Bundt Banana Bread Recipe

This Bundt banana bread recipe creates a large moist banana bread with the classic circular Bundt cake shape. It is a great way to make a more unique looking banana bread (versus a semi-boring rectangular banana bread). My Bundt banana bread is also larger than many traditional banana breads… so you get more banana bread to enjoy!

Recipe Sections

1. Ingredients
2. Instructions
3. Helpful Tips

You can use a 10 cup or 12 cup Bundt pan to make this moist banana bread recipe. However, it will overflow smaller Bundt pans (such as 6 cup Bundt pans).

Slices of Bundt Banana Bread

Ingredients – Bundt Banana Bread Recipe

• 2 1/4 Cups – Mashed Bananas (ripe) – 518 grams – This is ROUGHLY 5 large bananas. However, use exactly 2 1/4 cups of mashed bananas for the best & most consistent results.
• 3/4 Cup – Vegetable Oil – 173 milliliters – Use a neutral tasting vegetable oil such as corn oil or mild/light olive oil. Do not use strongly flavored oil. For more info, see the tips section below.
• 3 – Large Eggs – 171 grams – Large eggs (not extra large or jumbo eggs).
• 1 1/2 Cups – White Granulated Sugar – 300 grams – If you prefer less sweet banana breads, you should use only 1 cup of sugar (200 grams). Just make sure that your bananas are very ripe to offset the missing sugar.
• 3 Cups – All Purpose Flour – 360 grams
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Vanilla Extract – 8 milliliters
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Baking Soda – 8 grams
• 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Baking Powder – 6 grams
• 3/4 Teaspoon – Salt – 5 grams
• Optional – 1 1/2 Teaspoons – Ground Cinnamon – 5 grams – Some people really like to add ground cinnamon to the batter, especially if their bananas are not super ripe.

Servings – Roughly 18 slices. However, this number is just a rough estimate because you can make a small amount of larger slices or a large amount of thinner slices.

Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, mixing bowl, long wooden spoon, 10 or 12 cup metal Bundt pan, oven mitts, silicon spatula, wire cooling rack and an oven.

Bundt Banana Bread – Just After Baking

Banana Bread Batter in Bundt Pan

Instructions – Bundt Banana Bread Recipe

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (163 degrees C).
• Mash the bananas with a fork.
• Lightly beat eggs.
• Grease the interior of a 10 or 12 cup Bundt pan with a thin layer of cooking spray, vegetable oil or softened butter (not melted butter).
• After “greasing” the interior, you should LIGHTLY dust the interior of the pan with a small amount of flour or unsweetened cocoa powder (baking chocolate).
• Mix bananas, vegetable oil, eggs and sugar together in a separate large mixing bowl. Stir until completely mixed.
• Add the remaining ingredients to the large mixing bowl. Stir until the batter is fully mixed (but don’t overmix). FYI – I prefer to use a large spoon to mix the batter. An electric mixer can overmix the batter and this can lead to gummy or rubbery banana breads.
• Pour the finished batter into the greased 10 or 12 cup Bundt pan. Smooth out & level the top of the batter within the bread pan with a soft spatula.
• If you use a 10 cup Bundt pan, you should bake the banana bread in your oven at 325 F (163 C) for 55 to 60 minutes. However, if you use a 12 cup Bundt, you should bake the banana bread at 325 F (163 C) for only 50 to 55 minutes. FYI – See the tips section below for more information regarding the different baking times for 10 cup versus 12 cup pans.
• Optional (but highly recommended) – After taking the Bundt banana bread out of the oven, test the banana bread to see if it is fully baked. Push the long probe of a digital thermometer into the middle of the banana bread (it shouldn’t touch the metal pan). If the banana bread is fully baked (not under or over baked), the interior temperature of the banana bread should be 200 F to 205 F. FYI – Given the unique shape of a Bundt pan, it is harder to time exactly with a clock when a Bundt banana bread is fully baked. A digital thermometer allows you to more accurately determine if the Bundt banana bread is fully baked.
• Extra Baking Time Possibility – If the banana bread is not fully baked, place it back in the oven and retest after a few minutes of extra baking. Given the shape & size of a Bundt pan, material used for the Bundt pan, flour “moistness” issues (e.g. flour stored in an open bag versus airtight container) and temperature variances in different ovens (e.g. some ovens run cooler than the set dial temp), you might need a little extra baking time.
• When the banana bread is fully baked, place the pan on a wire cooling rack and let the banana bread cool down inside the Bundt pan for 10 minutes. Do not remove the banana bread from the pan during this 10 minute cool down period. Use oven mitts as the pan will be very hot coming out of the oven.
• After the 10 minutes, gently tap the sides & bottom of the Bundt pan to loosen the banana bread in the Bundt pan. Also run a soft flexible spatula down the sides (inner & outer interior sides) of the banana bread to further loosen it from the pan.
• Place a wire cooling rack upside down over the top of the Bundt pan (pan on bottom & wire cooling rack on top). Holding both the pan and the rack firmly together, you should flip them over so the banana bread falls out on to the wire cooling rack (as now the cooling rack will be on the bottom and pan on top). FYI – This step is a little tricky, so make sure hold the wire cooling rack and pan TIGHTLY together (so the things do not separate/fall apart as you flip everything over). Also make sure to use oven mitts when flipping as the pan may still be hot.
• Leave the banana bread on the wire cooling rack to completely cool. This cool down may take 1 to 2 hours.
• Please READ the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common Bundt banana bread problems.

