Six-Banana Banana Bread — 🍌 Not sure what to do with overripe bananas you have on hand? Make this Six-Banana Banana Bread! This is the best banana bread recipe EVER — it’s so moist and flavorful!
Table of Contents
There’s no chance of wimpy or lackluster banana flavor here. I baked six bananas into one loaf. Yes, six.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my gold standard banana bread recipe for banana bread. It’s everything I want and it never lets me down. But I also cheat on it from time to time. Say, with 35+ banana recipes, and about 15 of them are recipes for various Banana Breads. You can never have too many.
I wanted to pack more pure banana essence and intensity into the bread and so I used more bananas. A whole lot more.
Rather than using 1 to 1 1/2 cups of bananas, which is what most recipes call for, I used a solid 2 1/2 cups. To compensate for the extra banana volume and moisture, I cut back on the amount of Greek yogurt (or sour cream) I usually use.
The verdict is that this super moist banana bread is everything and more. It’s soft, tender and supremely moist. The pudding mix serves to add some lightness, fluffiness, and springiness.
You’ll never have to wonder again what to do with overripe bananas thanks to this freckled overripe banana recipe in your arsenal. Kill six with one loaf.
You may even find yourself wishing for some speckly and freckly ones.
How Does Six-Banana Banana Bread Taste?
Because of the 6 bananas, don’t expect a super light and airy loaf. It’s on the heavier and denser side, but I think all good banana bread should be. I don’t want light, airy, cakey, or dry. I want moist, heavy, and dense.
The real clincher is that all those bananas really make a difference in the overall banana flavor and intensity level.
If you’ve ever felt like your banana bread is a bit underwhelming in banana intensity level, this recipe will cure that. It’s bursting with banana flavor. I mean, duh.
Ingredients in Six-Banana Banana Bread
To make this super moist banana bread recipe, you’ll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Sour cream – or Greek yogurt
- Vanilla extract
- Bananas
- Vanilla instant pudding mix
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Ground cinnamon
- Salt
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
Looking for More Recipes Using Lots of Bananas?
I also have a recipe for chocolate chip banana cake that uses six bananas. It’s incredibly soft, moist, and bursting with banana flavor!
How to Make Banana Bread with 6 Bananas
This super moist banana bread made with six bananas comes together quickly and easily! Here are the basic steps:
- Combine melted butter, eggs, two types of sugar, sour cream, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the six mashed bananas, followed by the dry ingredients (note that you add the pudding mix dry — you don’t need to make it into pudding first!).
- Bake the homemade banana bread in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan for roughly 60 to 75 minutes.
How to Tell When Banana Bread Is Done
Insert a toothpick into the center of the loaf; if it comes out clean, or with very few crumbs, it’s done baking. Or, gently press it with your thumb and if the bread immediately springs back it’s cooked through.
And just as one final reminder, I can’t stress how important it is that you bake by your bread, not the clock.
Depending on your bananas, your altitude, etc. your loaf of banana bread may take more or less time to bake than mine did. Trust your gut!
Banana Bread FAQs
If store at room temperature in an airtight container, this six-banana banana bread will last up to 5 days.
This easy banana bread recipe calls for six large bananas, which equals about 2 1/2 cups when mashed well. So by my calculations, three medium-sized bananas should be about 1 cup mashed. When in doubt, buy more bananas than you think you need! You can always peel and freeze the bananas for future bakes, or throw them into your morning smoothies.
This six-banana banana bread is best with vanilla pudding mix. I’ve tried omitting it, and have trialed various combinations of buttermilk, sour cream, Greek yogurt, butter, and oil. But the pudding mix bread wins every time.
If you can’t find pudding in your area (international readers write about this), I recommend adding one-quarter cup of additional flour, two teaspoons of cornstarch, and a dash of extra sugar.
If you thought your bananas had to be black as the night for banana bread, they don’t. Nicely freckled and speckled, but pitch black is not necessary.
Cook’s Illustrated found there’s little difference in sweetness between freckled and completely black. Ripe is fine. They don’t have to be nearly rotting.
One of the first ingredients in instant vanilla pudding mix is cornstarch, which is a workhorse for keeping cakes, cookies, and bread extremely soft, light, tender, and moist.
In the last 10 minutes of cooking, I tented my 9×5-inch pan with foil because the center hadn’t quite set, but the edges and top surface were getting a smidge on the dark side. I recommend covering with foil if at any point your bread is looking a little dark.
Recipe Variations to Try
This extra moist banana bread made with vanilla pudding mix and six bananas is perfect as is, but you’re welcome to add mix-ins or tweak the recipe as desired!
- Add chocolate chips — 1/2 cup or so should do it.
