2 Banana Bread Recipe (Banana Bread with 2 Bananas)

This 2 banana bread recipe creates a delicious banana bread that uses only two bananas. Sometimes, you run out of bananas and only have 2 bananas left at home (versus the 3 needed to make most banana bread recipes)!

Therefore, instead of making a special trip to the supermarket to buy more bananas, here is an easy “emergency” recipe to produce a great-tasting banana bread with only 2 bananas.

Problem – Oh No! I Have Only 2 Bananas. What Do I Do?

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

Recipe Rating 4.96 from 104 votes Featured Comment Dawn “This is a great banana bread recipe for a weekend when you find two brown bananas left over. It comes together quickly. The flavor is understandably not as strong as a three banana recipe, but it is a full and moist loaf. I substituted lactose free milk and chopped pecans. Delicious!”

The secret is to replace the missing banana with something commonly found in your refrigerator. There should be no need to run to the supermarket to buy missing bananas… or scramble to find some crazy banana substitutes. I like to use milk as a simple banana substitute (if I am missing a singular banana when I am making a banana bread). Milk adds the necessary moisture and doesn’t overwhelm the banana taste of the 2 bananas. Moreover, the mild flavor of milk seems to enhance the taste of the “cake” ingredients contained in a banana bread.

Solution – Make Delicious 2 Banana Bread!

FYI – Many other recipes cut their ingredients by 1/3 when they have only 2 bananas. However, this results in a short mini-sized banana bread (which often has too much crust and/or is too dense). I would rather create a delicious normal-sized banana bread… that uses 2 bananas and a little milk. However, does this 2 banana bread recipe have the same banana flavor as a 3 banana bread recipe? No. It has a nice banana flavor but not as much as a standard 3 banana recipe. It is best as a good “emergency” recipe if you find yourself in a situation with only 2 ripe bananas. However, we also show you below how to add chocolate chips, blueberries, etc. in order to make this banana bread with 2 bananas even better!

This 2 banana bread recipe takes me about 10 minutes or so to prepare and clean up (excluding the baking time). Please be aware that this is an oven-baked banana bread recipe. It is not made with a bread machine. You will also find a printable and “pin-able” recipe at the bottom of this page.

Ingredients

• 2 – Bananas (ripe & LARGE sized) – 230 grams – The 2 large bananas should equal roughly 1 cup of mashed bananas. See the tips section below if you have less than a cup of mashed bananas.
• 2 – Eggs (large)
• 1/2 Cup – Unsalted Butter (softened) – 115 grams – 1/2 cup equals 8 tablespoons – Instead of butter, you can also use 1/2 cup of vegetable oil (118 milliliters). See the tips section below for more information.
• 1/3 Cup – Milk – 77 milliliters – You can also use sour cream, plain Greek yogurt or applesauce.
• 1/2 Cup – White Granulated Sugar – 100 grams – If you like less sweet banana breads, you can use 1/4 cup of white granulated sugar (instead of the 1/2 cup).
• 1/2 Cup – Light Brown Sugar (packed cup) – 107 grams
• 2 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 240 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract – 5 milliliters
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda – 5 grams
• 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder – 4 grams
• 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt – 3 grams
• Optional – 1 Cup – Chocolate Chips, Chopped Walnuts, Fresh Cranberries (Not Dried), etc.

Servings – Roughly 12 slices

Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, mixing bowl, long wooden spoon, 9 by 5 bread pan, oven mitts, silicone spatula, cooling rack and an oven.

