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Breads, Breakfast, Dairy Free, Recipes, Snacks, Sweets

Our Favorite Molasses Banana Bread

March 26, 2020
There are a mountain of banana bread recipes out there, but this Molasses Banana Bread with it's dark, caramel undertones, is the only one I make. Click now for this one-bowl, dairy-free banana bread recipe. #bananabread #easybananabread #molasses #dairyfreebananabread
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A loaf of banana bread sliced on a cutting board.

If there was ever a time to be making banana bread my friends—this is it. This stuck-at-home-armageddon situation is the perfect storm of anxiety meets baking and banana bread is the cure. You’ve probably found yourself searching the internet lately for the perfect banana bread recipe (which quite possibly is why you’re here). Turns out, there are a mountain of them out there. But I want to assure you, this Molasses Banana Bread, with it’s dark, caramel undertones and soft crumb, is the only one I make.

A loaf of banana bread sitting on a wood cutting board with a butter knife.

Why Molasses Makes The Best Banana Bread

It was by necessity really that I started swapping molasses for granulated sugar in my banana bread recipe. I was looking to pack as much iron into Hiro’s diet a few years ago when he was anemic. Turns out 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses has 20 percent of the daily value of iron.

While I loved that I could turn my son’s favorite treat into something a bit better for him, I was actually even more thrilled that I had stumbled upon the secret to banana bread perfection.

The molasses guarantees a moist (sorry) bread that is never tough or chewy no matter what you do to it. You could mix the hell out of it or bake it a little too long (and believe me I’ve done both) and it’s still springy and tender with every slice.

Not to mention the flavor. This is homemade banana bread of the Gods. It is dark and lusty with tinges of bitter from the molasses that somehow enlightens the banananess of it all. If you think you’ll slice yourself off one piece and be able to walk away, think again.

Adding molasses to your banana bread is the best decision you'll ever make. Pin the recipe now and see what I mean! #bananabread #molasses #easybananabread #onebowl

What Kind Of Molasses To Use

If you are going for health-factor you should use Blackstrap Molasses in this recipe. It is the only one with the significant amounts of iron as well as several other vitamins and minerals. That being said, if you’re going for flavor, I’ve used every kind of molasses available to make this bread, and all with great results.

There’s also dark brown sugar in this recipe which is brown sugar that has double the amount of molasses added back in so we are really getting a double-whammy on the good stuff here.

A Healthier Banana Bread

I’m not going to say this Molasses Banana Bread is good for you. It’s no kale salad. But it does have some redeeming qualities that are a bit more nutritious than some other banana bread recipes:

  • We already mentioned the molasses benefits.
  • This is a banana bread with no butter, which makes it dairy-free.
  • It has an obscene amount of bananas. More fruit is always better for you, right?
This is a foolproof banana bread recipe requiring only one bowl, a spoon, and a fork. Click here to get the most delicious banana bread recipe ever! #bananabread #bananabreadeasy #molasses #onebowl

How Ripe Should Bananas Be For Banana Bread?

Basically the riper the better. Do you have bananas sitting on your counter with black speckles? Are they starting to get mushy? Perfect! Those are the ones you want to use to make banana bread.

It’s unusual to have four bananas be in that condition all at once (which is how many you need to make this recipe). Therefore, I add bespeckled bananas to my freezer as they ripen until I have enough to make a batch of bread.

You can freeze them in the peels if you want, but you will have to wait for them to thaw out before you can begin making the bread. The quickest way to turn frozen bananas into bread is to peel them and slice them before placing them in the freezer. Lay the slices in a single layer on a plate or baking sheet until they are frozen. Once they freeze, transfer them to a freezer bag, but remember to label how many bananas are in there—it’s a bit hard to tell after they are all sliced up.

When you’re ready to make banana bread just toss the frozen banana slices in your bowl and mash them up! They’ll thaw right before your eyes.

