This mini banana bread recipe allows you to create small loaves that are perfect for breakfast or snacks. These mini loaves also make wonderful homemade gifts to give to neighbors, relatives & friends. My recipe shows you how to make “plain” mini banana bread, mini chocolate chip banana bread, mini blueberry banana bread and more.
With the same amount of ingredients used in my “regular” banana bread recipes, this recipe allows you to make 4 or 8 mini loaves (instead of 1 regular-sized banana bread).
Mini Blueberry Banana Bread (4 Loaf Pan)
Recipe Sections
Plain Mini Banana Bread (8 Loaf Pan)
This small banana bread recipe is based on Bread Dad’s popular & extra moist Banana Bread with Oil recipe. It just uses smaller loaf sizes and a shorter baking time length. This “mini” recipe takes one of my “regular-sized” banana bread recipes and converts it into 4 or 8 mini banana breads.
The main differences versus a “normal” sized banana bread – mini banana bread recipes use a different-sized bread pan (with 4 or 8 mini “pockets” versus 1 large pocket) and have shorter baking times.
Mini Banana Bread with Fresh Cranberries (4 Loaf Pan)
My recipe shows you how to make mini loaf banana breads with two types of mini bread pans. The first version uses a medium-sized mini banana bread pan (usually with 4 “pockets”) where the pockets measure roughly 3 inches deep x 5 3/4 inches in length x 2 1/4 inches wide. The second version uses smaller “micro” pans (usually with 8 or more pockets) where the pockets measure roughly 1 1/4 inches deep x 3 1/2 inches in length x 2 1/4 inches wide.
Ingredients – Mini Banana Bread (Small Loaves)
- 1 1/2 Cups – Mashed Bananas (ripe bananas) – 345 grams – Roughly 3 large bananas (but use 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas for the best results)
- 1/2 Cup – Vegetable Oil – 118 milliliters – Use a neutral-flavored oil such as canola oil or corn oil
- 2 – Large Eggs – 114 grams – Use large eggs (not extra large or jumbo eggs)
- 1 Cup – White Granulated Sugar – 200 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 – Mini Chocolate Chips (240 grams), Fresh Blueberries (170 grams), Fresh Cranberries (100 grams), etc.
Servings – Roughly 24 slices – 4 loaves with 6 slices per loaf (4 X 6 = 24) or 8 micro loaves with 3 slices per loaf (8 X 3 = 24).
Equipment Needed – Measuring cup & spoons, mixing bowl, long wooden spoon, mini loaf pan, oven mitts, silicon spatula, cooling rack and an oven.
Mini Chocolate Chip Banana Bread with Baking Parchment Paper
Batter for Mini Cranberry Banana Bread in Bread Pan
Instructions – Mini Banana Bread – 4 Loaf Version (with Pan Pockets 3 inches Deep x 5 3/4 inches in Length x 2 1/4 inches Wide)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Mash bananas with a fork.
- Stir bananas, oil, eggs & sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Mix until fully blended.
- Mix in the remaining ingredients (except the chopped walnuts). Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
- Optional – Add 1 cup of mini chocolate chips, fresh blueberries, fresh cranberries, etc. Stir them into the batter and make sure they are evenly spread throughout the batter.
- Pour the finished batter into a nonstick mini loaf pan (that has 4 “pockets” for holding the batter). FYI – You should pour the batter into a loaf pocket until the pocket is about 60-70% full. Do not overfill. The loaves will rise to the full height of the pan after they bake. See the tips section for more information about mini loaf pans.
- Bake in the oven at 325 F for 40-42 minutes.
- Take the pan out of the oven and let the banana bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Use oven mitts.
- Do not remove the banana bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period (as this completes the baking process).
- After 10 minutes, remove the mini banana breads from the bread pan. Place the mini banana breads on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1+ hours.
- Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common banana bread problems.
Instructions – Mini Banana Bread – 8 Loaf Version (with Pan Pockets Roughly 1 1/4 Inches Deep x 3 1/2 Inches in Length x 2 1/4 Inches Wide)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Mash bananas with a fork.
- Stir bananas, oil, eggs & sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Mix until fully blended.
- Mix in the remaining ingredients. Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
- Optional – Add 1 cup of mini chocolate chips, fresh blueberries, fresh cranberries, etc. Stir them into the batter and make sure they are evenly spread throughout the batter.
- Pour the finished batter into a nonstick mini loaf pan (that has 8 “pockets” for holding the batter). FYI – You should pour the batter into a loaf pocket until the pocket is about 60-70% full. Do not overfill. The loaves will rise to the full height of the pan after they bake. See the tips section for more information about mini loaf pans.
- Bake in the oven at 325 F for 30-32 minutes.
- Take the pan out of the oven and let the banana bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Use oven mitts.
- Do not remove the banana bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period (as this completes the baking process).
