Can you make banana bread without baking soda? The quick answer is yes! As long as I make banana bread, I make it without adding baking soda. It rises well, smells and tastes delicious, and disappears from the table in no time!
When you think you have tried all kinds of banana bread, only one is left to try. Here is my favorite banana bread. I even created a banana bread recipe poster for you!
Banana bread without baking soda
Banana bread is one of my favorite quick breads. And it's not because I need to use ripe and overripe brown bananas that look ugly, and nobody wants them. I enjoy the banana flavor and fruity sweetness that cannot be beaten with other baked goods.
Sweet bread needs chemical leavening agents like baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or baking powder. For a chemical reaction, you need to use an acidic ingredient (buttermilk or sour cream, for example) to make the baking soda work.
But can we leave out the baking soda and still make banana bread? Yes, yes, and yes!
And here is my foolproof banana bread (no baking soda). I like experimenting with quick bread recipes, adding chopped nuts and chocolate chips (everything in moderation), and sprinkling sweet bread with crumb topping.
Do you know banana bread enthusiasts celebrate National Banana Bread Day on February 23? Neither did I.
Ingredients
For ingredients and detailed instructions, refer to the recipe card below.
- Unsalted butter plus semi-salted (or even salted) butter to make the crumb topping if you decide. Leave unsalted butter on the counter: take it out of the fridge 2 hours before you start. Keep the salted or semi-salted butter chilled in the refrigerator.
- Brown sugar - golden or dark brown sugar interchangeably, but dark brown sugar contains more molasses. You can always use white sugar with added molasses as a good substitute.
- Large eggs at room temperature
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder - use fresh aluminum-free baking powder. Please don't confuse it with baking soda.
- Bananas - ripe and even overripe bananas with black spots or streaks on the peel are the best ones to make banana bread. Please try to avoid green or all-yellow bananas.
- Dark rum brings a fruity flavor. Replace rum with a teaspoon of vanilla extract or juice if you serve the dessert to kids.
- Almond flour - blanched, finely ground almond flour.
- Icing sugar - make it yourself with a coffee grinder or buy powdered sugar.
- Flaked toasted almonds (optional).
How to make banana bread without baking soda
Step 1. Heat oven to 300°F (150°C). Butter and flour or line a nonstick loaf pan with parchment paper. If you bake with a silicone mold, you don't need to grease it.
Step 2. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and brown sugar for 5 minutes using an electric mixer (photo 1).
Step 3. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients like flour (1 â…” cups + 4 tablespoons or 240 g) with baking powder. Add eggs and delicately mix with a rubber spatula (photo 2).
PHOTO 2
PHOTO 2
Step 4. In a separate bowl, mash bananas with a fork (photo 3) and fold them into the principal preparation (photo 4).
PHOTO 3
PHOTO 4
Step 5. Add rum and mix with the spatula just until combined (photo 5). Place the banana bread batter in the refrigerator while making the streusel.
Step 6. Optionally, make the crumbly streusel. Mix AP flour (5 tablespoons or 40 g), almond flour, icing (powdered) sugar, and chilled semi-salted (or salted) butter cut into pieces. Work with your hands until the streusel dough forms and crumbles like wet sand (photo 6).
PHOTO 5
PHOTO 6
Step 7. Pour batter into the prepared pan, sprinkle streusel on top (photo 7), and bake for 90 minutes. The bread is ready when a cake tester or a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean (photo 8).
PHOTO 7
PHOTO 8
Step 8. Let it cool in the pan for a few minutes, remove it from the mold, and cool it on a wire rack.
To serve, sprinkle the top of the banana bread with flaked almonds and dust with a little bit of icing (powdered) sugar.
Expert tips
- Soften unsalted butter by removing it from the fridge for 2 hours before cooking.
- Replace dark rum with some juice if you serve the cake to kids.
- Mash bananas with a fork, a potato masher, or a pastry cutter, or beat bananas with an electric handheld mixer.
- Important thing: do not overmix the bread batter when you add mashed bananas. Gently mix just to combine.
- Split the recipe into four small loaves or make banana bread mini muffins if you prefer.
- Adjust your oven's bake time: I tested and re-tested that the bread was ready in 90 minutes.
- Test the cake for readiness! Use a toothpick: if it is inserted in the middle of the bread and comes out clean, it is ready. If it still has the batter, add another 3 to 5 minutes and test again.
- Cool the baked banana bread completely before slicing.
- Serve with a dollop of mascarpone or slabs of salted butter.
Recipe variations
- Banana nut bread: Add chopped walnuts, pecans, or macadamia nuts to the batter. Or try to add some shredded coconut if you are a coconut lover.
- Chocolate chip banana bread: Mix semi-sweet chocolate chips or swirl the Nutella through the cake batter before baking.
- Sugar-free banana bread: Replace sugar with applesauce and add ground golden flaxseed.
- Cinnamon banana bread: Add a pinch or two ground cinnamon, or try my Christmas banana bread.
