The Best Banana Bread & Muffins

Today, I’ll share the best banana bread and muffin recipe you’ve ever eaten. Here’s the deal: Mark and I have some special friends, and JoAnn dropped off some banana muffins she had made.

You could smell the yumminess as we brought them into the house. I thought they were gourmet muffins from a 5-star restaurant. I’m not kidding!

These were unlike any banana bread or muffins I have ever eaten. So I called my friend JoAnn and asked if she bought or made them. When I heard that she made them, I said, “Wow, these are like restaurant-quality fancy muffins.”

JoAnn told me it was her sister’s recipe, so I asked if I could have it to share with my readers.

She called her sister, Victoria, to make sure I could share her banana bread and muffin recipe on my blog. She said I could!! Thank you, Victoria, for letting me share it today. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

You’ve got to make these; you’ll see what I’m talking about. We all have bananas that get a bit overripe. Well, now we know what we can do with them, my friends.

You’ll hand out this recipe to everyone you deliver muffins or a loaf of banana bread. These moist and chewy muffins with a crunchy sweet topping are like a little piece of heaven.

The Best Banana Bread & Muffins

In case you missed this post, Bananas: Everything You Need To Know

Kitchen Items You May Need

• Bread Pans or Muffin Tins
• Tulip Cupcake Holders
• Mixing bowls or hand/stand mixer
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Mixing spoons
• Organic Raw Sugar (this makes them magical)
• Muffin/Cookie Scoop

The Best Banana Bread & Muffins

Step One

Gather the ingredients so you can assemble the recipe as needed.

Step Two

Preheat the oven to (350°F) = (176°C)  degrees. Grease the bread pans and place a rectangle of parchment paper at the bottom of each. If making muffins, add the tulip cupcake papers to the pan; do not grease these papers.

Step Three

Stir the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt until well mixed in a large bowl. I used my KitchenAid mixer bowl.

Step Four

Combine the bananas, eggs, milk, and vanilla in another bowl or an even better blender bowl. Add the vegetable and coconut oil and mix all together (a minute or so, until it becomes liquid).

Stir the liquid ingredients into the dry mixture, then add the pecan pieces. I cheated a bit here by dumping everything into the dry mix in the mixing bowl.

Step Five

Add the chopped pecans and mix thoroughly.

Step Six

The dry and wet mixtures along with the pecans are combined and ready to be used in muffin tins and bread pans.

Step Seven

I confess this is the first time I have used Tulip Cupcake Holders! SQUEAL! They look so professional, and the texture of this recipe is the best I have ever tasted! Use regular muffin tins and place one tulip cupcake holder in each cup.

For the banana bread, you grease the pans and cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the bread pans. I used my regular bread pans, which are smaller one-pound loaf pans. One-Pound Bread Pans (7.75 x 3.75 x 2.5 )

Step Eight

Spray two medium-sized loaf pans with vegetable spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Pour the mixture into the pans. Sprinkle 2 or 3 teaspoons of raw sugar evenly over the batter in each pan. If you make muffins, sprinkle one teaspoon of raw sugar onto each.

Banana bread will bake for one hour and 5-10 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick. The muffins will bake for approximately 36 minutes. Be sure to test the muffins with a toothpick as well.

Today, I tripled the recipe to make some banana bread and muffins. I used the Tulip paper cupcake holders for the muffins. Because I tripled the recipe, I made 24 muffins and two loaves of banana bread.

Finished Product-Banana Muffins

Here are banana muffins; they are so yummy!

The Banana Bread

Grease the bread pans and cut a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the bread pans. Scoop the batter, as mixed above, evenly into two pans. Sprinkle 2-3 teaspoons of raw sugar on top of the batter before baking.

Finished Product-Banana Bread

I love baking banana bread; Victoria’s recipe is the best on earth!

The Best Banana Bread & Muffins

How can I store this banana bread?

I store my banana bread in bread bags; they are cheaper than regular baggies. Baggies will work as well, though. Bread Bags & Bread Ties

You can store the bread on your countertop for four days; the refrigerator will dry it out. I bet it won’t last that long!

Can I freeze this banana bread?

Absolutely. I freeze them in the same bags I store them in. To be safe, don’t store them for longer than two months.

How can I store the banana muffins?

I store them in baggies; they will be good for about four days, sitting on your countertop.

Are these banana muffins freezable?

That’s why I like to double or triple the recipe to make several muffins, which I freeze or share with neighbors. I freeze them in quart freezer bags. I wouldn’t store them in your freezer for more than two months.

Final Word

Let me know if you try making the banana bread or muffins; I would love to hear that. There is something about cooking or baking from scratch. We teach by example to our kids and grandkids. What a gift if they will learn by baking right alongside us. May God Bless this world, Linda