Craving an easy afternoon treat? Then Mary Berry's Banana Bread Recipe is for you. Crazy easy to make in under ten minutes and with only a handful of basic ingredients, this classic loaf is sweet, moist, and inviting. Perfect!
Mary Berry is the undeniable queen of baking here in the UK. She's graced the screens on many a cooking show, most notably GBBO. Her recipes are simple, tasty and approachable. And that's why we love her!!
I've been making Mary Berry's Banana Bread Recipe for years. It comes from the pages of her book Simple Cakes and the resulting bread is delectable! We all love it as a comforting, familiar afternoon treat that's a firm family favourite.
If you love easy recipes then be sure to check out my Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins, Chocolate Granola Bars, Classic Shortbread, and Date and Walnut Cake recipes.
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The recipe is mostly the same as in her cookbook but most notably I've added a layer of walnuts to the top of the bread loaf. It adds an incredibly nutty crunch that's a real winner for me!
🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Uses basic ingredients. All the ingredients are basic pantry or fridge staples. Nothing unfamiliar here
- Can be made as muffins too. Don't fancy waiting for a full hour for it the loaf to bake? Then portion the batter out into muffin cases. You'll be biting down on this within 25 minutes!
- Simple to make. These use a very simple method of making a batter. No fancy tricks, no fancy equipment necessary.
- Smells and tastes amazing! Nothing beats the smell of freshly baked banana bread. It's that nostalgic, comforting recipe you can make over and over again.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
Whilst the ingredients list is small - as with all baking recipes, there are a couple of points to note on some of them.
- Bananas - Use lovely ripe bananas. They develop their natural sweetness the riper they get adding more flavour to the banana bread.
- Flour - Mary's recipe specifies self-raising flour which is commonly used here in the UK. However, I've altered the recipe to use plain flour so it can be more accessible. Notes in the recipe card if you did want to use self-raising flour.
- Butter - Make sure the butter is lovely and soft before making the bread. All the wet ingredients get mixed together and you want the butter to amalgamate fully.
- Eggs - two large eggs provide richness but more importantly structure to the banana loaf. They should be at room temperature before making the recipe.
- Milk - this adds more moisture and can be substituted for yoghurt or sour cream.
📖 Variations
Mary Berry Banana Bread Loaf is one of those simple recipes where you can flavour it to suit your personal tastes. Here are a couple of add-ins that you could try to create your favourite banana bread recipe.
- Chocolate Chips: Banana Bread and chocolate are a match made in heaven. Starr in half a cup with extra sprinkled on top!
- Nuts: I adore adding nuts to my banana bread. Make sure to toast them for extra flavour. Almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, and walnuts are all perfect within.
- Spices: Add in cinnamon, a touch of nutmeg, and ginger for a well-rounded, warming flavour.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make
You'll see below the steps to make this banana bread. It's as simple a baked item as you are going to get. To be able to get a such delicious flavour in so few ingredients and in such few steps is a testament to how good this bread is )and how good Mary Berry is for creating it!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
STEP 1. Prepare. Grease a 2lb loaf tin and line the base and sides with parchment paper. Allow the paper to overhang to create a sling to lift the banana bread out once baked (Image 1). Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
STEP 2. Mash the bananas. Add the bananas to a bowl and use a fork to mash them well (Image 2).
TIP: Use a large shallow bowl, or plate to mash them on. The flat surface makes it much easier.
STEP 3. Mix the wet ingredients. Add the soft butter, sugar, eggs, mashed bananas, and milk into a mixing bowl and beat together. Use a wooden spoon or handheld beaters as I have done (Images 3 & 4).
STEP 4. Add in dry ingredients. Sift in the flour and baking powder and using a rubber spatula, fold into the banana mixture until a few flour streaks remain (Images 5 & 6).
Note: In Mary's recipe she adds all the ingredients together and mixes them at once. Whilst, yes, this is a quick and easy option, you run the risk of over-mixing the batter. Over-mixed batter means the gluten in the flour will strengthen and lead to a rubbery textured loaf.
To combat this and make it a bit more foolproof- I always add in the flour last and fold it in.
STEP 5. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and level with an offset spatula (Images 7 & 8).
Optional: Sprinkle the chopped walnuts all over the batter. Slice a banana in half and lay the two halves flat on the top of the walnuts and batter. Don't push the banana in (Image 9).
Bake for 50 minutes or until cooked through and golden (Image 10). Loaf pans vary in size and this will affect the length of your bake time, plus all ovens are different! I would check your loaf and 40 minutes onwards. It should spring back when lightly pressed. Tent with aluminium if browning too quickly.
