This is my all-time favorite banana bread recipe because it’s quick, easy, and totally delicious. Whipping up a loaf and making the kitchen toasty is one of my favorite winter activities – is baking a sport?
Although I swear that I can smell spring in the air, we’re definitely still pretty buried under snow here. I was so thrilled to see the promise of shimmering open water on the lake, but it must still be frozen solid in other places because all weekend my neighbors were zipping across the bay on snowmobiles and skis – you might have caught a peek in my Instagram stories if you follow me on the ‘gram. Embracing winter is always a struggle for me and each year I pledge to take up snowshoeing or skiing or this novel thing called not-complaining, only to find myself overwhelmed by the heaps of snow and bone chilling cold. Why do I live in a place where the air hurts my skin? This year I was a little more zen about winter than last year (when I really lost it), but the closest thing I did to taking up a winter sport was getting an ATV with a plow for snow removal. Admittedly, that made winter much more fun and I caught myself smiling during blizzards, knowing I’d get to blast through the snow soon enough. But other than that, winter this year was especially annoying because not only did I ditch the truck one day thanks to slippery road conditions (I was four hours late to work as a result – half day, woo-hoo!), our well also froze (again). C’est l’hiver…
One night Hubby and I were both so done with winter and started joking about moving someplace warmer, like Punta Cana or Costa Rica, but then those jokes turned into serious discussions and we started doing some research.
Could we do it? Would we want to? What’s stopping us?
I used to think that this lakehouse would be our forever home, because it’s the perfect spot on Lake Superior, but we’ve been finding the allure of a more temperate climate difficult to resist. But the thought of finishing up projects, listing the house for sale and packing up all of our stuff helps us snap out of the pining – plus it feels like we haven’t full enjoyed this house and our slice of the lake yet. So the idea of moving has been put on the back burner, but it’s back there, simmering. It definitely lit a fire under me to de-clutter in a big way and really simplify our lives, so I have a one year goal of making our lives easy to pack up – just in case (which is another struggle – because you know I love finding vintage treasures)! But we can be a little spontaneous if the right opportunity catches our eye, so I have to take these ruminations seriously: we actually bought this house on a whim and we recently impulse bought our Camaro.
After we started discussing leaving Lake Superior, I started to appreciate life here more. I’ve been relishing the cozy weekends by the fireplace, listening to the ice groan and crackle. My thoughts are also totally occupied by what would be different about our lives if we lived somewhere hot. Would Hubby ever commit to putting on sunscreen? (Hubby reading this: “nope”). Would the humidity make my fine, thin hair even more awful to deal with? Would we find the same kind of jobs that we have here? Would the healthcare system scare us away? Would eating healthier be easier? Would I still want to heat up the kitchen with baking?
To be honest, that’s the most distressing query because we love food. After we starting talking about moving somewhere hot, we started indulging in one too many baked goods. The one thing we can never get enough of is banana bread, because it offers up the illusion of being healthy.
This easy banana bread recipe is from my Mom, who got it from someone else and, beyond that, its source is a mystery to me. It seems pretty basic at first glance, but I have tried dozens of other recipes over the years and have always come back to this banana bread recipe – which I’ve added cardamom to, for some Finnish flavor. It’s moist and delicious but you mix it up in one bowl (literally just dump everything in), which makes it dangerously easy to make. It’s also foolproof and so adaptable – you just cannot ruin this recipe! When I’ve been on a low sugar kick, it’s been easy to cut back the sugar or replace with other kinds of sweeteners – it even works well with whole wheat flour. I’ve also tried cutting back the oil and adding applesauce and it’s still turned out delicious. I’ve experimented with the flavor, my favorite banana bread hack to date was mixing in a swirl of homemade peanut butter (my weakest moment was adding these Reese’s peanut butter baking chips. So much yum.) My Mom likes adding dried sour cherries or raisins.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup (light) oil - I use grapeseed
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 teaspoons allspice
- 3 bananas, mashed (approximately 2 cups)
Instructions
- Beat together the sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl - big enough to accommodate all of the ingredients. Then simply mix in the oil, banana, and dry ingredients. I love that I can whip up this banana bread and only dirty one mixing bowl!
