This quick and easy one-banana banana bread recipe can be made with just one banana and a few pantry staples. It bakes up moist and sweet with a decadent cinnamon sugar crust.
Last week, I shared Dominique Ansel’s banana bread (AKA my favorite banana bread recipe in the entire world) with you, and promised in the post that I’d make a mini version for all you small-batch bakers out there.
As promised, here is a cute little mini version of my favorite banana bread.
Small-batch Banana Bread
This mini version bakes in a 5.5 x 3-inch loaf pan (or can be baked as muffins in a muffin tin) and like my small-batch banana muffins, it can be made with just a single brown banana.
The bread is soft, moist, buttery, and just such a treat. And to make things even better, there’s a crinkly cinnamon sugar crust over the top that is just SO good.
Ingredient Notes
- One brown banana: You need just one brown banana for this recipe. If you have a banana, but it’s not quite brown enough for baking, check out my post on how to quickly ripen bananas.
- Butter: You can use salted or unsalted butter here, just make sure to read the recipe notes and add more or less salt depending on which you’re using.
- Cinnamon sugar: The cinnamon sugar crust, is optional (but highly recommended). If you’re not a huge fan of cinnamon or don’t want the extra sweetness, you can skip it.
How To Make One-banana Banana Bread
1. Combine Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt.
2. Combine most of the wet ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, mash the banana and whisk in the egg until well-combined. Pour banana mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until just-combined.
3. Add butter: Add melted butter, and mix until butter is incorporated into the batter. Don’t over mix, but there should not be melted butter remaining around the edges of the batter (note the way the batter looks in the last photo above).
4. Bake: Transfer the batter to your prepared loaf pan, leaving ¾-inch of space from the top of the pan (discard extra batter if there is too much). Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over the top of the batter, and bake until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
5. Enjoy: Allow to cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes before removing and slicing.
FAQ
I love this recipe, can I make a full-size version?
Absolutely! If you want to make a full-size loaf of this banana bread, go check out my post My Favorite Banana Bread.
How do I store this banana bread?
Store the bread tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.
I don’t have a 5.5 x 3-inch loaf pan. What can I use instead?
Any mini loaf pan around that size will work, so if you have something that’s similar in size but not exact, feel free to use it. Just be sure to leave about ¾ of an inch of space from the top of the pan when you add your batter so it doesn’t overflow in your oven.
If you don’t own a mini loaf pan at all, these are the ones I own, or you can bake the batter in a muffin tin. It will make 5 to 6 banana muffins. Bake at 350°F for 17 to 22 minutes.
More Small-batch Breakfast Recipes
More Banana Recipes
- Small-batch Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Banana Milkshake
- Banana Pancakes
- 20+ Banana Recipes to Use Up Your Brown Bananas
One-banana Banana Bread
Ingredients
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (60g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon salt *
- 1 medium overripe banana
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons (42g) salted butter melted*
Cinnamon Sugar Crust
- 1 teaspoon (4g) granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Directions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a mini loaf pan, line with parchment paper sling (optional), and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a separate medium bowl, mash the banana and whisk in the egg until well-combined. Pour banana mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until just-combined.
- Add melted butter, and mix until butter is incorporated into the batter. Don’t over mix, but there should not be pools of butter remaining around the edges of the batter.
- Transfer the batter to your prepared loaf pan, leaving ¾ inch of space from the top of the pan (discard extra batter if there is too much).
Optional Cinnamon Sugar Crust
- In a small bowl, stir together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle evenly over the top of the batter.
Bake
- Bake for 30 to 38 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes before removing and slicing.
- Serve and enjoy.
Notes
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase using them. There is absolutely no additional cost to you.
Amy says
Should have read the comments lol. I reduced sugar a bit but it was still way too sweet. Maybe a quarter cup might be okay?
Nevertheless it recipe was easy to do with a toddler so I’ll be using it again!
Mary says
Made this recipe. No substitutions. But I did lessen the sugar. (I read some comments about it being too sweet.) Still too sweet for my taste but then my banana was overly over ripe.
Recipe produced six not-too-big muffins. Bit too small for me, but maybe it’s just my oven not heating up properly. Anyway, glad I came across this recipe. It is now my go-to recipe for when I have banana muffin cravings and not having too many bananas. Thank you.
Rayhab says
Amazing recipe!!! I reduced the sugar based on the comments and it turned out perfect (definitely would’ve been too sweet if I did 1/2 cup sugar). Also added cinnamon and chocolate chips. Once cooled down, I covered the top with Nutella and shredded coconuts and it turned out so delicious.
Donna says
Can you double or triple with two or 3 bananas?
Tracy says
Yes. You will just need to change the size of your baking pan.
shelby says
solid recipe! made 5 huge muffins, added 5 minutes to the bake time. a little too sweet for my taste, and i used less sugar than the recipe said, so i’ll continue to cut back the sugar til i find the right balance for me. added dark chocolate chips, very yum!
Jon Broadest says
Same I used 4/5 of the sugar still super sweet. I also added pumpkin seeds and pecan nuts and it was delicious.
Hannah says
Was not expecting this to be so brilliant- had one super mushy banana left and did not think it could become something so delicious thank you!!
Michelle Mc Diarmid says
Just made this as I had a lone banana no one was gonna eat due to over ripeness.
I added pecan nuts & baked it in the Airfryer (adjusted cooking time to 21mins).
Just used a random glass casserole dish that fitted the quantity.
Turned out perfect – busy enjoying it!.
pete says
Simple and fantastic!
Beth says
I absolutely love your recipes. I found this recipe on your site a while back and have been making it often. I usually make it into muffins. I love your chicken fajita salad recipe. Keep the wonderful recipes coming. Thank you.
Samra says
It was very easy to make and it didn’t need milf or water but I did add some
chopped walnuts to my mixture. It came out so beautiful and I should’ve
took a picture because it looked so perfectly browned to a medium brown.
My only issue was it was a little to sweet for me and I can’t believe I’m saying
it. The next time I make it I’m going to cut back on the sugar.. Thank you for
such an easy and delicious recipe!
Sarah says
I found this recipe to be way too sweet. Next time, I will cut the sugar in half.
Joy says
This was the perfect recipe for a moist, fluffy, sweet banana bread for when you’re in a pinch and have one leftover ripe banana!
Super simply and easy to make. Only issue I had was that I left just about a full inch of space from filling my mini loaf pan and mine unfortunately spilled over. What hadn’t spilled over turned out perfect though!
I recommend going with either the muffin route or splitting this between 2 mini loaf pans to accommodate for any overflow that might occur!
Ashley says
Gave me a perfect little banana bread!
Nupur says
The fluffiest banana bread I’ve ever had. It was very tasty and I loved the small portion!
Tracy says
I love to hear it! Thanks for reporting back!!
Mizagorn says
Was looking for the best way to use up a large, overripe banana. Wow, so glad I found this!
I made 24 mini muffins with this recipe. Filled up one pan of 12 with the batter as directed, using about a kitchen tablespoon for each. Then stirred in some chopped mixed nuts for the other 12 and topped each with a toasted pecan half. Sprinkled both pans with the cinnamon sugar. Baked at 350 for 12 minutes.
Abso-freakin-lutely amazing. Wish I could share some pictures and smells!
Tracy says
So happy they worked out for you!!
Stephy Steph says
Good! I totally cut the sugar in half, as 1/2 cup for a small loaf was crazy sounding to me. 1/4 cup was perfect, as the banana adds sweetness. Also subbed the egg for a flax egg, and that worked fine too!