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Honey Vanilla Banana Bread

Honey vanilla banana bread with a honey-glazed, deeply golden crust and a tender, lightly golden crumb. Real vanilla (extract or bean seeds) swirls through the batter for a fragrant loaf that stays naturally sweet.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 240
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Banana loaf batter
  • 3 ripe bananas Mash until smooth with a few small lumps okay.
  • 0.3333333333 cup butter Melted, then cooled slightly so it doesn’t cook the egg.
  • 0.5 cup honey Use 1/2 cup in the batter and reserve 1 tablespoon for brushing.
  • 1 large egg Room temperature helps the batter combine smoothly.
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract Use vanilla bean seeds instead if preferred.
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.25 tsp cinnamon

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Prep the pan and oven
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
Mix wet ingredients
  1. Whisk melted butter, honey, egg, and vanilla into the mashed bananas until smooth and well combined.
Mix dry into batter
  1. Fold in flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until just combined—do not overmix.
Bake
  1. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 60–70 minutes until the top is deeply golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
Honey glaze
  1. Remove from the oven and immediately brush the top with 1 tablespoon of honey while still warm.
Cool and slice
  1. Cool in pan 10 minutes before turning out, then slice when cooled to room temperature.

Notes

For the best crumb, mash bananas thoroughly but keep a few small lumps so the loaf stays tender. Store wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days; freeze sliced for up to 2 months. For a dairy-free swap, use a 1:1 plant-butter alternative in place of butter.