Buttermilk Banana Bread

Looking for the perfect banana bread recipe? You’ve found it! This buttermilk banana bread is delicious with its wonderful buttery crust!

There is not another banana bread recipe quite like this one! Instead of a dark-speckled interior, this banana bread is light and buttery and so delicious!

What Makes This Banana Bread Unique

There are several things that make this buttermilk banana bread unique:

• softened butter (instead of oil)
• buttermilk
• baking powder and baking soda (read on to learn why this matters!)

At the end of the day, however, this banana bread is still ultra-simple to make. It comes together in one bowl.

The yield is one loaf, but it can easily be doubled.

What Causes the Speckles in Banana Bread?

Have you ever wondered why some banana bread loaves have dark speckles and others don’t?

The reason? Baking soda.

Banana bread recipes that have a larger amount of baking soda and less baking powder usually have a darker, more speckled crumb. This buttermilk banana bread has a scant 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, which produces a much lighter banana bread crumb.

If you want a more traditional-looking banana bread loaf, increase the baking soda to 1/4 teaspoon.

I have been making this buttermilk banana bread for almost 20 years. The recipe comes from my Aunt Marilyn (originator of the best recipes!). It is a phenomenal banana bread recipe – truly one of the best!

Buttermilk Banana Bread

Yield: 12 Servings (1 large loaf)

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 50 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

4.64 stars (332 ratings)

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Ingredients

• ½ cup (113 g) butter, softened
• 1 to 1 ½ cups (318 g) sugar (see note)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 to 1 ½ cups (about 226 g) mashed bananas (about 3 medium bananas) – (see note)
• ¼ cup buttermilk (see note)
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ¾ cups (249 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda

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Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9X5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, with a handheld electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes.
• Add the eggs, bananas, buttermilk and vanilla and mix until well-combined.
• Add the flour, baking powder, salt and soda. Mix until no dry streaks remain; it's ok if the batter is slightly lumpy. Don't over mix.
• Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until the top lightly springs back to the touch and a thin knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Add time as needed until the bread is baked fully.
• Turn the bread out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

Buttermilk: here is a guide for making your own buttermilk

Loaf Pan: this bread bakes best in a light-colored metal baking pan. If using a glass pan or a dark-coated metal pan, reduce the baking temperature to 325 degrees F and add baking time as needed until the bread is baked through. 

Sugar: this bread works great decreasing the sugar to 1 cup and increasing the bananas to 1 1/2 cups.

Author: Mel

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Method: Bake

Serving: 1 Slice, Calories: 263kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 52mg, Sodium: 181mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 28g

Recommended Products

9X5-inch Loaf Pan

Silicone Spatula

Measuring Cups

Recipe Source: from Aunt Marilyn

Recipe originally posted March 2008; updated November 2024 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.

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