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This 4-Ingredient Banana Bread is the easiest homemade loaf you will ever bake! Four basic ingredients create a soft, moist, and full of real banana flavor sweet bread that is perfect for breakfast or a quick snack. I make this recipe anytime I have a few ripe bananas lying around and I am always amazed that such a simple recipe can make such a delicious bread.
Pair my easy banana bread with a cup of coffee or try a few of my other favorites like Pumpkin Bread, Double Chocolate Banana Bread, or Banana Muffins.
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
Okay, you know I love a cake mix hack, so maybe you were expecting that one of the ingredients would be cake mix. But nope! This 4 ingredient banana bread without cake mix has a different little trick.
The key here is using self-rising flour. That one little secret ingredient is what makes this recipe so magical.
And did I mention that this quick banana bread turns out moist, tender, and bakery-worthy? It does! And I just know it will become one of your go-to recipes.
✅ Only 4 simple ingredients
✅ Perfectly moist and flavorful
✅ Just one bowl, no mixer needed!
Table of Contents
Ingredients Needed for 4 Ingredient Banana Bread
You honestly do only need four ingredients to make this perfect banana bread. Here is what they are:
- Bananas – Use brown bananas! I wait until they go from yellow to speckled to completely brown, which gives you the SWEETEST bread with the sassiest banana flavor. (You can expedite the process if you need your banana bread ASAP: How to Ripen Bananas Quickly.)
- Eggs – Let the eggs come to room temperature. Room temperature eggs hold more air when beaten. This is another trick for fluffier baked goods!
- Self Rising Flour– Self-rising flour already has baking powder and salt mixed in, which makes recipes like banana bread rise perfectly without needing extra leavening ingredients.
- Light Brown Sugar- Light brown sugar has a mild molasses flavor that adds gentle sweetness and moisture to baked goods, while dark brown sugar has more molasses for a deeper, richer taste. You can use dark brown sugar in this banana bread recipe if you prefer a slightly stronger caramel flavor.
Variations
Want to switch it up a little? These are my favorite recipe tweaks that I have tried:
- Make 4-ingredient gluten-free banana bread by using your favorite brand of gluten-free self-raising flour.
- Add some delicious texture to this recipe by mixing chopped nuts, raisins, or blueberries into the batter.
- Fold chocolate chips into the batter for pockets of indulgence in every bite.
- Use the banana bread batter to make banana muffins instead of a bread loaf! Prepare the batter as usual. Then, pour it into greased muffin tins, filling each cup 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 20 minutes or until the muffins are puffy, lightly golden, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
How to Make 4-Ingredient Banana Bread
- Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a loaf pan. Mash bananas in a large bowl.
- Stir in the eggs.
- Stir in the sugar and flour until just combined. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
- Bake 45–50 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let the bread cool, then slice and enjoy!
FAQs
The riper, the better! Bananas with brown spots mash easily and add extra sweetness.
Martha Stewart’s secret ingredient for banana bread is sour cream, which she’s been using in her signature banana bread recipe since before her first cookbook, Entertaining. Adding sour cream to a banana bread recipe makes the bread extra moist, tender, and rich in flavor.
No, one banana isn’t equal to one cup. Bananas vary in size but, on average, you will need about two medium bananas (around 8 inches long each) to make one cup of mashed banana.
The biggest mistake when making banana bread is overmixing the batter. Mixing too much activates the gluten in the flour and leads to a dense, rubbery textured bread. Other common mistakes are using bananas that aren’t fully ripe, measuring flour incorrectly, or adding too much banana, which can make the bread overly wet and gummy. But, if you follow my simple banana bread recipe, it will turn out fantastic!
More Easy Banana Bread Recipes
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4-Ingredient Banana Bread
Equipment
- 8×4 loaf pan
- Large mixing bowl
- Fork
- Measuring cups
- Rubber spatula
Ingredients
- 4 ripe bananas
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups self-rising flour
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Spray a loaf pan with baking spray and dust the pan with flour.
- Add the bananas to a large mixing bowl. Mash them well with a fork so there are no large pieces. A few smaller pieces are okay!
- Add the eggs and whisk them into the bananas with the fork.
- Add the sugar and self-rising flour and mix everything together well to form a thick batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread the batter evenly in the pan.
- Bake the banana bread for 50 minutes. The banana bread will be pulling away from the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center on the bread will come out cleanly.
- Let the banana bread cool for about 15 minutes in the pan then flip it out onto a cooling rack. Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can also slice a 5th banana the long way, cutting it into three long strips. Place the strips on top of the batter in the loaf pan before baking. This is an easy way to make the banana bread look nice!
- Store your baked banana bread covered, at room temperature for 3 days or freeze up to 3 months.
- Self-rising flour is essential to this recipe! Do not replace it with regular flour. If you do not have self rising flour, check out my guide on how to easily make it at home.
So easy and so good. Love how simple this banana bread is!
I’ve tried this one and it turns out so moist and flavorful — hard to believe it only uses four ingredients!
Easy, and delicious—what more could I ask for?
I made this tonight and it was incredible—everyone loved it!
So it doesn’t need butter?
No! It’s perfectly moist and flavorful without it. 😊