Want to know the secret to perfect banana bread? It's molasses! Pin this recipe now and see what I mean! #bananabread #bananabreadeasy #molasses #onebowl

A One-Bowl Wonder

Do you have a large bowl and a spoon…okay, and a fork? Then you have banana bread! This is seriously the least fussy baking recipe you’ll find. It’s great for beginners, kids, lazy bakers, tired parents, basically anyone. Here’s how to make it from scratch:

  • Mash the bananas in the largest bowl you own with a potato masher or a fork. You can mash them as little or as much as you want. Mash less if you want chunks of banana.
  • Add the eggs and mash those in too. Break up the yolk and mix it in to the bananas. It’s much easier to get the eggs mixed before you add the oil and other wet ingredients.
  • Add the rest of the wet ingredients and stir well. Use a whisk if you have one, or a wooden spoon if you don’t.
  • Add all the dry ingredients right on top. If you are a super finicky baker you have my permission to mix all the dry ingredients separately in a different bowl first. But in my mind it makes little difference.
This is seriously the easiest banana bread recipe ever. All you need is one bowl! Click here to discover the Molasses Banana Bread recipe you never knew you were missing. #bananabread #molasses #bananabreadeasy #onebowl

More Banana Breads To Love

While this Molasses Banana Bread is the one I make on a regular basis, there are other recipes I occasionally turn to when I want something different. They are both unique and delicious in their own right.

  • Soft Ricotta Banana Bread
  • Millet-Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Banana Bread Bakers Unite!

I don’t know about you but banana bread is my baking Xanax. Whenever I am anxious or tired or stressed beyond belief, banana bread is my drug of choice. Give it a try! Just make sure you tag @holajalapeno and #holajalapeno on Instagram so I can see.

Print

Our Favorite Molasses Banana Bread

There are a mountain of banana bread recipes out there, but this Molasses Banana Bread with it's dark, caramel undertones, is the only one I make. Click now for this one-bowl, dairy-free banana bread recipe. #bananabread #easybananabread #molasses #dairyfreebananabread

★★★★★

5 from 6 reviews

There are a mountain of banana bread recipes out there, but this Molasses Banana Bread with it’s dark, caramel undertones, is the only one I make.

  • Author: Kate Ramos
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 60 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 1 loaf 1x
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Low Lactose

Ingredients

Scale

4 very ripe bananas

2 large eggs

¾ cup dark brown sugar

⅔ cup vegetable oil

¼ cup blackstrap molasses

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Heat oven to 350°F and arrange a rack in the middle. Grease a 9 x 5 inch baking pan. 

Mash together bananas and eggs in a large bowl until almost a puree. Add brown sugar, oil, and molasses and whisk to combine. Add flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, ginger, and salt. Stir together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon just until combined and all flour is mixed in.

Scrape into prepared pan and bake until golden and baked through, about 50-60 minutes. Insert a skewer in the middle, if it comes out clean the bread is ready. Let bread cool on a rack at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Cool completely before slicing

Keywords: molasses banana bread

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @holajalapeno on Instagram and hashtag it #holajalapeno

In support of this small business, ¡Hola! Jalapeño earns revenue in a few different ways. Several sponsored posts are published each month. I also earn an affiliate commission on the sales of products I link to— there are a few of those links in this post. I only feature items I genuinely love and personally use on a regular basis. This commission is an arrangement between the retailer and ¡Hola! Jalapeño (readers never pay more for products). This income allow me to run the site. Thank you for reading!

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21 Comments

  • Avatar
    Reply me March 28, 2020 at 1:26 pm

    Can you give a more accurate estimate for the volume/weight of bananas needed? Bananas vary so widely I’ve been struggling with recipes that only give a number count for them.

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos March 29, 2020 at 6:30 pm

      Hi! I don’t have a weight for the bananas but I do encourage you to trust that you really can’t screw this recipe up. I’ve made it with 3 bananas and 4 very large ones and it has worked every time.

  • Avatar
    Reply Veronica March 30, 2020 at 6:45 pm

    This banana bread is gorgeous. Love the fact of adding molasses and using oil instead of butter. I always use olive oil to make mine and never been back to out butter on it.

    ★★★★★

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos April 22, 2020 at 2:42 pm

      I never miss the butter. Armando is lactose-intolerant so I try to make all my baked goods with oil or coconut oil so he can enjoy them too.

  • Avatar
    Reply mavi trapos March 31, 2020 at 1:11 am

    Wow! tiene muy buena pinta y como estamos en un buen momento y con tiempo para experimentar en la cocina, no descarto comprar algunas cosillas que me faltan el próximo día que vaya al súper e intentar hacerlo jejeje gracias!!!!

