One Bowl Banana Bread

It’s always nice to have an easy banana bread recipe on hand, and it doesn’t get much easier than this One Bowl Banana Bread. The bread is mixed up in one bowl in just a few minutes, and uses a more streamlined mixing approach than most banana breads do. I like this kind of recipe because it makes the bread seem very accessible: it requires very little prep and can be stirred up in less time than it takes to preheat the oven.

The bread is soft, with a tight and dense crumb. It has a very good banana flavor, and the cinnamon and vanilla just highlight it even more. The biggest “wet” ingredient in this quick bread is the mashed banana, which is not only flavorful but keeps the bread moist. Bananas can vary in size, so if you have two large bananas you will probably have plenty even if you don’t have exactly 1 1/4 cups of mashed banana. A bit more or a bit less won’t throw off the recipe. The loaf is delicious plain, but can hold up to being toasted and slathered with butter or peanut butter, too. It is perfect when cut into generous slices and eaten for breakfast.

I should also note that this is not the fanciest looking banana bread that you’ll ever see. In fact, it’s a plain loaf that isn’t all that tall, even after baking. This is a banana bread for whipping up when you want a treat for yourself, not for when you want to bring something out to impress a crowd. Of course, after a bite or two anyone will definitely appreciate this easy to make banana bread, even though it comes in a plain package.

One Bowl Banana Bread
2 large bananas, mashed (approx 1 1/4 cups)
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup walnuts (optional)
3/4 cup chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
In a large bowl, mash the bananas until pureed. Add in the brown sugar, egg, vegetable oil, vanilla and ground cinnamon and whisk until very smooth. Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt at the same time, and stir or whisk until the batter is very smooth and no streaks of dry ingredients remain.
Stir in walnuts or chocolate chips, if desired.
Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. Do not overbake (the banana makes the bread moist enough that a toothpick does not to be completely dry for the bread to be done). Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Makes 1 loaf.