Sick of the boxed stuff but want a loaf of fresh, homemade banana bread without all the fuss? This 4-Ingredient Banana Bread gives you that from-scratch taste with only 4 simple ingredients, making it the easiest, tastiest, most fragrant option out there!
This moist and light loaf relies on real bananas to lend an intense banana flavor without all the additives, making it an obvious choice for your go-to delicious banana bread recipe!
As an environmental scientist, I am always looking for ways to reduce food waste. Bananas are one of those produce items that go from perfect to entirely overripe seemingly overnight.
So, I’m always looking for fun ways to use up overripe bananas, and this incredibly easy loaf recipe is undoubtedly one of my favorites!
4-Ingredient Banana Bread Ingredients
Here’s everything you’ll need:
- Overripe Bananas. For moisture and flavor.
- Eggs. For leavening and to act as a binder.
- Self-rising flour. To make this banana bread with just four ingredients, you absolutely need self-rising flour! If you only have all-purpose flour at home, you will have to add baking powder and salt. More on that later!
- Brown sugar. For sweetness and flavor.
Optional Add-Ins
Though this super easy 4-ingredient banana bread is delicious on its own, here are some optional flavor boosters if you’re feeling gourmet!
- Cinnamon. For a little bit of spice. 1/2 teaspoon will do.
- Nutmeg. For a slightly nutty, earthy, and aromatic addition. 1/4 teaspoon will do.
- Vanilla extract. For a little boost in your bread! All you need is 1 teapsoon.
- Chocolate chips. If you’re a chocolate fiend like me. Stir in 1/2 cup – 1 cup, depending on how chocolatey you want it!
4-Ingredient Banana Bread Tips and Tricks
Use Overripe Bananas
As your banana ripens, it actually gets a bolder, more fruity flavor. So in order to get this bread, well, banana-y, it’s best to use riper bananas.
In fact, if they are overripe and the peel is showing brown spots, they’re perfect for this recipe! They’ll be packed with flavor, and a little bit softer, which makes them easier to mash.
If you have some bananas that aren’t quite overripe yet, you can quickly brown them in the oven. While your oven is preheating, stick the bananas in, still in their peels, on a tray for about 3 minutes or until the peel turns black as pictured.
Green tip: It is estimated that 50% of food waste happens at home. Instead of tossing overripe bananas, use them to make this delicious 4 ingredient banana bread!
Want to sharpen your kitchen skills?
Use a Fork
Step one is to peel those bananas and place them in a large bowl. Since they are overripe, it should be very easy to use a fork to crush them.
Continue to crush your bananas until they are broken down and liquefied. It’s okay to have some clumps!
Add Your Eggs Next
Crack your eggs and add them to the mixing bowl with your mashed banana. Use the fork again or a whisk to combine the banana and the egg thoroughly.
You still may have some banana lumps, but that’s okay! Just try to get your egg as smooth as possible.
Your Dry Ingredients Come Next
Add the brown sugar and self-rising flour and stir again.
Use a whisk or fork to ensure you aren’t left with any clumps of flour! You can also opt to sift the flour into your mixture to ensure a smoother batter.
Again, banana lumps are okay, but flour clumps—not so much.
Spray or Line Your Pan
For easy removal!
You can use parchment paper, butter, cooking spray, or oil to make sure your banana bread doesn’t get stuck.
Green tip: Consider filling your own reusable oil sprayer to avoid extra pesky aerosol cans, that aren’t always recyclable.
Subbing All-Purpose Flour
If you don’t have self-rising flour, you can substitute all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder.
Instead of 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour, use 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Optional Extra Banana
If you want to add a little pizzaz to your banana bread and an extra moist-maker at the top, consider a fifth banana!
You can slice it right down the middle and float it on top of your batter before you stick it in the oven. Sprinkle each banana with a tiny bit of extra brown sugar so it caramelizes while baking.
Storing Your 4-Ingredient Banana Bread
Banana bread should be covered or stored in an airtight container to get the most life out of it. It will stay fresh at room temperature for 3-4 days before it starts to dry out.
