With only 4 ingredients quickly bake an easy, from-scratch, one-bowl, moist, tender and light banana bread. Never look for another Banana Bread recipe again!
I have a thing for quick breads. Love them? Try my Peanut Butter Bread and Apple Praline Bread recipes.
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works?
- Only 4-Ingredients: Do I need to convince you any further? You only need 4 ingredients for this heavenly bread.
- Less Than an Hour: It takes you less than an hour from start to finish to get this bread.
- Moist and Crumbly: The texture of this bread is light, moist and crumbly.
- Intense Banana Flavor: Love incorporating bananas in your bakes? Here you go.
- Ripe Brown Bananas: Most of the times when bananas go ripe we do not know what to do except tossing them. Now, we do! Make this bread.
- Avoid Food Waste: By using the overripe bananas you will avoid food waste and be good to the environment.
Overripe Bananas
Who doesn't like bananas? They keep fresh for a day or two but develop brown spots rather quickly because of the ethylene gas (a plant hormone) and polyphenol oxidase (an enzyme responsible for oxidation).
The ripened bananas are packed with flavor and add more sweetness and moisture to the bakes.
The overripe bananas are perfect to eat. They have more flavor and aroma and interestingly more nutritious as well. They are rich with high antioxidant and high Vitamin C levels.
In short, until and unless you see a mold developed on a banana, feel free to consume it.
The brown bananas can keep for 2 – 3 days at room temperature or up to 10 days in the fridge. You can freeze them for up to 2 months.
I used frozen overripe bananas for this recipe.
Mayonnaise in Baking
One of the key ingredients for this recipe is mayonnaise. My Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake recipe is just amazing and enough to convince you to incorporate mayonnaise in your bakes.
In traditional baking eggs and oil are used to provide structure to the bakes. Mayonnaise technically does the same thing; as it gives volume and also acts as a leavening agent (mayonnaise is essentially oil and eggs).
Oil gives moisture and tenderness, and eggs help with emulsification and thickening of the bread. Vinegar acts as a kicker to intensify the flavor and to cut on the sweetness.
Interested to know the history of use of Mayonnaise in cakes? Read this article on Epicurious.
Ingredients
- Overripe Bananas - Always use overripe bananas. The starch in bananas convert to sugar during the ripening process that make them sweet and flavorful.
- Castor Sugar - Use the regular castor sugar to sweeten the cake.
- Mayonnaise - I use the regular store-bought mayonnaise. Use full-fat mayonnaise for this bread.
- Self-Raising Flour - It is important to use self-raising flour for this bread to give it volume and height. (Check above how to make your own self-raising flour).
Make Self-Rising Flour: Add one cup of all-purpose flour and 1.5 teaspoon of baking powder in a bowl and whisk.
Note: If you are using frozen bananas (like me), thaw them first until they reach at room temperature as you want to mash the bananas fully almost like puree for this recipe.
Instructions
Process shots of basic steps for this recipe. For accurate ingredient measurements and detailed instructions refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
1. Take a bowl and whisk together mashed bananas and mayonnaise.
2. Add sugar and whisk until incorporated.
3. Add in the self-rising flour.
4. Mix until just combined. Do not over-mix.
5. Pour the mixture in the 9 x 5 inch tin.
6. Bake at 350 F for 50 - 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
Variations
- Nuts: If you like nuts, add ½ cup of chopped walnuts or pecans in the batter.
- Chocolate Chips: If you are a chocolate lover, feel free to add ½ cup of chocolate chips/morsels into the batter and enjoy the Chocolate Chip Banana Bread.
- Cinnamon Powder: Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder for more flavor.
Expert Tips
Overripe Bananas: Make sure to use overripe bananas for this recipe as it will result in moist and tender crumb.
Self-rising Flour: Use self-rising flour for this bread. Do not substitute it with all-purpose flour. (Use the method explained above to make self-rising flour yourself in case you do not have self-rising flour in your pantry.)
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you will never guess if there was a slight hint of mayonnaise in the bread.
Yes you can. Feel free to use the wholewheat flour, all-purpose flour or spelt flour. In case you are using a different flour, just make sure to add 3 teaspoons of baking powder.
No worries - just spread the yellow bananas in a baking tray over silicone mats. Place the tray in the oven at 350 F for about 15 minutes and take them out once they are dark brown or black in color. Peel them and use them in the recipe.
How to Store
- The bread will do well in an air-tight container for up to 2 days.
- The bread will keep fresh for in an airtight container for 3 -4 days in the refrigerato.e.
- Wrap each bread piece in plastic wrap and further add a layer of foil. Stash it in a Zip-loc bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe
Super Quick & Easy 4-Ingredients Banana Bread
Equipment
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 9 x 5 inch pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed bananas (300 g) (about 3 medium sized bananas)
- 1 cup mayonnaise (230 g)
- ¾ cup castor sugar (170 g)
- 2 cup self-rising flour (240 g)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5 pan and set it aside. You can spray or line your pan with a parchment paper as well for easy removal from the pan.
- Take a medium sized bowl and sift the self-rising flour. Whisk and set aside.
- In another medium sized bowl mash the bananas.
- Add sugar to the bananas and mix until combined.
- Add the flour and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter in the pan and bake for 50 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
- Let the bread sit in the pan for 5 - 10 minutes before shifting it to a wire rack to cool completely.
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