- Sometimes I'll add other ingredients at this stage - like a swirl of peanut butter (soooo good) or chocolate chips. This recipe easily adapts so you can get creative.
- Pour into a greased pan - I always use my 9.5" springform bundt pan for this recipe, but I also noticed that a smaller version is sold in turquoise.
- Bake at 350°F for 1 hour.
I hope you enjoy this easy, foolproof banana bread recipe and – if you recognize it from somewhere – let me know so I can properly credit! It’s definitely not as healthy as my refined sugar-free, grain-free zucchini bars, but life is short – especially for bananas, which seem to be the perfect ripeness for about twenty minutes.
Maybe this time next year, I’ll be sharing some new granadilla and guava recipes… or finding new ways to grumble about winter.
I am not a baker (or cook) but this is a tempting recipe. I’m keeping this one. Thanks for sharing, and I’ll let you know when I make one!
Author
Yes! I’d love to know if you like it. Happy baking 🙂
We are frequent travelers to the Caribbean and Mexico since 1995, at least once a year and some years tow or three times. This topic comes up every single trip 🙂 My husband took a short job on Provo, T&C Islands and we came very close to taking a 9-15 month job on Grenada.
We love the Virgin Islands and could move there in a heartbeat. The challenge in the USVIs is cost of living. It’s very expensive and most people need to work three jobs. As they say, one for housing, one for health insurance and one to cover everything else. The BVIs have very strict labor laws that keep out most Americans looking for jobs. Maybe as a Canadian resident, it isn’t as hard. Of course, the hurricanes have significantly altered life on those islands as we knew it.
Provo was intriguing and my husband liked his short time working there. Food and all other imported items (which is pretty much everything) was extremely expensive.
You mentioned food. During extended stays on Virgin Gorda and on St John, we noticed many residents relied on take out from roadside stands and the choices there surprised me -very heavy on fried chicken, ribs, pates (fried dough with savory fillings), baked Mac and choice of starches like plantains, also lots of rice, scalloped potatoes. All the northeastern comfort foods of home! We went in search of fresh fishes, local caught lobsters, fresh veggies only to be told those thins are sold to the restaurants.
Author
Your list of delicious foods got me drooling! I guess that answers whether I’d eat better, haha. So jealous of all of your traveling! We have only been to Punta Cana so we want to spend more time traveling before we seriously consider a move. We’ve traveled a bit to Europe but never Mexico. And even in Punta Cana, we never left the resort. But that nice weather! I’d put up with a lot of lousy conditions for nicer weather. That job in Grenada would have been such a cool experience.
I was pregnant with our now 12 yo and I would have moved to Grenada with him and a couple of employees. We got as far as getting work papers and searching for a house before it fell apart. (A large construction project) but what adventure it would have been! My husband would have spent a week every month with us.
My parents spend a decent amount of time in the Xcaret and Cozumel areas of Mexico each year and my step dad wants to spend winters there. That area is pretty cool and the people are great.
There is someone from our town that lives on Puerto Rico half the year and they love it. Old San Juan is fantastic.
Author
That makes more sense! That major move while pregnant would have been so intimidating, I totally understand. Half the year somewhere warm would be so dreamy…
Grenada would have been an experience, especially since our son would have been a tiny baby when we moved!
Author
He would not have wanted to move back with you, though – having only known warm and lovely, haha.
yum! This looks delicious!
Author
Thank you! It is SO good.
Just made this recipe over the weekend with some of the many (many!) overripe bananas I have stashed in my freezer. Couldn’t find cardamom at my grocery store, so I subbed in 1/2 tsp nutmeg and 1/2 tsp (additional) cinnamon. It turned out quite nicely! thanks for the push to finally use some bananas out of the freezer.
Author
I find that you cannot over spice this banana bread so good call adding more cinnamon and nutmeg. So happy you liked it! I wish I had some now, but my freezer is banana-less thanks to this recipe…
I have found that taking a vacation to a hot place at the end of February really helps get through that last push of winter. Go for at least a week if you can manage it! By the time you come back, you will be happy to wear sweaters and wool socks and be cozy inside for a little while longer.
Author
Such great advice, thank you!!