The best banana bread recipe ever

Banana bread is so easy and delicious — no wonder it’s such a timeless staple! For breakfast or dessert, you’ll find it’s even yummier when made with Fairtrade bananas, knowing you’ve contributed to fairer wages and better living conditions for farmers and producers who work so hard to harvest your food. Flexing your social justice muscle and eating yummy banana bread? There’s no better win-win in our book!

This super simple recipe requires ingredients you probably already have at home. You’ll see that the directions call for a stand or hand mixer, but don’t worry if you don’t have one handy — you can always mix it by hand.

Ready to get started? Here’s what you’ll need:

Ingredients

• 4 large overripe bananas (we used Equifruit bananas)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup plain yogurt at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Optional: 3/4 cup Fairtrade chocolate chips
• Optional : Oats, chopped walnuts, or pecans for garnish

Directions

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F before lightly greasing a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter, margarine, or coconut oil.

• In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, and salt. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.

• In a large bowl (or in the bowl or a stand mixer), mash your bananas using a fork. Then, add your brown sugar and butter before mixing with a hand mixer until well combined.

• Add the eggs, plain yogurt, and vanilla to the banana mixture and mix until well combined.

• Add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.

• If using chocolate chips, add them now and mix by hand until just combined.

• Pour the batter into your prepared loaf pan. If using oats or nuts on top, sprinkle them now before placing the banana bread in the oven.

• Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Let the banana bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely. Then, slice and enjoy!
  
  

And just like that, easy banana bread you’ll want to make again and again! Curious about how those Fairtrade bananas contributed to the wages and working conditions of workers and farmers? Learn more about the Fairtrade system and don’t forget to spread the word!