Ever bite into a piece of banana bread only to find that it’s dry and bland? Well look no further, for this recipe will not leave you disappointed. My grandma’s banana bread recipe is moist, flavorful, and usually gone the same day it’s baked in my family. Yep, it’s that good.

All in the Family

This recipe comes from my Nana who made a lot of her recipes with black walnuts mixed into them. The reason she did this was my Papa LOVED black walnuts. As a child I remember picking up walnuts around their Missouri farm in the fall and holing up in his shop to crack them open in the winter. He had an old woodstove in his shop and I remember he’d pull out a bag or tub of hulled walnuts and let us grandkids take a hammer to the walnuts on an old anvil to crack them open. He’d eat them as we cracked them and we’d just talk about anything and everything. I personally have never cared for them, I just thought it was a fun way to spend time with him.

So in her original recipe, it does call for 1 cup of black walnuts. I generally leave them out whenever I’m making it for my family, but you do what your family enjoys best, which could even mean substituting walnuts for pecans or almonds if you so desire.

Image of banana bread dough in 3 glass loaf dishes. — Banana bread dough will look light in color and be somewhat runny.

Banana Bread Ingredients

3 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1 cup walnuts (optional)
6 large ripe bananas
1/4 tsp salt

Image of ripe bananas that have been frozen on the left, image of room temp, recently ripened bananas on the right.

Banana Bread Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together wet ingredients first, then add dry ingredients. (If your bananas are frozen (as pictured on the left in the image), let them sit out on the counter for at least 10 minutes to thaw slightly but you can still pop them into the stand mixer frozen, though it’ll be easier on your mixer if you break them into fourths.)
Place the dough in 3 regular loaf pans that have been sprayed and floured (or sometimes I use Pam baking nonstick spray for convenience), and bake for approximately 1 hour. Use a toothpick to check the center – if the toothpick comes out with dough attached, leave it for another 5 minutes.
Let cool completely before trying to remove from the pan.

Other Bread Recipes

Lemon Blueberry Bread (coming soon)

Great Grandma’s Apple Bread (coming soon)

Grandma’s Southern Buttermilk Biscuits (coming soon)

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Image of the best homemade banana bread on a platter.

The Best Banana Bread Recipe

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Prep Time 10

Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 15

Calories 480 kcal

Ingredients

3 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tsp baking soda
4 eggs
3 cups flour
1 cup walnuts optional
6 large ripe bananas
1/4 tsp salt

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Mix together wet ingredients first, then add dry ingredients. (If your bananas are frozen let them sit out on the counter for at least 10 minutes to thaw slightly but you can still pop them into the stand mixer frozen, though it'll be easier on your mixer if you break them into fourths.)
Place in 3 regular loaf pans that have been sprayed and floured (or sometimes I use Pam baking nonstick spray for convenience), and bake approximately 1 hour. Use a toothpick to check the center – if the toothpick comes out with dough attached, leave it for another 5 minutes.
Let cool completely before trying to remove from the pan.

Keyword banana bread