Butler Banana Bread

The First Recipe I Ever Made By Myself

I am not a person who declares that I am a fabulous chef of any kind. For the first 10 years of my relationship, it was my husband who did the majority of the cooking. I have had to work at cooking like I have had to work at learning how to be a teacher. In the past four or five years, I have really tried to do learn recipes I have found on Pinterest, and keep track of the dishes that I feel I am starting to get better at with practice. Sometimes the things that matter take some time to learn. I do remember one recipe that I would make as a 15-year-old teenager. I would first watch my mom bake this bread, and then I would write down the recipe for my own use. I have kept the same recipe card throughout all of these years. Now, whenever I am feeling a little nostalgic, I will make some banana bread…the Butler way. Feel free to pin the image below that has the ingredients and recipe directions side-by-side. Then, brew a cup of coffee or tea and make banana bread today’s snack for the family.

Check out the recipe card I used when I was younger. Yes, my handwriting still looks very similar. I have always been fond of easy and to the point recipe directions. For example, mix the dry ingredients, and then mix the wet ingredients. I always laugh because not everyone works this way, but apparently my 15-year-old mind wanted to keep things simple.

recipe card banana bread

Step-By-Step Directions

Step 1: Assemble your ingredients! Preheat the oven to 350.

Grab everything you need! I feel like I don’t use a ton of baking soda, so I always grab a new box when I make banana bread. The new box heads to the fridge when I am done to absorb any extra smells. The recipe calls for a pound of bananas, but a good rule of thumb is to use 3-4 over-ripe bananas. My local grocery store sells ripe bananas, but you could just let some bananas ripen on the counter over a week or so.

banana bread

Step 2: Mix all of the dry ingredients together.

Flour check, brown sugar check, salt check, baking soda, check! I like to use dark brown sugar, but you can use regular brown sugar for this recipe. You could also substitute out the flour for gluten-free flour if you are looking to modify the recipe for gluten-free banana bread lovers.

dry ingredients banana bread

Step 3: Add in the wet ingredients.

I like to melt the margarine before I add it into the dry mixture to help with bringing everything together. A bit of advice is to melt the margarine at 20 second intervals in the microwave or cover the dish with a paper towel. I always cause a margarine explosion in the microwave. The bright side of this is that the microwave gets cleaned every time I cook banana bread. I also like to mush the bananas with clean hands when I am adding them into the mixture.

wet ingredients banana bread

Step 4: Mix everything together.

If you have an electric mixer, go for that. I prefer to hand mash the banana bread because I like the chunks of banana in the bread after it cools. If you are a person who likes to grab a warm slice of bread fresh from the oven, use the mixer. Until the bread cools, it might be a tad mushy with the bigger chunks of banana. You could also add in a little vanilla extract if you like a little sweeter flavor in your banana bread.

mix ingredients banana bread

Step 5: Pour into a greased loaf pan. Bake for one hour.

I always test the baked bread with a toothpick before pulling it from the oven. Give it 5-10 more minutes if your toothpick comes up sticky and the bread needs more time to cook. There should be a hard crust on the top of the bread that is cracked open when it is ready to come out of the oven.

pour ingredients banana bread
cooked banana bread

Writing Mindset Table: What ingredients would you add to make the perfect banana bread? Does making banana bread or another dish bring back any good memories?


banana bread


Stephanie Hampton

A dedicated educator with over a decade of experience in public education, specializing in English Language Arts, writing instruction, and using mentor texts in the classroom. Stephanie currently works as an educational consultant. When she isn’t talking about teaching, she is with her family, spending time journaling, and enjoying a fresh cup of coffee.

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