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 C).
• If necessary, grease/spray the bread pan or use baking parchment paper to line the bread pan.
• Mash bananas with a fork.
• Lightly beat eggs.
• Soften the butter in a microwave. FYI – I like to partially melt the butter for better mixability. However, do not fully melt the butter (turn it completely into a liquid). See the tips section below.
• Stir bananas, eggs, butter (or oil), milk and white & brown sugars together in a large mixing bowl. Mix until fully blended.
• Mix in remaining ingredients. Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
• Optional – If you want to enhance this 2 banana bread recipe, you can stir in 1 cup of your family’s favorite dessert ingredient (e.g. chocolate chips or chopped walnuts) after you have mixed the batter.
• Pour the finished batter into a nonstick bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter within the bread pan.
• Bake in the oven for 60-65 minutes at 325 F (163 C).
• Take bread pan out of oven and let the banana bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Do not remove the banana bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period. Use oven mitts as the bread pan will be very hot coming out of the oven.
• Optional – Right after taking the bread pan out of the oven, use a long wooden skewer (or toothpick) to test if the banana bread is completely cooked. Wear oven mitts as the bread pan will be hot. See the tips section for more details on this classic “toothpick” test.
• After 10 minutes, remove the banana bread from the bread pan. Place the banana bread on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1-2 hours. Gently slide a silicon spatula between the banana bread and the bread pan walls if the banana bread is stuck in the pan.
• Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common banana bread problems.

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Helpful Tips

• The tips below are designed to help banana bread “novices” and/or people with limited baking experience.
• Click on this “print recipe” link if you want to print out this recipe. It includes all of the recipe’s ingredients and instructions. However, the recipe print function does not include my tips section. Please read the tips section in order to avoid common recipe problems.
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Banana Bread Recipes such as banana nut bread, chocolate chip banana bread, eggless banana bread and many more.

• Has this happened to you? I will be saving 3 bananas in order to make a banana bread later in the day. Of course, when I start to make the banana bread, I often find that there are only 2 bananas left… one of my kids has “stolen” a banana for a snack!! Thus the impetus to make a great banana bread with only 2 bananas.
• Use RIPE bananas for the best results. The natural sweetness of ripe bananas works best when making banana bread recipes. Ripe bananas are soft and have many small brown & black spots on the exterior of the yellow banana peel. FYI – A beautiful pure yellow banana (without any spots) is not fully ripe!!
• If you use unripe green or hard yellow bananas, your banana bread will NOT have much banana flavor. Unripe bananas have more starch and less sugar than ripe bananas. Unripe bananas have a lot less banana flavor when compared to ripe bananas.
• Optional – Many people like to add 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon to the batter if their bananas are not super ripe. The cinnamon helps to partially “hide” the missing banana flavor.
• This recipe is designed for making ONE banana bread. If you try to double the recipe, you are more likely to experience potential problems such as requiring longer baking times (if baking 2 banana breads at the same time), one pan potentially having more batter than the other pan (thus one banana bread baking faster than the other), etc.

• Since you are using only 2 bananas in this recipe, this is another reason to make sure that your bananas are RIPE or you will not be able to taste the bananas.
• FYI – 2 large bananas equal roughly 1 cup of mashed bananas (not sliced bananas). Of course, banana sizes can vary greatly… and my version of large-sized bananas may differ from yours!
• If you use EXACTLY 1 cup of mashed bananas, you will have less banana bread “problems” with this recipe (e.g. the banana bread being too dry or too wet).
• If you add more than 1 cup of mashed bananas to this recipe, it will take longer for the banana bread to bake properly (versus what was stated in the instructions) because you will have added excess liquid to the recipe.
• This recipe calls for the use of 2 LARGE sized bananas. However, if you have only 2 MEDIUM sized bananas, you will need to add MORE milk. 2 medium sized bananas equal roughly 3/4 cups of mashed bananas. Therefore, if you only have 2 medium sized bananas (3/4 cups of mashed bananas), you need to use 1/2 cup of milk (versus the 1/3 cup of milk used with 2 large bananas).
• Obviously, a banana bread made with 2 medium bananas will have less banana flavor than a banana bread made with 2 large bananas.

• As I said above – Does this 2 banana bread recipe have the same banana flavor as a 3 banana bread recipe? No. It has a nice mild banana flavor but not as much as banana flavor as a standard 3 banana recipe. This 2 banana recipe is best as a good “emergency” recipe if you find yourself in a situation with only 2 ripe bananas.
• However, to add even MORE flavor to your 2 banana bread, you can easily add chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, fresh cranberries, fresh blueberries, etc.
• I prefer to use FRESH blueberries & cranberries because they cause fewer problems in terms of moisture variation. They retain their berry “shell” better than frozen blueberries & cranberries (so less leakage into the batter). Frozen blueberries & cranberries often burst during the freezing process. These ruptured frozen berries release juice into the batter during the baking process and this can add unplanned for moisture. In turn, this excess moisture can cause the banana bread to be too wet & underbaked.

