Banana Bread… with One Banana?

Banana Bread… with One Banana?

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Ever wanted to make banana bread, but you only had one ripe banana? I mean, can you even make bread using only one banana?

A ripe banana sitting on a counter.

Farm(ish) girl Amy is here to assure you that you can make banana bread using the mashings of only one banana. And the awesome thing about it? You can mix all the ingredients for this bread up only using one bowl.

How awesome is that? One banana and less dishes?

Sign. me. up.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients for “One Banana” Banana Bread

1 ripe banana, (mashed up in the mixing bowl you’re going to use)

1 egg (with enough milk to make 1 cup)

1 stick of butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 tsp baking soda

How to Make “One Banana” Banana Bread

The awesome thing about this? Take all those ingredients and put them in a large bowl.

That’s right. All of them. All together.

A bowl containing all the ingredients for quick bread, ready to mix.

Mix it all up until all the lumps are gone.

Mixing up a bowl of lumpy batter!

(And yes, those might be lumps of butter in my batter. My butter wasn’t completely softened. Let this be a lesson to you all.)

Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan. The batter should fill the pan about 2/3 full.

A loaf pan of batter ready to go in the oven.

Bake at 350 for approximately 45-60 minutes.

And then? Then, you guys, you have a beautiful loaf of banana bread.

Here is a freshly baked loaf of one banana banana bread, ready to enjoy!

Don’t even to convince me that you don’t want to eat that. Because I won’t believe you.

But I am gonna tell you secret. This is a pro tip here: this bread is really great right out of the oven, but tastes even better the second day.

So if you can hold off—and I know it’s hard—know that it’s going to be even more glorious when you wake up tomorrow.

A loaf of sliced bread on a wooden cutting board.

And there you have it—banana bread you can make with that one ripe banana you’ve got sitting on the counter.

Oh! And if you’re looking for something different, here are a few recipes that look fun to try out:

Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread from Sally’s Baking Addiction

Triple Berry Banana Bread from My Baking Addiction

Cheesecake Stuffed Banana Bread from Marsha’s Baking Addiction

Ever wanted to make banana bread, but only had one. lone. banana? Never fear! You can totally make banana bread with the mashings of one banana. Here's how!
4.62 from 36 votes
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“One Banana” Banana Bread

Ever wanted to make banana bread but only had one ripe banana? Here's the perfect recipe to make that banana bread happen!

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

  • 1 ripe banana, mashed
  • 1 egg
  • milk, enough to make 1 cup when added to the egg above
  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. baking soda

Instructions

1. Take all ingredients and combine them in one large mixing bowl.

2. Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.

3. Bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes.

A grid of four photos showing the steps to make one banana banana bread.

Spending time baking today? Why don’t you try your hand at some of my other favorite recipes?

Ice Cream Caramel Rolls: Special Breakfast Treat

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Carrot Pie: Yes, I’m Serious

Amish Coffee Cake: There’s Coffee IN the Batter

Amish Cinnamon Flop Bread

Old Fashioned Fruit Cocktail Cake



58 thoughts on “Banana Bread… with One Banana?”

  • 5 stars
    Hey I a very 12 yr and I made this for my family and it will be reallly good I believe it will can not wait to try it it was really easy to make and fun too

  • 5 stars
    This is my go to recipe! The only difference is that I’m not big on chunky banana bread so I blend my wet ingredients together in my blendtec blender and then I add my dry ingredients and blend for three more seconds. The result was a light, fluffy crumb with a perfect golden crust! Also makes AMAZING French toast!

  • 5 stars
    This is so yummy! And so easy. I used almond milk. This is a keeper – thank you for sharing! Couldn’t hold off until the next day but we did save some. 🙂

  • 5 stars
    This is my 4th time making this. Simply amazing. I use soy milk, gluten free flour, and coconut oil instead of butter. Still turns out perfect! Thank You so much for a brilliant and SIMPLE recipe! You are impeccable.

  • 5 stars
    Sometimes the internet is seriously the best. I had one raggedy banana that I didn’t want to waist so I googled ‘1 banana banana bread recipe’. And here it is! It’s in the oven right now. And I’ll spend my cooking time poking around the rest of your awesome blog!

