Nothing beats a classic spiced banana bread! Except maybe when that bread is a one-bowl recipe! This easy recipe for a one bowl banana bread is my go-to large batch recipe. Perfect for using up ripe bananas and transforming them into freezer friendly loaves.
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Ingredient Notes
- Butter - unsalted butter, softened at room temperature. You can also use salted butter in this recipe, but it will add salt to the overall flavour of the bake.
- Sugar - superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar work best in this recipe.
- Eggs - large eggs, at room temperature.
- Bananas - well ripened and easily mashable.
- Flour - all purpose flour or plain flour work best in this recipe.
- Baking soda
- Ground spices - cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. You can alter these spices to suit your tastes, but this flavour combination has been a favorite of mine for banana bread, offering a bit of warmth without being overpowering.
- Optional: chocolate chips and/or chopped walnuts
Banana bread is probably my most frequently baked recipe - it's perfect to have for breakfast, ideal for an afternoon treat, salvages the sad looking bananas that I forgot I bought a week ago and is an easy batch bake providing a couple of loaves to stockpile in the freezer for another day. It is also a versatile loaf that lends itself to various additions. In the past, I've added walnuts, coconut, chocolate, even blueberries once when I had spare needing used up. I think my favourite remains the basic plain banana bread - cut into a thick slice, it is excellent grilled and buttered. My husband, however, has a significant sweet tooth and a weakness for chocolate - which is why I now have three loaves in my freezer loaded up with an assortment of chocolate chips, waiting for his breakfasts over the coming couple of weeks.
How to Make the BEST One-Bowl Banana Bread
You'll first want to start by preheating your oven to 325°F and preparing your pans. I like to grease and flour mine, but you could also line with parchment paper or spray with a nonstick cooking spray. This is a large batch banana bread and makes three loaves (if you're using standard 2lb loaf tins). Note: you can make this in different sized tins or even as muffins, but the baking time will vary.
Using a large mixing bowl - your one bowl for this recipe! - beat together your butter and sugar, using a handheld electric beater, until light and fluffy. Then add your eggs and beat to combine. Next, break your well ripened banana into pieces adding this to the batter. Beat to incorporate. Tip: your electric hand beater will take care of the mashing of the banana here. If you're in doubt, you can mash the banana pieces with a form on the side of your mixing bowl as you incorporate.
Finally, sift your dry ingredients - your flour, baking soda and spices - straight into the bowl. Use a spatula to mix into a thick batter. At this stage you can add any extras you might want, such as chocolate chips or walnut pieces.
Pour the batter evenly into your prepared baking pans and bake in the centre of a preheated oven until risen, golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Using a Stand Mixer
This entire recipe can also be made in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Follow the same instructions as when using a hand held electric beater. Be sure to stop occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
When using a stand mixer for this recipe, you shouldn't have any trouble with incorporating the banana pieces - the paddle will mash these easily, even if the banana is slightly underripe.
How to Store Banana Bread in the Freezer
This is a large batch recipe, so is perfect for stocking up a freezer!
Once baked, leave the loaves to cool completely before packaging to freeze. Place either in a freezer bag or wrap well in a layer of plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminium foil.
These can be kept in the freezer for up to three months (I won't lie - I've certainly occasionally kept mine even longer!). Defrost on the counter before serving.
FAQs
Yes! Honestly, most recipes can be made in one bowl if you work around how to add things in the right order to meet your needs. Banana bread is a great recipe for one bowl baking and is super easy to make with minimal tools!
This recipe will explain how to make a big batch of banana bread in just one bowl.
Banana bread, if wrapped well in plastic wrap or kept in an airtight container, can last for about 5 days at room temperature. If you are making this large batch recipe for just yourself or a small family, I'd strongly recommend freezing loaves to make them last longer. This is a very freezer friendly recipe and perfect for stocking up!
Looking for more banana inspiration? Try:
- Banana Chocolate Chip Bread
- Banana Ganache Muffins
- Banoffee Cinnamon Rolls
- Banana Pound Cake
- Pumpkin Banana Muffins
One Bowl Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups all purpose flour or plain flour
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened at room temperature
- 2 cups superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 6 ripe bananas broken into pieces
- chocolate chips and/or chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (165C/150C Fan). Grease and flour three 2lb loaf tins.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat until incorporated.
- Add the pieces of ripe banana and beat to incorporate. (see note)
- Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg straight into the batter and stir together using a spatula until just combined.
- If using any optional additions, fold these in to the batter.
- Pour into prepared loaf tins and bake for about 60 to 65 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before flipping out onto a baking rack to cool.
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