You can also opt to freeze banana bread for up to 6 months. Just allow it to thaw out before slicing into it.
If your banana bread does start to get stale, consider using it to make this Banana Bread French Toast.
4-Ingredient Banana Bread Frequently Asked Questions
Is banana bread healthy or unhealthy?
While banana bread does contain a high amount of potassium, fiber, and other nutrients from the bananas themselves, it also contains carbohydrates and sugar.
So deciding whether or not banana bread is healthy or unhealthy depends entirely on your health goals. Bananas do not lose their nutritional value when baked.
Can you substitute self-rising flour for all-purpose flour in banana bread?
1 cup of self-rising flour is equivalent to 1 cup of all-purpose flour + 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt.
So, if you’re substituting self-rising flour for all-purpose flour in a baking recipe, you will also want to adjust the amount of baking powder and salt you are adding.
Why is my banana bread coming out dry?
As you may have guessed, dry banana bread lacks moisture. In a simple banana bread recipe that only contains 4 ingredients like this, it’s easy to pinpoint the culprit of your dry bread.
It is most likely because your bananas are not ripe enough or you are using eggs that are small. Make sure you are using large eggs and ripened bananas for this recipe.
Can I use not-so-ripe bananas for my banana bread?
As bananas ripen, they actually become sweeter, making them the best for baking—especially in banana bread!
If you don’t have time to wait for your bananas to ripen for this recipe, stick them in the oven while it’s pre-heating, still in their peel on a baking sheet.
Keep them in the oven until the peel turns black (about 3-5 minutes).
Why You Should Make this 4-Ingredient Banana Bread
- It’s super easy! 4 ingredients? Seriously!
- The texture. It’s very moist and light!
- The flavor. The lack of extra additives and large amount of real banana in this bread makes it super fragrant and banana-y!
If you’re loving this 4-Ingredient Banana Bread and want other fun desserts with 5 ingredients or less, check out these Whiskey Chocolate Truffles and Candied Cinnamon Sugar Walnuts!
4 Ingredient Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 4 large overripe bananas (+1 if you want to add one on top!)
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup brown sugar, tightly packed
- 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and prep a standard 8.5-inch loaf pan by lining it with parchment paper or spraying.
- Peel your bananas and add them to a large mixing bowl. Use a fork to mash the bananas until they are almost liquefied (some lumps are okay!)
- Add the eggs and use a fork or whisk to blend with the mashed bananas.
- Add the brown sugar and self-rising flour and mix to combine.
- Pour the mixture into your prepped pan. Option to slice the 5th banana in half longways and float it on top of your batter. Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow it to cool completely before slicing. Enjoy!
Pro Tips
- To substitute all-purpose flour for 1 and 1/2 cups self-rising flour, use 1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 tablespoon baking powder + 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- If your bananas aren’t overripe, stick them on a baking tray in their peel and let them sit in the oven while it’s preheating until the peel turns black.
- Bananas for bananas? Hate waste? You’ll love this collection of the best ripened banana recipes!
32 thoughts on “4-Ingredient Banana Bread”
Loved this! How can I cut down on the sugar? Can I omit it? Will it effect how it bakes? It was super sweet with the bananas so I would like to reduce or cut out the sugar.
Hi Terry!!
Aside from adding sweetness, the sugar bonds to the water while baking to retain moisture, so I think cutting the sugar completely will leave you with a dry and brittle bread! However, I think reducing the amount of sugar is just fine! I’ve also tested this with coconut sugar and it works perfectly and is definitely less sweet. My only other thought would be maybe subbing applesauce, but I haven’t tested this so can’t be too sure. Let me know if you do try it! 🙂
This is my 3rd time making this recipe, however for some reason the bread isn’t cooking.. like, it’s a little tooo moist still. Any suggestions?
Hi Kayla! Sometimes with loaves, since they’re very deep and the batter is thick, it’s hard to get the center fully cooked, especially if the batter is filled up to the top of the baking pan. If this is the case, you can tent it with aluminum foil- cover the top with aluminum foil but leave some space for it to rise and give it up to ten more minutes in the oven. This will allow the center to bake without burning the top! Thanks so much for bringing this up- I’ll add this tip to the post 🙂
Best banana bread ever! I was a die hard Starbucks bb fan and now that tastes subpar than this Heavenly bread! Thank you!!!