- Other add-ins: Add dry fruits, for example, dried cranberry or pineapple, to make a tropical twist on a classic.
- Banana bread with streusel topping: Play with banana bread toppings. Read how to make streusel topping and download my FREE streusel recipe template.
Storage
Store banana bread in a plastic bag, airtight container, or covered with plastic wrap at room temperature for 1 to 2 days. If you want to prolong the shelf life of your bread, keep it wrapped in the fridge for up to one week.
Can you freeze banana bread? Yes, it is completely fine to freeze it. Place a whole loaf in a freezer bag or wrap individual slices with plastic freezer wrap, then aluminum foil, and put them in the freezer.
Banana bread could be safely stored this way for up to 2 to 3 months. Thaw wrapped or unwrapped bread in the fridge, leaving it for a good night's rest or on the counter for a few hours.
Sweet banana bread recipe poster
Make your favorite recipe a part of your kitchen wall art with this vintage-inspired banana bread recipe print.
I designed it on a "chalkboard" background, and it looks amazing in a modern frame. Download the poster PDF for free, print it out, and place it in a frame.
Here is the banana bread recipe download - chalkboard kitchen poster. Choose from a letter or A4 size.
Recipe FAQ
No, it is pretty easy! Mix all the ingredients, add mashed bananas, pour the batter into a loaf pan, and bake.
The ripest ones! The bananas ready for the trash are perfect for making banana bread. Look for bananas with black or brown spots; they look ugly but taste sweeter and improve the cake's flavor.
If you only have yellow bananas and have no time to wait for them to ripen, bake the unpeeled bananas at 250°F (120°C) for 20 minutes.
Absolutely! The banana bread batter makes about 15 standard-sized muffins. Line muffin tins with paper liners and scoop the batter into muffin tins, filling up to two-thirds. Top each muffin with the streusel topping and bake at 300°F (150°C) for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes clean.
Love loaf cakes? Try these next!
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PrintRecipe card
Easy Banana Bread Without Baking Soda
Quick and easy banana bread without baking soda is moist, soft, and fluffy. It's well-risen, smells and tastes amazing, and disappears from the table in time!
- Total Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Quick bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
For the bread batter:
- 5.3 oz. (150 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup (200 g) brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 â…” cups + 4 tablespoons (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) baking powder
- 10 oz. (285 g) bananas, mashed
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) dark rum
For the crumb topping (optional)
- 5 tablespoons (40 g) all-purpose flour
- 6 ½ tablespoons (40 g) almond flour
- 5 tablespoons (40 g) icing (powdered) sugar
- 1.4 oz. (40 g) cold salted butter
For the decoration (optional):
- flaked toasted almonds
- icing (powdered) sugar
*Don't you have the correct baking pan on hand right now? Try this simple Cake Pan Converter!
** If needed, please refer to Baking Conversion Charts.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F/150°C. Butter and flour or line a nonstick loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Beat softened butter and brown sugar for 5 minutes using an electric mixer. Add all-purpose flour (1 â…” cup + 4 tablespoons/240 g) mixed with baking powder and eggs, and delicately mix with a rubber spatula.
- Mash bananas with a fork and fold them into the principal preparation. Add rum and mix with a spatula just until combined. Place the bread batter in the fridge while making the streusel.
- To make the crumb topping (optionally), in a separate bowl, mix all-purpose flour (5 tbsp/40, almond flour, icing (powdered) sugar, and chilled salted butter cut into pieces. and Make the crumbly dough with your hands. It has to look like wet sand.
- Pour the batter into the pan, sprinkle the streusel on top, and bake for 90 minutes. The bread is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Sprinkle the top of the bread with flaked toasted almonds and dust with icing (powdered) sugar.
Notes
- Soften unsalted butter by taking it out of the fridge for 2 hours before cooking.
- Replace dark rum with some juice if you serve the cake to kids.
- Mash bananas with a fork, an electric handheld mixer, or a potato masher.
- Do not overmix the bread batter when you add crushed bananas. Instead, gently mix to combine.
- Split the recipe into four small loaves or make banana bread mini muffins if you prefer.
- Adjust your oven's baking time: I have tested and re-tested that the cake is ready in 90 minutes.
- Test the cake for readiness! Use a toothpick: if it is inserted in the middle of the cake and comes out clean, the bread is ready. If it still has the batter on it, add another 3 to 5 minutes and test again.
- Cool the baked banana bread completely before slicing.
- Serve with a dollop of mascarpone or slabs of salted butter.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 317
- Sugar: 22.5 g
- Sodium: 108 mg
- Fat: 14.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 43.6 g
- Fiber: 1.4 g
- Protein: 3.9 g
- Cholesterol: 61 mg
The nutritional information has been calculated using an online recipe nutrition calculator such as Verywellfit.com and is intended for informational purposes only. These figures should be used as a general guideline and not be construed as a guarantee.
The recipe was adapted from www.lacuisinedethomas.fr. It was initially published on January 22, 2019. The recipe has been revised to include improved content and photos.
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