• Room temperature ingredients generally work best (e.g. soft room temperature butter). However, I rarely have the patience to wait for refrigerator cold butter to fully warm up to room temp (which can take 30 to 60 minutes). Moreover, if the butter has not fully warmed up and is still hard, the butter is difficult to properly mix into the batter.
• Therefore, I like to slice the butter into “chunks” (so the butter will soften more easily). I then often partially melt the butter in my microwave (so it is mainly softened butter chunks with some melted butter in the bowl). This helps to improve the ease of mixing the batter. Microwave the butter for only 5 to 10 seconds and check to see if it needs another 5 to 10 seconds. Timing can vary based on the microwave’s power setting. Do not microwave the butter for a long time.
• Nevertheless, do NOT use fully melted & very hot butter. Very hot liquid butter can partially cook the eggs! If you accidentally completely liquify the butter, place the bowl of butter on your counter to cool down before adding the butter to the batter.

• Optional – If you do not have butter, you can replace it with a neutral tasting vegetable oil (e.g. corn oil) on a 1 to 1 basis (e.g. replace 8 tablespoons of butter with 8 tablespoons of oil). Using vegetable oil often results in a moister tasting banana bread (as vegetable oil remains a liquid at room temperature whereas butter is a solid). However, you will be giving up the buttery flavor.
• If you want to use olive oil, I would recommend using a “mild”, “light” or “extra light” olive oil as they would have the least impact on the banana bread. Unfortunately, extra virgin and virgin olive oil have stronger flavors and are more likely to negatively impact the taste of your banana bread.
• A number of my visitors like to use avocado oil in order to make their banana breads. Avocado oil has a neutral flavor and is high in monounsaturated fats. However, as you are probably aware, avocado oil is usually significantly more expensive than corn oil.

• Optional – If you are lactose intolerant, you can replace the 1/3 cup of milk with 1/3 cup of applesauce. Your banana bread with 2 bananas will have a very mild applesauce flavor that combines well with the banana flavor.
• Or you can try soy milk, oat milk, etc. based on your family’s dietary restrictions.
• Optional – You can also use sour cream or plain Greek yogurt instead of regular dairy milk. Sour cream and Greek yogurt have a similar moisture content to mashed bananas. In addition, their slight acidity helps to soften the banana bread.
• Applesauce, Greek yogurt and sour cream might be better banana substitutes (than milk) because they have a moisture content & texture that is more similar to mashed bananas. However, many people do not have these ingredients readily available in their pantry (and are more likely to have some milk available).

• Optional – You can also use this recipe to make chocolate chip banana bread with 2 bananas. Just follow all of the recipe steps and stir in 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips before you pour the batter into the bread pan. Or if you use mini chocolate chips, you should use only 3/4 cup because you get more chocolate per cup. There is less empty air “gaps” between the mini chips versus regular-sized chocolate chips.
• I prefer to use mini chocolate chips when making an chocolate chip 2 banana bread (instead of using regular-sized chocolate chips). Why? Given their lighter weight, mini chocolate chips are usually more evenly distributed (better spread out) in a banana bread. In contrast, larger & heavier regular-sized chocolate chips will often sink to the bottom of banana breads.
• If you add chocolate chips. you should consider using baking parchment paper. Chocolate chips can be very sticky after baking (esp. on the bottom of the pan). Baking parchment paper helps you to more easily lift a chocolate chip 2 banana bread out of the pan.
• Optional – Other easy variations that you can make from this 2 banana bread recipe include 2 banana nut bread, 2 banana blueberry bread, 2 banana cranberry bread, etc. Just add 1 cup of your favorite ingredients (such as chopped walnuts or blueberries) to this 2 banana bread recipe.
• Optional – If you like less sweet banana breads, you can use 1/4 cup of white granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of light brown sugar (versus the 1/2 cup of white sugar & 1/2 cup of brown sugar called for in the recipe). Some of my visitors like to reduce the sugar in banana bread recipes when they have super ripe bananas (because these ripe bananas have lots of natural sweetness).
• Visitors – What extra ingredients do you like to add to your banana breads? Chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, cinnamon, raisins, chopped pecans, cranberries, fruit juice or something else? Please post your favorite “secret ingredient” for banana breads in the comment section below.
• Visitor variations – Nancy made “this with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF flour and it’s perfect. Used yogurt instead of milk, added cinnamon, pecans, and chocolate chips. This has become a staple in our household.”, Donna turned this recipe into a delicious sour cream & butterscotch banana bread, Leanne made an amazing blueberry & chopped walnut version and Nancy “subbed sour cream for the milk and used a gluten-free flour blend. Also added cinnamon and ginger powder. Turned out perfect”.