- Add nuts — Raw, unsalted chopped nuts are best.
- Swap the sour cream for Greek yogurt — Make sure to use plain, full-fat Greek yogurt.
- Instant vanilla pudding mix — This bread doesn’t need any more banana flavor, but you could always add instant banana pudding mix instead!
- Spices — I used 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, but you can add more. Or, you can add additional spices such as nutmeg, ginger, cloves, etc.
The one mix-in I do NOT recommend adding is fresh fruit or berries. This bread is already quite dense and supremely moist, and if you add berries the batter will never bake through properly.
Storage and Freezing Instructions
To store: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
To freeze: Freeze this six-banana banana bread for up to 6 months. To freeze the entire loaf of six-banana banana bread, let it first cool to room temperature. Then, wrap it in two to three layers of plastic wrap, followed by a layer of tinfoil.
Or, you can slice the loaf and freeze the slices on a baking tray. Once the slices are frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag (freezing them on the tray first prevents the moist banana bread slices from getting squished).
Recipe Video Tutorial
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Six-Banana Banana Bread
Ingredients
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup sour cream or thick Greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract, or to taste
- 6 medium/large very ripe bananas, mashed (2 1/2 cups mashed bananas; if your bananas are huge you may only need 4 or 5; if they’re small, you may need more)
- one 3.4-ounce box vanilla instant pudding mix, not Cook ‘n Serve
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with floured cooking spray, or grease and flour the pan; set aside. (If necessary, you may need to use a muffin pan or mini loaf for pan a small amount of batter.)*
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power. Allow the butter to cool momentarily so you don’t scramble the eggs.
- Add the eggs, sugars, sour cream, vanilla, and whisk to combine.
- Add the bananas and stir to incorporate
- Add the pudding mix (just add it dry like a dry ingredient; don’t actually make pudding), flour, baking soda, cinnamon, optional salt, and fold in with spatula or stir gently with a spoon; don’t overmix or bread will be tougher.
- Bake 9×5 loaf for 60 to 75 minutes (I baked 68 minutes), or until the top is domed, golden, and the center is set, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Tip – In the final 10 to 15 minutes of cooking, or at any point if your bread is getting a bit dark before the center is setting, tent with foil. There are a lot of moist bananas to cook through in this loaf so if it takes longer than the estimated time to cook through, do so. Do not pull it from the oven, and decide later that it wasn't quite done!
- Allow bread to cool in pan for about 20 minutes before turning out on a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving. Serve plain, or with butter, jam, or your favorite spread. Makes excellent French toast.
- Storage – Bread will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Video
Notes
- If you can’t find pudding in your area (international readers write about this), I recommend adding one-quarter cup of additional flour, two teaspoons of cornstarch, and a dash of extra sugar.
- *If baking a mini loaf is necessary, bake for about 35 minutes, or until done; I estimate 2 or 3 muffins will take about 20 to 25 minutes.
- Baking times for loaves will vary based on moisture content of bananas, pan sizes, climate, and oven variances. Bake until done; watch your bread, not the clock.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Recipes Using Ripe Bananas:
ALL OF MY BANANA BREAD RECIPES!
Cream Cheese-Filled Banana Bread — This is the BEST homemade banana bread recipe! This banana bread tastes like it has cheesecake baked in! Soft, fluffy, easy and tastes ahhhh-mazing!!
Flour’s Banana Bread — Made with Flour Bakery’s famous recipe to see if it lives up to the hype. Verdict? Totally fabulous! Make it!!
Strawberry Banana Bread — This strawberry bread is packed with fresh, juicy strawberries in every bite! This is an easy, no-mixer quick bread recipe you’re going to love!
Carrot Banana Bread — EASY, no-mixer, super soft banana carrot bread that reminds me of carrot cake but healthier!! Great Easter brunch idea or spring baked good!
Pumpkin Banana Bread with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Glaze — I’ll never tire of pumpkin recipes and this one pairs pumpkin bread with banana bread for a soft, tender loaf that’s subtly pumpkin and molasses flavored.
Brown Sugar Blueberry Banana Bread — Super moist blueberry banana bread made with Greek yogurt and dark brown sugar. Smear some homemade blueberry butter onto a slice of this blueberry brown sugar banana bread and prepare to fall in love!
Zucchini Banana Bread — This zucchini banana bread is so soft, tender, uber-moist, dense enough to be satisfying, but still light!
Originally published May 29, 2013 and republished January 14, 2022 with updated text.
I doubled this recipe and took it to a church Christmas pot luck. It was a big hit! Everyone was coming back for seconds and marveling about how great it was!