- After 10 minutes, remove the mini banana breads from the bread pan. Place the mini banana breads on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1+ hours.
- Please read the tips section below for extra information on how to make this recipe successfully & to avoid common banana bread problems.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment & recipe rating below. It is always fantastic to hear from someone who has enjoyed my recipes! Jump to comment section
Subscribe to Bread Dad’s Recipe Newsletter |
Other Bread Dad Sections
- Bread Machines – My favorites!
- Bread Mixes – Buttermilk, rye, sourdough, French, etc.
Helpful Tips – Mini Banana Bread (Small Loaves)
- The tips below are designed to help banana bread “novices” and/or people with limited baking experience.
- Click on our “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 our 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 no butter banana bread, blueberry banana bread and chocolate chip banana bread.
- With mini banana breads, you can easily make a wide range of mini varieties such as plain mini banana bread, mini chocolate chip banana bread, cranberry banana bread, mini blueberry banana bread, etc. See the pictures near the top of the page for a better idea of the varieties of small banana bread that you can make.
- If you want to make a mini banana nut bread with chopped walnuts or chopped pecans, check out Bread Dad’s recipe for Mini Banana Nut Bread.
- If you want to make mini chocolate chip banana bread, I strongly suggest that you use mini chocolate chips. They spread out better in the batter. Regular-sized chocolate chips are more likely to sink to the bottom of the batter.
- Visitors – What “special” ingredients do you like to add to your mini banana breads? Chocolate chips? Blueberries? Chopped nuts? Ground cinnamon? Other? Let us know in the comment section below.
- Many people like to make mini banana bread loaves in order to give them as gifts. Why? Because it is easier to make 4 small banana bread loaves at one time (versus trying to make 4 regular-sized loaves). It is also cheaper in terms of ingredient amounts required (per loaf)!!
- Mini banana bread loaves have an advantage over regular-sized banana breads because they are faster to bake (e.g. 40-42 minutes to bake the 4 loaf version versus the bake time for my regular-sized banana breads which is usually around 65-70 minutes).
- Mini banana breads are also easier to defrost than “regular” sized banana breads. They warm up faster given their smaller size. Small banana breads are perfect when you do not need a lot of banana bread (i.e. for breakfast). You can defrost one mini loaf at a time.
- Warning – One of the most difficult parts of this recipe is pouring batter into the smaller pockets. It is harder to aim the batter pour!! FYI – If you are having trouble pouring the batter into the mini bread pan “pockets”, you can use a large spoon or ladle to scoop the batter into each loaf container.
- Do not overfill a pocket in the mini pan as the loaf is more likely to rise too high and then overflow and/or collapse back on itself (and you will have a sunken middle).
- You should fill each “pocket” in the 4 loaf pan to only about 60-70% high in order to avoid a potential sunken middle problem. The height of the batter depends if you make plain banana bread or add extra ingredients such as blueberries or chocolate chips. The addition of extra ingredients (e.g. blueberries) will fill up more of the interior pockets of the pan.
- In the micro pans (8 or more pockets), you should fill the pockets with batter to the 60-70 percent level. This recipe fills the pockets with the right amount if you are making PLAIN banana bread (with no added ingredients such as blueberries or chocolate chips). However, if you add extra ingredients (i.e. blueberries), you will have some LEFTOVER batter if you are using the 8 loaf “micro” pans. The recipe fits the medium-sized mini pans with 4 pockets better (than the 8 pocket pans) if you use extra ingredients. There is less interior room with the 8 loaf pans.
- For this recipe, you need to use either a mini banana bread pan (with 4 pockets) where the loaf pan “pocket” measures roughly 3 inches deep x 5 3/4 inches in length x 2 1/4 inches wide or a mini banana bread pan (with 8 pockets) where the pockets measure roughly 1 1/4 inches deep x 3 1/2 inches in length x 2 1/4 inches wide.
- However, be aware that the size of mini banana bread pans can vary (esp. the 8 loaf versions) and the pockets might even be smaller!! My baking times will not work with even small pockets (as they will bake even faster). So measure the pan pockets to be certain what version of my recipe will work with your pans.
- Be aware that you can also buy a “single” mini banana bread pan (with only one “pocket”). This might be easier if you only want to make 1 or 2 mini banana breads at a time. Or you have some leftover batter from a banana bread recipe but only have enough extra batter for 1 or 2 small banana breads.
- Warning – Another difficult part of this recipe is removing the finished loaves from the bread pan. This can be tricky (because all loaves might come out at once)! To solve this, I like to loosen the sides of one pocket at a time with a flexible spatula. Do not loosen all of the pockets at once.
- The safest method for removal is to use baking placement paper or a mini loaf liner to line each of the bread pan pockets.