I’m so glad you loved it! Sometimes, simple is best 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback!
Can you add frozen blueberries to this recipe?
Hi Susan! That sounds like a great addition!! I would just toss them in about 1 tablespoon of flour to keep them from bursting/sinking 🙂 enjoy!
I’m so impressed with this recipe. I often intend to make banana bread but rarely follow through. This was so fast and easy, I also love that it doesn’t use oil.
Sometimes simple is best 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback, Ann! So glad you enjoyed.
I used an old Bundt pan and baked it for 30 minutes! Great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed, Morgan! So genius to make this in a bundt pan- I bet it was beautiful!! 🙂
Wow! This banana bread recipe is amazing. Love the few ingredients. I made muffins cuz my 17 month old grandson loves them. This is a great healthy option for all of us. 25 mins in the oven and they were tender, moist and scrumptious! Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved it, Karen! Sometimes simple is best, and this 4 ingredient recipe is proof of that! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback 🙂
Omgoodness love this recipe. I have made it several times! My man loves it as well. I add lightly chopped pecans (his favorite) into the batter and chop some more a bit smaller mixed with brown sugar and cinnamon on top. I find myself having to freeze bananas because he wants it so often! Usually once or twice a week. He takes a couple slices everyday in his lunch. I just hope he doesn’t share it with any employees.
Oh my goodness! Those add-ins sound delicious! I am DEFINTIELY trying that next time. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your feedback. It truly made my day 🙂
Would love to make banana muffins. Possible tips on how long and what temp to cook?
Yum!! I would keep the oven at 350 and check them after 25-30 minutes, baking until a toothpick comes out clean 🙂 Enjoy!
God bless you for putting the sodium count on your recipe wonderful recipe for the banana bread was so appreciated as well as all your other fantastic dishes thank you and God bless looking forward to many more
Thank YOU for your kind words and for checking out my recipes- it truly means so much to me! I hope you enjoy ❤️
Love this recipe ! So easy and quick and my boys love it. I made it with 1 Cup self rising flour because I only had 3 bananas, although they were large. Otherwise same ingredients and it was fine. We eat a lot of bananas, so I have to hide them if I want to bake, reason for having one short, lol.
Thank you so much, Linda! Great to know that 3 bananas with one cup of flour works! Bananas go quickly in our house, too- I usually end up having to ripen one or two bananas in the oven to make this
I LOVE GOOD HOMEMADE BANANA BREAD…Wish I had your recipe 3 days ago (10-2-22) when I made banana bread from scratch using the Pillsbury Flour recipe, which is thus far the best, however a tiny bit on the drier side than I prefer, but with lesser ingredients than some of the online BBR, I have used in the past. Looking forward to trying your 4 ingredients BBR next time around. Thank you for sharing.
I am so with you on loving a moist banana bread! I was surprised myself at how delicious it can be with so few ingredients. I hope you do give it a try and let me know how you like it- you sound like a BB pro! 🙂
Enjoy the four ingredients in a recipe.
The easier, the better! 🙂
What if you wanted to add pineapple?
Would you use drained crushed pineapple and how much?
Hi Nancy!
You can certainly add crushed pineapple if you’d like! I would substitute one banana for one 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple (drained), so that you have the same amount of moisture. Let me know how it goes!
What about nutrition values as n carbs & that kind of stuff especially for diabetes cause if you’re going to do different recipes how about nutrition values thxs
Hi Jeff!
Assuming you slice your loaf into 8 equal slices, the estimated nutrition facts per serving are as follows:
207 calories, 1.7 g fat, 22mg sodium, 44.8g carbs, 2.2g dietary fiber, 20.6g total sugars, 4.7g protein
I haven t tried this recipe but Ima going to i just happened to have ripe bananas at home right now so guess who s making this today or tomorrow !!
Woohoo!! I hope you love it! So easy!