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 Ideas and Date Shake
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
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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.
I always use this recipe and it never disappoints! Thanks a lot.
it is very good and easy
Oh I forgot I use less sugar, 3/4 of the recipe. Next time I’ll try even 1/2 the amount ( 1/2 cup for double recipe).
Hello,
Have used this recipe many times. Love the fact it uses olive oil not butter. Freezing the bananas, especially ripe ones, and then thawing to room temp allows me to squeeze out all the oils. Don’t forget to lightly toast the walnuts.
Last time I DOUBLED all ingredients & add 1/2 tsp Baking Powder.Used 1/2 APF and 1/2 bread flour( it’s what I had).But I forgot to add the oil! I could not believe how moist it turned out. My partner could not accept the that the oil was missing til I showed her the full bottle. And according to King Arthur flower co bake until 200 -205 (degree F). In a loaf pan it was close to 30 minutes @ 325.I let it cool in the pan 20 minutes & on a rack til room temp. I skip the oil from now on.
This was a good use for just 1 ripe banana. I made it in 3 mini springform pans. My only comment is that it was bit too sweet for my taste. Next time I’ll reduce the amount of sugar.
Excellent! Just the recipe I was looking for. Clear, well written instructions. I added cinnamon, cloves, and allspice as well as a handful of white chocolate chips. With just two of us, these small batch recipes are just what we need. Bookmarking this and will definitely be making again.
I made banana bread yesterday unfortunately it was dry 😕 there was a recipe that didn’t have water or milk 😕 what’s ur suggestion to make a banana bread moist?
This was such a great recipe! And I only used 1/3 of the oil called for and a dash of maple syrup instead of sugar. Thank you!
This recipe is a delight! I made it GF by using .25 cups almond flour, and .25 cups coconut flour. I also added choc chips and only used .25 cups coconut sugar. It turned out amazing! I made little donuts, and baked for 20 min.
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 modified this recipe a lot. No nuts, added chopped up chocolate melts, substituted the baking powder with self raising flour, used canola oil in place of olive oil, reduced the sugar slightly. Then I baked the mixture as tiny muffins. It made 20 and they were cooked in 14 minutes.
It worked really well. I’ll definitely make it again.
I really appreciate having a solid recipe to alter based on what is in the pantry and our dietary requirements. Thank you.
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.