• Optional – You can also sprinkle 1 tablespoon of Turbinado sugar on top of the finished batter just before you put the bread pan in the oven. The addition of this large crystal sugar creates a crunchy & sugary top to the dessert. Turbinado sugar is made from sugar cane. You can find this natural sugar in most supermarkets.
• FYI – One of my visitors (thanks Lise!) left a great topping suggestion – “sprinkle about two tablespoons of brown sugar on the top to make a nice crust”
• Optional – Or after the banana bread has cooled down, you can sprinkle on some powdered sugar. This is a super easy topping for banana breads.
• Optional – Many of my visitors also like to use spices in order to enhance their banana bread with 2 bananas. This is an easy way to turn a “basic” banana bread into something special or unique. They like to use spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, allspice, almond extract, orange essence, etc.
• Do you have 4 fully ripe bananas? You can make either two loaves of my 2 banana bread recipe or you can try my recipe for 4 Banana Bread.

• Old flour can affect the taste of banana bread. Old flour can spoil and taste bitter, sour, musty, etc. Banana bread made with old flour does not taste great!
• Try to keep your ingredients (e.g. flour) in airtight food containers in order to extend their shelf life and avoid spoilage (e.g. exposure to moisture, pests and dust).
• Flour (if stored in an open bag and not in an airtight container) can absorb a lot of moisture from the air. This extra moisture throws off recipes and can lead to banana bread collapses, etc.
• Do NOT use an electric mixer to mix your ingredients (when combining the wet and dry ingredients). Stick to an old fashioned wooden spoon. An electric mixer can overmix the ingredients and the banana bread will turn out rubbery & gummy.
• Always try to use FRESH baking soda & powder for the best results. For example, using baking soda from an open container (that has been deodorizing your refrigerator for months) may lead to subpar results. Old & hard baking soda/powder may lead to rising problems and/or leave small bitter clumps in your banana bread with 2 bananas.

• This doesn’t happen often but if the top of the banana bread looks too moist or undercooked, you should try the “toothpick test”. Gently push a long wooden toothpick or wooden skewer into the top of the banana bread and see if any batter sticks to the toothpick. If batter is sticking to the toothpick then it hasn’t completely cooked. Place the bread pan back into the still hot oven for another 3 to 5 minutes. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan will be very hot. After the 3 to 5 minutes, remove the bread pan and test the banana bread again with a toothpick or skewer.
• Given variability in banana sizes, banana breads tend to have more moistness variability than many other quick bread recipes. This can lead to excess moisture and the banana bread being potentially undercooked. Therefore, many bakers like to use the “toothpick” test to ensure that their banana bread with 2 bananas is completely baked.
• Instead of the “toothpick test”, some people like to use a digital bread thermometer to test if their banana bread is done. Generally, a “quick bread” (e.g. banana bread or pumpkin bread) is done when the internal temperature reaches 200-205 degrees F. Just make sure to measure the temperature in the center of the loaf for the most accurate reading.

