Olive Oil Banana Bread

Why You’ll Love This Olive Oil Banana Bread

• Stays moist for days. Oil keeps the crumb soft long after butter-based banana bread has firmed up.
• One bowl, no mixer. Everything is whisked and folded by hand in about 15 minutes.
• Big banana flavour. Three very ripe bananas and a little cinnamon, nothing to hide behind.
• A crackly top. A spoonful of coarse sugar bakes into a crisp, bakery-style crust.
• Dairy free by default. No butter, milk or yogurt in the batter.

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How Ripe Should Bananas Be for Banana Bread?

Riper than you would want to eat. Look for peels that are heavily freckled with brown or mostly black, and fruit that feels soft when you squeeze it. As bananas ripen their starch turns into sugar, so very ripe bananas make a sweeter, more aromatic and more moist olive oil banana bread, and they mash in seconds.

Yellow bananas with only a few spots will still work, but the loaf will taste flatter and bake up slightly drier. If your bananas are not ready, bake them in their peels at 300°F (150°C) for 15 to 20 minutes until the skins turn black, then cool before mashing. You need about 1 1/3 cups of mashed banana, which is usually three medium bananas. Mash them with a fork, leaving a few small lumps for pockets of banana in the finished loaf.

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Key Ingredients for Moist Olive Oil Banana Bread

The ingredient list is short, so each one matters. Here is what every ingredient does for this olive oil banana bread:

• Olive oil: The reason this banana bread stays moist. Use a mild or light olive oil, or a smooth extra virgin oil. Very peppery, grassy oils can taste bitter once baked.
• Light brown sugar: Its molasses adds moisture and a soft caramel note that suits ripe banana. Dark brown sugar works and makes a deeper-coloured loaf.
• Eggs: Two large eggs bind the batter and give the loaf its lift and structure. Use them at room temperature so they whisk smoothly into the oil.
• All-purpose flour: Measure carefully. Too much flour is the most common cause of dense, dry banana bread, so spoon and level it or weigh it (see our guide on how to measure flour).
• Baking soda: Reacts with the natural acidity of ripe bananas and brown sugar to rise the loaf. You do not need baking powder.
• Cinnamon and vanilla: Small amounts that round out the banana flavour without taking over.
• Turbinado sugar: The coarse golden crystals sprinkled on top create the crackly crust. Demerara sugar is a good substitute.

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How to Make Olive Oil Banana Bread

The full recipe with exact amounts is in the card below. Here is the method at a glance:

1. Whisk the wet ingredients. Mash the bananas in a large bowl, then whisk in the olive oil, brown sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth and glossy.
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2. Fold in the dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and fold with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain. A few lumps are fine; overmixing makes banana bread tough.
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3. Top and bake. Scrape the batter into a lined 9x5-inch loaf pan, sprinkle with turbinado sugar and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 55 to 65 minutes.
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4. Cool before slicing. Let the loaf rest in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift it out to cool on a rack. Banana bread finishes setting as it cools.
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How to Store and Freeze Banana Bread

Once your olive oil banana bread is completely cool, wrap it tightly or keep it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Thanks to the olive oil it stays soft the whole time, so there is no need to refrigerate it, which would dry it out faster.

Banana bread freezes beautifully. Our favourite way is to freeze it in slices so you can take out exactly what you need:

1. Cool the loaf completely, then cut it into thick slices.
2. Wrap each slice in parchment or plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag.
3. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw slices at room temperature for about 30 minutes, or toast them straight from frozen.

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In Short: The Secrets to Moist Olive Oil Banana Bread

• Use very ripe, heavily speckled bananas.
• Choose a mild olive oil so the banana flavour leads.
• Spoon and level the flour, or weigh it, so the loaf is not dry.
• Fold the batter gently and stop as soon as the flour disappears.
• Test with a skewer, and tent with foil if the top browns early.
• Cool before slicing so the crumb can set.

Once you have made this olive oil banana bread and still have ripe bananas, try our make-ahead blueberry overnight oats, browse every recipe with bananas, or explore more easy baking recipes.

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