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Bundt Banana Bread – After Adding Powdered Sugar Topping

Bundt Banana Bread – Before Adding Powdered Sugar Topping

Helpful Tips – Bundt Banana Bread Recipe

• 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.
• FYI – This type of banana bread is known as a Bundt banana bread or banana bread Bundt cake (since it uses a Bundt cake pan to shape & bake the banana bread).
• This recipe is part of Bread Dad’s series on easy Banana Bread Recipes such as banana nut bread, eggless banana bread and blueberry banana bread.

• Common Error # 1 – Bundt pans come in different sizes. My banana bread Bundt cake recipe fits best in a 10 cup Bundt pan. It will not fit in smaller Bundt pans such as 6 cup Bundt pans.
• A 10 cup Bundt pan measures roughly 9 1/2 inches wide and 3 inches deep. In contrast, a 12 cup Bundt pan measures roughly 10 to 10 1/2 inches wide and 3 1/2 to 4 inches deep. Pan sizes can differ modestly by manufacturer.
• Ideally, you want the batter to fill only 70% to 75% of the 10 cup Bundt pan. If you have too much batter for your Bundt pan, you should scoop some out (and you can use it to make a few banana muffins!).
• If you add too much batter to the Bundt pan (beyond the 70% to 75% fill mark), the finished banana bread could overflow the pan.
• You can also use a 12 cup Bundt pan for this banana bread recipe but the batter is likely to fill only 50% to 60% of the Bundt pan. This will result in a shorter & wider Bundt banana bread (that bakes a little faster than the 10 cup Bundt banana bread).
• If you use a large 12 cup Bundt pan, you will need to test the banana bread a little early (e.g. after 50 minutes of baking) to see if the banana bread is fully baked. The banana bread will bake faster as the batter is “shallower” in a large 12 cup Bundt pan (versus a smaller 10 cup Bundt pan). Therefore, a 12 cup Bundt banana bread might need only 50-55 minutes to fully bake at 325 F (versus the 55-60 minutes needed for a 10 cup Bundt banana bread).
• Visitors – Let me know in the comments below if you tried making the larger 12 cup Bundt bread and how long it took you to bake it.

• Bundt pans are MORE temperamental regarding baking times (than regular rectangular bread pans). You need to be more flexible with baking times and test more often to see if the Bundt banana bread is fully baked.
• Due to issues such as the shape of a Bundt pan, color of & material used to make the Bundt pan, differing batter fill “levels” in the pan, flour “moistness” issues (e.g. the flour picked up moisture from the air because it was stored in an open bag versus airtight container) and temperature variances in different ovens (e.g. some ovens run cooler or hotter than the set dial temp), your Bundt banana bread might need a little extra baking time. Some extra baking time might be required regardless of whether you use a 10 cup or 12 cup Bundt pan.
• FYI – Strange but true. Dark Bundt pans absorb heat faster & bake quicker than shiny silver Bundt pans. If you use a dark colored Bundt pan, check a little earlier to see if the Bundt banana bread is fully baked.