    ★★★★★

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos April 3, 2020 at 8:32 am

      Claro Mavi! Dime si te gusta!

  • Avatar
    Reply Yasmari Bello March 31, 2020 at 3:43 am

    Owww pan de banana es mi favorito del mundo mundial. The banana bread me atrapó cuando vivía en Toronto Canadá allá es muy típico así que me has animado a hacerlo ahora en Madrid.

    ★★★★★

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos April 3, 2020 at 8:32 am

      Gracias Yasmari! Espero que estas bien.

  • Avatar
    Reply Adriana March 31, 2020 at 4:58 am

    Oh por Dios!! Leo pan de babana y se me hace agua la boca. Que delicia de receta. Pensé que era mas complicada. Pero veo que no! Gracias por estos trucos.

    ★★★★★

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos April 3, 2020 at 8:31 am

      De nada Adriana! Espero que te gusta!

  • Avatar
    Reply Enriqueta E Lemoine March 31, 2020 at 5:14 am

    OMG Kate! I need this molasses banana bread in my life NOW!

    ★★★★★

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos April 3, 2020 at 8:30 am

      You will love it Enri!!

  • Avatar
    Reply Nj May 14, 2020 at 10:48 pm

    Would wheat flour work? And if I only have two bananas is there no point? Also only have coco it oil or olive. Haven’t grocery shopped in a long while. I do have molasses! Thanks

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos May 15, 2020 at 10:33 am

      Hi! Yes, you can use wheat flour, but I would try to use a mixture of wheat and white flour if possible. Wheat flour has very little gluten and the bread may be a bit gummy, so even if you have bread flour or pastry (cake flour) mix a little of those in, if not, give it a go and see how it turns out. If you only have 2 bananas, just cut the recipe in half and make into muffins instead of a loaf. Bake muffins for 20 minutes. You can use either coconut or olive oil, the flavor of those two are stronger, so that’s why I didn’t use them, but they would totally work. You’ll need to melt the coconut oil first. Let me know how they turn out!

  • Avatar
    Reply Noa May 16, 2020 at 10:52 am

    Ok! So I risked life and limb to get white flour at the supermarket and alas the shelves were bare but today at the flower shop the guy kindly sold me some white flour too! I made the bread with a mix of wheat and white, half and half, because I want to get rid of the wheat (which I bought a ton of by mistake). It came out well! It took an extra 25 minutes to cook so the crust was a bit overdone. I felt it needed a lot more ginger but mine might not have been a good one. Next time I’ll also add some raisins and nuts. I did your slices on top and sprinkled with powdered sugar so it would Caramelize. All in All very good. Thanks!

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos May 18, 2020 at 7:44 am

      Oh thank goodness! You don’t know how terrible I would’ve felt had you gone to all that trouble for the flour and it was awful. 🙂 The raisins and nuts would be delicious—kind of like a fruit cake.

  • Avatar
    Reply Roxy June 1, 2020 at 3:59 am

    This sounds amazing! I’ve got tons of natural molasses sugar that i need to use up. Can I substitute all sugar for the molasses sugar, and skip the cinnamon and ginger…?

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos June 1, 2020 at 7:49 am

      Hi Roxy! I’m not sure what you mean by molasses sugar. Do you mean brown sugar? You can try using 1 cup brown sugar and leaving out the molasses. You can still add the cinnamon and ginger, they are there for flavor and don’t add much to the overall texture of the bread. Unless you don’t like them of course, in which case you can add other spices like cardamom, clove, vanilla beans, or even a pinch of black pepper.

  • Avatar
    Reply Rica Armon August 10, 2020 at 3:46 pm

    I dont have 9 x 5 inch baking pan. Any other size suggestion?

    • Kate Ramos
      Reply Kate Ramos August 10, 2020 at 5:46 pm

      The pan I use in the images is a Pullman loaf pan which is 12 x 4x 3inches. You could try baking them into muffins too. Check after 20 minutes to see if they are done.

  • Avatar
    Reply Rachel September 30, 2020 at 8:24 am

    WOW this is good!! I used three very ripe bananas and replaced half the oil with applesauce, and replaced 1/2 C of regular flour with whole wheat flour, and it is SO delicious and moist!

    ★★★★★

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