Today I’m so excited to share a family favorite recipe: Mom’s Best Ever Banana Bread! My mom and I have always been opposites in the kitchen; I love baking and she loves cooking. I have to say, for the woman who hates baking, she sure makes a killer banana bread 👩🍳 Mom’s Best Ever Banana Bread is packed with chocolate chips and dangerously delicious. You’ll just have to make it to see for yourself!
Do I Need to Use Overripe Bananas For Baking?
No, BUT, overripe (brown) bananas make a big difference! Overripe bananas are easier to mash, more of the starch has been converted to sugar so they are sweeter and more fragrant, and it helps cut down on food waste.
How to Tell When Banana Bread is Done
Telling when a banana bread (or any sweet loaf) is done can be tricky, especially if you are using chocolate chips (chocolate chips stay melty and make it hard to see a clean toothpick). Simplest answer: use a food thermometer. When the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees, you’re good to go! Try to get a temperature reading in the middle of the loaf (top to bottom) to avoid touching the pan (which will be hotter) or the top of the loaf (which is closer to the room temperature air). Find my favorite thermometer on Amazon.
Now let’s get baking!
INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup Butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) Sugar
- 1 1/2 cup (165g) All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 Eggs, room temperature
- 1 tsp Almond Extract
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 (350g) Overripe Bananas, mashed
- 1 cup (175g) Chocolate Chips
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Thoroughly grease a loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, approximately 2 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add the extracts. The batter may look a bit separated at this stage, not to worry! There is just a lot of liquid in this step and it will correct itself.
With the mixer on low, add in the mashed banana, scraping down the sides as needed. With the mixer on low, add in the flour mixture until just combined.
Remove from the mixer and fold in the chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for ~50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. TIP: Try to get a temperature reading in the middle of the loaf (top to bottom) to avoid touching the pan (which will be hotter) or the top of the loaf (which is closer to the room temperature air and may read cooler).
Let cool completely. To remove from pan, run a sharp knife around the edges to loosen the loaf from the sides. Holding the loaf with your hand, turn the pan over and tap on the bottom of the pan. The loaf should release.
That’s it! I hope you love Mom’s Best Ever Banana Bread as much as our family does!
Make Ahead: Once completely cooled, wrap the baked loaf tightly in plastic wrap and place the wrapped loaf in a large ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and then let come to room temperature for serving.
Follow me on Instagram and tag @500spatulas so I can see all the recipes you make. 👩🍳
Mom’s Best Ever Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) Sugar
- 1 1/2 cup (165g) Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 Eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp Almond Extract
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 3 (350g) Overripe Bananas mashed
- 1 cup (175g) Chocolate Chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Thoroughly grease loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, approximately 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time until incorporated. Add the extracts. The batter may look a bit separated at this stage, not to worry! There is just a lot of liquid in this step and it will correct itself.
- With the mixer on low, add in the mashed banana, scraping down the sides as needed.
- With the mixer on low, add in the flour mixture until just combined. Remove from the mixer and fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for ~60 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. TIP: Try to get a temperature reading in the middle of the loaf (top to bottom) to avoid touching the pan (which will be hotter) or the top of the loaf (which is closer to the room temperature air and may read cooler).
- Let cool completely. To remove from pan, run a sharp knife around the edges to loosen the loaf from the sides. Holding the loaf with your hand, turn the pan over and tap on the bottom of the pan. The loaf should release.
- Make Ahead: Once completely cooled, wrap the baked loaf tightly in plastic wrap and place the wrapped loaf in a large ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and then let come to room temperature for serving.
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