Three things inspired this recipe. First, sometimes you want to make banana bread but you only have one ripe banana.
Or maybe I should say, sometimes you have a ripe banana and you want to do something with it (ideally, make banana bread). But is that one lonely banana enough all on its own? Spoiler: Yes.
Related: 50+ Healthy Breakfast Recipes
Second, sometimes you just want to bake something. Is it just me, or does everyone feel this way now and again (especially in the winter months)? Ideally, I want to bake something easy that will make my whole kitchen smell amazing.
But I’d prefer if the end result was NOT a dozen cookies or scones or whatever because I know myself well enough to know that this means I will likely eat a dozen cookies or scones over the following couple of days.
I want a little treat, sure, but mostly I just want to carry out the act of baking something and just get a little bite of something at the end.
Third, and most literally, this recipe is inspired by Chrissy Teigen’s recipe from her cookbook (which I love). But, I’ll be the first to admit that this is a much more simple version that results in a smaller serving amount in the end.
It’s really very different, but I was still inspired by her recipe and I love her cookbook so much I wanted to mention it anyway. 🙂
If you only have one banana, make this banana bread. If you LOVE banana bread (raises hand high) but don’t need a giant bundt cake size in your house due to a lack of self-control, make this banana bread.
Here are some mini loaf pans if you don’t have any!
Be sure check out these banana bread-inspired recipes:
- Overnight Baked Banana Bread Oatmeal
- No-Bake Banana Cream Pie
- Banana Bread Muffin Cookies
- How to Quickly Ripen Bananas
Grab this guide to see our Top 25 Recipes of all time!
Free Popular Recipe Guide
Our top 25 recipes of all time!
Get the Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 banana (ripe)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup + 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup walnuts (chopped)
Instructions
- In a medium size mixing bowl, mash the banana. Then stir in the egg, vanilla extract, and oil until combined. Then, add all at once the flour, sugars, baking soda, and salt. Fold until combined. Then stir in the chopped walnuts.
- Spoon into your prepared (oiled or lined with parchment) baking vessels and bake at 325°F
- Regular size muffins or a baked donut pan will yield six and should be baked for 14-15 minutes.
- If you use mini loaf pans (like I have in the photos), this will yield three and should be baked for 18-20 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
love the cake super moist and yet so spongy and delicious……
Thank you so much for this recipe! This is the second time I’ve baked this. Used 3 mini Bundt cake silicone shapes, and the result was delicious, just right, tasty banana cake! My daughter even said it’s the best cake ever 🙂 Thanks again! Saved and will use again and again with various additions 🙂 x
This is very good classic banana bread.
I added some chocolate chunks and it was so yummy! So light !
I followed the recipe then added a few sprinkles of cinnamon and a dash of pumpkin spice. I only was able to full one mini muffin tin which was perfect for me. I did bake for 40 minutes at 325. It is amazingly delicious, thank you!
WOW! Tried this recipe on a whim and it was absolutely delicious. I did substitute the 1/4 cup of brown sugar for just about a tbsp of maple syrup and used gluten-free flour. It was still amazing… I ate the whole thing with my mom◡̈
Can’t wait to bake this again soon!
I was pleased to find a recipe for banana bread using one banana. I do agree with previous comments about reducing the sugar and increasing the flour slightly. Perhaps 1/4 cup brown sugar and try eliminating the white sugar? Increase the flour to 2/3 cup? A suggested, I put the batter in three mini loaf pans and got three small slabs of banana bread. Next time I will try 2 pans. (I had my doubts about the 3 pans as there was only 1 1/2 cups of batter total, but I always follow the recipe exactly the first time.)
Three stars because the recipe served as a “guide” for using one aging banana. I managed to make something out of it, however, it wasn’t without some doing. Primary suggestions: Reduce the sugar, increase the flour, and definitely increase the baking temperature to 350.
I used half extra light olive oil and half avocado oil and added an extra egg yolk as mentioned above. The banana I had was huge, so may have made difference in the taste. I baked at 330 (because my gas stove cooks a little cooler) in mini muffin tins for 16 minutes. I got 18 mini muffins. They turned out fantastic! Thank you for the recipe.
My absolute favorite, thank you for such a fabulous recipe!! All I did was added an extra egg yolk and it took it to the next level, I really have never tasted a better banana bread, I used my muffin pan and it yielded 6 muffins.
A 5 Star Recipe! I looked at one sad banana in the fruit bowl this morning and found this recipe on Google. It is delicious, quick and easy. I baked mine in a small loaf pan (3″ x 8″/ 8.5cm x 26 cm) for approx 23 minutes at 150 C (fan oven.) Thank you for sharing. I always wondered what I could do with just one old banana, past its prime. I will come back to this one again and again, I’m sure.
How many calories are in this
I used this recipe last minute as a way to use some excess chocolate zucchini batter I had left over from a cake I was baking. I used a normal loaf pan and marbled the top of this banana bread recipe with the extra choc batter. It baked BEAUTIFULLY!
I’m back here leaving 5 stars and a comment because I’m already back to use (and save) the recipe again! I’ll even admit I can’t be bothered baking right now, it’s almost 6pm (the sun doesn’t set in Western Australia until 8pm atm) but because this recipe is so quick and easy, I know I’ll definitely bake it later tonight with no problem.
Absolute winner with the whole family.
Just the recipe I needed to use up our last overripe banana! For a little bit of a healthier alternative, I subbed all purpose flour for whole wheat, switched brown sugar for coconut sugar, and granulated sugar for cane sugar. I also used half walnuts, half chocolate chips to satisfy my dark chocolate cravings. Thank you for the recipe and measurements! They turned out great!
Not the best banana bread I’ve tasted. It was really dry, and I think moist banana bread is always the best. I had to put it in for much longer than 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, it was still very raw.
😬 this recipe did not work for me. I followed it to a T and I’m an intermediate baker. Glad it wasn’t a full recipe!
Too sweet, and there was not enough flour. Next time I will reduce the sugar by half and use 3/4 to 1 cup of flour. Also the baking temp needs to be at least 350, if not 375. It’s nice to be able to use up 1 banana, but this recipe needs so much tweaking.
Love this recipe! I’ve made this several times. Sometimes I double up the recipe with 2 bananas both as a loaf and as muffins. Also I’ve also sprinkled a mixture of white sugar, dark brown sugar and cinnamon on top. Just had to bake a little longer until I insert a toothpick or small knife and nothing sticks. Shared with friends and they love it too. Great for overripe bananas!
Came here for the Sunday links – jeez, I hope nothing happened? They’ve been like clockwork for years.
Hi! The post is fixed now— sorry about that!
Where did you buy these white ceramic mini loaf pans please? The link you provide for mini loaf pans does not link to these 🙁 Thanks a lot ?
Delicious muffins, I substituted gluten free all purpose flour and the result was amazing. Used pecans instead of walnuts. Thank you for this recipe!
Followed this recipe as stated except 1) used vegetable oil instead of olive oil, since I was out and 2) omitted the nuts. Baked these for 20 mins in a mini Bundt pan using 4 of the 6 bundlets and it came out perfectly!!!!!! Thank you for such an easy, flavorful, moist, and quick banana cake recipe! Will use this again!