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Enjoy a warm, moist single serve banana bread made with just one ripe banana and baked in a small ramekin. This quick and easy recipe delivers classic banana bread flavor in the perfect portion—no leftovers, just a delicious, homemade treat whenever you want it!
Featured Comment
“I’ve made the Banana Bread recipe many times. It’s a winner. Delicious. I’ll buy bananas just to make this. Very moist and flavorful.”
– Michele
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick & Easy: Minimal prep and bakes in no time.
- Perfect for One: Enjoy homemade banana bread with no waste.
- Soft & Moist: A single ripe banana keeps it perfectly tender.
- Customizable: Add your favorite mix-ins or toppings.
Banana bread has always been one of my favorite ways to turn simple ingredients into something special. With just one banana and a few pantry staples, this recipe bakes right in a ramekin, giving you a warm, flavorful treat without the need for a full loaf.
I love this small banana bread for breakfast, especially with a breakfast bowl for one and small batch potatoes O’Brien. For more breakfast ideas for one, try a blueberry muffin for one, French breakfast puff, or our waffle recipe for one.
Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this mini banana bread recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
- Flour: All-purpose flour forms the base. If you need a gluten-free option, use a 1:1 gluten-free flour substitute.
- Baking Soda: Helps the bread rise. For the best results, make sure your baking soda is fresh.
- Butter: Adds richness. You can substitute with coconut oil for a dairy-free alternative.
- Egg Yolk: Binds everything together. Hang onto that egg white and use it in one of our egg white recipes like mini Texas Sheet Cake and small batch Coconut Macaroons.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds depth and enhances the banana flavor.
- Sugar: Sweetens the bread.
- Cinnamon: Adds warmth and a hint of spice.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness.
- Banana: The key ingredient! Use an overripe banana for the sweetest, easiest-to-mash texture.
Recipe Variations
Want to change things up? Try one of these simple one banana-banana bread variations:
- Banana Nut Bread For One: Stir in chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Chocolate Chip Banana Bread: Mix in chocolate chips.
- Chocolate Banana Bread: Add chocolate chips and cocoa powder.
- Warm Spices: A pinch of nutmeg or cardamom adds extra depth.
- Berry Banana Bread: Fold in blueberries or raspberries for a fresh, fruity option.
How To Make Banana Bread For One
These photos and instructions help you visualize how to make banana bread with one banana. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and lightly grease a 10-ounce ramekin. Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Mash the banana with a fork and add to a medium-sized bowl. Add the sugar and whip the banana and sugar together with an electric mixer or a wire whisk.
- Add the melted butter, the egg yolk, and the vanilla; mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Pour into the ramekin and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool slightly before eating.
Expert Tips
- Use Ripe Bananas: The riper the banana, the sweeter the bread. Look for bananas with plenty of brown spots for the best flavor.
- Freeze Overripe Bananas: Keep a stash of ripe bananas in the freezer. If you have some on the counter that are turning brown, freeze them unpeeled. The skins will darken, but the banana inside stays perfect for baking.
- Keep the Batter Lumpy: When mashing, leave a few banana chunks for texture. Avoid overmixing the batter to keep your bread soft and tender.
Serving Suggestions
Try these delicious toppings:
- Nut Butter: Spread almond or peanut butter on top for extra protein.
- Yogurt and Honey: Add a dollop of Greek yogurt and drizzle with honey.
- Ice Cream: For a dessert twist, serve with a single serving of vanilla ice cream.
- Whipped Cream: A little homemade whipped cream adds a nice touch.
RELATED: 15 Easy Dessert Recipes For One
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use a small 10-ounce ramekin or a 6.5-inch cast iron skillet in this mini banana bread recipe.
Place the banana bread in an airtight container and store it at room temperature for up to 3 days.
To freeze banana bread, wrap in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
To thaw, remove banana bread from the freezer and leave to defrost on the kitchen counter. Enjoy as is, or gently heat in the microwave.
Yes, you can make this recipe ahead of time and bake it later. Simply chill the batter in the ramekin for up to 24 hours before baking.
Yes, double the ingredients and bake in a 5×5 inch baking dish.
