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Paula Deen Banana Bread

Paula Deen banana bread is a Southern-style banana loaf with a butter-forward, pound-cake-like richness and a deeply golden crust. Bake it until the crumb stays tight and moist, then cool just enough for easy unmolding.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Banana bread loaf
  • 3 ripe bananas Mash until mostly smooth.
  • 0.75 cup butter Soften for creaming.
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt
  • 0.5 cup pecans Chopped; optional.

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 cast iron skillet

Method
 

Prep
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and generously grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
Cream the base
  1. Beat the softened butter and sugar together until very light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.
Add wet ingredients
  1. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the mashed bananas and vanilla extract.
Combine dry ingredients
  1. Fold in the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt until just combined, then fold in the pecans if using.
Bake
  1. Pour the batter into the pan and bake at 350°F for 60–70 minutes, until deeply golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool and serve
  1. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before unmolding, then serve warm with extra butter.

Notes

For the best dense, moist crumb, use very ripe bananas and mix just until the flour disappears—overmixing can make the loaf tough. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature for 2 days or refrigerate for up to 5 days; freeze sliced portions up to 3 months for easy thaw-and-toast. If you want a nut-free version, simply omit the pecans (no other changes needed).