I used a 10 inch spring form pan and it filled it up. I also wrapoed foil around the sides of the pan to keep the edges of the bread from drying out too much. And I reduced the temp by 25 degrees for the last 25min. It took a whole 2 hours and 15 minutes to back through. But it was perfect! I also added 2 teaspoons allspice and 1 Tablespoon rum flavoring to the batter. But I made a lot of friends at the party because of this banana bread.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Denise, and glad it was a big hit at the potluck and that you were able to make it in a springform pan and what you did. Thanks for sharing the details!
Doubled this recipe for a pot luck Christmas party at church. It was a big hit! People were coming back for seconds and marveling about it. Not kidding! I used a 10 inch spring form pan to bake it and it filled it up. I also wrapped the edges with foil to keep them from drying out. It took 2 hours and 15minutes to bake through. And the last 25min I reduced the temperature to 325 degrees to further reduce the risk of over drying or burning the edges of the bread. I also had added in 2 tsp allspice and a tablespoon of rum flavoring to the batter. This recipe was a winner!
I have made a lot of banana bread in my life. Always looking for that delicious moist dense banana bread. This is it! This is now my go to recipe. I will never use another recipe again. I like to take enough batter out to make 12 mini muffins for my grandson, there is still enough left for a good sized loaf.
Thanks for the 5 star, Jackie, and I’m glad this is your new go-to recipe for banana bread and you’ll never use another recipe again. Now that is high praise and thank you!! Great to hear you can also take out a bit of batter and make 12 mini muffins and still have plenty for a good sized loaf.
Love this recipe! Uses so many bananas and has come out perfect twice now! Whole family love it and it keeps well
Thanks for the 5 star review, Mel, and I’m glad that you’ve made it a couple of times with perfect results and a happy family!
First time making it. It was great. I used 6 very ripe bananas that I had previously frozen and used the instant banana pudding mix instead of vanilla. I used double the salt and vanilla. I added coarse chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. The top of the loaf had a nice browned gloss to it and a nice crunch. The bread itself was nicely moist and bursting with banana flavor. The advice given about watching the loaf and not the timer is spot on advice. All my batter fit in the pan but total time for me was about 80 minutes.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Marie, and for describing the changes you made. And I am SO glad the mt watch the loaf and not the clock advice hit home for you. Because yes, with 6 (wet) bananas in the batter, it’s going to take time and it will vary from person to person.
Super moist, very nice flavour and got rid of most of my ripe bananas. Will keep recipe for future surplus of ripe bananas.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Lisa, and I’m glad it helped you use up your ripe bananas and that it turned out great!
Never mind!! You tell in your notes of what to add instead of using pudding mix. 🤦🏻♀️ I didn’t read far enough.
Glad you saw it!
I made this and it was delicious! I want to make it again but I don’t have any pudding mix. Any suggestions of what I can use instead of pudding? Thanks!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad it was delicous with the pudding mix and hopefully it works out just as well for your without it.
I peel and freeze bananas that are past their prime. Wrap two peeled bananas in wax paper and a zip lock baggie. As they thaw, they get soft and don’t need mashing. This recipe was perfect for those extra bananas!!
I do that too sometimes if I have extra bananas and you’re right about them softening naturally during the freezing-to-thawing process so no need to mash. I don’t even put them in wax paper, just straight into a ziplock baggie or sometimes a little plastic container. Glad this bread turned out great for you!
There’s moist and dense but no matter what I did it just stayed raw. I baked it longer and longer but the consistency is a lot more wet and doughy than I like. If I were to make it again I’d do muffins to see if those baked through but I don’t think I’ll make it again.
I am sorry you didn’t have luck with this recipe. For the next time, I suggest adding another 1/2 cup flour and/or reducing the banana count by 1 or 2 bananas. Either will dry out the batter more, so it will cook through better for you. Or make as muffins like you said.
Tried this today because we had lots of bananas that were turning too dark. I love how moist and banana-y it tastes. For me it’s a little too sweet so I’ll use less sugar next time I bake it. It also kind of leaves a dry/floury feeling on my tongue which might come from the pudding I used… I’ll try a different brand next time ;)
Thanks Emily for the 5 star review and glad it was great! When bananas get very ripe, they get very sweet. If you use six of those very ripe and very sweet bananas, it’s understandable how this could have gotten a bit too sweet. It’s a judgment call and experimentation. But you can cut the sugar back a bit next time.
Pudding – I always and only use real Jell-O brand pudding and not generic and have never had that experience. Possibly too it just wasn’t mixed in quite well enough? although I think it’s probably more the brand than anything.
Made this yesterday and it is so very good. The hidden taste, probably from the pudding and extra bananas, make the cake very taste and moist. This recipe isa keeper
Thanks for letting me know, Barry, that this is a keeper and it turned out so very well for you!