One-banana Banana Bread (2024)

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

• Pancakes for One
• Homemade Mocha
• Cream Scones
• The Best Cinnamon Toast

More Banana Recipes

• Small-batch Chocolate Banana Muffins
• Banana Milkshake
• Banana Pancakes
• 20+ Banana Recipes to Use Up Your Brown Bananas

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