- The baking parchment paper method is especially good if you do not want to smudge the top of your mini banana bread loaves because you can just lift them straight out of the tray (without turning the pan upside down). This is perfect when you have chocolate chips on the top of the loaf (as chocolate chips easily smudge if touched when warm).
- Or you can place non-furry kitchen cloth over the top of the pan when you flip the pan upside down to remove the small banana breads. The cloth acts like a net to prevent any loaves from randomly falling out. Of course, this will not work well with “smudge-able” loaf tops (e.g. with chocolate chips).
- If you get the mini loaf liners (like a paper muffin cup) – Make sure to get the right size because there are many different-sized liners being offered online. Easy to make a mistake… cough… cough… like I have done!
- In case you are wondering about the pans that I used to make my 2 versions of mini banana bread – To make the 4 loaf version, I used the Wilton Wilton Recipe Right Non-Stick Mini Loaf Pan, 4-Cavity. And to make the 8 loaf version, I used the Wilton Perfect Results Non-Stick Mini Loaf Pan, 8-Cavity. FYI – I am not sponsored by Wilton, I just like their mini loaf pans.
- If you need to purchase a mini loaf pan, you can find 4 & 8 loaf pans on the Bread Dad bread tools & equipment page.
- Personally, I prefer the 4 mini pocket pan over the 8 pocket pan. I find that it is easier to pour the batter into the 4 pocket pan (without making a giant mess) and it is easier to remove the small loaves from the 4 pocket pan with loaves falling all over. If you use the 8 pocket pan, I would strongly recommend using pocket liners (like muffin cups) or baking parchment paper. This makes it easier to lift the small banana bread out one at a time.
- Visitors – Do you prefer to use a 4 pocket pan or 8 pocket pan to make your mini banana breads? Let us know why in the comment section below. Your reasons will help others to pick the right mini pan for their family baking needs.
- Use RIPE bananas for the best flavor. Ripe bananas are soft and have a yellow peel covered with many small black spots. Hard yellow/green(ish) bananas are too starchy and have much less banana flavor. FYI – A beautiful pure yellow banana (without any spots) is not fully ripe!!
- Using unripe bananas will result in a very bland banana bread (with little banana flavor).
- Use a neutral-flavored vegetable oil (i.e. canola oil or corn oil) for the best results. Strongly flavored oils (such as olive oil or peanut oil) can negatively impact the flavor of banana bread. However. if you want to make banana bread with olive oil, please visit my Olive Oil Banana Bread page for more information.
- FYI – Banana breads made with oil (instead of butter) tend to taste moister (than banana bread made with butter). Why? Because vegetable oil remains liquid at room temperature (whereas butter turns back to a solid at room temperature). Therefore, the use of vegetable oil (instead of butter) helps to create a moister banana bread.
- Of course, you can use butter instead of vegetable oil if you prefer. Butter adds a slight buttery flavor to banana breads. However, banana breads made with butter taste a little drier than banana breads made with oil. To use butter, you should replace the oil in the recipe on a 1:1 basis with semi-melted unsalted butter (1/2 cup of oil = 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter).
- If you use “sticky” ingredients such as chocolate chips & blueberries in your banana breads, I strongly recommend that you use baking parchment paper (or mini loaf liner) to line your mini bread pans. After baking, chocolate chips and berries (such as blueberries & cranberries) can stick to the bottom of the pan. Baking parchment paper & mini loaf liners help to prevent this potential sticky “bottom” problem.
- I just cut the baking parchment paper into rectangles (so there are just two paper ends sticking out). No need to make a complicated pattern with 4 edges sticking out of the pan. See my mini chocolate chip banana bread pictures above for examples of how I use baking parchment paper.
- What is baking parchment paper? Baking parchment paper is a heat-resistant paper designed for use when baking and cooking. It is NOT regular paper that you write on!
- 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.
- 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 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 2 or 3 minutes. Make sure to wear oven gloves because the bread pan will be very hot. After the 2 or 3 minutes, remove the bread pan and test the banana bread again with a toothpick.
- Instead of the “toothpick test”, some people like to use a bread thermometer to test if their banana bread is done. Generally, a “quick bread” (i.e. 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.
- Make sure that your oven has been completely preheated. If the oven has not been properly preheated, this quick bread could come out undercooked. I like to use a hanging oven thermometer to check my oven temperature and ensure the oven has been properly preheated.
- Always try to use relatively 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 walnut banana bread.
- Store your ingredients (i.e. flour & sugar) in airtight containers to avoid “funky” flavors being added to your baked goods. Airtight containers also prevent contamination by moisture (in the air), dust, pests, etc. FYI – Flour in an open package will absorb moisture from the air and this can throw off the liquid-to-dry ratios in recipes.
- This mini banana bread recipe uses all purpose flour. Do not use bread flour to make banana breads or they are more likely to turn out dense and/or gummy. Banana bread recipes work best with all purpose flour.
