baking them, do you bake them in the unpeeled or peeled?
I bake them peeled.