Old-Fashioned Banana Bread Recipe with Cinnamon and Ginger
Overripe bananas aren’t relegated to the trash but are essential ingredients in my old-fashioned banana bread recipe with cinnamon and ginger.
What is it about banana bread that never loses appeal? Maybe it’s the fact that the recipes use familiar pantry ingredients and make good use of our “waste not, want not” philosophy.
Overripe bananas aren’t relegated to the trash but are essential ingredients in my latest versions of banana bread. I have two recipes to share: one big batch and a small, banana tea loaf. Both incorporate ginger: that sweet spice with a hint of heat.
I’m also going to show you how to roast bananas. Wait! What? Yes, you can roast ripe bananas in the oven, in the peel, and swap them out for just about any recipe using bananas. Roasting caramelizes natural sugars in the banana, coaxing out intense flavor and aroma.
The bonus? All the breads freeze well. And so do bananas, so stock up.
I sure hope you try these newfangled, old-fashioned quick breads.
Banana Bread with Cinnamon and Ginger
Adding powdered ginger gives this bread a lovely aroma and a bit of a kick.
Ingredients
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 generous cup or so very ripe, mashed bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream (I use full fat)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 to 1 cup finely chopped nuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Fahrenheit. - Spray or butter loaf pan.
- Combine sour cream and baking soda in small bowl and set aside until it foams.
- Meanwhile, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs.
- Add vanilla.
- Stir in mashed bananas and sour cream mixture.
- Whisk flour, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and nuts together. Stir into mashed banana mixture until well-combined. Don’t overmix or bread will bake up dense.
- Bake up to 1 hour and 10 minutes (mine took 1 hour). When toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, bread is done. Cool in pan a few minutes, then invert on rack to finish cooling.
“Healthy-ish” Banana Tea Loaf Recipe with Cinnamon and Ginger
Adding ginger gives the bread a bit of zing. Greek yogurt has a thick texture, and subs in for sour cream, creating a healthier, yet equally tasty, banana bread.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt, room temperature
- 1-1/2 cups very ripe, mashed bananas
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Spray loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and ginger. Set aside.
- On medium speed in mixer, beat eggs, butter, yogurt, bananas, and vanilla until well-blended.
- Make a shallow well in the center of the flour mixture.
- Add egg mixture and mix until combined. Don’t overmix or bread will be dense.
- Bake up to 1 hour. When a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, bread is done. Cool in pan a few minutes, then invert on rack to cool.
Swap it Out: Roasted Bananas
Roasting bananas deepens flavor, but not just any banana can be roasted successfully. The best bananas for roasting are what I call “cheetah bananas” — with brown speckles. These have developed enough sweetness, allowing the roasting process to “ripen” them further, along with caramelizing natural sugars for a deep banana flavor.
- Preheat the oven at 325 to 350 degrees F.
- Rinse and dry bananas
- Lay on parchment- or foil-lined baking sheet.
- Poke several holes with a fork.
- Bake until black — about 20 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- Let cool, scoop out the amazingly fragrant flesh.
Paw Paws
The texture of ripe paw paws is like ripe bananas, so go ahead and sub in some paw paws for the bananas.
Fresh Ginger for Powdered
Use about 3 times as much freshly grated ginger root for powdered.
Ginger Root: Grown Your Own!
- Unbelievably easy and satisfying to grow. Lovely as a houseplant, too.
- Choose organic ginger if you can. Look for ginger with a “knob” or two on the root. These are little bumps and are often pinkish-green.
- Soak overnight in warm water to help sprouting.
- Plant in a pot and allow the knobs to poke out of the soil. Water well, place in sunny window, and give it a couple of weeks, watering when necessary. You’ll see little lance-like leaves start to pop and uncurl from the knobs. As the leaves grow, so does the root itself. When the mother root grows “babies,” you can start harvesting the root.
Rita Heikenfeld comes from a family of wise women in tune with nature. She’s a certified modern herbalist, culinary educator, author, and national media personality. Most importantly, she’s a wife, mom, and grandma. Rita lives on a little patch of heaven overlooking the East Fork River in Clermont County, Ohio. She’s a former adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati, where she developed a comprehensive herbal course. AboutEating.com column: Rita@CommunityPress.com
Originally published in the April/May 2025 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.