• In case, you didn’t see this in the “equipment used to make this recipe” section, this recipe is based on using a standard 9 by 5 inch metal bread pan. This means that the interior of the bread pan (not exterior) measures 9 inches in length, 5 inches in width and 2 1/2 inches in depth/height. Of course, Bread Dads are crazy about exact measurements… thus the use of measuring tapes! Ha!
• Please use the suggested 9 x 5 inch metal bread pan to make this recipe. If you start using different sized pans, there is a greater potential for bread top collapses (potentially less bread pan “wall” support for the quick bread as it rises), different interior batter to exterior bread ratios (thus the need for different baking lengths), smaller pans can overflow, etc.
• FYI – Many other 2 banana recipes use much smaller pans (e.g. 8 x 4 inch bread pans). However, most people usually own 9 x 5 and/or 8.5 x 4.5 bread pans (and not 8 x 4 bread pans). My recipe is based on the traditional 9 x 5 inch bread pan which is used for most banana bread and quick bread recipes.
• In case you are interested, 8.5 x 4.5 bread pans (the other popular size for bread pans) are typically used for baking sandwich-type breads (and not banana breads).
• My recipes are based on using a metal bread pan and NOT a glass bread pan. Glass bread pans bake faster than metal bread pans. If you use a glass bread pan for my recipes, you are more likely to overbake your banana bread (e.g. burnt crust).
• For the best results, I recommend using the right tools when making banana bread. Check out my Banana Bread Equipment Guide for more details.

• If your banana breads are sticking to the bottom of your bread pan, you should consider either “greasing” the bottom of the pan with butter or vegetable oil, using a cooking spray, using a nonstick pan or lining the interior of the bread pan with baking parchment paper.
• Baking parchment paper is probably the best solution to prevent sticking (especially if you are using really sticky ingredients such as chocolate chips or fresh cranberries). It also allows you to lift the banana bread out of the pan without disturbing the top of the banana bread… in case you have added any special ingredients (such as chopped nuts or chocolate chips) to the top of the banana bread.
• FYI – Baking parchment paper is NOT regular paper. It is a specialty paper designed for use with baking.
• Optional – If you are finding small white clumps of flour in your banana breads, you can use a fine mesh strainer or flour sifter to sift your flour (before mixing the flour with the wet ingredients). This “aerates” the flour and breaks up & screens out small flour lumps.

• Make sure that your oven has been completely preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this quick bread could come out undercooked. Use an oven thermometer (e.g. one that hangs inside your oven) to check the interior oven temperature before baking.
• It can take roughly 10-20 minutes to preheat most ovens with some variability due to the size of the oven, planned baking temperature (hotter takes longer), etc.
• Portable oven thermometers are also great for telling if your oven temperature matches what you set on the oven temperature dial. Some ovens (esp. older ovens) can be off by 25+ degrees.
• Problem with sinking middles? Then check out my Why Does My Banana Bread Sink In The Middle? page for reasons & potential solutions.
• Problem with dry banana breads? Check out my Tips For Making A Moist Banana Bread for information on how to avoid making dry banana breads!
• Long-term storage – If you want to keep your banana bread for more than 1-2 days (depending on your home’s temperature & humidity), you will need to freeze it. Please read Bread Dad’s How To Freeze Banana Bread for more details.

• If you are looking for an even moister banana bread, check out my recipe for a Super Moist Banana Bread.
• If you have a problem with a banana bread recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (e.g. using the correct oven temperature), using the correct amounts of ingredients (e.g. don’t eyeball the measurements versus using a measuring cup or accidentally add a tablespoon when a teaspoon is called for), using the correct ingredients (e.g. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
• Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a hot oven and bread pan.
• Do not add the optional chopped walnuts if anyone who might eat this baked good has peanut and/or tree nut allergies.
• For more easy banana bread recipes (e.g. blueberry, chocolate chip or eggless), please visit Bread Dad’s main section on Banana Bread Recipes.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Banana
2. Wikipedia, Banana Bread
3. Wikipedia, Quick Bread

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