This golden raisin banana bread recipe is easy-to-make and tastes fantastic. It uses sweet and juicy golden raisins versus boring old regular raisins. This results in a banana bread that is great for breakfast or desserts. You can also add a little cinnamon if you want to make this raisin banana bread into an even more “breakfast-like” treat.
Regular raisins are often sun dried which leaves them darker and drier. In contrast, golden raisins are dried in dehydrators with controlled temperature and humidity levels. This allows golden raisins to retain a lighter color and more moisture. Golden raisins also taste different from regular raisins. Golden raisins tend to be sweeter, plumper and look great (golden colored). In contrast, regular raisins are more likely to suffer the problem of being too dried out.
Key Ingredient – Golden Raisins
This banana bread recipe should take you only 10-15 minutes to prepare and clean up. Please be aware that this is an oven-baked banana bread recipe. It is not made with a bread machine. For more delicious banana bread ideas, please visit Bread Dad’s main section on Banana Bread Variations. You will also find a printable and “pin-able” recipe at the bottom of this page. If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below and give us a 5 star rating. Thanks!
Ingredients – Raisin Banana Bread Recipe
- 8 Tablespoons – Unsalted Butter (softened)
- 2 – Large Eggs
- 3 – Bananas (ripe & large sized)
- 2 Cups – Flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 Cup – White Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon – Vanilla Extract
- 1 Teaspoon – Cinnamon (optional – if you want to create a more “breakfast-like” banana bread)
- 1 Teaspoon – Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon – Baking Powder (aluminum free)
- 1/2 Teaspoon – Salt
- 1 1/2 Cups – Raisins (golden raisins)
Servings – Roughly 12 slices
- Equipment required for this recipe – Measuring cup & spoons, mixing bowl, long wooden spoon, 9 by 5 bread pan, oven mitts, silicon spatula, cooling rack and an oven.
Instructions – Raisin Banana Bread Recipe
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Mash bananas with a fork.
- Soften butter in a microwave.
- Stir eggs, bananas and butter together.
- Mix in remaining ingredients (except the raisins). Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
- Add the raisins after the batter has been completely mixed. Make sure the raisins are evenly spread throughout the batter.
- Pour finished batter into a nonstick bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter within the bread pan.
- Optional (for decorative purposes) – Sprinkle some raisins on top of the batter before placing into the oven.
- Bake in the oven for 65-70 minutes or until golden brown.
- Take 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.
- 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.
Finished Product – Delicious Golden Raisin Banana Bread
If you like this recipe, please leave a comment below and give us a 5 star rating. Your comments help us to improve & clarify our recipe instructions. Moreover, it is always fantastic to hear from someone who has enjoyed our recipes!
Reference Sources
- Wikipedia, Banana, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana
- Wikipedia, Banana Bread, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_bread
- Wikipedia, Dried Fruit, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dried_fruit
- Wikipedia, Raisin, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raisin
Tips – Raisin Banana Bread Recipe
- The tips below are designed to help banana bread “novices” and/or people with limited baking experience.
- If you can’t find any golden raisins, you can use “regular” raisins in order to make this recipe. However, while the resulting banana bread will be good, it won’t be as great as if you had made it with delicious golden raisins!!!! You can also use dried cranberries, dried blueberries or dried cherries if you can’t find any golden raisins.
- Optional – Add a teaspoon of cinnamon if you want to create a more “breakfast-like” raisin banana bread… or you just love cinnamon.
- Optional – You can turn this recipe into a raisin banana nut bread by adding 3/4 cups of raisins and 3/4 cup of chopped walnuts (versus adding the 1 1/2 cups of raisins called for in the recipe above).
- Optional – Or turn this recipe into a delicious raisin chocolate chip banana bread by adding 3/4 cups of raisins and 3/4 cup of chocolate chips (versus adding the 1 1/2 cups of raisins called for in the recipe above).
- Use RIPE bananas for improved taste. Ripe bananas are soft and usually yellow with small black spots. Hard yellow/green(ish) bananas are too starchy and have less banana flavor.
- Make sure to use 3 large bananas (not 3 medium bananas). Otherwise, the banana bread with raisins might turn out to be a little dry.
- In case, you like to use cups versus banana “sizes”… 3 medium-sized bananas equal roughly 1 to 1 1/4 cups of mashed bananas (not sliced bananas). 3 large-sized bananas equal roughly 1 1/3 to 1 2/3 cups of mashed bananas (not sliced bananas). Of course, banana sizes can vary greatly… and my version of medium and large-sized bananas may differ from yours!
- This doesn’t happen often but if the top of the banana bread looks too moist or under cooked, you should try the “toothpick test”. Gently push a toothpick 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 tooth pick.
- If you would like to explore other fruit-filled quick breads, you should look at our recipes for Blueberry Banana Bread, Cranberry Bread (with fresh cranberries) or Strawberry Bread (with homemade whipped cream).
- If you have a problem with a raisin 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.
- In addition, you should 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 banana bread with raisins.
- For more easy banana bread recipes (i.e. blueberry, cranberry, chocolate chip, vegan, oatmeal, etc.), please visit Bread Dad’s main Banana Bread Recipes section.
Questions – Banana Bread with Raisins
What is the difference between golden raisins and regular raisins?
Regular raisins are often sun dried which leaves them darker and drier. In contrast, golden raisins are dried in dehydrators with controlled temperature and humidity levels. This allows golden raisins to retain a lighter color and more moisture. Both California golden raisins and regular raisins tend to come from pale green Thompson Seedless grapes.
If you want to read more about the grapes used in America to make regular raisins and golden raisins, you should read this Wikipedia article.
Related Recipes
- Banana Nut Bread
- Blueberry Banana Bread
- Cranberry Banana Bread
- Eggless Banana Bread
- No Butter Banana Bread
- Vegan Banana Bread
Raisin Banana Bread Recipe (with Golden Raisins)
Ingredients
- 8 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter (softened)
- 2 Eggs (large)
- 3 Bananas (ripe & large sized)
- 2 Cups Flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 Cup White Granulated Sugar
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon (optional – if you want to create a more “breakfast-like" banana bread)
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder (aluminum free)
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/2 Cups Raisins (golden raisins)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Mash bananas with a fork.
- Soften butter in a microwave.
- Stir eggs, bananas and butter together.
- Mix in remaining ingredients (except the raisins). Stir until the batter is fully mixed.
- Add the raisins after the batter has been completely mixed. Make sure the raisins are evenly spread throughout the batter.
- Pour finished batter into a nonstick bread pan. Smooth out the top of the batter within the bread pan.
- Optional (for decorative purposes) – Sprinkle some raisins on top of the batter before placing into the oven.
- Bake in the oven for 65-70 minutes or until golden brown.
- Take 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.
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
If you liked this recipe, please leave a comment below & give us a 5 star rating. Your comments help us to improve & clarify our recipe instructions. Moreover, it is ALWAYS great to hear from someone who has enjoyed our recipes!!!