- 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 pan 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.
- Make sure to level off the ingredients in your measuring spoons & cups. No “mountains” of ingredients in your spoons & cups!! If you add too much of an ingredient, you can have a recipe problem. FYI – I like to level the ingredients in my measuring spoons & cups with the back of a butter knife.
- 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 have a problem with a banana bread recipe, please make sure that you are following the recipe exactly (i.e. using the correct oven temperature), using the correct amounts of ingredients (i.e. 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 (i.e. baking soda/powder versus yeast or all purpose flour versus bread flour), etc. Please don’t “wing” things with recipes.
- My recipes are based on US ingredient measurements (i.e. US cups & tablespoons). However, as a courtesy to our European visitors, I have also included some very ROUGH European equivalents (i.e. grams & milliliters). Since I rarely use European measurements when baking, please let me know in the comment section below if any of the European ingredient measurements need to be changed (i.e. for XYZ ingredient, milliliters are more commonly used versus the grams information listed in the recipe).
- Always wear oven mitts/gloves when dealing with a hot oven and bread pan.
- For more delicious banana bread recipes (i.e. cranberry banana bread or blueberry banana bread), please visit Bread Dad’s sections on easy Banana Bread Recipes.
If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment & recipe rating below. It is always fantastic to hear from someone who has enjoyed my recipes! Jump to comment section
Highlighted Recipe
- Olive Oil Rosemary Bread Recipe – This recipe creates a great smelling… and great tasting bread!
Reference Sources
- Wikipedia, Banana Bread
- Wikipedia, Blueberry
- Wikipedia, Chocolate Chip
- Wikipedia, Cranberry
Mini Banana Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Cups Mashed Bananas (ripe bananas) – 345 grams – Roughly 3 large bananas (but use 1 1/2 cups of mashed bananas for the best results)
- 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil – 118 milliliters – Use a neutral-flavored oil such as canola oil or corn oil
- 2 Large Eggs – 114 grams – Use large eggs (not extra large or jumbo eggs)
- 1 Cup White Granulated Sugar – 200 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
Instructions
Instructions – 4 Loaf Version (with Pan Pockets 3 inches Deep x 5 3/4 inches in Length x 2 1/4 inches Wide)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Mash bananas with a fork.
- Stir bananas, oil, eggs & sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Mix until fully blended.
- Mix in the remaining ingredients (except the chopped walnuts). Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
- Optional – Add 1 cup of mini chocolate chips, fresh blueberries, fresh cranberries, etc. Stir them into the batter and make sure they are evenly spread throughout the batter.
- Pour the finished batter into a nonstick mini loaf pan (that has 4 "pockets" for holding the batter). FYI – You should pour the batter into a loaf pocket until the pocket is about 60-70% full. Do not overfill. The loaves will rise to the full height of the pan after they bake. See the tips section for more information about mini loaf pans.
- Bake in the oven at 325 F for 40-42 minutes.
- ake the pan out of the oven and let the banana bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Use oven mitts.
- Do not remove the banana bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period (as this completes the baking process).
- After 10 minutes, remove the mini banana breads from the bread pan. Place the mini banana breads on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1+ hours.
Instructions – 8 Loaf Version (with Pan Pockets Roughly 1 1/4 Inches Deep x 3 1/2 Inches in Length x 2 1/4 Inches Wide)
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Mash bananas with a fork.
- Stir bananas, oil, eggs & sugar together in a large mixing bowl. Mix until fully blended.
- Mix in the remaining ingredients. Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
- Optional – Add 1 cup of mini chocolate chips, fresh blueberries, fresh cranberries, etc. Stir them into the batter and make sure they are evenly spread throughout the batter.
- Pour the finished batter into a nonstick mini loaf pan (that has 8 "pockets" for holding the batter). FYI – You should pour the batter into a loaf pocket until the pocket is about 60-70% full. Do not overfill. The loaves will rise to the full height of the pan after they bake. See the tips section for more information about mini loaf pans.
- Bake in the oven at 325 F for 30 minutes.
- Take the pan out of the oven and let the banana bread cool down in the bread pan for 10 minutes. Use oven mitts.
- Do not remove the banana bread from the bread pan during this 10 minute cool down period (as this completes the baking process).
- After 10 minutes, remove the mini banana breads from the bread pan. Place the mini banana breads on a cooling rack in order to completely cool. This cool down may take 1+ hours.
Notes
Nutrition
Related Recipes
- Mini Banana Nut Bread
- No Butter Banana Bread
- 2 Banana Bread – Uses only 2 bananas
- 4 Banana Bread – Uses 4 bananas
- Vegan Banana Bread
- Walnut Banana Bread
Please leave a comment & recipe rating in the comment box below. Thanks!