RELATED: Comfort Food Recipes For One
More One Banana Recipes
Try these small batch recipes made with one banana:
RELATED: The Best Small Batch Cookie Recipes
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this one-banana banana bread or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Banana Bread For One
Watch How To Make This
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 medium banana , mashed
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon salted butter , melted (plus more for greasing the ramekin)
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and lightly grease a 10-ounce ramekin. In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.
- Mash the banana with a fork and add to a medium-sized bowl. Add the sugar and with an electric mixer or a wire whisk whip the banana and sugar together.
- Add the melted butter, the egg yolk, and the vanilla; mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
- Pour into the ramekin and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool slightly before eating.
Notes
- Use ripe bananas. Ripe bananas make the sweetest banana bread. When bananas have plenty of brown spots on the skin, they’re perfect to use. The browner the skins, the sweeter the banana bread.
- Buy bananas and freeze them. It’s a great idea to keep overripe bananas handy in your freezer ready for baking. If you’ve got a few forgotten bananas on your counter, freeze them, unpeeled. Freezing bananas will turn the skin black, but once peeled the flesh will be perfect for making banana bread or our easy banana muffin recipe.
- Leave the batter lumpy. When mashing the banana, leave some of the banana chunks. Overmixing the batter can also result in a tough bread.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Hi Joanie! I had one overripe banana that I didn’t want to freeze so I followed your recipe exactly as written to bake Banana Bread For One. It was so easy, moist and delicious. This recipe is a keeper that I will definitely make again.
Excellant!! I had one lonely over ripen banana, which I used. Everything came together quickly and I added pecans…..baby, let me tell you the pecans are the bomb.
I cut it horizonally and made cream cheese frosting. Using the frosting, I frosted the middle “layer” and frosted the rest on the top and outside of the cake.
I made this in my air fryer, and it came out delicious and moist! I cooked it at 300 for 20 minutes, then turned it down to 280 for another 10 minutes. Added a little bit of chocolate chips, too. Yum!
Hi Joannie, love all your recipes. Was wondering if you could substitute flaxseed for the egg in this recipe. Thanks
So glad you’re enjoying the recipes! I haven’t tested this banana bread recipe with a flax egg, but it can usually work as an egg substitute in quick breads.
Hi Joanie, I’ve been receiving your emails and bookmarking many recipes. Just tried this one cause I had a banana looking at me. Wonderful and so easy. I used a wire wisk for the whole thing insead of dragging out the mixer. I do enjoy cooking but I don’t bake sweets, this is a good one for beginners. My results have inspired me to try more.
I’m so happy you gave the banana bread a try! It’s such a great recipe for using up that one lonely banana. I’m thrilled to hear it turned out so well for you and I’m so glad it’s inspired you to try more recipes. Thank you for taking the time to write!
This such a delicious recipe. I subbed monk fruit sweetener for the sugar 1:1 and coconut oil for the butter. It is super moist and (again) delicious. This recipe is amazing and I love that it’s a nice small size.
I’ve made a lot of banana bread in my time, some very complicated in their execution. This recipe right here is second to none of them. I dare say this is my favorite. I should’ve known it would be because, Joanie, your banana muffins recipe is my favorite.
What gets me is that they are both so incredibly simple to make, yet hit all my check boxes for a great banana quick bread — big banana flavor, moist and tender crumb, buttery, not cakey sweet. It astounds me how Joanie’s recipes deliver such big flavor with so few ingredients.
Kudos Joanie… Kudos
What a wonderful comment—thank you! I’m so happy to hear that this banana bread recipe ranks as a favorite, especially since you’ve made so many. I love keeping recipes simple while still delivering great flavor, so it means a lot that you noticed. And I’m thrilled you enjoy the banana muffins too! Appreciate your kind words!
Great recipe! I always add one more banana than called for when making banana bread so I used two (makes it super moist); upped the salt to 1/4 tsp; added 1/4 C walnuts … and followed the rest of recipe as written. I made 2 large muffins (using large paper muffin cups) and baked for 30 min.
These were so easy and delicious!!
I’ve made the Banana bread recipe many times,. It’s a winner. Delicious. I’ buy bananas just to make this. Very moist and flavorful.
I don’t eat desserts. However, that doesn’t mean that I don’t bake for my husband. He loves this banana bread recipe!! It is the perfect size for one.