Nut-free banana bread
Moist nut-free banana bread with a crackly top and gentle caramel notes — easy to make and perfect for lunchboxes or a cuppa.
This is your fail-safe, nut-free banana bread: simple, forgiving and impossibly moist. It’s the loaf to make when your bananas have gone gloriously black and you want something utterly moreish for tea.
No nuts, no fuss — just ripe bananas, butter, a little milk and a crackly sugar-topped crust. Brilliant for lunchboxes, picnics or whenever you need cake-within-arms-reach.
Ingredients
- 260 g plain flour
- 5 ml baking powder
- 5 ml bicarbonate of soda
- 5 ml fine salt
- 150 g caster sugar
- 115 g unsalted butter — melted and cooled
- 2 free-range eggs
- 3 very ripe bananas — about 375g peeled, mashed
- 60 ml whole milk
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 15 ml demerara sugar — optional, to sprinkle
Equipment
- 23 x 13 cm loaf tin
- cooling rack
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 170°C fan / 190°C conventional. Grease a 23 x 13 cm loaf tin and line the base and long sides with baking paper.
In a medium bowl mash the very ripe bananas with a fork until mostly smooth. Stir in the whole milk and vanilla extract and set aside.
Sift the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and fine salt into a large bowl and whisk briefly to combine.
In a separate large bowl whisk the melted unsalted butter with the caster sugar until smooth. Add the free-range eggs one at a time, whisking after each addition, then fold in the banana–milk mixture.
Tip the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and fold gently with a spatula or wooden spoon until just combined — a few streaks of flour are fine. Do not overmix or the loaf will be dense.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin, level the top with a spatula and, if using, sprinkle the demerara sugar evenly over the surface.
Bake in the centre of the oven for 55 minutes. Start checking at 45–50 minutes: the loaf is done when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). If the top is browning too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
Remove the loaf from the oven and leave to rest in the tin for 10 minutes. This helps it settle and makes it easier to remove.
Carefully lift the loaf from the tin using the baking paper and transfer to a cooling rack. Leave to cool completely before slicing.
Tips
- Use very ripe bananas with brown speckles — they bring sweetness and banana flavour without extra sugar.
- Do not overmix once the flour is added; fold until just combined to keep the crumb tender.
- If the loaf browns too quickly, tent with foil for the final 10–15 minutes of baking to avoid a burnt top.
- Make ahead: bake, cool completely, then wrap in clingfilm and keep at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerate up to 5 days.
- Freeze in thick slices for up to 3 months; defrost at room temperature or warm briefly in a low oven.
Substitutions
unsalted butter → sunflower oil, 90 ml
Stays closeplain flour → gluten-free plain flour blend, 260 g (use one designed for baking)
Noticeably differentcaster sugar → light muscovado sugar, 150 g
Noticeably different
Nutrition
Per serving · estimated
- 284
- Calories
- 5 g
- Protein
- 45 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 2 g
- Fibre
- 21 g
- Sugar
- 160 mg
- Sodium
FAQ
How ripe should the bananas be?
Very ripe: brown-speckled or almost black skins. They mash easily and give the best sweetness and flavour.
How can I tell the loaf is cooked through?
Insert a skewer into the centre — it should come out with a few moist crumbs, not raw batter. The top should be golden and spring back lightly.
Can I add chocolate or dried fruit?
Yes. Fold in up to 100 g chocolate chips or 100 g raisins/sultanas. Toss them in a little plain flour first to stop sinking.
Can I make this dairy-free?
Use sunflower oil instead of butter and a dairy-free milk; texture will be slightly different but still delicious.
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