Amazing 1-Bowl Moist banana bread recipe

Oh, I am just so happy you found your way here! If you’ve ever looked at a bunch of bruised, nearly black bananas and just sighed, thinking, “What am I going to do with all this?”—we are kindred spirits! For a long time, the kitchen felt like a place of stress for me. But then I discovered how incredibly satisfying it is to pull a perfect, warm loaf from the oven. This chocolate chip banana bread recipe changed everything for me. Seriously, this is truly the best moist, one-bowl banana bread recipe out there, and if you’re a beginner, trust me, you can nail this. It truly brought the joy back to my cooking.

SAVE

Why This Moist Banana Bread Recipe is Your New Favorite

I know, I know, everyone claims they have the best banana bread recipe, but stick with me here. I developed this version because I needed something truly reliable that didn’t create a mountain of dishes. This is where the magic happens, folks! It’s our new favorite comfort food baking standard.

• It’s incredibly easy banana bread since we mix everything in just one bowl—less cleanup!
• The final product is genuinely moist banana bread that stays soft for days.
• It turns those sad, brown bananas into the ultimate sweet snack loaf.

Achieving Ultimate Moisture with This Banana Bread Recipe

The secret weapon for moisture is twofold: we use melted butter, not softened, which coats the flour differently, and we rely 100% on paste bananas. You want them screaming for attention in the fruit bowl! This combination ensures a tender crumb every single time.

Ingredients for the Best Banana Bread Recipe

Keeping our promise about simplicity, this ingredient list is short and sweet. You probably have most of this stuff sitting in your pantry right now! Just make sure those bananas are truly past their prime—that’s non-negotiable for the best banana bread recipe. Don’t forget that banana oatmeal cookies are a great second option if you find yourself with fewer bananas!

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 very ripe medium bananas, mashed (about 1 ½ cups)
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Simple Banana Bread Recipe Instructions: The One-Bowl Method

Are you ready to see just how easy this is? Since we are going the one bowl banana bread route, we skip extra bowls for dirtying! This entire banana bread recipe comes together faster than you can find your mixer. First things first, get that oven warming up to 350°F (175°C). While it heats, grease and flour a standard 9×5 inch loaf pan really well—this step is crucial for easy release later! If you want to branch out to savory bakes later, check out my easy chicken bites recipe, but right now, we focus on the sweet loaf!

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a standard 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set this dry mixture aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together until combined.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
5. Add the mashed bananas to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix the bananas.
6. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together until just combined. A few streaks of flour are fine.
7. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
8. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan.
9. Bake for 50 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs attached.
10. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Mixing Technique for a Tender Banana Bread Recipe

When you add the dry to the wet, stop mixing the second you don’t see huge white pockets of flour anymore. Overmixing is the absolute fastest way to get dense bread. Seriously, fold it like you’re tucking a sleepy baby into bed! I always scrape the sides down once right before stopping, just to be sure.

SAVE

Expert Tips for Perfect Banana Bread for Beginners

Even though this is an easy banana bread recipe, a few small bits of knowledge can push it from “good” to “the one you want to save forever.” One thing I learned the hard way? Don’t rush your ingredients! Make sure those eggs are at room temperature. Cold eggs shock the melted butter mixture, and you lose some of that beautiful air we beat in earlier. A quick warm water bath in a bowl for five minutes does the trick!

Also, I have to tell you about the one time I tried to slice this loaf right out of the oven. Disaster! It crumbled everywhere because it hadn’t set up yet. Patience is a virtue—let it cool in the pan for those ten minutes we discussed, trust me on this one. If you’re thinking about trying out other sweet loaves, like sweet potato cobbler recipe, always let them cool properly too!

How to Use Overripe Bananas for the Best Banana Bread Recipe

When we talk about baking with ripe bananas, we’re talking about the black ones! Seriously, the riper they are, the better your loaf will be. That thick, spotted peel means the starches have converted almost entirely to sugar. This gives you concentrated flavor and incredible natural moisture, which makes this loaf so tender and satisfying. You’re basically getting natural sweeteners and liquid all in one easy package!

Making Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Variations

While this chocolate chip banana bread is pretty much perfection, I always love switching things up when I bake a second loaf the following week! It’s just so fun to customize. This base recipe is robust enough to handle a few fun additions without losing its structure or moisture. We love keeping it a quick breakfast bread by sticking to just the chips, but sometimes you just need a little extra something, right?

If you happen to be obsessed with brownies (who isn’t? Check out my hot chocolate brownies recipe!), you can easily add in nuts or swirl some cinnamon sugar in here too!

Swapping Chocolate Chips in Your Banana Bread Recipe

The best rule here is that whatever you swap in for the sweet chips, you keep the quantity the same—half a cup! You can absolutely use dark chocolate chunks instead of semi-sweet chips if you prefer a less sweet flavor profile. White chocolate chips work a dream too, especially with the hint of cinnamon we added. Just fold your choice in gently at the end, just like we did with the original chips.

SAVE

Storage and Reheating for Your Homemade Banana Bread

Now that you’ve made this incredible homemade banana bread, you need to know how to keep it as moist as the day it came out of the oven! Lucky for us, banana bread ages well, unlike some delicate cakes. If you plan to eat it within three days, just wrap that loaf tightly in plastic wrap or foil and keep it on the counter at room temperature. Don’t put it in the fridge unless you have to, because cold air can sometimes make it dry out faster.