• Common Error # 2 – The Bundt banana bread sticking in the pan despite greasing the pan.
• With Bundt pans, you need to grease AND flour the pans. The unique shape of the pan makes them more “sticky” than regular rectangular bread pans. Just greasing the Bundt pan does not work.
• You need to thoroughly grease all of the interior of the Bundt pan (bottom and inner & outer walls of the interior). If you miss any spots, the Bundt banana bread is more likely to stick.
• After greasing the pan with cooking spray, vegetable oil or softened butter (not melted butter), you should lightly dust the interior with a SMALL amount of flour. This helps to make the pan even less sticky. If you end up with too much flour in the pan, just turn the Bundt pan upside down and dump the excess flour in the trash.
• Be aware that some cooking sprays come with flour already included in the spray can! This can work even better than greasing and then flouring than pan. Why? Because with cooking spray that includes flour already, there are fewer flour “clumps” on the outside of the banana bread. These white flour “spots” are the main downside to greasing & flouring a pan. You can get flour lumps stuck to the outside of the Bundt banana bread if you use too much flour.
• Optional – Instead of flour, some people like to dust the interior of the pan (after greasing it) with a light coating of unsweetened cocoa powder (baking chocolate). This eliminates the white flour “spots” on the exterior of the banana bread. It also adds a nice & mild chocolaty flavor to the banana bread crust. Do not use hot chocolate mix!!
• FYI – Unsweetened cocoa powder (baking chocolate) is the NOT the same as hot chocolate mix. One is used for baking and the other for making beverages.
• If you use hot chocolate mix (to dust the pan), the sugar & milk powder in the hot chocolate mix is more likely to burn and/or causing sticking problems.
• Visitors – How do you make your Bundt pan less sticky? Use an light flour coating? Use baking chocolate powder? Use cooking spray with flour included? Post your Bundt pan “coating” tips in the comment section below.

• If the banana bread Bundt cake is stuck in the pan, you can gently run a soft, flexible spatula down the interior sides (inner & outer interior sides) of the pan.
• You can also tap the bottom of the pan with the soft spatula to try and dislodge the banana bread.
• Still stuck? As a last resort, you can submerge the bottom of the hot Bundt pan in a bowl of lukewarm water (not ice cold) for 30-60 seconds. The drop in temperature causes the pan to expand away from the banana bread & makes the banana bread easier to remove. Wear oven mitts as the Bundt pan will be hot. Just avoid getting any water on the banana bread!
• I would use this method only as a last result because if you use ice cold water (instead of lukewarm water), you might warp or crack the Bundt pan (given the rapid change in temperature). FYI – Lukewarm water has a temperature of roughly 100 F (38 C).
• Visitors – Do you have any more ideas about how to “unstick” a banana bread that is stuck in a Bundt pan? Please post your tips & thoughts in the comment section below.

• Common Error # 3 – Not adding a sugar topping or glaze to your Bundt banana bread. Why? Because the top of a banana bread Bundt cake is the dark exterior crust (usually found on the bottom & sides of a banana bread made with a traditional 9 by 5 inch banana bread pan). The light colored & golden “top” crust becomes the bottom of a Bundt banana bread (and thus is hidden from view). Many people like to add a powdered sugar topping or glaze topping in order to “hide” the darker exterior of a Bundt banana bread and provide the banana bread with a more attractive appearance.
• FYI – Only add the powdered sugar or glaze when the banana bread has COMPLETELY cooled. Otherwise, the sugar can be “absorbed” into the warm crust (and look messy/spotty) and the glaze can melt and run off the crust.
• I like to add a simple powdered sugar topping. Why? It tastes great… and it is very easy to make! Just pour some powdered sugar into a mesh sifter and then gently “shake” the sifter over the banana bread (until a thin layer of sugar covers the top of the banana bread). You don’t need too much sugar.
• You can also add chocolate “dusting” to the top by whisking together 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder with 4 tablespoons of powdered sugar in a separate bowl. Then use a fine mesh sifter to “sprinkle”/dust this mixture together of top of the completely cooled Bundt banana bread. Do not increase the ratio of unsweetened cocoa powder or the dusting will taste bitter.
• However, if you would like to add a glaze to your Bundt banana bread, you might like to read my page covering banana bread glaze recipes.
• Visitors – What topping do you like to add to your Bundt banana breads? Powdered sugar? Chocolate “dust”? A special flavored glaze (e.g. vanilla glaze)? A glaze sprinkled with chopped walnuts? Post your topping ideas in the comment section below.

• You can easily turn this recipe into a Bundt banana nut bread by adding 1 cup of chopped walnuts or chopped pecans to the batter.
• I wouldn’t add more than 1 cup given the unique shape of the Bundt pan (as chopped nuts stuck in the nooks & crannies of the pan are more likely to cause tears in the crust when the pan is flipped).
• In addition, I would recommend breaking up the chopped walnuts/pecans into tiny pieces. This ensures that the nuts are more evenly distributed throughout the Bundt banana nut bread.
• Moreover, tiny nut pieces are less likely to tear the crust when you flip the pan.

• This Bundt pan recipe is based on NOT using butter! If you use butter, the banana bread might be too tall for a 10 cup Bundt pan. Butter based banana breads tend to be fluffier than oil based banana breads.
• In addition, the use of vegetable oil instead of butter creates a moister tasting Bundt banana bread. The main reason is because vegetable oil remains liquid at room temperature whereas butter turns back to a solid at room temperature.
• You should use a NEUTRAL flavored vegetable oil (e.g. corn) in order to make this moist banana bread recipe.
• Stronger flavored oils (e.g. peanut oil or extra virgin olive oil) may NEGATIVELY impact or change the taste of banana bread. You want to use an oil that has very little flavor (so it does not interfere with the banana 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 flavor 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.
• Vegetable oils spoil faster when exposed to air (oxidation), light, heat, etc. Vegetable oils should be stored in a tightly sealed container and in a cool & dark pantry.

