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This blueberry banana bread turns out incredibly moist and flavorful every time! Perfect for using up overripe bananas and fresh or frozen blueberries, this recipe delivers thick, bakery-style slices with bits of juicy blueberries throughout – don’t skip a pat of salted butter over a warm slice of bread. Heaven!
Grab your mixing bowls, we’re baking bread.
The Best of Both Worlds
When my kiddos were younger, they always wanted to go to Bob Evans for dinner.
I used to joke that they were basically tiny senior citizens, requesting Bob Evans for dinner and wanting to eat it at 4pm. 😉
I didn’t complain about it too much, because Bob Evans often brings out a slice of banana bread with your meal and that made everything right in my world.
Our classic banana bread recipe is always a favorite, but when you’ve got a pile of overripe bananas AND a container of blueberries on the verge of death, it’s time to whip this one out.
Little pops of juicy bluebs are in every bite, adding the perfect touch of sweetness. You’re going to love this smeared with melty, salty butter.
♥ Why You’ll Love Our Blueberry Banana Bread Recipe:
- Moist: The bananas help to keep this bread moist and tender. No dry, overbaked bread here!
- Produce: If you weren’t making banana bread those over ripe bananas and soft blueberries would probably just get tossed. We’re saving them from a sad death.
- Freezable: Slice this up, pop it in the freezer, and grab it on busy mornings. Love having fresh banana bread with my coffee.
What Readers are Saying!
“Delicious! I just made this to use up blueberries and overly ripe bananas I had in my freezer. Frozen blueberries work just fine! I also added 1 cup of chopped walnuts because we love nuts in our banana bread. I forgot to try adding the lemon zest but, plan to do so next time I make it. Thanks for sharing.” – Joyce H.
Swaps & Tips
Blueberry options: We like fresh blueberries here, but frozen should work just fine. No need to thaw them.
Banana substitutes: You need 1 cup mashed banana total. If you’re short, add a bit of applesauce or Greek yogurt.
Flour alternatives: All-purpose works best, but you can substitute up to half with whole wheat flour. The bread will be a bit more dense.
Make it extra special: Add lemon zest to the batter for a bright pop of flavor.
Flour the berries: Adding a bit of flour to the blueberries helps to keep them from sinking as the bread bakes.
My Favorite Vanilla!
A good quality vanilla really does make a difference and this is my favorite brand.
Storage:
Store covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to a week.
For longer storage, wrap slices individually and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature or toast directly from frozen.
Recipe FAQs:
Yes! Don’t thaw them first – use them straight from the freezer. Toss in flour just like fresh blueberries.
Your bananas should be very spotty and soft. If they’re not quite there, you can speed up ripening by baking them at 300°F for 15-20 minutes until the skins turn black.
A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. The top should spring back when lightly touched.
Blueberry Banana Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 medium ripe bananas mashed
- 1 cup blueberries tossed in flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick spray.
- Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt to a small bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the butter and sugar to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs and vanilla until combined.
- Add the mashed bananas to the mixture and mix by hand until combined, scraping down the bowl as you stir.
- Stir in the dry ingredients by hand, being sure not to overmix the batter.
- Fold in the blueberries.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared baking dish and bake for 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean. Tent the pan with aluminum foil if the bread is starting to get too brown towards the end of baking.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Jackie H says
Oh my Goodness! Smells and tastes so delicious. The only thing I added was coconut and sprinkled sugar on top
Karly Campbell says
Oh, sounds like a great addition!
Dee says
Can I freeze after cooling? Will it work? Hoping to make in advance. Or how many days can it stay if I’m the fridge.
Karly Campbell says
Hi Dee! Yes, this recipe should freeze just fine, like any other quick bread recipe.
Joyce H. says
Delicious! I just made this to use up blueberries and overly ripe bananas I had in my freezer. Frozen blueberries work just fine! I also added 1 cup of chopped walnuts because we love nuts in our banana bread. I forgot to try adding the lemon zest but, plan to do so next time I make it. Thanks for sharing.
Karly says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for sharing!
LL says
I made 3 Mini Loaves with this recipe to share with my family. It was delicious. Will make more soon. Thank you!
Tracy Harding says
It’s good but was so thick really too about 1-1/2 hours to bake
Leah says
This bread is the best thing that ever happened to over ripe bananas! I added lemon zest to the banana mixture as other comments suggested, because why not?? Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing this.
Karly says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the review, Leah!
Vera Garrard says
Thank you for sharing. It was fantastic. I bake banana bread when we go on weekend trips out of town to cover quick meals. So far this is everyone’s favorite. I am back again, unfortunately, I do not have blueberries this time. I only added a squeeze of lemon juice.
Karly says
So glad this one is so popular! It’ll be tasty without the blueberries too! 🙂
Angie says
One of the very best recipes out there (besides my mom’s) Absolutely delicious ?
Karly says
Thanks, Angie! So glad you liked the recipe!
Dadi Raymond says
My oh my, this is delicious. I made this tonight and I wasn’t disappointed. It came out nice and moist. Will be definitely making a few more in the coming weeks.
Karly says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Lanora Manning says
Can you use a sugar substitute?
Karly says
Sure, as long as you use one that bakes and measures like sugar. We like Lakanto or Swerve.
Luna Bug says
Easy and delicious! Had blackberries so used those. So good.
Karly says
Great idea! 🙂
Ava Gavloski says
Great receipe. This is the second time I will be making this Bread. Husband and best friend really enjoyed the loaf.
Ava Gavloski says
Update: I added the zest of one lemon to the wet bowl.
Karly says
So happy you enjoy the recipe, Ava!
Brittany says
I had a question before trying, would you suggest any changes if I’m baking in a Stoneware loaf pan?
Karly says
Hi Brittany! The bake time may vary a bit, but you’ll just have to experiment. Here’s a good article about baking with stoneware vs. metal vs. glass: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2018/03/29/glass-or-metal-or-stoneware
Nancy Burke says
Just pulled these out of the oven. Beautiful! I wanted 2 loaves, so I 1 1/2 the Recipe, but kept the bananas at 3, as that’s all I had, and used 2-8 x 4 loaf pans, and they are perfect.
I did put blueberries on top and sprinkled on some turbinado sugar. Can’t wait to try some. I’ll update you all on that.
Carol says
I loved this bread! Deelish! My only thing is towards the bottom was a little dry. Did I over bake or would you recommend maybe adding a little buttermilk to the recipe.
Karly says
Hi Carol! I’m guessing it was overbaked a bit or the flour was maybe measured with a heavy hand? We’ve not found this one to be dry. 🙂
Caitlin Stavarski says
This recipe is perfect for people who love bananas and blueberries. It’s moist and delicious. I just had to bake mine in the over for an 1 hour and 15 minutes to make sure the middle was done and it was amazing. I would definitely make this again and I would recommend it to any baker.
Karly says
Thanks so much, Caitlin! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!