The 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Better Banana Bread

Bananas are ever-present in my house. There’s always a bunch on the counter for eating out of hand and a bag of sliced bananas in the freezer for throwing into smoothies. And when I end up with extra-ripe bananas, I make banana bread. (This is my go-to recipe, and it also happens to be the internet’s most popular recipe.)

Over time, I’ve made tweaks here and there. For example, I increase the salt from one pinch to 1/2 teaspoon and love how it offsets the sweetness of the bananas and sugar. Sometimes, I add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, especially if I’m going for fall or winter treat vibes.

My favorite upgrade for turning this and any homemade banana bread into a beautiful, bakery-worthy loaf that’s even more delicious is this: I add one more banana. Here’s how.

One More Banana to Rule Them All

This trick is simple, but the impact is big: I slice a peeled banana in half lengthwise, then stagger the halves right on top of the batter, cut sides facing up, just before baking. The banana fuses into the loaf as it bakes, creating the sort of masterpiece you can’t help taking an overhead shot of and posting to your Instagram stories, like in the image above.

And it’s more than just for decoration. The banana caramelizes and its flavor concentrates as it bakes, becoming sweeter. Try it out and let me know what you think!

Perhaps the first place I saw this trick was on Heidi Swanson’s blog, 101 Cookbooks. Though I can’t be sure, plenty of bloggers, food websites, and cute little bakeries have featured banana-topped banana bread for many years. It’s such a clever way to make a better-tasting, fancy-looking banana bread without a lot of effort.

Pick Your Banana Wisely

The only advice I’d give here would be that, for the top banana, don’t use one that’s too far-gone ripe, as I often do for the bananas that go into the batter. A healthy sprinkle of freckles on the peel is just fine, but you don’t want the flesh to be brown and mushy—it won’t hold its shape well. The banana should be free of mushy spots and firm enough to slice and stay intact.

Oh, and use an extra banana. Don’t leave one out of the batter and save it for the top, or you’ll end up with a dry loaf. 

A Kid-Friendly Activity: Banana Art

I taught my four-year-old to use a kid-safe knife to slice the banana and place it on top of the loaf. She loves taking on this last step before the banana bread goes into the oven. We get creative and cut the banana into rounds for a polka dot effect or oblong slices for diagonal stripes. She loves arranging the bananas into fun shapes.