Once baked, leave the loaf in the tin for ten minutes. Use a butter knife to loosen the edges and using the baking paper, lift the loaf out and onto a wire rack.
🥣 How To Serve
When living in Australia, going out for breakfast is a common ritual on weekends. Here I learned of a new way of serving banana bread that blew my mind!! Once cool enough to slice, toast under the grill until golden, then slather in butter, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with chopped nuts. Incredible to say the least!
That being said- simply slicing when warm and eating is also delicious!! I think any way you want to eat Mary Berry Banana Loaf will be great!
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Use ripe bananas. The riper the better. The added sweetness adds SO much more flavour to the bread.
- Measure out the flour using digital scales for accuracy. Too much flour will create a gummy texture.
- Combine the dry ingredients with the wet. I prefer not to mix all ingredients in one go. It helps create a light and tender crumb.
- Don't overbake the bread. Check your banana bread at 40 minutes. Bake times vary but as standard, the bread should take between 50 to 60 minutes to bake.
📋 Recipe FAQs
No! The more black spots on the skin the better! But don't use green bananas! If you find your bananas aren't quite ripe enough then pop the bananas, unpeeled, onto a baking tray and into a 180c/350F oven for 15 minutes. The skin will turn completely black but the banana will soften and sweeten up.
Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder to every 100g (½ cup plus 2 tbsp) of plain flour. Mix it all together and you have self-raising flour.
Yes absolutely. Thaw at room temperature and mash making sure that there are still some chunks and that it doesn't mash into a soupy liquid. If there is excess liquid drain it off before using.
❄️ Storage and Freezer Instructions
To store: Banana bread keeps really well and remains moist. Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap and store it at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. You can refrigerate it for a couple of days longer but the bread tends to dry out.
To freeze: Mary Berry banana bread freezes really well. Let the loaf cool completely. Wrap the loaf or individual slices well in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature and warm the loaf in a medium oven or toast slices.
👍 More Snack Recipes
You must use the category slug, not a URL, in the category field.If you tried Mary Berry's Banana Bread Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Mary Berry's Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- 100 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 175 g caster sugar, alternatively, use granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 30 ml milk
- 225 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 3 teaspoon baking powder
- 40 g chopped walnuts (optional)
- 1 banana (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare. Grease the base and sides of a 2lb loaf pan. Line with parchment paper letting the sides overhang the pan to form a sling. This helps lift the bread out later on.Preheat heat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Mash the bananas. Peel both bananas and place in a wide, shallow bowl. Use a fork to mash well.
- Mix the wet ingredients. Add the soft butter, sugar, eggs, mashed bananas, and milk into a medium mixing bowl and beat together. Use a wooden spoon or hand-held beaters as I have done.
- Add in dry ingredients. Sift into the mixing bowl the flour and baking powder. Using a rubber spatula, fold through the flour until a few streaks remain. Take care not to over-mix.
- Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and level off with an offset spatula. Option: Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the top of the batter. Slice a banana in half and lay the slices over the top of the walnuts.Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes until the loaf is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Tent with aluminium foil if the bread is browning too quickly (Check progress after 40 minutes.)Once baked, cool in the pan for ten minutes then lift out onto a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
KarenQ
What temp is the oven?
Emma
Hi Karen - 180C/350F 🙂
Lee
Great Recipe! Rises beautifully, simple to make. Mine did dry out and firm up but I did miss the part about fridge storage so my bad. Still delicious though and I know to not do it next time 🙂
Emma
Hi Lee - So glad you loved it. Yes - as with a lot of bakes- putting them in the fridge can make them more dense. But quick tip- a short zap in the microwave will loosen up the sponge and make it soft. But as mentioned in the post- I personally prefer to leave the banana bread at room temperature. x
Katie Power
Too much baking powder right?????? Last time I made Mary berry banana bread it was self raising flour.. baking powder makes a weird taste when there’s too much in there. Maybe my teaspoons were too large.
Emma
Hi Katie- Yes Mary Berry does use self-raising flour in her recipes. As I share my recipes with a global audience, many of which can't access self-raising flour, I used plain flour instead (I've noted this difference to her original recipe in my blog post). In Mary's original recipe, she uses SR flour and 1 tsp of baking powder. If using plain flour as a substitute then for every 100g of plain flour you need 1 tsp baking powder. As there is 225g of plain flour in my recipe, I've included 2 tsp baking powder, plus the extra teaspoon of baking powder from Mary's recipe. The 3 tsp works every time for me and others who make this recipe. The teaspoons do need to be level and not heaped.