• Use RIPE bananas for the best results!! If you use unripe green or hard yellow bananas, your banana bread will come out bland (with little banana flavor). Unripe bananas have more starch and less sugar than ripe bananas. 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!!
• My Bundt banana bread is a 5 banana bread recipe. It uses ROUGHLY 5 large bananas. However, banana vary in size!! Therefore, for the most consistent results, you should EXACTLY 2 1/4 cups of mashed bananas. This will prevent your Bundt banana bread from being too dry (not enough mashed bananas) or too wet (too much mashed bananas because the 5 bananas were giant-sized)!
• Of course, banana sizes can vary greatly… and my version of 5 large-sized bananas may differ from yours!
• If you are missing a small amount of the mashed bananas, you can replace the missing mashed bananas with unsweetened applesauce (best solution as it is most similar to mashed bananas) or sour cream/Greek yogurt.
• For example, if you have only 2 cups of mashed bananas, you would add 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce (or sour cream/Greek yogurt) to replace the missing 1/4 cup of mashed bananas. You just want the combined amount to equal the 2 1/4 cups called for in my recipe.

• Use FRESH ingredients (e.g. baking soda and flour) for the best results. For example, if you use stale baking soda and/or baking powder, your banana bread will not rise properly and will be too dense. Baking soda & powder is best if used within 6 months of opening the container. 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.
• 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 bread flour to make this banana bread Bundt cake recipe. Otherwise, it could turn out tough, gummy & rubbery. You should all purpose flour to make this large banana bread.
• If you are finding small white clumps of flour in your banana breads, you use a flour sifter to sift your flour (before adding to the batter). It helps to break up any flour clumps.

• 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 wooden toothpick or long wooden skewer into the top of the 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.
• Instead of the “toothpick test”, some people (including me) like to use a digital bread thermometer to test if their banana bread is fully baked. A digital thermometer is much more accurate than a toothpick or wooden skewer. Generally, a “quick bread” (e.g. banana bread or pumpkin bread) is done when the internal temperature reaches 200 to 205 degrees F. Just make sure to measure the temperature in the center of the loaf for the most accurate reading.
• My recipe use a slightly lower temperature (and thus a slightly longer baking time) than many of my peers’ banana bread recipes. Why? Because the lower temp results in a softer & more tender banana bread. Moreover, the lower temp reduces the potential for an over-baked crust and/or an overly dry banana bread.

• Do NOT use an electric mixer to mix your ingredients (when combining the wet and dry ingredients). I prefer to use an old fashioned wooden spoon. An electric mixer can easily overmix the ingredients if used too long. Unfortunately, overmixing batter can result in a rubbery & gummy banana bread.
• Make sure that your oven has been completely preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this quick bread could come out undercooked.
• It takes 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.
• If your oven does not have a built-in thermometer, you can buy an inexpensive hanging oven thermometer that you can place inside your oven (in order to correctly gauge the temperature & see if the oven has been preheated to the correct temperature). Moreover, some built-in oven gauges can be 25-50 degrees different than the actual temperature inside the oven. For the best results, you should know the actual temperature inside your oven (as this reduces the potential for over or undercooked baked products).

• My recipes are based on using a regular oven and NOT a convection oven. Convection ovens bake faster than regular ovens and require less baking time than what is stated in my recipes.
• Place your banana bread in the middle of your oven. If you place it on the top or bottom racks, the banana bread may be too near the oven’s heating element and bake faster than expected.
• When making this recipe, many international bakers prefer to use a kitchen scale versus using measuring cups. A kitchen scale provides greater accuracy because the amount of ingredients in a measuring cup can vary somewhat (e.g. a cup of fluffed flour vs a cup of densely packed flour). Therefore, this recipe also includes gram/milliliter measurements.

• 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 or 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 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.
• Warning – Do not add the optional chopped walnuts if anyone who might eat this banana bread has peanut and/or tree nut allergies.
• For more banana bread ideas (e.g. chocolate chip banana bread, eggless banana bread or blueberry banana bread), please visit Bread Dad’s main section on Banana Bread Recipes.

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Reference Sources

1. Wikipedia, Banana Bread
2. Wikipedia, Bundt Cake

Related Recipes

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2. Easy Banana Bread
3. Eggless Banana Bread
4. No Butter Banana Bread
5. Super Moist Banana Bread
6. Bread Machine Banana Bread

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