Let me tell you about one of my favorite snacks. Growing up, my mom would make all sorts of quick breads: banana, zucchini, pumpkin… All super moist and usually loaded with chocolate chips. Banana bread was the first bread I learned to make in my first out of college job in my tiny New York apartment while comfort baking during long weekends by myself. (Not to make it sound too cool… I was definitely not in New York City, just in a tiny suburb about 1 hour north of Manhattan!)
While I still have yet to try my mom’s recipe (I know! I know! I’ll get to it!), I have several favorites that I’ve made for years and one that I made today and immediately loved.
My Go-To Recipes
- The Kitchn: This was the first banana bread recipe that I made repeatedly. I loved it because it was so immediately flexible. Not enough eggs? No problem. No electric mixer? Just whisk it with a fork! It is not the most complex tasting recipe, but it is easy and a great place to start.
- Cookie & Kate: Up until today, this has been my go-to for several years. Katherine’s recipe feels healthier than other banana breads. I like that it uses whole wheat flour and natural sweetener. For oil, I use olive instead of coconut because I don’t like to melt the coconut oil in the microwave. I honestly don’t think you can tell a difference. I use maple syrup instead of honey because maple adds a much more complex flavor to such a simple bread. It is also a very easy recipe in that it requires no electric mixer to create. The recipe probably is just as flexible as The Kitchn’s recipe, though I haven’t really tested the limits of it.
- Stella Parks (aka Bravetart) on Serious Eats: This is my new favorite, which I made today! I had extra oat flour and 4 ripe bananas, so this morning, this banana bread was meant to be. The recipe provides ingredient weights. I like that I can use my kitchen scale instead of getting out a bunch of measuring cups. The spicing of it is perfect. The cloves and nutmeg seem to bring out a more pronounced banana flavor, more so than other recipes. The banana has definite impact instead of just being what makes the bread so moist. I did not add pecans or chocolate chips because I didn’t have any. Though I may try it next time, I really like the simplicity of plain banana bread. The recipe used coconut oil in its solid form, which I appreciated. The only downside is that you seem to need an electric mixer for this recipe. Plus, if you don’t keep oat flour around, you’d need to invest in the commercial oat flour as an ingredient. The bread also uses all purpose flour and traditional sugar, so it’s definitely not salable as a truly healthy snack!
A side note… I switched to making the banana bread recipes in a muffin tin. Muffins are much more portable than having to slice bread every day. They also bake much quicker than a full loaf!
I hope the above recipes inspire you to use up your leftover bananas this week. Let me know if you make anything!!