  • 5 stars
    This was GREAT but…….I messed with your recipe (ya, sorry……..head hung in shame) I did indeed have 1 RIPE banana and I did follow your recipe (for the most part) I switched out the milk for organic coconut milk, cut the sugar back to 1/2 C. light brown and added some crushed pineapple with juice. This bread is FABULOUS and what a great way to use up that lone, ripe banana! It’s PERFECT and going in my big book for future use. Thank you so much for this one! *OH! I thinly sliced my banana and quite frankly I think 2 would have been just fine and maybe next time I will add some coconut?*

  • 5 stars
    This is the BEST banana bread recipe I’ve ever eaten!!! It is so tasty!!! It freezes perfectly too… I love it so much, I’m going to make 2 as soon as my butter softens. Try this, it’s truly the best!

  • 5 stars
    I’ve made this many times and I love it.
    Soo easy and delicious.
    I was wondering if it would be possible to add one more banana to this already perfect easy recipe, without changing it. Except for the banana?😳

  • 5 stars
    Ok I usually never leave a comment on blogs (ever) but this time I just had to. Was looking for a recipe to use that single very ripe banana on my counter (we aren’t wasting any food during this lockdown!) and I’m so glad I found yours! The result was simply the most beautiful, most delicious banana bread I ever baked. So moist and tasty, food magazine worthy look-wise. Just added dark chocolate chunks and walnuts. Thank you!

    • I had one sad banana on my counter and threw this together. I did have a random small bag of mini chocolate chips, probably about a half of a cup worth. I tossed them into the batter and OH EM GEE was it good. Excellent recipe! My kids couldn’t stop eating it!

  • 5 stars
    Honestly so easy to make and extremely moist, buttery, and delicious. I will most definitely be making this again but just double the recipe

  • 5 stars
    Absolutely amazing! never knew that a one banana recipe would be possible, and yet here it is and i think it’s even better than any banana bread i have made before

  • 5 stars
    Love it! I’m making this recipe for the second time today, but wondering if I use the batter for muffins instead of bread would the bake time change? thanks!

  • 5 stars
    Super easy! This is my third time baking this recipe an I love it! I also like to mix in either chocolate chips or blueberries.

  • 5 stars
    This is my 2nd time using this recipe and I made three loaves this time so I can ship one to my mom, one to my mother-in-law, & keep the last for myself (and maybe my husband if I decide to share, haha!), and they came out perfect again! I add pecans and this time added chocolate chips to the loaf for my mom because she’s a chocoholic. Delicious! Thanks for the great recipe!

  • 5 stars
    Does anyone know if you can use vegetable oil instead of butter in this recipe? If so, would it just be an equal amount?

  • 4 stars
    This was a really nice banana bread, and an extra plus since it only needed one banana! I changed a few things: used 1/3 whole wheat flour, 1/2 the amount of sugar, chopped walnuts, some cinnamon, and a bit of sourdough starter. The milk adds a nice creamyness to the bread and lends moisture. Only 4 stars since it’s not the BEST banana bread recipe, but pretty darn good!

  • 5 stars
    This was the best banana bread ever! So moist and just one banana. I can now use that last over ripe one that no one wants to eat!

  • We have made this recipe a dozen times and love it! It freezes great. We usually have 2 old bananas and double the recipe pretty much every time. Once we had 3 and still only doubled the recipe and it came
    out perfect . Love this recipe!

  • 5 stars
    I rarely leave comments but had to for this recipe! Only had 1 banana and hands down this is the best banana bread recipe, so quick and easy but most importantly extremely delicious. Will definitely be my goto recipe from now on. Thanks

  • 3 stars
    Sadly I failed with this. It did not rise much, ended up very “wet” at the bottom, even baking 20-minutes longer. It was cooked,, but, bottom seemed like just greasy. Not sure what happened. Will have to try again….

  • 5 stars
    This is the best and easiest banana bread recipe I have tried. I used oat milk and added some chocolate chips, SO GOOD!