If you’re baking for a crowd or just want to save some for later, freezing is your best friend! Wrap the cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap, then wrap it again in aluminum foil, or put it in an airtight, freezer-safe container. It lasts beautifully for up to three months. When you’re ready for a slice, just let it thaw on the counter, or pop a slice in the microwave for about 15 seconds! If you try freezing anything else, like my pumpkin poke cake, always wrap it super securely too.

Serving Suggestions for This Classic Banana Bread Recipe

This isn’t just a dessert, right? It’s one of those perfect things you can serve anytime! Since this sweet snack loaf is already rich with butter and chocolate chips, it needs very little added flair. For breakfast, I love slicing it thick and warming it up just slightly, then topping it with a smear of really good salted butter—instant happiness. It also pairs delightfully with a strong cup of black coffee or an iced latte.

If you’re serving it for dessert, try a dollop of cream cheese frosting, or maybe even a drizzle of caramel! If you are looking for something less sweet next time, make sure you check out my maple brown sugar cookies recipe.

SAVE

Frequently Asked Questions About This Banana Bread Recipe

I always get so many great questions about this loaf! Honestly, if you can mash a banana, you can make this recipe. But since the texture is so important when you are searching for the best banana bread recipe, let me cover the common hiccups I see readers run into here. Before we dive in, if you ever need a totally different kind of sweet treat, check out my Linzer cookies—they are buttery magic!

Can I use frozen bananas that I’ve thawed?

Yes, absolutely! That’s a fantastic way to use up fruit you saved. The texture of thawed bananas is much wetter than freshly mashed ones, so I highly recommend draining off any excess liquid that pools in the container before you measure and add them to the wet ingredients. A little extra moisture is fine, but too much liquid will make your bread gummy.

What happens if I don’t have brown sugar for this banana bread recipe?

If you are in a pinch and only have white granulated sugar, you can sub it in, but you’re missing out on that wonderful depth of flavor and extra moisture that only brown sugar provides. White sugar makes the bread slightly sweeter but also a little less tender overall. My *favorite* trick if you must use white sugar is to add an extra teaspoon of molasses to the wet ingredients!

I want my loaf to have a perfectly flat top, not domed. Help!

Ah, the dome! That usually happens when the outside edges cook too fast before the center has time to rise steadily. To combat the dome and get a flatter top on your banana bread recipe, try lowering your oven temperature slightly—maybe 325°F instead of 350°F—and baking for a little longer. Also, making sure your baking soda is fresh is key!

Do I really need room-temperature eggs?

For this one bowl banana bread recipe, yes! Room temperature eggs integrate much more smoothly into the melted butter and sugar mixture without cooling it down abruptly. If they are cold, they can cause the batter to *break* or curdle a bit, which ruins the smooth texture we are aiming for. If you forgot, just put your eggs (shell on!) in a bowl of hot tap water for about five minutes.

Nutritional Estimates for This Comfort Food Baking

Okay, let’s talk numbers for this amazing comfort food baking project. I always keep track of this stuff because, well, sometimes you need to justify that second slice! Remember, these figures are just estimates. They are calculated based on the ingredients listed right above, specifically assuming you get 10 slices out of one loaf. I’m certainly not a registered dietitian, so take these as a friendly guideline!

I think the fact that we use a little less flour and rely on those bananas for structure keeps this loaf feeling a bit lighter than a typical cake. If you want to check out my recipe for easy kani salad recipe, that’s a much lighter option for another day!

• Serving Size: 1 slice
• Calories: 280
• Sugar: 22g
• Sodium: 210mg
• Fat: 13g
• Saturated Fat: 8g
• Unsaturated Fat: 5g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 41g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 4g
• Cholesterol: 55mg

If you decide to whip up a batch and love how it turns out, please come say hi over on Facebook! I love seeing your creations. You can find me by looking up Pure Cooking Joy.

The Best Moist One-Bowl Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Recipe

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

I am so glad you are here. This easy, one-bowl banana bread recipe delivers incredibly moist results every time, making it the perfect comfort food for beginners or busy days. Use your overripe bananas to make this simple snack loaf.

• Author: purejoyalex
• Prep Time: 15 min
• Cook Time: 60 min
• Total Time: 75 min
• Yield: 1 loaf (about 10 servings) 1x
• Category: Breakfast
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegetarian

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 very ripe medium bananas, mashed (about 1 ½ cups)
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and flour a standard 9×5 inch loaf pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set this dry mixture aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the melted butter and brown sugar together until combined.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
5. Add the mashed bananas to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Do not overmix the bananas.
6. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet ingredients. Use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together until just combined. A few streaks of flour are fine.
7. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
8. Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan.
9. Bake for 50 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs attached.
10. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.

Notes

• For the moistest loaf, use bananas that are heavily spotted or almost completely black.
• If you do not have brown sugar, you can substitute granulated white sugar, but the brown sugar adds depth and moisture.
• This recipe is excellent for using overripe bananas, preventing food waste.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 slice
• Calories: 280
• Sugar: 22g
• Sodium: 210mg
• Fat: 13g
• Saturated Fat: 8g
• Unsaturated Fat: 5g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 41g
• Fiber: 2g
• Protein: 4g
• Cholesterol: 55mg