  • 5 stars
    Finally a recipe for ONE BANANA! I also add coconut as I used to like the banana coconut Snack N Cakes from long ago that you cooked in your microwave. My kids don’t like nuts and my daughter is allergic to them. This is so great, thanks again.

  • 1 star
    Looks like way too much butter. This cake was swimming in butter. Maybe cut butter in half. I drained off the butter after 40 min. and I will continue cooking an additional 15 min. Hope it is edible.

  • 4 stars
    I love this recipe! Thanks for sharing it. I add cinnamon to mine and use brown sugar. I’ve made this bread several times already and each time, they seem to disappear quickly! Delicious with blueberries, walnuts and chocolate chips. Sometimes I put a glaze on top, which I think I’ll do today. Gosh, it smells so yummy in here right now!

  • 5 stars
    Easy and very good! I did not get the batter smooth (butter lumps) but the bread came out perfect. I think next time I may add walnuts.

  • I love this recipe! It has the perfect balance of sweetness, moistness, and banana flavor. None of the flavors overpower each other. I will definitely be making this again. I had one banana that I thought I was going to have to throw away then I thought about making banana bread. I had never made it before and thought it was difficult to make and I didn’t have enough bananas. I was wrong on both accounts. Lol this recipe was super easy and perfect amount of bananas in my opinion. Thank you for this delicious recipe! I’ve been eating this for breakfast every morning with coffee. And sometimes as a late night snack! Again yum!

  • 5 stars
    I am so glad I found this recipe! Like everyone else, I had one banana that was too ripe and didn’t want it to go to waste. It came out amazing! I did do some subs… I used half white sugar and half brown sugar. I also use almond milk because I ran out of regular milk. I had some pumpkin spice seasoning so decided to put a dash in.
    I did have to bake an additional 10 minutes. I probably could have left it 5 more minutes. It has a beautiful crust and it’s texture inside is soft (in a pleasant way). It’s not as dense as other breads with more bananas. I totally recommend this recipe!

  • 4 stars
    I also had the situation where it took longer to bake. *80 mins total. I actually cut off an end that was done and put the rest back in the oven! That being said the bread was excellent. I did use 2 small bananas that had been frozen and thawed and I think there was too much liquid. BUT next time I will use mini loaf pans and see if that solves the problem. I like to use frozen thawed bananas as they as are sweeter. I will also mix together the flour and salt and soda before adding to the bowl. I felt like they didn’t get distributed enough with just dumping them in the bowl. Liked this recipe better than my Flour Bakery (Boston) recipe!

  • 5 stars
    I now use this as a go-to recipe, sometimes adding walnuts and/or chocolate chips for variety. I bake this as a cake in a small baking dish, cutting the baking time by about 5 minutes. It’s a great, quick recipe that always turns out perfectly.

  • 5 stars
    One and done AND delicious! Thanks for this one banana wonder!! Just baked it and I will use no other banana bread from now on.

  • 5 stars
    Perfect! I used half butter and half canola oil plus some cinnamon. I had to bake slightly longer than 60 minutes.

  • 5 stars
    Added some nuts and made the batter into mini waffles. One word: AMAZING! I also made mini loaves in the air fryer with this recipe and they’re just perfect! Great recipe!!! 😍

  • 1 star
    I had high hopes for using up that last banana on the counter with this recipe but like someone else stated the bread was swimming in butter. The bread cooked but never took on the right texture and the center turned out almost gummy. I’m glad others have found success but just fair warning that this recipe isn’t full proof.

  • 4 stars
    I ~particularly~ like the one-bowl method! Mine took about 20 minutes longer to cook than indicated. I liked the texture and it tasted fine, but I missed the extra banana flavor. I would definitely do this again, but I would try to add something else for additional flavor -maybe chopped nuts or dates or blueberries.

  • 5 stars
    Our go-to banana bread recipe for YEARS! I use a metal loaf pan and cook with foil over it for minimum 1 hour. If I use glass, it doesn’t bake through well. Delicious and so easy. Literally just dumping all ingredients willy-nilly into a bowl and mashing it up with a fork.

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